Three to six players refers to player characters, right? I'd like to run a game for a couple of other folks; are there suggested techniques to deal with less than ideal player count? Do some roleplaying systems work better than others for this issue?
Also, is a PBtA style campaign a good choice for a beginning GM? I can see less rules and more creativity being both easier and more difficult. I do have a pretty extensive experience listening to lots of actual play of both D&D and PBtA games, but zero experience running a game.
Three to six includes the Game Master (so two-five player characters). This number is really arbitrary, though - I mostly chose it because that's the size range I'm comfortable running. Unlike something like D&D, where you need to be conscious of how many players you have when planning adventures (especially fights), Under the Neighborhood isn't super concerned with that.
It really depends on what your skillsets and interests are! For GMs who are really comfortable with prep and numbers but less comfortable with improv, I'd recommend using a pre-made module for a game like D&D. For GMs who enjoy improv storytelling but are less comfortable with numbers/mechanics, PbtA and similar "rules-lite" systems can be great! Using Under the Neighborhood as an example, our most in-depth pre-made Adventure is only 648 words long. It provides 1 NPC, a three-act summary, and less than 200 words outlining battle mechanics. This makes it so that it's really easy to adjust what you're doing based on your players' actions, but it also gives you less concrete numbers/NPCs/etc. to rely on. Personally, I started with something in-between D&D and PbtA (Cypher System), but even after GMing for years, I'd still be uncomfortable GMing with a crunchier game like D&D and Pathfinder, simply because that's not how I like to run things. In the end, I'd recommend doing a one-shot with whatever game you're most interested in playing. The best way to learn what you're most comfortable with is by trying!
Done! And in fact, it looks like someone just bought the game, leaving one community copy available.
The book features 1 pre-made setting with multiple characters and 3 pre-made Adventures. You can also look to the podcast Quest Friends! for Adventure ideas. Specifically, the following episodes work well for one-shot Adventures:
Under The Neighborhood is a suburban fantasy ttrpg inspired by cartoons from the 2010s (such as Owl House, Gravity Falls, Star vs The Forces Of Evil, and Amphibia.)
The PDF is 124 pages with quirky, appropriate art and a layout style that focuses on readability over pizzazz.
Under The Neighborhood is very beginner friendly, so if you've never thumped a Dungeons and Dragons book down on your kitchen table, you still won't be lost here.
Under The Neighborhood is also by the team that makes the Quest Friends actual play, so if you want an example of gameplay at any time, there's an extremely good podcast on standby. (The book's rules examples are a great illustration of the Quest Friends 'flail forward' style of play.)
In terms of GM and player resources, there's lots here. Characters sheets, premade characters, sample adventures, roll tables, and tons of help from the book throughout. There's also a solid, well-explained safety section and tools for designing your own content.
The core dice rules are PbtA. Everything is broken into Moves. You roll 2d6+Stat and get an uncomplicated success on a 10+. The GM has Moves as well, and acts in response to player failures. Crits exist, and the system overall is geared towards getting the players into zany, evolving situations.
Neighborhood compliments this with a bonus points system, called AP. AP charges up when you fail, get messed with by the GM, willingly help people you have friction with, or act in a way your playbook wants you to. In return, you can spend it for a ton of different metafictional effects, including temporarily unlocking parts of your character sheet, summoning npcs, or succeeding without rolling.
Character creation is simple and flavorful. You assemble your character from a playbook and a descriptor (a smaller, secondary playbook.) Then you get a lot of leeway to fiddle with that character, including revising them after you play your first adventure. Playbooks range from very normal (the Journalist) to quite weird (the Mon Trainer,) and have a lot of variety in their Move options, and usually at least two very different ways you could play them. Descriptors are more limited, but there's tons to choose from.
Combat (or other granular conflicts) are handled through a unique Confrontation system, which revolves around clocks (a la Blades In The Dark.) Essentially, players and foes make progress towards objectives, rather than chipping away at each other's HP. This keeps things dramatic while simultaneously avoiding a big, bulky combat engine.
Characters progress through Advancements, which are small but significant improvements that happen at the end of every X number of adventures. Advancements don't overshadow character creation, and this is definitely a system that works fine for one-shots, but they do provide a good sense of growth and progress in campaign play.
