How would you model a Kenshi-themed tabletop roleplaying game?

[AmesNFire]

Are there any specific features you would want to include or changes you would make to the setting? Would you use an existing ttrpg like pathfinder or dnd to model off of?

[Cattrina]

I think it would be best to stick to a ruleset you know. For Kenshi RPG the atmosphere is the key. Describe the world as dusty, dry and obsolete. Describe a normal mechanic device with words someone who has no idea what the item is would. Have the interactions between NPCs and PCs reflect the lack of respect.

You might want to make yourself a chart of random encounters you roll for every time the group sets out.

I think the hardest part for a GM would be to fill in the world with things to do. If your players enjoy fighting and hate goals and intriguing plots. You'll be golden. But my players would never enjoy only fighting RPG. My players would want some conspiracy, politics and puzzle-solving.

Many players do want a goal to strive toward, so perhaps 'this villain destroyed our village and we want revenge' would work. Recruiting more alike minds along. Perhaps each player could recruit people for themselves, and thus having several characters. There would be not many personal plot lines, so a player could have many characters to drive.

But that would mean you would have to prepare dozens of characters in advance, so you could just pull an already made character sheet whenever needed.

For multi-character RP the emphasis would have to be NOT skilling up, but to recruit people with already correct skills. And THAT might be enjoyable for many types of different players. Some players DO love rapport and social interaction play style.

And the puzzle-solving players would like to figure out WHERE to find suitable people for this specific task.

Maybe an old wise drunkard told them the fortress has a weakness, it has a back door that is not guarded. It is only used to dump waste out. It is heavily locked, so you'll need a good lockpicker. But what is worse, the stairs once leading to the door are now in ruins. So you will need someone a) strong enough to toss the lockpicker up b) smart crafter guy who can make stepladders or c) the lockpicker themselves needs to know how to parkour.

[Morkonan]

Originally posted by AmesNFire:

Are there any specific features you would want to include or changes you would make to the setting? Would you use an existing ttrpg like pathfinder or dnd to model off of?

The "Dark Sun" setting might be appropriate if you're sort of looking for a similar kind of theme/setting. Pretty cool setting/ruleset, to be honest.

In any case, I'd use a ruleset that has enough mechanics in it to support the intended play. I'm familiar with AD&D and a few other less well-known rules, more or less. I don't know "Pathfinder" rules, though I know of it.

When in doubt, invent your own. Get a basic ruleset and add what you need.

For Kenshi-specific rules:

You job would be to make your players afraid of Kenshi. Always. In that respect, it's like the old "Ravenloft" setting or "Dark Sun" where just "being there" is bad enough, let alone interacting with it. Balancing the power-curve of the players against this need is difficult, but it can be done if you have enough experience and work at it.


You'll need very strict/heavy "starvation" rules as well as environmental conditions. Very heavy. Kenshi's world "never stops oppressing you." Starvation, thirst, weather effects, limited vision/senses, heat, etc. Any player in that world needs to fear going outside the gates, even if it's from one town to another. (You could make good use of "caravan adventures" here in the early game. They could all start out as members of a caravan.)

I'd have weather encounters in each biome, specific to that biome, and include more. Insect Swarms, "quicksand" pits, mud-geysers, whatever I could think of... "The land hates the living."

Factions - If you're not in a gang, you're prey. If someone isn't hostile to you when you meet them, they would be if they had the chance... They probably just don't have the chance at the moment.

There are no animals worth using as a mount. None. Garru or bulls aren't suitable mounts.

Most dangerous random encounters out in the wild are going to be bandits, starving bandits, maybe "crazies" like cannibals, broken skeletons and the like. It's to promote a pretty easily understood concept - mankind is to be feared. Any new encounter with people of any sort should immediately set the players on edge, regardless of the NPCs true intentions.

Wandering Assassins - I'd leave them out. (Practical reasons, too corny/easy to abuse) For Tech Hunters, they're nearly a religious fanatic where it comes to "tech." Anyone wandering by themselves in Kenshi is someone it's likely best to have left alone.

