What Actually Makes a Good RPG Book?

Even in a niche hobby like RPGs, if you asked 10 people to give you their favorite rulebook, sourcebook, or module, you would probably get 10 wildly different answers. Even though the commercial RPG is more than 50 years old, it’s very much a developing medium, and nobody can seem to agree on what elements are most important. Is it having an evocative art style and theme? Is it a readable layout, clear and concise rules, and a focus on gameability? Maybe it’s just having some cool short stories scattered throughout (perhaps one of the only redeemable features of Shadowrun as a system).

The more I’ve thought about this, the more I’ve realized that there’s one key axis that defines most if not all RPG products. On one end of the axis we have what I might cheekily refer to as the vibe of the product. What I mean by this is simple but hard to quantify; what does reading this book evoke in you? Does it transport you to an otherworldly setting, does it make you want to drop everything and create a new module, character, or campaign? Does it give you something you can easily sell to your gaming group for why it should be the next thing you play?

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On the other end of the axis we have what I would call gameability, for lack of a better term (and spellcheck says I’m definitely making up a word there anyway). What I mean by this is if you strip out all the fluff and flavor, is the game actually good? Are the rules concise, clear, and easy to understand? Even better are they easy to reference at the table? Does the chapter order make sense, are things where you think they should be?

A game is never going to fully lean into one side or the other of this axis. Even generic systems like FATE or GURPS will evoke some kind of artistic feeling in you, and even lorebooks usually have at least some sort of mechanical nod to how you might use them at a table.

But What Does it Look Like?

Let’s think about some examples here; I’ll start with gameability. Quite possibly one of my favorite examples of gameable design is the Old School Essentials product line by Gavin Norman and Necrotic Gnome. Taking any product made in the 70s/80s and introducing it to a new audience is not an easy feat, but Gavin has presented the original B/X rules in a manner that is concise and easy to understand. Everything sits on a 1 or 2 page spread, meaning you never have to flip a page to find what you’re looking for on a given topic, and this same approach extends to the modules and zines that have been published as well. Concise bullet point writing is used throughout with a focus on how quickly and easily someone can reference it during an actual session.

That is not to say however that OSE is perfect by any means. The concise writing borders on terse, hardly evoking any of the rich implied setting of TSR era D&D. There are no examples of play either; folks unfamiliar with B/X D&D will have to look elsewhere to figure out how they are supposed to actually run it. And the artwork is sparse and somewhat derivative, clearly going for the sort of amateur quality we saw in rulebooks in the 70s but with none of the charm.

This puts OSE firmly on the gameability side of the axis, but what about the vibes side? Let’s stay within OSR adjacent products here and look at Swedish hit Mork Borg for inspiration. If you have been inside your FLGS in the past few years there is no doubt you have seen this gaudy yellow cover amongst the shelves of RPG products. Mork Borg presents a hardcore, rules light, and lethal game about adventuring in a dying world. The presentation is all over the place; incredibly art forward and nonsensical at first read. What are the rules actually like? I couldn’t tell you, I was distracted by the full page that simply includes a picture of a bone with the text “Femur(d4)”.

And yet, even with a single image and a brief description, you can immediately tell what Mork Borg is (and what it isn’t). Every page drips with flavor, as much an art book as it is a rulebook. The branding alone has inspired numerous clones and spinoffs including Ork Borg and Pirate Borg. This is the kind of book that screams at you to pick it up and see what it is all about, it quite literally sells itself.

Okay So What is Good or Right Then?

The answer is complicated, and is going to depend somewhat on what your goals are for publishing something. If marketability is a concern, it is hard to argue that anything is more important than the vibe and curb appeal of your game. People rarely buy books because they really like the resolution mechanic or the stealth rules, or even the layout. I have bought far more books than I care to admit based off of nothing but some cool artwork and a blurb that sounds neat and different. And while often times those products have ultimately been disappointing, in the moment of purchase you could not have convinced me it was a bad idea.

That said, marketability isn’t the only concern, and for all but a few of us in this hobby it is ultimately a hobby and not a business. If your concern is just making something really good and high quality then I think you want to hew as close to the middle of the axis as possible. Without vibes, you’re not going to stimulate the imaginations of your GM or players. And without good rules and layout, the actual process of playing your game will quickly become tedious and frustrating for new and inexperienced groups. There’s a reason one of the most popular questions on Reddit is “What system should I use to play Shadowrun?” (The answer by the way is the excellent Sinless by Courtney C. Campbell) People love Shadowrun as a setting and vibe, but cannot stand playing it because the rules quality is so bad.

If you’ve read this far; thanks for reading my first blog post! I would love your thoughts and feedback down below, and you can look forward to more posts like this on a weekly basis!

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