We tried fixing DnD combat at our table, just small tweaks at first, nothing too serious. But one change led to another, and before we knew it, we weren’t just homebrewing anymore, we were building something entirely our own. This is the story of how that spiral turned into our TTRPG, Crowns and Covens.
How Our TTRPG Journey Started
In January 2025, my friends and I began our Tabletop RPG journey, somehow this led us to creating a tabletop RPG after just a few months.
During a work trip, I met a videographer from the Netherlands and while filming cool cars in the mountains, we talked about dozens of topics, one of which was how both of us had weekly friend group meetings playing board games. He told me they loved playing DnD and that I should give it a shot, as the storytelling aspect makes you a better writer.
The next weekend, I told my friends about it. One of us had already played a few rounds of The Dark Eye (Das Schwarze Auge), the largest RPG from Germany, and wanted to GM for us. The others, including me, had zero experience with TTRPGs.
Getting Into Tabletop Roleplaying Games, From The Dark Eye to DnD 5e
After our group started with very strong characters in mind, and none of them could really be represented in The Dark Eye, we quickly switched to DnD 5e 2024, now 5.5e, as the high fantasy setting fit our ideas better.
We enjoyed the first few sessions and everything felt new. We got into the mechanics, I started watching Critical Role and Natural Six, and we fell in love with our weekly sessions. Cooking together, talking about life and exploring the world of our game master, while slaying some goblins along the way.
But after a short while, we started to encounter “problems” with the mechanics.
I wanted my Beast Master to have a lifelong partner, not something I summon anew. So homebrewing started to take place.
- The beast got its own action economy and “spells”
- Our Paladin, Oath of the Forge, started to get his own crafting mechanics
- We bought a Dungeons and Dragons 5.5e tool add-on book from Dumpstat Adventures
The mechanics started to grow. We soon fell out of love with spell slots and the DnD action economy, as they felt more like a hindrance to dynamic and epic combat. During roleplay we iterated on our ideas, played together, and every character felt unique. In combat, it felt like everyone was playing their own game, instead of a group narrative where everyone built on what happened before their turn, and we do cool combos together.
At first, I started tinkering with my own mechanics to replace them.
We changed the action economy to 3 Actions, movement and bonus actions became an action as well, giving you more choice. We replaced spell slots with a mana-like system, which quickly went downhill due to balance issues, then moved into a stamina-based system, which would add stress to your body with stronger spells. This is still something I want to explore in the future, as I think it has a lot of potential. And after months of adding bandaids onto DnD 5.5e, we finally settled on a class-specific resource, which was a lot more work to develop and balance, but quickly showed its magic in-game.
The Archetype Resource was born, as well as the first step towards thinking, why not make our own system from scratch?
DnD Spell Slots vs Archetype Resource, Pros, Cons and Design Problems
I learned to appreciate spell slots later in development, since they make balancing a breeze: you don’t have to compare level 1 and level 3 spells directly, as you can’t trade them in like you could with something like 1 mana vs 3 mana. The only thing to balance is level 3 vs level 3 spells, level 4 vs level 4 spells, and so on, but I still don’t like how they limit creativity in combat, roleplay, and exploration.
I have a deep fear of spending resources in games, as I might need them later. Spell slots feel exactly like this. You either power through them in the first turns of combat to make cool things happen, but then can’t do much in later encounters, or you revert to cantrips or base attacks, which don’t feel exciting and end the day with way to many spell slots unused. While I get that some people like that way of rationing a resource, it just didn‘t feel right for the type of system I wanted to build.
Also, the DnD system feels like it’s not really designed for players to interact in combat. I’ll explain why that feels this way and how to improve it later in this article. But let‘s first get to the bottom of spell resources, as you need some kind of way to limit power output.
Archetype Resource, A Class-Based Resource System
Archetype Resource is a resource unique to every class, which replenishes in different mechanical ways.
- A Zen Master, similar to a Monk, balances Yin and Yang
- A Sorcerer stains the local mana, unlocking stronger effects the longer the battle goes
- A Berserker stacks Temper, unlocking stronger abilities, while risking self-harm as they lose control
Creating a unique resource for each Archetype was the biggest step towards our own TTRPG system, Crowns and Covens.
