Has any system in Dungeons and Dragons ever been more neglected than the rules for inventory management? ‘Paris Gondo – The Life Saving Magic of Inventorying’ is a GM-less indie RPG that seeks to bring this often-overlooked necessity of the adventurer’s life back into the spotlight, and turn it into a whole game.
DnD, and many of the TTRPGs inspired by it, are games about stuff. Each of the DnD classes relies on a particular loadout of equipment to perform their role, whether that’s the heavy plate and two-handed sword of the DnD Fighter, or the spellbook and staff of the DnD Wizard. And then there’s treasure, the actual reason you’re risking life and limb to begin with.
Once, inventory management was a core part of the tension in DnD. How far could you travel before your supply of torches gave out? How would you carry that heaving treasure chest back across the crevasse? But as successive DnD editions have focused less on mega-dungeons and more on heroic adventures, and more and more DnD races have gained darkvision, the inventory system has seemed more and more vestigial.
Enter The Life-Saving Magic of Inventorying. This is a GM-less, conversation driven indie RPG, which is all about the value of a well-stocked inventory. It’s already available on Itch.io as a downloadable PDF, as a physical copy via Indie Press Revolution and the Ratti Incantati online store, and will be launching a Kickstarter campaign at some point next year.
The game takes place at the end of an adventure. The players have fought their way to the bottom of the dungeon and defeated the final boss, and now they’re working out what to stuff into their packs on the journey home.
There’s a gentle spoof of Marie Kondo in here. Some items you brought with you, or which you found in the monster’s hoard, will be useful – but others will spark joy. And of course, everything has an encumbrance value: you can only take so much back with you.
So there’s a game of negotiation and collaborative description as you work out what you should keep and why. Some loot is extra-useful for a specific class, but if it’s very heavy, or utterly joyless, can you convince them to carry it?
Then you have to brave the journey home. The more useful the party’s collective inventory is, the better the chance that everyone will make it back unscathed. Then, when you make it home, each adventurer will find out whether it was even worth it, based on what the inventory means to them emotionally.
It’s a simple one-shot RPG that’s light on rules and big on storytelling. We’ll put the caveat here that we haven’t tested it yet – we’re just sharing it because we think the premise is neat. The art by Bodie Hartley is immaculate. You can watch this live play video by Hoard of Tales to get a feel for how the game might play out:
If nothing else, it’s a great roleplaying prompt to think about the items in your inventory and how your character might relate to the physical objects they rely on day in, day out. Not to mention something to tide you over while you wait for new campaigns to appear on the DnD release schedule.
If you’re looking for more variety in your gaming life, check out our guide to the best Tabletop Roleplaying Games.
Source: Wargamer
