Hello internet friends! Today lets take a look at one of the most exciting games to infest my rpg library. Heart, The City Beneath!

Heart is a new game using the resistance system written by @gshowitt and @TheMaddigan , illustrated by the phenomenal @FelixMiall , with layout by @minahoneybat and editing by @newsmary and @Alecto101 . Experienced team at the top of their game, and some of my favorite people.

The core mechanic is (mostly) the same as Spire. Roll a pool of d10’s, take the highest number. Like pbta it breaks up success, complications, and failure into a curve. Unlike pbta those complications dont have to happen immediately.

Your dice pool is made up by starting with a d10 and adding one for skill(thing you can do), domain(thing you know), a mastery(specialty in a skill or knack), and a die per person helping if they’re able. If the action is risky or dangerous take away the top die or 2.

If the highest remaining die is 7 or lower you take stress vs one of five resistances:

Blood (HP and exhaustion)

Echo (corruption)

Mind (sanity)

Fortune (luck+)

Supplies (food, money, equipment)

Reduce stress taken by any protections you have. After adding to current stress the GM rolls a d12 for fallout. If its lower than the new total stress falout happens and stress is removed. Stress is potential consequences, fallout is the actualization of those consequences.

And thats it! The whole core system. The reference sheet is below with slightly more detail. So if the rules all fit onto 1 page, why the other 225?

…

WELL. A lot of that is setting. But the game is more complicated than that. Certainly a step more complicated than Spire.

And in those new complications are some fascinating innovations. Genuinely new tech worth examining and discussing. First, though, because Im a jackass I forgot to link the game. So if youre interested in taking a look check it out at the link below! https://rowanrookanddecard.com/product/heart-the-city-beneath-rpg/

XP

I had a thread a while ago claiming XP was one of the most interesting places for innovations in games. And my god does Heart deliver. Heart breaks up character creation into 2 primary choices: Calling and Class. https://twitter.com/pandatheist/status/1274090595066183682?s=21

Class is what you expect. Cool character abilities, starting equipment, all the rest. Callings are your motivation. Why are you going on dangerous adventures rather than staying safe at home? Your advancement is tied to your motivation, not your class

Choosing a calling gives you a core ability and some questions to answer. But the core of it is beats. It mechanizes story beats. Minor beats can be hit in 1 session, major beats in 2-3, zenith beats will end your characters journey, most often with their death.

At the end of each session players pick 2 beats. Its the GMs job next seasion to provide opportunities to hit those beats(minor) or build towards them(major and zenith). The players influence where the story is going but not how it unfolds. I love this.

Theres a play tool called Stars and Wishes(or similarly Roses and Thorns) to decompress post session. You highlight the positive and negative of the session you just had, and talk about what you want to see next time. Its a good way to structure feedback and group consensus.

@FriaLigan is maybe the best at mechanizing the Stars part. Year Zero games structure XP around answering questions about the session you just had. Did you explore, win fights? Was something memorable? But this may be the first, certainly the best Ive seen at structuring Wishes.

I could probably stop here and be happy in all honesty. This part alone is such a big deal. Its really clever, and fits into the ethos of the game so perfectly. Abilities and mechanics and setting only exist to center the characters and provide them compelling experiences.

The characters are the Heart. So goddamned hokey to say, but its true! The way characters advanced in Spire was changing the world. Here its changing themselves. And thats amazing.

Well. Tough to follow that up it turns out? So for the moment Im going to leave the thread here. The core of the game and a brilliant, innovative new mechanic.

Expect threads in the near future on some cool ways the game bakes setting into character creation and the excellent GM tools and advice throughout. And likely some words spilled on how our session next week goes. Thank you everyone for reading, and happy gaming!