What is Realms?

Realms is a rules-light storytelling TTRPG system that emphasises narrative and freeform creativity in a solo or collaborative experience. It's designed for people that enjoy creative writing but need help generating ideas or fans of TTRPGs that want to play a solo game but need help to structure their sessions.

Players take turns creating scenes, unveiling a story chapter by chapter. Detailed interactions within the game are resolved through dice rolls, adding an element of chance to the challenges faced by characters.

The system can be used to create new games or as an aid to play other TTRPGs solo or GM-less. This SRD is based on Realms: Etria V2, the second edition of Realms coming soon to Kickstarter. In the meantime, explore the first edition of Realms: Etria which has been price reduced in preparation for V2's release.

Currently the SRD document only contains rules for playing other TTRPGS solo/gm-less through the Realms system but tips and advice on making your own based-on Realms games is soon to follow.

The Core Mechanic

At the core of Realms are scenes and detailed interactions. Scenes are created by drawing cards that give a vague prompt for a scene, cards are then arranged to form a cohesive narrative that can be played through. If using the Realms SRD to create a new game, then you would select one scene to have a detailed interaction in, which would be solved through a dice minigame. If using the Realms SRD as a way to solo existing TTRPGs, then you would substitute the detailed interaction rules for a resolution mechanic from your favourite TTRPG.

Game Style

Games created using the Realms SRD, should generally stick to the following key concepts:

• Focus on storytelling: Realms is all about narrative, the focus is not on maxing stats and having detailed descriptions of items you can gain. Instead you create a story with prompts to help you.
• No prep: Realms game sessions shouldn't require any prep, everything a player needs should be created during a game.
• Collaborative play: Realms when played with others is about collaboration, so there shouldn't be a game master in charge of the story; all players should have a say in the direction of the narrative.

What's in the Download?

• A breakdown of the basic Realms gameplay loop.
• A detailed guide on how to use Realms to play other TTRPGS solo or gm-less.
• A set of recommended books, decks and sites to generate prompts. Including exact page numbers for tables in BREAK!! and D&D's Dungeon Master Guide.
• License information for using the SRD.
  

Coming Soon:

• A guide to creating Realms-based games.

Realms SRD © 2024 by Waufl is licensed under CC BY 4.0 .