The design of a new theme for your homebrew or a brand new tabletop game is a big task, one that can seem simple enough until you start getting into the thick of it. Whether you are designing on paper, in the Homebrewery, or in dedicated publishing software such as Affinity or Adobe suites you will likely find that taking time to make a plan will help.* Hopefully with the questions below you can develop the outline you need to stay on course whether that is to a finished book or just a small re-usable item template (though this post was originally conceived and written with books in mind).
Full disclosure: I’ve never written a book in my life, probably never will. Take some salt with ya for this post.
Initial Questions
Before diving into the Markdown/HTML/CSS, and before scouring the internet for fonts, and before even assembling a color palette, there are some questions that you ought to have at least considered:
- Is this more of an Art Book, or an extremely efficient manual of rules?
- How many pages do you expect to finish with? How much content needs to be on an average page? Is this a multi-book or single book project?
- What is the mood and attitude that you hope to project from the book?
- What is the final medium you want to design for: commercially print and bound book? Home printing? Online viewing? All three or something else entirely?
- Is this for sale?
- How much time do you have?
These questions will help you establish a scope for your project, and may also help you consider whether the Homebrewery is the best tool for your project at all.
Layout
The next set of questions are related to how you are going to present your information. The “classic” setup is typically a US Letter size page with an inch or so of margin around the edges, with the content flowing across two columns page to page and a page number somewhere down at the bottom. This works well because the columns limit the number of characters in a single line to about ~70, keeps the page from feeling too dense, and gives some spare space for larger images. But does it work for you? Consider:
- What page size are you targeting?
- Does the layout alternate based on even- or odd-numbered pages (page numbers in opposite corners, etc)?
- How many columns of text on each page?
- How much space is dedicated to your text content and how much for empty/art space on each page? Is the space between the content and edges of the page the same on each side, or is the text generally closer to one side or corner (perhaps a running story timeline runs along the page bottoms?)?
- What is the same on every page, and what are the exceptions? For example a page number on every page, except where a new chapter starts or pages that have full size images.
Text
Unless you decided to go with the extreme end of the Art Book to Rules Manual spectrum and make a book entirely of images, you should consider how your text is going to remain clear, organized, and interesting throughout your book. As they say, “Content is king” and as such it should be presented as such. Do your headings stand out enough that readers can quickly spot it on the page when flipping through looking for that one specific section? Do you need a special text box that sits on the edge of the page to give scene-setting “flair”? Are your fonts readable yet memorable?
- How will your fonts contribute to your theme while retaining clear hierarchy and being easy to read? How do you distinguish 1st Headers, 2nd Headers, Table Headers, etc?
- Are GM notes distinct from the main text? Do monsters get special formatting or a graphic frame with their stats? Are they shown in the column, or do they break out of the normal flow of text?
- Will you want text to flow around the contours of images, and how complex are those image contours?
Color
Many TTRPG books rely on lots of images and color to dazzle potential readers, and it works (clearly). There is a lot to be said for buying these types of books just to have that sweet art on your bookshelf, and certainly the color palette can set the mood. Be sure to look at other media in your genre and try to distill those images down to their basic hues, and pay attention to things that stand out or subvert your expectations.
- Warm or cool hues—which best sets the mood you are going for? Or is it a combination? Does it need color at all?
- What if someone wants to (or has to) print it in grayscale from their home printer? Is there enough contrast between page elements to be discernible in grayscale? If there is a background color for the entire page, is it going to suck the ink cartridge dry by the second page?
- What is the primary color and what is it used for? Chapter titles? The page background?
Images
Images and color go hand in hand, though the topic images is a bit more specific I think. As you think about the questions below just keep in mind that you don’t necessarily need any images. In fact, there are lots of good books (and many more not-so-good books) that have no pictures at all. Probably more than 100, even. They work because their writing works. Images should supplement your text, not replace it because they won’t save bad writing.
- Are you commissioning or using your own art? Or pulling from existing art? How will you manage the organization and display of artist credits over the life of your project? If working with an artist, how will you convey your request such that they will understand it?
- What kind of page graphics do you need? Background textures? Text or table frames? Page number or footer graphics? Cover art? Horizontal rules?
- How does the art medium (or digital approximation of medium) relate to your theme?
Getting Started
Whew, that is a lot to consider before even really putting pen to paper, but the idea is to get yourself organized with reasonable expectations before sinking a lot of time in something that is going to be a long process. More time planning at the outset is going to make the development process a lot smoother, allow you to work better in a team, and follow through to the end with a cohesive project.
It’s likely not reasonable to expect all of these questions to be answered when you start, nor is it a bad thing if the answers change. It would be surprising if they didn’t. I would also anticipate that things may not work out the first, second, or third time. You may not crack the nut on the first attempt to write a book, but it is likely you have learned lessons that can be carried into the next. At least that is my experience with it, and this is a blog so I can say whatever I want.
….I would be interested in hearing what others say about planning a TTRPG book, though. Let me know in the comments if you have items to add, or if I’ve blown certain items out of proportion.
*Or maybe planning doesn’t help—I’m just some guy on the internet, what do I know?