The Archetype Resource makes combat much more dynamic. You have slower rounds where you maximise resource gain, and other rounds where you go all-in and spend everything.
No matter how long combat lasts, or how many encounters you face in a day, you never run out of ways to do cool things — either in combat or in other scenes.
In a recent video by Peter, the creator of Tales From Elsewhere, he mentioned something really important: The only way someone can make a decision, is by making an informed decision.
If you’re asked, “Do you want to go with path A or path B?”, you can’t really make a decision, you can only take a guess. But if you’re asked, “Do you want to take path A across a dangerous mountain pass and arrive three days sooner, or take the safer but longer route through the forest, path B?”, now you’re actually able to make an informed decision.
The same applies to game design.
If one ability hits AoE and another deals single-target damage, you’re often not making a decision, you’re picking the obvious option, which isn’t really a decision at all.
And if you’re spending spell slots in combat without knowing how much you’ll need for the rest of the day, you’re not making a decision, you’re guessing.
So we need to create a system where each ability feels unique, and where you’re actually forced to make meaningful choices, which in turn leads to tactical thinking and, over time, real mastery of the system.
The Archetype Resource creates those real decisions.
- Do you burst down a priority target?
- Save resources for defence?
- Shape the battlefield for your team?
- Preparing a stronger ability that needs a few turns?
So with the resource system in place, I started creating the first classes and subclasses, called Archetypes and Paths. Each with their very own Archetype Resource as their ability engine and unique ways to gather and spend said resource.
Archetypes and Classes in Crowns and Covens
Now that every Archetype has its own resource, the next step was clear, unique mechanics for each Path instead of broad spell lists.
The Verdant, our nature mage class, has two Paths at the time of writing.
- Bloomwarden
- Blightbringer
Both use Growth as their Archetype Resource, but in very different ways.
The Bloomwarden applies Seeds to the environment, which grow into “Undergrowth” and can be transformed into healing zones, crowd control, damage, amongst many other things. Great for controlling the environment to enable teammates.
The Blightbringer applies Spores to enemies, which grow inside their bodies, dealing scaling damage and giving control over them after death. Think Resident Evil 7. Great for encounters with multiple enemies.
Each Path supports multiple playstyles, but the goal is clear, every Archetype and Path should feel meaningfully different, in combat, roleplay and exploration.
Examples:
- Berserker kicks in the door
- Verdant grows a plant to open it from the inside
- Silent, our Rogue, picks the lock without leaving a trace
- Sorcerer shatters it using expanding ice
Every Archetype has ways to deal with most problems, while some are still better at specific problems: The Silent is your best bet at opening the door without someone noticing.
Resolution Mechanic, Dice System Design Explained
We tested a lot of different systems and settled on a modified version of the Daggerheart Duality Dice.
Full breakdown in this article, but here’s the TLDR.
You roll dice, add your stats, and compare them to a difficulty or enemy defence. Instead of a single d20, you roll two d12, one light and one dark. To match the title Crowns and Covens, I went with Glory for the good, and Gloom for the bad die. The rule is simple: You wan‘t Glory to be higher than Gloom, and the sum to be as large as possible.
Outcomes
- Doubles on both dice, Critical Success — As you pick the lock without leaving a trace, you hear shouts from the nearby marketplace and see guards rushing there. You’re free to search the house unnoticed for the next half hour.
- Glory > Gloom and total > Difficulty, Success — You pick the lock without leaving a trace.
- Glory > Gloom and total < Difficulty, Failure with opportunity — As you try to pick the lock, your tools break. While checking if anyone noticed you, you spot a half-open window on the first floor.
- Glory < Gloom and total > Difficulty, Success with drawback — You pick the lock, but as it gives way, you leave a scratch. Sooner or later, someone will notice.
- Glory < Gloom and total < Difficulty, Critical Failure — As you try to pick the lock, you hear a voice behind you, “What are you doing with my door?”
