I know ripper93 (who makes awesome Foundry modules) has recently made a free online tool for converting images to webp. It’s original intent is probably so people can use it for Foundry, because Foundry and webp are great together, but it might be a nice option to direct people to that for file conversion: https://webp.theripper93.com/

You can use Ripper’s script here to check your modules.

Have you tried Fabula Ultima? It’s based on JRPGs, and it’s built on having multiple classes. In fact, you start with levels in 2-3 classes! The combat is also quite easy. It all feels very video game-y but it’s quite easy to understand, and the inventory system is also lovely. (Instead of having items, you have inventory points, and when you need a potion or something, you just detract the needed amount of inventory points. Really good for the part of me that always hoards consumables because “I might need it more later.”)

There’s a quickstart available that runs you through it very well! It even has numbers on the pregens’ character sheets that are like. Don’t look at this part yet; that’ll become relevant in part 3. I suppose that’s also based on good tutorial design in video games; things are explained in gameplay instead of rule-dumped at the start.

I don’t have any recommendation for you (other than maybe Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition which takes D&D 5E and adds more customisation), but that sounds a lot of fun and I need to check it out!

• Fabula Ultima
• Call of Cthulhu/Delta Green
• Vampire: The Masquerade
• D&D 5E (I want to say Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition because it solves the problems I have with D&D 5E but I haven’t had the chance to play it yet because I first need to finish my current campaigns)

(Please no PbtA or Burning Wheel stuff. I’ve tried it but it’s very much not my thing.)

For names, I tend to use Behind the Name’s random name generator.

I don’t use ChatGPT and don’t plan to. For me, part of the fun of running games is being creative and doing the work of coming up with stuff myself. I don’t have as much of an issue with ChatGPT as with machine generated images, so that’s not why I avoid it. I just think the creative work is part of the experience, and us humans can also do that far better than a computer program. ChatGPT can’t easily draw on campaign-specific themes and symbolism, can’t foreshadow the greater mysteries going on. I mean, it likely can if specifically prompted to, but then you’re still doing most of the work myself.

And if I want to randomly generate something… Well, we’re all into TTRPG’s; that’s what dice are for. (Or tarot decks. I have too many of those. They’re just so pretty and I keep hoarding them.)

Are percentage-based skills hard to understand? I’ve played a bunch of BRP stuff (Call of Cthulhu/Delta Green), so it’s basically second nature to me.

Though maybe it’s because you’re mixing d100 and d20 at that point…