Whoa! March flew by, huh? 

I apologize for the lack of update; that is totally my fault. 

I am going to bring back the deep dive next week. For now, a sit rep on the current state of the project. 

After a peer review and several rounds of revisions, we've got the Core Rulebook manuscript good to go. We also had Levi Combs proofread it as a final check before we sent it to our editor, Meghan.

We've also gone in and cleaned up and, in some ways, retooled Escape From Point Nemo for this book. It's not a cut-and-paste job either; Tracey is going to lay it out again from the ground up, so if you had previously owned this adventure, it will be a totally new experience! 

We're currently cracking away at this book. The creature art is 97% ready to go; we're just deciding what we need to commission for the rest of it. The Monstergoria is much quicker to turn around because it isn't as entrenched in getting the rules perfect as the Core book is. 

So, with the inclusion of Escape From Point Nemo, we decided to give our guest writers their own spotlight and thus, a separate zine. To keep things rockin', I'll be the one laying this out, and I thought it would be cool to deliver the PDFs to you all here as I finish each section. The first up is Neighborhood Watch by Joey Royale. Stay tuned for that. 

First up, I would like to say thank you. Ya'll continue to be incredibly patient. 

Geo and I recognize that creating this book, along with some of our other books, is taking longer than it should, or than we ever wanted it to. For that, we apologize. I wish I could tell you where it all got so jammed up, but reasons are not excuses. 

With that in mind, we took a long look at the projects we have in the pipeline and decided to make a commitment to all of you: ALL OF OUR BOOKS ARE COMING OUT THIS YEAR. 

While you may notice that throughout this process we've launched other projects, which is a side effect of being an independent publisher. You just have to keep pushing. Which, for others, may be easier, but we're just a two-man operation from New Jersey. Still, our commitment stands, and we've been putting in the work behind the scenes to make damn sure ALL OF OUR BOOKS ARE COMING OUT THIS YEAR. 

We do not, for a second, think we get to do this without you; heck, some of you have been with us since we were 3, 2, 1...Action! So in addition to being grateful, we also want to make sure we always put out the best books possible. 

So from the bottom of my heart, thank you. You keep reading 'em, and we'll keep writing them. I'll be back in May with more. 

Stay safe out there, and may the dice always roll in your favor.

-JHM

P.S. In the words of the great Detective Columbo, "Just one more thing."

Speaking of ALL OF OUR BOOKS ARE COMING OUT THIS YEAR, today we launched a 3PP for Shadowdark RPG. A Dark Double Feature: Of A Harmonious Nature and Nothing Left To Lose on BackerKit.  

 

Ahoy!

After multiple peer reviews, we've got the manuscript for the Core Rulebook dialed in. We've got a couple more revisions to make, then it's off to the editor. Which I am stoked about. We've also got some other creators that I am a fan of, designing monsters for the Encyclopedia Monstergoria, which I am equally stoked about. I'll have more on that soon. 

Until then, please enjoy this deep dive into the rules from Geo. 

Stay safe out there, and may the dice always roll in your favor. 

-JHM

Hey everyone,

Last month, we talked about Luck Points and how they handle three jobs at once. This week, let's talk about the dice themselves.

321RPG runs entirely on ten-sided dice. No d20s, no d6s, no d12s (the oft-neglected die), no percentile dice, no fistfuls of d8s. Just d10s.

Using a single die type solves real problems at the table:

Less confusion. New players don't need to learn which die to grab for which situation. It's always a d10. No fumbling through the dice bag looking for that elusive d12.

Simpler math. Base-10 is intuitive. When your stats range from 2 to 9, rolling a d10 creates clean percentages. A stat of 7 gives you a 70% chance of success. Easy.

More versatility. One die type means we can use it for everything: skill checks, damage, ammo rolls, and random tables. The system stays consistent.

Here's the core mechanic: when you attempt an action with an uncertain outcome, you roll a d10 and try to roll equal to or under the relevant stat. The lower you roll, the better.

Your character has a Brains stat of 6? Roll a 6 or lower to succeed at that puzzle. Roll a 1? That's a critical success. Roll an 8? You fail.

This inverts the typical "high roll good" mentality, but it creates something interesting: your stats directly represent your percentage chance of success. It's transparent. Players know their odds before they roll.

Now here's where things get interesting. When coming up with our ruleset, I thought about those iconic d20 rolls that deliver the most dopamine in D&D. But one thing always bothered me: if I needed a 13 to hit a monster and I rolled a 17, I wouldn't necessarily hit the monster harder. I could roll a 19, and it would deal the same damage as a 13. The damage dice would then determine how much hurt I actually inflicted. So I could roll a killer 19 to hit and then roll 2 points of damage. It just didn't make sense to me.

What I realized is that the d20 is, for all intents and purposes, an on-off switch. You either hit or you don't.

Therefore, there's no need to roll to hit at all. Just adjust the damage dice accordingly. And then, to keep it consistent and give players agency, we made sure every character gets two attacks per turn. That way you can still do something meaningful in the round even if you “miss” one attack.

Every attack automatically hits. What matters is how much damage you deal. You roll a d10, then add or subtract your weapon's DMG rating.

A handgun has DMG -3. Roll a 10? That's 10 - 3 = 7 damage. Roll a 3? That's 3 - 3 = 0 damage. You still hit, you just didn't hurt them.

This means your high rolls matter in combat the same way they do in other RPGs. That dopamine hit when you roll a 9 or 10? You get it. But now it's tied directly to the damage you inflict, not whether you connect at all.