Of animals that could be dangerous, they're overwhelmingly dangerous. So, you don't just encounter "Gutters/Beak Things." You encounter a suitable number vs party size to be an existential risk... "Fear" is your tool to use to inspire the players - Use it.

I'd use a small scale involvement with Kenshi factions, limiting the player's interaction/access with The Big Three leaders. Let those factions represent the true "Powers" in Kenshi's world, though they're not omnipotent.

Base Building - Is generally counterproductive in P&P roleplaying games. If your players want to do that, make it very difficult in order to discourage it or just say "no." There's a good general construction system in the original AD&D 2'nd Edition Dungeon Master's Guide. (You can find it online in .pdf form.)

Adventures: I'd involve small-scale politics with minor factions, laboratory exploration (dungeons), and bounties as general fare with a few fun things scattered here and there for flavor. I'd also be sure to include long journeys to certain notable locations, either undertaken for a client or because of some player-character goal/desire. Some would be very difficult to undertake, requiring extensive preparation and planning. (A high chance of failure, too.)

[Vork]

Hmmm ....
5E D&D could do well, but you would need to add a bunch of house rules.

I was working on a 5E Game of Thrones "ruthless" style game, infection, amputation, etc ... but then GoT went all season 8 and everyone lost interest including me.

I added a random strike area and wound system (limbs, head, etc) that was based on player stats (CON for major organs, DEX for limbs, INT for headwounds, etc).
Then also added a called shot system (based off of taking disadvantage).

I also added a weapon skill system (overthinking things) where you got XP as actual weapon skill points, so a player could have anywhere from 0 to 200+ skill (10 per attribute) in Swords or Axes and that would not only show how skilled he was, but be used to purchase and "fuel" special moves with that weapon. The weapon skills became their own character classes!

I imagine Kenshi would work the same way. Kenshi skills would also be easy to convert to 5E.

Hope that helps! Would love to hear how your game goes. I used to host a regular game session, but ... ya know .. Covid.

[AmesNFire]

Originally posted by Vork:

I added a random strike area and wound system (limbs, head, etc) that was based on player stats (CON for major organs, DEX for limbs, INT for headwounds, etc).
Then also added a called shot system (based off of taking disadvantage).

I also added a weapon skill system (overthinking things) where you got XP as actual weapon skill points, so a player could have anywhere from 0 to 200+ skill (10 per attribute) in Swords or Axes and that would not only show how skilled he was, but be used to purchase and "fuel" special moves with that weapon. The weapon skills became their own character classes!

I'm thinking it will be set in the Kenshi world but with some lore modification to allow magic casters since my group is most familiar with 5e.
I did manage to find this nice collection of semi-modular systems you can put into 5e to provide more depth and less High Fantasy Heroism.

Originally posted by Vork:

Hope that helps! Would love to hear how your game goes. I used to host a regular game session, but ... ya know .. Covid.

There's always online groups, it's how my current group kept our game running through covid. We use dndbeyond and roll20 for a lot of things but it's mostly just us roleplaying on discord.

Originally posted by Cattrina:

I think it would be best to stick to a ruleset you know. For Kenshi RPG the atmosphere is the key. Describe the world as dusty, dry and obsolete. Describe a normal mechanic device with words someone who has no idea what the item is would. Have the interactions between NPCs and PCs reflect the lack of respect.

You might want to make yourself a chart of random encounters you roll for every time the group sets out.

I think the hardest part for a GM would be to fill in the world with things to do. If your players enjoy fighting and hate goals and intriguing plots. You'll be golden. But my players would never enjoy only fighting RPG. My players would want some conspiracy, politics and puzzle-solving.

Many players do want a goal to strive toward, so perhaps 'this villain destroyed our village and we want revenge' would work. Recruiting more alike minds along. Perhaps each player could recruit people for themselves, and thus having several characters. There would be not many personal plot lines, so a player could have many characters to drive.

But that would mean you would have to prepare dozens of characters in advance, so you could just pull an already made character sheet whenever needed.

For multi-character RP the emphasis would have to be NOT skilling up, but to recruit people with already correct skills. And THAT might be enjoyable for many types of different players. Some players DO love rapport and social interaction play style.

And the puzzle-solving players would like to figure out WHERE to find suitable people for this specific task.