This creates more varied outcomes that push the story forward, instead of a does work or doesn‘t work situation.
Mastery System
On top of your roll, you add Attributes and a Mastery Die.
Mastery improves through off-time activities. For example, crafting a carriage upgrades your Die in the Crafting Mastery from 1d4 to 1d6.
- Attributes represent reliability in a niche: You are strong and every roll that needs strength shows it with a flat +3
- Mastery represents experience in a broad area with varied results: you know Crafting, which might help you when haggling prices, disarming traps, or repairing a weapon, but the outcome varies as you add a die instead of a flat number.
Example:
4 (Glory) + 8 (Gloom) + 3 (Attribute) + 3 (1d6 Mastery) vs Difficulty 17
→ Success, but with a complication
Designing Group-Based Combat in TTRPGs
Coming back to the combat problem I hinted at earlier, in roleplay every decision builds on the ones before it. Your charismatic mate gets you into the ballroom, the smith starts small talk about forging, which leads you, the farmer, into a conversation about high-quality hatchets. Everything that happens shapes your next decision.
Combat should feel exactly like that, not like isolated turns.
So how did we try to make combat feel like a group fight instead of a series of solo actions, and did it actually work?
To answer that, let me tell you about a recent fight in our campaign.
Combat Example using the new Archetypes and Archetype Resource
Three players, a Bloomwarden Verdant, an Elementalist Sorcerer, and a Way of the Beast Berserker, faced two humanoid creatures that used illusion magic to shapeshift into loved ones. If a player failed their saving roll, they were briefly charmed and couldn’t attack them. Meanwhile, the creatures attacked with claws and poisonous squid-maw-like bites.
The fight took place in a half-ruined, two-story building.
The Verdant opened by using a Signature, our version of spells, to pull one of the creatures and the Berserker into another room with a vine, then sealed the doorway with a thorny briar wall. This created a controlled 1v1, preventing the Sorcerer and Verdant from interfering if they were charmed, while also enabling the Berserker to “cheat” the saving roll through his rage mechanics, stacking through taken damage — said briar wall.
Since the enemies relied on sound for their illusion magic, the Elementalist Sorcerer had a plan, an explosion that would deafen everything in a large radius. But to cast it, he first had to stain the local mana with fire, wind, and lightning, meaning he needed three rounds to set it up.
The Verdant’s role was clear, crowd control and protection for three rounds. He focused on keeping the enemy away from the Sorcerer, using forced movement, roots, and control effects to effectively lock the creature down while the Sorcerer prepared his combo.
The Sorcerer started by igniting the enemy, then used a wind Signature to spread the fire across the Verdant’s plants in the next turn. The wildfire caused the wooden ceiling to collapse, opening the roof so he could set off a lightning strike.
All three stains collected, the combo was complete. The Sorcerer unleashed his elemental explosion, deafening everything in range. This completely shut down the enemy’s illusion mechanic and secured the fight for the next rounds until the creature fell.
When they regrouped, they found the Berserker finishing off his opponent — once in rage, he gives in to his bloodlust no matter what, so he could ignore the illusions. The fight was over.
What made this moment work wasn’t just creativity or roleplay, tho I love my players for that, it was the mechanics supporting it. Each Archetype had clear loops and combos, and more importantly, they interacted with each other.
Fire spread through the Verdant’s plants. A negative effect like deafened became an advantage. Players even accepted self-damage to counter enemy mechanics.
This was the first fight in the new system, and their first time using these abilities. I had ported their characters between sessions, giving them almost no time to prepare.
That’s when I realised something important. The mechanics weren’t too as I had feared. They were just right.
So I shifted focus towards building out progression, level-ups, and more Signatures to expand on those interactions.
In the end, we did two key things to make combat feel like a group experience:
1. Clear Strengths and Weaknesses
Every Archetype has clear strengths and weaknesses that both the player and the group have to play around. If the Elementalist Sorcerer hadn’t had his “frontline” in the fight, the Verdant keeping the enemy engaged, he would have gone down in two or three hits due to his low max health.
This forced both players to think carefully about positioning, using the environment, and combining their abilities to keep him safe, especially after removing their “real frontline” from the fight, the Berserker.