This system creates moments that feel like action movies. Your character is cornered, down to 8 Luck Points, facing three enemies. You roll a 2 on your Brains Check to remember the building's layout. You spend 2 Luck Points to guarantee success. Then you attack with your shotgun, roll a 10, and drop one enemy for 9 damage. Your second attack rolls a 7 for 6 damage. Another one down.

One die. Clean math. Cinematic results.

That's what the d10 gives us.

-Geo

Hey everyone,

For the last year or so, we've been giving our ruleset a much-needed root canal. What started as a relatively simple ruleset has grown with each module we've published, and to keep growing, we've had to prune it to keep it true to its origins.

Let's start with the big one: Luck Points.

In most RPGs, you've got hit points for survivability, some kind of meta-currency (inspiration, fate points, bennies) for rerolls or special abilities, and maybe a separate magic system with spell slots or mana. Three different resources doing three different jobs.

321RPG collapses all of that into a single resource: Luck Points.

Your Luck Points serve as:

This creates a tension that runs through every session.

Do you spend 3 Luck Points to guarantee that crucial Brains Check to defuse the bomb? Or do you save them in case you take a hit in the next room? Can you afford to cast Fireball when you're already down to 15 LP and there's still half a dungeon ahead?

At character creation, you get 20 + 1d10 Luck Points. That's your baseline, but it's not your ceiling. You can gain more through healing, clever roleplay rewards from the GR, special items (lucky baseball cards, Castlevania-style chicken hidden in the wall), and end-of-episode bonuses. There's no cap.

Hit zero Luck Points? That's it. Character death is permanent in 321RPG because the game is designed for 3-8 session story arcs, not multi-year campaigns. You're not losing a 2-year investment. You're creating a powerful story moment where that death actually means something.

This isn't about being cruel to players. It's about making every choice matter. When you spend those Luck Points, you're gambling with your character's life. When you save someone else by taking a hit for them, it costs you something real. When you go down swinging, it's dramatic because the stakes were always genuine.

And when you're down to your last few Luck Points and pull off that impossible shot or heroic leap? That's the cinematic moment we're chasing: the hero reaching way down deep to accomplish something that seems to come from nowhere.

There's one more thing Luck Points can do: you can spend all your remaining LP in one final act to save your allies. Dive on the grenade. Hold back the demon while your friends escape. Draw all the enemy fire so the team can complete the mission. It costs your character their life, but it could turn the tide. The GR decides exactly how the scene plays out, but your character goes out the way heroes should: making their last moments count.

We’ll be back with more soon. This book is really shaping up into something special that we can be proud of. Even better, it is going to be fun as hell to play. 

Stay safe out there, and may the dice always roll in your favor. 

-Geo & JHM

Ahoy!

Just a quick one for ya as the holidays approach.

We are on our third pass, bulking some bits up while slimming down some others. We've been trying to simplify some of the language as well. While a Rule Book is, in a lot of ways, an educational tool, the goal should always be that it is easy to read and enjoy.

This one is feeling really good. I am truly confident that it will be a pick-up and play experience.

Later this week, we'll be sending the Expanded Rule Book (which I think will ultimately be called 321RPG Core Rule Book upon release) to some of my favorite creators and pals for a peer review. 

I'll have more on that in January. 

All the best to you and your families during the upcoming holiday season. 

Stay safe out there, and may the dice always roll in your favor. 

-JHM

Ahoy!

Hambone here with an October update.

We have been working on getting the rule book right and, as a result, have torn it down to the studs. We knew going in it wasn’t just going to be a new coat of paint and a repackage; we wanted to deliver the definitive rule book for 321RPG.

So now it is triple the size.

And that is without the full-length adventure, which we are also currently tweaking. So this is really exciting for us. 

What is also really cool is that, while this system was created five years ago, it is now truly informed by five years of playing the game. It is rad to see it torn apart and see what we had dialed in from the start, but also what we missed the mark on. 

Believe me when I say we found something we overlooked in rolling basic checks that was so mundanely obvious that I am gobsmacked it wasn’t included in the first place. 

This book will consist of the rules that worked from the beginning, things learned and perfected through play, and some new stuff that will knock your socks off. 

In other news, Ham & Egg Publishing has a cool new project happening that I would love you to check out.

We were asked by the creator of Sickest Witch, Justin Sirois of Severed Books, to create the first 3PP adventure for Sickest Witch. So we are stoked to launch Under the Shadow of the Noon-Day Witch on Kickstarter. Here is the synopsis. 

Under the Shadow of the Noon-Day Witch: or, A Treatise Concerning the Nature of the Alliances of Witches; Being Admonitions to Lords, Counts, Barons, Witch-Hunters, and All Men of Authority, Touching the Folly and Peril of Attempting to Deceive or Entrap a Coven comes from Ham & Eggs Publishing, the creators of the 321RPG system. It’s the newest third-party adventure for Sickest Witch RPG. Run using the Severed System, this standalone tale brims with political intrigue, fire and brimstone, and the brutal machinery of medieval torture, all driven by Purity Rose in their crusade to cleanse the world of witches.

Under the Shadow of the Noon-Day Witch is live now on Kickstarter, and you can check it out at the link below.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/johnhambonemcguire/under-the-shadow-of-the-noon-day-witch?ref=project_build

I’ll be back in November with another update. 

Until then, stay safe out there, and may the dice always roll in your favor. 

-JHM