Named Summary

Named is a tabletop roleplaying toolkit we use with a variety of genres and tones to play emergent characters in immersive worlds. It delivers on a 1990s fever dream that these characters are ready to play:

• Lugos the Betrayer, Hunter, Precise Shot and Lightfoot; and
  
• Helga the Blade, Farmer, Widow and Trollslayer.

Named is not strictly Powered by the Apocalypse (PbtA) or Free Kriegsspiel Roleplaying, but it takes cues from both. It plays like a PbtA conversation but with world focussed moderation instead of moves, collaborative reflections for character growth, and opportunities for Fiasco-like chaos as important details of characters emerge during play.

Sharing this summary so others can borrow ideas for their own games and suggestions on how to do this. This includes letting characters emerge slowly by using mechanics to draw out intense emotions and relationships, using group reflections at the end of sessions to collaboratively advance characters, and dark secrets to build a backstory while we play. But also just the idea of making and evolving your own toolkit for playing the way you want as a group.

We’ve used Named to play a wide range of genres and tones, including standard fantasy, weird west, straight western, dark ages, Viking, pastoral anime, Cthuhlu horror, Appalachian cryptids, gangsters, supers, cyberpunk, hard sci-fi, 40k, self-destructive rock bands, steampunk skypirates on a gas giant, knights searching a strange library, etc. Some of these sessions are on the Play Worlds and  World of Brine podcasts.

Given there has been some interest in this 14 page summary, There is a detailed version of the toolkit available. You definitely don’t need this, as all the things worth stealing are in this, but if you want to delve deeper into how we do things it’s there,.

Cover image is ‘The Extortionist’ by Milo.

The original 29 July 2023 version has been replaced by an updated 6 October 2023 version with the following changes:

• Non-rolling options and complications combined into Devil’s Bargains;
• More details on using Dark Secrets; and
• Minor clarifications and new dice icons.