TOWERGUARD TTRPG System Reference Document

One must consider several important facts while reading TOWERGUARD RPG.  

The cover of this text is The Great Tower of Babel, by Pieter Bruegel the Elder. In the Bible, it was the failure of humans working together that caused the Tower of Babel to fall. When playing TOWERGUARD RPG, players must engage in jolly cooperation and interpersonal politics to keep their own tower standing. That is the essence of play I hope to achieve with these rules.  

Dark Souls, by From Software, was the original inspiration. No tabletop roleplaying game I have yet purchased or played has captured the feeling of souls-like combat for me. While souls-like games throw randomness at players by using unexpected attack patterns and surprises, players can often respond with their own skills and reflexes (i.e. dodge rolls) to mitigate punishments and achieve success. Towerguard RPG uses dice and a tower of blocks (i.e. a Jenga tower) to mimic this dynamic. The dice give randomness while the physical tower allows players to test their skill.  

Into the Odd by Chris McDowall, Mausritter by Isaac Williams, Tales of Argosa by Pickpocket Press, and Shadowdark RPG by Kelsey Dionne, are all delightfully simple tabletop games that allow both players and gamemasters to quickly create what they need to have fun. Each of these games have inspired me to rethink tabletop game mechanics and how to design these rules. Additional inspirations for these rules come from the video game Disco Elysium by the ZA/UM Art Collective and the Cyberpunk TTPRG created by R. Talsorian Games. 

 

Future updates to these rules will occur arbitrarily, but the core basics are complete.
 

Thank you for reading,

J.P.A.

Found an error or have a question? Contact RobertParishPress@proton.me