Kickstarter: Critical Core

This is too cool to not signal boost any way I can. As I am sure you all know by now, I am a huge supporter of using games for education, and in using RPGs in particular for not only education but socialization. There are a lot of therapeutic aspects to gaming, and I have family members that use RPGs to help teach troubled kids.



With all that, it would be amazing if you all at least checked out this kickstarter for Critical Core. Critical Core is a game built off the D&D 5e SRD and is designed to help kids on the autism spectrum develop social skills and confidence. From what I have seen, this game should also include a large number of tools to help GMs of all kinds with approaching their games in a way that is fun for neuro-typical and neuro-atypical alike. (I apologize if those are not the correct words. Please inform me if that is so and I will fix it!)

One thing I really like is the DOTS system the game uses. DOTS stands for Desire. Obstacle. Tactics. So what happens next. What I like about this is it busts down the common series of events from all RPGs into simple terms that can then be planned for. The GM sets the Desire (what the players want) and the Obstacle (why they can't have it.) The players then choose what tactics they will use to overcome the obstacles. The GM then resolves those tactics and tells everyone what happens next (the S).

This sounds simple, but just having it broken down and being aware of it can be a huge help. A single DOTS round can encompass an entire campaign:

• D: You desire to stop the return of Tiamat
• O: You can't do this because of her army of cultists and dragons
• T: How do the players overcome this?
• S: So what happens after the players stop/fail to stop Tiamat?

That is a suggested levels 1-15 campaign for 5e. Or you can break that down further into the individual acts for the game. Then further into the individual arcs that make up those acts. Then further into the sessions that make up those acts. And then even further into the individual scenes that make up that session.

Heck, you could write a novel with this too. Every scene should have its own DOTS, and those scenes should add up to the DOTS for the chapter, which in turn adds up to the DOTS for the book.

It's simple. So simple I never even thought to give names for it. But being aware of it makes it usable.

So check out the kickstarter. If you want, drop them some money. They are already funded so you're just helping them further develop the game.