Maybe an old wise drunkard told them the fortress has a weakness, it has a back door that is not guarded. It is only used to dump waste out. It is heavily locked, so you'll need a good lockpicker. But what is worse, the stairs once leading to the door are now in ruins. So you will need someone a) strong enough to toss the lockpicker up b) smart crafter guy who can make stepladders or c) the lockpicker themselves needs to know how to parkour.

We've used follower/mercenary systems before, but generally I or whoever is DMing just build the events/quests around the characters abilities. If it's mostly sneaky and squishy they won't be charging into battle against a slaver camp but instead sneaking inside to free some slaves and sneak back out.

Similar to how you would want to do it in Kenshi anyway. We have a slow progression system already, so the main focus won't be on leveling up but thinking of creative ways to handle events beyond your character's abilities (or retreating, which is honestly not considered very often by most ttrpg players).

Originally posted by Morkonan:

The "Dark Sun" setting might be appropriate if you're sort of looking for a similar kind of theme/setting. Pretty cool setting/ruleset, to be honest.

For Kenshi-specific rules:

You job would be to make your players afraid of Kenshi. Always. In that respect, it's like the old "Ravenloft" setting or "Dark Sun" where just "being there" is bad enough, let alone interacting with it. Balancing the power-curve of the players against this need is difficult, but it can be done if you have enough experience and work at it.

You'll need very strict/heavy "starvation" rules as well as environmental conditions. Very heavy. Kenshi's world "never stops oppressing you." Starvation, thirst, weather effects, limited vision/senses, heat, etc. Any player in that world needs to fear going outside the gates, even if it's from one town to another. (You could make good use of "caravan adventures" here in the early game. They could all start out as members of a caravan.)

I'd have weather encounters in each biome, specific to that biome, and include more. Insect Swarms, "quicksand" pits, mud-geysers, whatever I could think of... "The land hates the living."

Factions - If you're not in a gang, you're prey. If someone isn't hostile to you when you meet them, they would be if they had the chance... They probably just don't have the chance at the moment.

There are no animals worth using as a mount. None. Garru or bulls aren't suitable mounts.

Most dangerous random encounters out in the wild are going to be bandits, starving bandits, maybe "crazies" like cannibals, broken skeletons and the like. It's to promote a pretty easily understood concept - mankind is to be feared. Any new encounter with people of any sort should immediately set the players on edge, regardless of the NPCs true intentions.

Wandering Assassins - I'd leave them out. (Practical reasons, too corny/easy to abuse) For Tech Hunters, they're nearly a religious fanatic where it comes to "tech." Anyone wandering by themselves in Kenshi is someone it's likely best to have left alone.

Of animals that could be dangerous, they're overwhelmingly dangerous. So, you don't just encounter "Gutters/Beak Things." You encounter a suitable number vs party size to be an existential risk... "Fear" is your tool to use to inspire the players - Use it.

I'd use a small scale involvement with Kenshi factions, limiting the player's interaction/access with The Big Three leaders. Let those factions represent the true "Powers" in Kenshi's world, though they're not omnipotent.

Base Building - Is generally counterproductive in P&P roleplaying games. If your players want to do that, make it very difficult in order to discourage it or just say "no." There's a good general construction system in the original AD&D 2'nd Edition Dungeon Master's Guide. (You can find it online in .pdf form.)

Adventures: I'd involve small-scale politics with minor factions, laboratory exploration (dungeons), and bounties as general fare with a few fun things scattered here and there for flavor. I'd also be sure to include long journeys to certain notable locations, either undertaken for a client or because of some player-character goal/desire. Some would be very difficult to undertake, requiring extensive preparation and planning. (A high chance of failure, too.)

Never really tried any of the keep/base building modular systems before, so that might be a fun experience to explore. We enjoy combat but focus more on building relations with npc's and such, so establishing a base would work well for that idea.
For the most part, we'll be respeccing existing monsters to match the ones existing in Kenshi(and using the Kenshi names) or homebrewing them as needed.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JQG7gQW6koTA2d3XIrSti8OExL_s4mGe/view

The above link is a doc I found that has a lot of interesting modules that should fit what we're looking for. But I do appreciate your and the other two's ideas; so thanks for that.

