Design Goals for the Dream Team Game System

Team-focused Gameplay

Almost every TTRPG has a single player playing a single character, which is an intuitive and easy way to organize a game. Each person assumes a role narratively, tactically, or both. When there are multiple players, TTRPGs typically extend this so that each PC takes a turn as a way to organize a play session. This favors “heroic” storytelling where each individual character shines as a force-unto-themselves while the spotlight is on them. This is a fun and satisfying experience, and many games do this well.

While DTGS keeps the tradition of single player/single character, some of the focus shifts from individual action to team action. In this way it aligns itself more to the conventions of team sports where the overall action of all the players working together advance the game. While there is still opportunity for individuals to shine in certain moments (when their skills and abilities align with the situation), it is the successes and failures of the team as a whole that affect the bigger picture, not individual action. While the more traditional model of single turn/single character can create a sort of “emergent” team from the actions of the individuals (a “bottom-up” or “atomic” approach), DTGS makes the team central to all mechanics while still allowing for individual recognition (a “top-down” or “systemic” approach).

This is a shift into what might be called a “post-heroic” or “ecological” roleplaying system. It retains individual distinction and expressiveness through individual PCs while also elevating the values of mutuality, collaboration, and interdependency to the same level as individual contribution. This is through shared resource and resolution team mechanics that effect everyone. It is a different way of looking at the world–both in-game and in the microcosm of players collaborating around a table–by designing the mechanics that bring inherent worth to values that can be ignored in other systems.

Collaborative and Engaging

In many TTRPGs there can be considerable time at the table where players are not directly engaged in the game because they are waiting for other players to take their turn. Attention can wane. Especially when mechanics become complex or take several steps to resolve for each character, it can pull players out of immersion in the game (narratively and mechanically).

DTGS addresses this by shifting both decision-making and action resolution to the team as a whole each turn. While individual players and characters still have agency and describe their individual actions, there is little-to-no “waiting time” as all the players are always collaborating with every other player. It involves discussing strategies and tactics among all the players. Even more, the consequences of each character’s contribution will affect the whole team, giving incentive to stay aware of what is happening as the action unfolds. Team resources are shared, including the fundamental metacurrency of “Destiny” points that powers many traits. Stress is distrubuted by consensus rather than individual consequence. Leadership rotates between players giving each a chance to organize the team’s actions. This team focus gives the opportunity for each player to feel like they are contributing at all times. Sometimes a player’s character will be in a more supporting role, and other times in a leading role, but the players are always involved.

Fast-paced

This team-focused collaboration also helps to keep mechanical resolution fast, both on the player’s side and the GM’s. Challenges that might take the better part of an hour using individual PC turns can be resolved in minutes. Even when the team splits into smaller units to address multiple types of challenges, resolution tends to move quickly. This lends itself to genres of storytelling where a faster pace is desired (such as the action-adventure of Relics of the Moon). For those familiar with “Mob Rules” that help GMs handle multiple actions by the opposition simultaneously and quickly, DTGS can be though of as “Mob Rules for PCs” as well as for challenges.

Multiple Playstyles (“Narrative with Crunch”)

In the vernacular of TTRPGs, some games are more “narrative” and others more “crunchy” (as in “crunching numbers”). Games that lean more narrative tend to be rules-and-mechanics-light to focus on the story being told. They tend to run quickly and usually require little need to resolve numbers or complex interactions of rules. On the other hand, games that are more crunchy tend to lean into numbers and/or complex interactions of rules. While a narrative may be present as a backdrop or as thematic flavor in a more crunchy game, it generally comes second to strategies and tactics. Most TTRPGs have elements of both and can be visualized as being somewhere along a spectrum between the two.

DTGS falls somewhere in the middle of this spectrum. It is narrative at its core while still providing interesting choices for those that enjoy complexity. It is designed in such a way that narrative and rules mechanics are tightly coupled. Each narrative trait has a mechanic. That is, a more narrative-focused player can simply describe what their character is doing and the mechanics should emerge from their character sheet and knowledge of the setting. Conversely, a more crunch-focused player should be able to play with numbers and rules interactions and have the narrative emerge from the names and descriptions of each trait.

One of the draws of more narrative-focused (and rules-light) games is the power to quickly ad-hoc rules for a wide variety of situations that may arise. This runs contrary to the complex play of established rules favored by more crunch-focused games. DTGS allows both. It gives an easy-to-understand-and-resolve system that can handle just about any situation on-the-fly. It also gives crunch-focused players a way to anticipate ad hoc rules through the lens of existing rules. In addition—because the game is team-focused—the cognitive load that may arise for some players grappling with complex rules interactions that arise is shared by all the players without sacrificing the narrative.

Equal/Symmetrical Actions

DTGS is designed to treat all types of challenges in the same way with the same depth and complexity. Exploration, travel, and social challenges are built and resolved the same way as combat and stealth. This lends itself to deeper and more nuanced mechanics that integrate with the narrative and each other. A tense negotiation can be just as tactical and consequential as facing adversaries on the battlefield. The different areas seemlessly blend allowing multiple approaches to obstacles and allow mulitple obstacles to be addressed simultaneously with the same mechanics.

Audience

While invested players new to roleplaying games can certainly enjoy DTGS, it is designed primarily for players with some experience in TTRPGs. Because it both builds upon conventions of existing roleplaying games as well as changes some of those conventions, it can have a learning curve. Even for experienced players, the team-focused nature of the game can be a shift for those used to individual-focused games. Like many narrative-focused games, DTGS does require a bit more willingness to improvise on the part of both the players and the GM to really take advantage of the system. It also assumes an experienced GM that knows how to craft adventures for any given system and does not need to be walked through that process. All that said, those looking for a new and different experience in TTRPGs may find DTGS a refreshing change of pace.