Game design workshop: narrative TTRPG design

Where do you start when creating a tabletop roleplaying game? In this talk, Wythe Marschall (founder and lead game designer, Stillfleet Studio) will make an argument for centering narrative structure, or core game loop. Bring questions and ideas related to your own games. Let's workshop them!

Event Number	122
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Time Zone	America/New_York (UTC {{ '2025-02-09 18:00:00' \| timezone_offset: 'America/New_York' }})
Where & When (local to convention)	Sunday, February 9 from {{ '2025-02-09 18:00:00' \| amDateFormat: clock_format }} to {{ '2025-02-09 19:50:00' \| amDateFormat: clock_format }} Unassigned 8 in Unassigned
More Information	https://stillfleet.com/
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Are you a forever GM? Homebrewer? Game designer? Where do you start when creating an imagination-based, collective storytelling game—AKA, a tabletop roleplaying game (TTRPG)? Do you begin with dice-rolling? Worldbuilding?

In this talk, Wythe Marschall (founder and lead game designer, Stillfleet Studio) will make an argument for centering narrative structure, or core game loop—what people playing the game will do. We'll walk through some famous games from before the new millennium as well as more recent gems.

Bring questions and ideas related to your own games. Let's workshop them!

The Stillfleet Studio creates high-quality, innovative tabletop roleplaying games and card games from a Leftist perspective. Our games—including the TTRPGs Stillfleet, Blister Critters, and Danse Macabre—use the flexible, player-empowering Grit System to enable unique and replayable narrative experiences.

Wythe is an experienced writer, science communicator, anthropologist, and game designer. He created the sci-fi RPG Stillfleet, the underlying Grit System, and the Stillfleet Studio to blend two lifelong obsessions—Leftist politics and TTRPGs. He is the co-developer of Blister Critters by Anthony Grasso and the cohost of Why We Roll with Christopher Pickett. Wythe is currently working on several new books, including PICARO!, an early modern fantasy game.