Hearth

So, if you’re reading this – you have somehow stumbled upon an in progress TTRPG project that I have been working on. Who is me? Well, I’ve been playing pen-and-paper roleplaying games for about 15 years or so, most of that time has been spent GMing; and as all GM’s know, a game that you bought at the store will never scratch that itch – it will never be the perfect game you have stored in your head.

In my search to scratch, I have begun working on Hearth. It’s a 2d10 game, not because I’m obsessed with mathematical balance but because I just enjoy rolling a lot of dice; something you will see in full effect as I discuss Hearth in more detail.

For now, I’ll pitch to you the feeling of Hearth. It is mainly designed around a vibe I have in my head, so let me try and give you that feeling:

The field glistened with dew, the Dell hadn’t rained in some time. Nock had been using his bow more in the last few weeks than he ever had in his entire life in Messingwary, and he’d gotten better. As the rain poured down into the thirsty valley, the tracks of his prey began to muddy. A creature of wrath and bone, stalking the glade east of the Dell’s heartlands had taken a farmer. It began with just footprints, then a sheep missing, then a child spotted a hulking shadow bequeathed with antlers that seemed to stretch from its impossibly wide brow to the dirt beneath its feet; grotesque ruts left in the mud upon morning. Nock had gotten close, each night he got closer the glade grew quieter – as though it was waiting; biding its time until he got deep enough into the woods that no one would hear him scream. Nock did not fancy tangling with a Khalu, the creatures that sit just outside of the periphery, but sometimes someone has to step up.

In essence, Hearth is about unlikely heroes fighting against the odds to achieve renown, protect the people and set out on adventure. The key mechanic is its advancement, in Hearth there are no levels; instead, you advance by using the skills you have – the more you use them, the better you get at them. To do this a character has a pool of Heart Dice. Heart Dice can be used in moments when a character makes a particularly strong attempt, through desperation or confidence (whichever suits your fancy). Using a Heart Die on a roll provides you with an additional d6 to add to your roll, and if you roll a 6 on that die you gain a Mastery Point to the skill you used. However, you have a limited pool of Heart Dice so you must choose wisely which skills you use it on. Should you empower an already strong skill? Or use it when you need it most in your darkest hour? Heart Dice replenish when you rest at a sufficient Hearth (either made or purchased), but do not replenish if your Hearth is shoddy or made in too deep a wilderness.

When you achieve 10 mastery points, you may choose an advancement in your skill, weapon, armour (whatever you have been using) that gives you access to more player options. The advancements are intended to be lateral, instead of numeric bonuses you access more ways to solve situations (or combine solutions to create a better one).

That’s it.

That’s the essence of Hearth. Regular people using their skills to become heroes. I’ll post more about the nitty gritty details of the mechanics in later posts, but for now that’s what Hearth is about. If you’d like to keep up with Hearth then please subscribe, and you’ll be hearing from me in the future.

Go with luck.