Shortlist for the $10000 BRP Design Challenge announced - vote for the People's Choice!

Congratulations to everyone who made the shortlist for our $10,000 Basic Roleplaying Design Challenge! 

This is Chaosium's TTRPG design competition which financially assists new and upcoming creators in bringing their games to independent publication (be that digital or print). We seek to empower designers from all walks of life, with original ideas, concepts, and systems, with the goal of seeing all shortlisted entries eventually published independently. 

We received 195 entries, and from these our judges have shortlisted ten. Each shortlisted entry receives USD$500. Three winners from the shortlist will each receive a further USD$2000. All winners also receive a trophy.

The three winners will be announced after the People's Choice voting has closed—that's right, you can vote for your favourite right now! The People's Choice winner will receive a further USD$500 (in addition to any other prize).

Vote here!

BRP Design Challenge Shortlist (in random order)

Titanosphere by Rakados
Titanosphere immerses players in the pulp science fiction action of giant monsters, colossal mecha, and transforming heroes of classic TV shows and Monster movies using a unique bonded characters system putting them in control of both a human protagonist a gigantic counterpart called titan. This split allows Titanosphere to seamlessly weave together scenes of human drama and action alongside earth-shaking brawls between giant monsters, robots, and super powered heroes.

Vanguard by Tyrant Nemesis
A cutting-edge space cruiser, lost in a remote and unexplored region of space with its worst enemy, together they must unite to survive or die separately. Aliens, scarce resources, secret experiments, deranged soldiers and conspiracies in the darkness of space are just some of the threats that will loom over the crew.

In Death by J.D. Trotter
IN DEATH is the only tabletop roleplaying game which takes grounded and realistic player characters and throws them into the dark and tragic world of the Afterlife. Players take on the role of Souls to explore purgatory, the underworld, and where the world of the living overlaps with the dead. Brandishing ancient and historical weapons, abilities such as ghostly hauntings or godly miracles, and fighting against the diminishing undead, demons, and worse, what will your players achieve IN DEATH?

Rustbelt by Matthew Tansek
Imagine a ruined world where you get to choose what is restored and what is not. Rustbelt is an absolute blast, both to create games for and to play in. Full of innovative abilities, it gives players loads of strategic choices while giving GMs the ability to leverage the bedrock of the BRP core rules. Fresh ways to approach workhorse interactions like combat and skill checks make it stand out from the crowd while keeping to a unique metallic theme of gritty adventure and heart-pounding action.

Season of Magic by Sam Robson
How far would you go for someone in need? Play as a witch equipped with knowledge, magic, and the kind heart necessary to heal even the deepest wounds and bitterest hearts.

Starlust Secrets by Μάριος Καγιασης
Starlust: Secrets establishes itself in a previously unexplored market; it's a sci-fi intrigue game set in space, that focuses on the social aspect of the game and dramatic conflict. The game includes alien species, advanced weapons, starships and robots to discover, but it’s primary features are its rules for social interactions. Its rules encourage players to consider NPCs and PCs as individuals. Critical and creative thinking is encouraged in social confrontations.

A Looking Glass Jukebox by Mark Holsworth
A Looking Glass Jukebox is a genre mashup of sixties rock bands, psychedelic absurdity, and alternate realities. It is Spinal Tap through the looking glass, The Beatles on The Magical Mystery Tour, The Monkeys in Head, The Archies knocking on The Doors of Perception, and The Partridge Family on acid…

Kleio by Ian Hathaway & Errico Borro
Kleio is a game written by a historian and an archeologist in collaboration with the History and Games Lab of the University of Edinburgh. We want to create a fun ttrpg usable for public history and in-class education at different levels. In Kleio, you play as a history enthusiast known as a Diver who, thanks to advanced AI, can experience the past firsthand. Each of Kleio’s scenarios contain quick to explore nodes combining traditional BPR gameplay with that of board games.

The Prince of Masks by Steve Devaney
The Prince of Masks is a surreal, baroque, dark fantasy setting inspired by psychological archetypes, and mythological/religious symbolism. Humanity is trapped in a region surrounded by ancient cyclopean statues that radiate such intense fear that no mortal can pass between them and escape. The primary adversary is a fey, vampiric race that uses eldritch sorcery to manipulate humanity, and prevent it from attaining its true potential.

Nuna by Tedankhamen Bonnah
Welcome to Nuna (The Land), a world where ice entombs the old cities of men and mystical beasts stalk the tundra. Here, Inuit and Settlers (Vikings, Whalers, & Scientists) co-operate to survive, uncover the lost treasures of the frozen world, and bring them back to build their communities. Created by a NunatuKavut (Labrador Inuit) and professor of Global Society Studies, this game straddles both the indigenous and modern worlds in which the author grew up.

Vote here!

All BRP Design Challenge entrants retain ownership of their work in its entirety. Chaosium does not require the signing over of rights of any kind in order to enter the BRP Design Challenge.

Winners and shortlisted entries will also retain ownership and—regardless of what winnings may be received as part of this competition—may still publish their games royalty-free under the ORC license.

Chaosium thanks the 195 TTRPG creators who submitted to the BRP Design Challenge: be proud—you created something, and you put it out there!

Check out the Chaosium primer for designing games with BRP!