It was a risk worth taking in that moment, because they had the Bloomwarden Verdant, who excels at crowd control.
2. Mechanical Interactions Between Players
Many abilities interact with each other, status effects, and the environment.
Examples:
- Based on the weather and environment certain Archetypes and Paths shine or lose strength. Like a Hunter who strikes from afar, vs a Silent who tried to hide within the same thick fog. Or a Stormborn Sorcerer gaining strength from a storm, while the Emberheart Sorcerer has to fight against the rain dousing his flames.
- The Verdant could knock an enemy prone with a vine, unlocking a „Prone Finisher“ for the Berserker, so the Berserker can use his Actions for other stuff
- The Berserker might throw a torch into the enemies, so the Sorcerer can skip the fire signature and just propagate the fire across enemies with a wind spell
Martial vs Caster, Rethinking Roles in TTRPG Design
The next thing that felt wrong to me was the Martial vs Caster divide in DnD 5.5e. Why do casters in a high fantasy world get access to all these powerful and creative spells, while most martials end up just hitting things more often each turn?
Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End handles this differently. It makes martials and mages feel distinct, but equally powerful in their own ways. The line between them starts to fade, leaving characters defined by the type of magic they specialise in and how they use it over time.
This opens up much more interesting possibilities. You can have an Assassin who focuses on illusion magic, poison magic, or simply excels with daggers. You’re no longer forcing an archetype into a rigid theme.
A Sorcerer, for example, could unleash raw elements, fight with blades formed from mana, or specialise in illusion. What connects these Paths isn’t the theme, but the Archetype itself, a fragile but high-impact caster who builds up power and releases it in devastating bursts.
That means you can have a risky melee Sorcerer who uses mobility spells to avoid damage and unleashes explosive magic at close range. On the other hand, you could have a Fighter who channels so much mana into a single strike that it leaves a massive scar in the environment.
So we leaned into that idea. We don’t really separate Martials and Casters anymore.
Instead, each Archetype represents a mechanical baseline, while Paths define the theme and playstyle.
The Sorcerer, for example, has low health but a high damage ceiling, driven by its Stains. From there, Paths shape how that power is expressed.
The Elementalist Sorcerer uses elemental stains, inspired by Expedition 33, to create powerful combos. The Shadow Sorcerer literally darkens the battlefield with each ability, growing stronger the longer the fight goes on.
Or take the Verdant, a medium-health nature caster. The Blightbringer Path embraces decay, while the Bloomwarden represents growth, two sides of nature, both rooted in the same Archetype.
This removes restrictions and allows for more creative builds.
What’s Next in the Crowns and Covens TTRPG Development?
And that’s where we are right now:
- Archetypes and Paths are shaping up well as our class and subclass system
- We currently have four Archetypes in active playtesting: the Elementalist Sorcerer, the Bloomwarden Verdant, the Way of the Beast Berserker, and the Friar Cleric
- The combat system works
- The roleplay system works
We’re running weekly sessions at our table, testing balance and iterating constantly.
For the next two weeks, I’ll be focusing on:
- Creating a survival-focused exploration system that makes the world feel alive and encourages curiosity to, well, explore, without turning resource tracking into an accounting job. I also have to keep the poor GMs in mind, that have to „create“ things for their players to explore. If you have any ideas how to execute on this, let me know in the comments!
- Creating an offtime system that lets players roleplay through the slower moments of a campaign, deciphering a spell from a grimoire at the campfire, building an information network in a large city, or learning a new martial technique from a mentor at a mountain temple. Heck, maybe even opening your own café franchise for passive income. This system will then interact with the Masteries I mentioned earlier.
I’ll keep sharing updates every few weeks to stay accountable and share the process.
If you want to follow the journey:
- Bookmark and share the site with your friends
- Follow the YouTube channel for my GM learnings and crafting guides
- Sign up as a playtester through this link.
- And leave your thoughts in the comments, I‘m just sharing my journey as I build and am eager to learn!
Thank you for taking the time.
Cheers,
Jonas
