A Format

The first thing you need to consider when creating any type of game is the format you want to use. Whether it’s a bifold pamphlet like Breathless, a 20-page zine, or a full-fledged book, the way you write your text, lore, and mechanics will differ greatly.

In formats like bifold or trifold games, every word has to be useful and every sentence must be condensed. Due to space limitations, you may need to rephrase things often to make them fit on the page. Using a small format also means you won’t be able to include as many details as you might like, such as world lore, a bestiary, or NPC backgrounds. Space is a luxury you can’t often afford in small formats. Creating condensed games requires significant effort, but it can be a rewarding challenge.

If you decide to go with a larger format like a zine or a book, you will need to ask yourself, “how much information is too much?” Breathless games oftentimes leave things open-ended for players to discover and provide means to generate dynamic stories through rolling tables and oracles. If you add too many details about the world, what is left to be explored? Try to strike the right balance between necessary information to understand the world and what is superfluous to actually enjoy being a part of it.

A World

Breathless was designed to emulate stories like those in the video game series The Last Of Us, where characters live in a harsh world full of challenges. By relying on their skills and gear, they will be able to accomplish what they need to and survive yet another day.

When creating your world, think about what it looks like, what kind of people and creatures inhabit it, and what its current or impending issues are. This will help inform the kind of challenges the players may face in the game. Is the world broken, or is there something that is looking to cause harm? Consider the latest events in the story and describe them early in the game to give a sense of history and context.

A Goal

In Breathless, the characters have a clear goal: survive one more day. This goal was perfect for such a short game, but for bigger games you need something bigger and more complex to drive the show.

When creating your story, think about the goal the main characters of the story have. Are the characters lone explorers, or are they a part of the solution to solving problems in the world? Are they looking for something, or are they on the run? Think about the different factions in your world, and how they relate with the characters to tie everything together.

Your Check

One of the core aspects of Breathless is that using a skill or item always steps down its die. The reason behind this is not to reduce the chances of success, per se… The dice are swingy anyway. Even with a d4, you still have a 50% chance of success. The goal is to slowly encourage players to catch their breath. This creates the pacing and encourages an exchange between the players and the GM. It’s more like a countdown that switches the narrative control from one side of the table to the other. Players play and interact with the story, and when one of them catches their breath, the GM gets to introduce something new, dramatic, and interesting to the story.

For your game, you may want to consider how skills or items reset or step down to affect the pace of the game. Would you like dice to always step down like in Breathless, or perhaps to only step down on failures? Are there other ways to reset the ratings of a skill or item? Are there other systems that use “die steps” as a currency to activate abilities?

Your “Catch Your Breath”

The core loop of the game centers around characters becoming breathless from overcoming obstacles, catching their breath, and getting back into the action. This tension and release cycle is one of the coolest things about Breathless games. This kind of loop works fantastically for any kind of risk-taking adventures.

For your game, consider when and how characters should “catch their breath”. Can they do it all the time, or do they need to rest or be in a specific location? Think about the cost of the characters catching their breath, as every mechanic should try to move the story forward.

Your Loot

Loot checks provide players an opportunity to acquire items that can make their lives easier and reduce the rate at which they get tired. However, looting always carries some risk. The reason for this risk is to prompt players to ask themselves if adding more tension to the current scene is worth the possibility of finding an item at this moment.

For your game, what does the result distribution of looting look like? What are the odds of getting a great item versus risking your life while searching? Are you using a d20 for looting, or is looting a skill that steps down like the others?

Your Skills and Kits

Skills are how characters interact with the world when things are risky. They tie the mechanical part of the game with the fiction. To make this game your own, you should customize the skill list to fit the aesthetic of your setting. A good way to approach this is to think about the actions characters would do often and assign them a verb or name.

For your game, what actions would characters do the most? Are the initial skill ratings picked by the player during character creation or rolled randomly? Or, perhaps they are part of a character kit which assigns skill ratings and other details or items based on a specific archetype?

Your Stunts

The default Stunt mechanic is a tool players can use to look “awesome” once per “catch your breath”. Use this to mimic characters using cool powers or doing something extremely lucky.

Your Stress

Stress is the default health pacing mechanism of the game. If you want characters to feel stronger or weaker, adjust how big is the stress track, what happens when a PC fills it, and how they can recover. Be as generous or harsh as you see fit.

Your Rolling Tables

Consider adding rolling tables for the things you consider important in your game. Since this game’s format is short, rolling tables help in two-way. First, they help put a bigger focus on what is significant in your world. Second, they help facilitate sessions for when the players are in doubt about where the story should go next. Plus, it does all this in a very word efficient way. You could include tables for things like items, locations, allies, enemies, complications, missions, etc.