Overall, if you want a game of high energy, bright characters, zany happenstances, and some fairly deep emotional moments, Under The Neighborhood is a really solid pick. You *do* need to do your own worldbuilding (unless you're playing in the setting of Amphibia, Gravity Falls, etc,) but the system is adaptable and easy to learn, so building the world is basically the only heavy lifting you're doing.
Whether you're new to rpgs or you've been around for a while, if anything I've said here sounds like it might be your cup of tea, check Under The Neighborhood out.
← Return to game
Comments
Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.
Three to six players refers to player characters, right? I'd like to run a game for a couple of other folks; are there suggested techniques to deal with less than ideal player count? Do some roleplaying systems work better than others for this issue?
Also, is a PBtA style campaign a good choice for a beginning GM? I can see less rules and more creativity being both easier and more difficult. I do have a pretty extensive experience listening to lots of actual play of both D&D and PBtA games, but zero experience running a game.
Can someone please buy this? I really want a copy qwq
Would a lower price help? I've considered changing it to $10 for a while now, but I can make the change now if it helps!
It would! I really want to experience this, and it looks really fun! I also had a question, does this include any type of pre-made adventure?
Done! And in fact, it looks like someone just bought the game, leaving one community copy available.
The book features 1 pre-made setting with multiple characters and 3 pre-made Adventures. You can also look to the podcast Quest Friends! for Adventure ideas. Specifically, the following episodes work well for one-shot Adventures:
Someone seems to have snagged it before me sadly :(
Thanks for lowering the price. I'll try to watch the Podcast when I can.
Looks so fun
Under The Neighborhood is a suburban fantasy ttrpg inspired by cartoons from the 2010s (such as Owl House, Gravity Falls, Star vs The Forces Of Evil, and Amphibia.)
The PDF is 124 pages with quirky, appropriate art and a layout style that focuses on readability over pizzazz.
Under The Neighborhood is very beginner friendly, so if you've never thumped a Dungeons and Dragons book down on your kitchen table, you still won't be lost here.
Under The Neighborhood is also by the team that makes the Quest Friends actual play, so if you want an example of gameplay at any time, there's an extremely good podcast on standby. (The book's rules examples are a great illustration of the Quest Friends 'flail forward' style of play.)
In terms of GM and player resources, there's lots here. Characters sheets, premade characters, sample adventures, roll tables, and tons of help from the book throughout. There's also a solid, well-explained safety section and tools for designing your own content.
The core dice rules are PbtA. Everything is broken into Moves. You roll 2d6+Stat and get an uncomplicated success on a 10+. The GM has Moves as well, and acts in response to player failures. Crits exist, and the system overall is geared towards getting the players into zany, evolving situations.
Neighborhood compliments this with a bonus points system, called AP. AP charges up when you fail, get messed with by the GM, willingly help people you have friction with, or act in a way your playbook wants you to. In return, you can spend it for a ton of different metafictional effects, including temporarily unlocking parts of your character sheet, summoning npcs, or succeeding without rolling.
Character creation is simple and flavorful. You assemble your character from a playbook and a descriptor (a smaller, secondary playbook.) Then you get a lot of leeway to fiddle with that character, including revising them after you play your first adventure. Playbooks range from very normal (the Journalist) to quite weird (the Mon Trainer,) and have a lot of variety in their Move options, and usually at least two very different ways you could play them. Descriptors are more limited, but there's tons to choose from.
Combat (or other granular conflicts) are handled through a unique Confrontation system, which revolves around clocks (a la Blades In The Dark.) Essentially, players and foes make progress towards objectives, rather than chipping away at each other's HP. This keeps things dramatic while simultaneously avoiding a big, bulky combat engine.
Characters progress through Advancements, which are small but significant improvements that happen at the end of every X number of adventures. Advancements don't overshadow character creation, and this is definitely a system that works fine for one-shots, but they do provide a good sense of growth and progress in campaign play.
Overall, if you want a game of high energy, bright characters, zany happenstances, and some fairly deep emotional moments, Under The Neighborhood is a really solid pick. You *do* need to do your own worldbuilding (unless you're playing in the setting of Amphibia, Gravity Falls, etc,) but the system is adaptable and easy to learn, so building the world is basically the only heavy lifting you're doing.
Whether you're new to rpgs or you've been around for a while, if anything I've said here sounds like it might be your cup of tea, check Under The Neighborhood out.
Thanks so much for the review/comment! It's really nice to know what aspects of the game stick out most to a reader.
No worries! Thank you for writing the game!