Dungeon Gourmand TTRPG Dev Log #1: The Beginning

Today I have started work on a new TTRPG system inspired by the likes of Dungeon Meshi and Monster Hunter. I will be trying to make an OSR style game that hearkens to games from the West that made their way to Japan, and the Japanese TTRPGs that followed in their wake. 

That means I want to make a relatively rules-lite game that prioritizes dungeon delving, cooking, and crafting. I would like to translate a lot of Dungeon Meshi's mechanics, which feels like a Japanese take on early Dungeons and Dragons or Tunnels and Trolls. 

Some notable differences from early western games I'll be implementing in Dungeon Gourmand will be a more flexible magic system, and an expanded roster of player races and classes. I will also be including a system for cooking and item crafting. Cooking fundamentals and basic recipes will be included in the base rules, as well as rules for making new recipes or items on the fly. I would love to write the cooking recipes to also work in real life, with any fantasy ingredients having real life counterparts written in. I do plan on making a supplement that will function as a cookbook as well as a game supplement.

Lastly, I want to make the game as accessible as possible, meaning the final product will be cheap (if not free), and will only use six sided dice. Price and availability to hobbyist gaming supplies were an issue in the early years of TTRPGs, both in the west and in Japan. Polyhedral dice are more accessible nowadays, but nothing will beat the accessibility of being able to buy a fistful of d6's from your local dollar store or department store. Definitely support your local game store if you have one, but this will insure that people will be able to play the game without having to shop online for specialty dice to play my game.

This feels like a lot to do for my first TTRPG, but a lot of the footwork is going to writing my interpretation of classic TTRPG rules. The more difficult part is going to be the cooking and crafting, since I want to represent cooking somewhat accurately, similar to how Dungeon Meshi handles it. This project is going to require a lot of research, so actual game development will be slow during the research phase. I'll be focusing on basic mechanics while I read Dungeon Meshi and research cooking fundamentals.

Anyway, I'll try to post when I have anything interesting to share about the project, or if there's major developments or hurdles.