Kabouter Games: RPG Design, OSR for All, and Shadow Dark

Welcome to OH!CAST for a fascinating interview with RP Davis (Bob), who is the creator behind Kabouter Games. This week, we dive deep into the philosophy and process of creating tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs). To begin, Bob shares the origin of Kabouter Games. He explains how the company grew from uploading homebrew content to the DM's Guild. Now, consequently, it is a brand creating its own systems like Spears and Spells. The primary goal of Kabouter Games is always to create highly usable, fun content.

The OSR for All Philosophy and System-Neutral Content

Next, the discussion quickly moves to Bob’s design principles. In fact, much of his work is designed to be system-neutral. Therefore, this conscious decision broadens the audience for popular products. These include Legendary Locations and The Drowned Valley of Gorth. Bob strongly champions the "OSR for All" movement. He explains this movement strives to make the TTRPG community more inclusive and welcoming. Specifically, it pushes back against gatekeeping in the hobby. Ultimately, this core philosophy drives all content released by Kabouter Games.

Favorite Systems and Design Insights

Furthermore, Bob reveals his current favorite systems. He expresses a love for Shadow Dark, noting it's how he "wanted 5th Edition to be." Likewise, he shares his love for Chaosium's basic role-playing system. He prefers its bell curve multi-die resolution over the "too swingy" D20 system. Moreover, we get an inside look at the creation of specific products from Kabouter Games. For example, Bob explains his map-first design process. Here, a map inspires the location's story, rather than the plot dictating the map. Finally, we hear the hilarious origin story of the infamous NPCs, Jay and Bob the Un-Speaking, who are featured in Legendary Locations.

If you are a TTRPG player, a game master, or a designer, then this episode is a must-listen for insight, philosophy, and community building! Tune in now!

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