[Vork]

Oh! Savage Worlds! Look up that system. It is really dirt simple and could work as well.

I have to agree with Cattrina, the feel of the world is more important than the system. Savage Worlds is an oldie but goldie.

I am looking over the giffy glyphs PDF now. Thanks!

[Morkonan]

Originally posted by AmesNFire:

...
Never really tried any of the keep/base building modular systems before, so that might be a fun experience to explore. We enjoy combat but focus more on building relations with npc's and such, so establishing a base would work well for that idea.

Just an observation - Having a base acts to restrict your player's ability to interact with NPCs, but could add certain depth to certain sorts of interactions. (Alliances, supply/trade, etc.)

In a standard AD&D (old school) kind of Campaign, a fully-fledged "base" for characters is typically a very late-campaign sort of development, if at all. It doesn't have to be, of course, 'cause "the magic and freedom of P&P RPG gaming." :)

For the most part, we'll be respeccing existing monsters to match the ones existing in Kenshi(and using the Kenshi names) or homebrewing them as needed.

A Kenshi P&P game world would need more critters in it, to be sure. And, you'll be a bit pressed to develop "mundane yet alien" life. So, there's not likely going to be a harmless "bird" or "beetle," but harmless "birdlets" and "beetlets." :)

The "Gamma World" setting has some pretty neato critters in it. Though, it's got a number of things a Kenshi-setting wouldn't have, like Psionics, etc.

Home-brew critters are the best critters, though.

The above link is a doc I found that has a lot of interesting modules that should fit what we're looking for. But I do appreciate your and the other two's ideas; so thanks for that.

There are some interesting mechanics outlines, though I've seen many of them in other gaming settings. Certain things like relying a bit heavy on tables with very specific entries can get kind of difficult, though. They can be good for generating more appropriate ones.

Your efforts and interpretations would be interesting to see once you get a workable system.

Worth noting: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expedition_to_the_Barrier_Peaks

This is a famous D&D module. One of the best features of this module are prompts for the DM's description of hi-tech/sci-fi stuff the "fantasy world" characters are encountering. The emphasis there is to present the encounters and objects to the players as their characters may interpret them. So, a simple electric bulb might be a "strange glass sphere that glows with a magical light." A control panel with buttons could be festooned with "glowing gems." Some greedy Dwarf might even try to pry a few loose.

Tech Hunters "see" tech for what it is, one assumes. But, what about the general population? "The Holy Nation" certainly sees tech as nearly some kind of forbidden magic. Perhaps a thousand years from Kenshi's period, people would see certain forms of tech as "evil magic?" What if there was a "Dark Age" period in the past where tech was arcane and evil, only later being seen for what it is due to advancements in "science." Perhaps certain religious orders would be the only ones allowed to interact with certain life-sustaining tech? "Electrician's Union" that controls the electrical power using religious chants and gestures? :) Order titles like Engineer, Journeyman, Spark, etc...

Free-form P&P gaming in a fun setting is awesome gaming. :)

[SnugSnug]

Alternity / Gamma world/ Dark Matter would all work well depending on your spin.

Seventh Sea, (ignore the setting) another honourable mention for its mechanics and how the playstyle would be a good fit. Especially the division between player, npc, brute squad, henchman +, villain. Would fit really well into the current structuring of the world and its npc spawns.

White wolf with some bastardisation of the ruleset and making the vampire/werewolf clans more kenshi themed would be a must.

Paranoia ?? i can see the system working but as a whole probably not.

Dingo's ate my baby... yeah just throwing that one in cause it's based in the outback (kinda)

But not sure about the whole class based system given that kenshi is pretty much free form skill wise, as is.

There are a number of games/setting that function around a thriving settlement as its own persistent character where the players are the expendables that try to better the village per session. Success or failure reflects the position of the village long term and while characters are persistent their loss is not as troubling and sessions can result in abject failure while still not ending the campaign and should be considered normal to loose at least some characters regularly without the need of plot stick or GM intervention to keep players happy. This sort of collective pool character play would definitely suit the kenshi environment.