Overview
Role: Solo Creator and Designer
Developer: Solo Creation (DigiPen student project)
Overview: Crimson Incantation is a tabletop roleplaying game with an urban fantasy setting heavily centered around magic.
Medium: Pen-and-Paper Tabletop Roleplaying Game
Timeframe: January 2024 – April 2024
Contributions
As the project’s sole creator and designer, I designed and tested all of the systems and content, compiling everything into a 48-page rulebook that included rules for a unique dice system, character creation, combat, long-term progression, and more. Additionally, I designed an extensive set of robust customization options despite the game’s small scope, with over 50 unique abilities and spells.
Some notable aspects of my work include:
● Developing a deep character customization system despite the confines of a small-scale project
Dice System and Simulations
I had two primary goals for Crimson Incantation’s dice system: first, I wanted it to be unique from any system I had seen before; second, I wanted it to be very mathematically sound despite its uniqueness.
To accomplish the first goal, I researched over a dozen existing tabletop games to generate ideas and determine what types of systems already existed. To accomplish the second goal, I coded numerous Monte Carlo simulations to evaluate the probability curves of each iteration of the system. Using this data, I gradually tweaked the mechanics until it felt as fair and exciting as possible.
Simulation results for ‘check’ rolls. The way bonus and penalty dice work affects the outcome in complex ways, making Monte Carlo simulations like this ideal.
Click here to view graphed probability curves for check rolls
Probability curves of different checks performed with d8s (purple has a penalty die, blue is neutral, and red has a bonus die)
x-axis: Total of the roll
y-axis: Probability of occurrence (out of 1)
Simulation results for ‘contest’ rolls (competing rolls from two different characters).
Click here to view graphed probability curves for contest rolls
Probability curves of different contests performed with d8s vs. d8s (purple shows when Character A has a penalty die, blue is neutral, and red has a bonus die)
x-axis: Character A Roll Total minus Character B Roll Total
y-axis: Probability of occurrence (out of 1)
Character Customization Systems
As in most tabletop roleplaying games, character creation is a core system within Crimson Incantation. Despite the limited timeframe for this project (and thus limited scope), I wanted to give as many customization options to players as possible. Below are some examples of the customization systems present in the game.
Magic Hexagon (Click to Expand)
As Crimson Incantation centers on the usage of magic for all player characters, I wanted to add depth to the magical aspects of a character beyond just the spells they have access to.
The magic hexagon, shown here, represents a character’s proficiency in certain types of spells. First, players must choose an ‘Origin’, which determines the distribution of their magical attributes. Then, they must decide where to center that distribution on the magic hexagon.
The shape and arrangement of the hexagon are not arbitrary, as an Origin’s stat distribution is affected by the structure of these nodes. This relational aspect adds an additional layer of consideration for players when making choices about their character.
Magic Hexagon
Example stat distribution for the ‘Inheritor’ Origin
Example stat distribution for the ‘Signatory’ Origin
Example stat distribution for the ‘Scholar’ Origin
Basic Attributes (Click to Expand)
While the system behind a character’s basic stats is rather simple, depth was added through several derived stats, such as the Defense Attributes shown here. Aspects like these were utilized to add more weight to the choices players make regarding their basic stats.
The Character Sheet (Click to Expand)
I learned the tool Figma to create and iterate on the character sheet. After this project, I am more than comfortable using this tool to wireframe and create visual displays, charts, and more.
Content Design
The most robust customization system featured in Crimson Incantation is the ‘purchasing’ of abilities (called ‘Traits’) and spells (called ‘magicks’). Rather than being locked behind specific classes, players’ options are only limited by the stat choices they made earlier in character creation. This modular approach allowed me to provide immense player customization while staying in scope.
This version of Crimson Incantation features 18 passive Traits, 12 active Traits, and 24 magicks. Even from Level 1, there are easily thousands of possible character builds that can be made. Most Traits and magicks have upgraded versions, adding even more customization options for only a small increase in scope. 24 magicks and 24 upgraded versions come at a far smaller development cost than designing 48 different magicks, yet the former approach still offers a lot of extra choice, as players must decide between acquiring new magicks or upgrading old ones.
Connor Runyon 