Lofi Bards (To Study and Relax To): A Magical, Musical TTRPG
A downloadable game
You and your friends are students at a magical high-school, college or university and exams are coming up! Go on magical adventures, reveal ancient secrets and forge deep bonds with your friends - just make sure you don’t miss class!
To help you on your journey, you’re equipped with one of your most prized possessions - the Notestrider. When a reel of magical tape is placed in this small, arcane box, it plays a recording of whatever is stored on the tape; usually through a strange pair of mechanical earmuffs. You and your tight-knit group of friends all put together a mixtape of your favourite songs for studying - 'lofi bards to study and relax to' - and the relaxing beats and chilled out vibes might just be enough to see you through the crazy world of arcane education!
- 100+ Pages of Content!
- Rules for Study and Adventure: Manage your Stress Level, Chill Out with lofi beats to unwind after an adventure, and Pull an All-Nighter to get an edge on the next day's challenges - just be careful not to Freak Out!
- Rules for Nostalgia and Emotion: Write down your Treasured Memories and trigger Nostalgia when your character reminisces on them, gain different benefits based on whether your memories evoke a sense of Passion, Joy or Melancholy, and Dig Deeper to forge emotional bonds with NPCs and Players alike!
- Rules for Skills and Spellcasting: Choose your Disciplines (Athletics, Finesse, Nature, Lore and Performance) to determine your skills, and choose your Arcane Arts (Alteration, Focus, Force and Manipulation) to determine how your character uses magic - with magical abilities changing the associated Arcane Art you add to them based on how you want your character to use them!
Also featuring:
- 25+ Playable Heritages: Character origins encompassing everything from Elves and Orcs to Automatons and Undead!
- 60+ Knacks: Magical and Mundane abilities that let you cast magic or showcase your martial prowess!
- 40 Adventure Hooks: Plot threads a GM can weave into their game to kickstart a quest!
- 95 Miscellaneous Artifacts: Magic wands, phoenix-down pillows, restless quills, hyperconcentration hourglasses and mugs that summon all manner of coffees and cocoas!
- 35+ Magical Cassettes: Arcane Tapes that release their magical energy when playing music!
- 15+ Notestrider Upgrades: Magical augmentations that give your fantasy cassette player new capabilities!
- First Time Tabletop Players: If you've never played a TTRPG before (even D&D), this is the perfect starting place! The rules are light, simple and easy to learn, and reward creativity, ingenuity and experimentation.
- Cozy Gaming: 'Lofi Bards' is a relaxed, emotionally driven game about young adventurers finding their place in the world. If you love RPGs for roleplaying and wonder, but could do without the heavy, tactical combat, this is the game for you!
- Exploring Player Characters and NPCs in unparalleled depth: Each Character is designed with hopes, dreams, fears, anxieties and hidden depths to be explored throughout your games. It is a perfect space for your characters to explore their relationships and identities as they grow up.
- Getting Emotional: 'Lofi Bards' is all about nostalgia, emotion, friendship and growth. If you're in your feelings while playing, don't worry - you're doing it right!
POST-RELEASE UPDATES AND EXPANSIONS:
'Lofi Bards' is getting updates post-launch, adding in new Artifacts, Knacks and more! All of these expansions will be found here!
OFFICIAL LOFI BARDS SOUNDTRACK EP:
You can download the official 'Lofi Bards' soundtrack here! There are two tracks released so far, with more on the way, and they will all be "pay what you want", meaning they are free to download if you wish!
DRIVETHRURPG:
'Lofi Bards' is also available for purchase on DrivethruRPG!
Purchase
In order to download this game you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $8.99 USD. You will get access to the following files:
Download demo
Development log
- 'Lofi Bards': Limited Edition Physical Copies for sale!May 30, 2023
- 'Lofi Bards': Print Friendly Easy Read Edition Now AvailableOct 20, 2022
- 'Lofi Bards': Accessibility and Easy Read EditionOct 05, 2022
- 'Lofi Bards': Character Sheet DownloadOct 04, 2022
Comments
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Hi from Japan! I really like this amazing work and eager to play with my Japanese TTRPG friends. So, do you mind if I upload some information about this system in Japanese on my Discord server? This will help us a lot to enjoy this game.
I don't mind at all! I hope you all have an amazing time playing!
Thank you for your replying !
How would you suggest running a oneshot or adventure of Lofi Bards? The game seems very focused on more long-term relationships with each other and NPCs, which are hard for a short game, especially a pop-up game.
Hey Calliope, great question!
So first off, the Nostalgia mechanics are obviously pretty long term from initial Treasured Memory to triggering Nostalgia. At the start of your game, you could ask your players to list three Treasured Memories that their PCs already have, so that they can potentially trigger them during your game. If you're running a certain subject matter in your game that you'd like your PCs to have different opinions on, let them know that they can factor these into their Characters and their Memories.
As GM, you could also build your game's "quest" around helping an NPC or coming to a better understanding of another Character. Maybe it's not so simple as competing in an inter-school competition, but inspiring a reluctant classmate to overcome their nerves and give it their all! Maybe a couple friends are going through a tough time and your PCs have been tasked with helping them ace their test. Or maybe, if it's a more traditional adventure, the obstacles the PCs face are based on their hopes, dreams and anxieties, giving them a lot of opportunities to roleplay and discuss their feelings with their teammates. For a one-shot, you should probably only focus on one or two NPCs so that the party can forge a deep bond with them, or keep the exploration within the group of PCs themselves.
Lastly, you could pick a "quest" that has a time limit. A big test, sports match, musical performance or similar event has an in-universe start and end point. This gives the one-shot a nice structure because the players can start by learning about it, spend time preparing, then finally go all-out for the main event. When their in-universe time is up, the one-shot's over!
I hope these notes help! :)
That helps immensely! Thank you very much. I'm hoping to run one or two sessions over my winter break and this is going to help a ton. I can't wait to see how they like the system. :)
I hope you and your group have a great time playing! Thanks so much, and I'm always happy to help :)
I'm actually in the process of making an interactive character sheet as some web development practice! I can't wait to share it when it's done!
That's amazing! Be sure to send me a message when it is, I would love to see it! :)
Can this game be played by just one person? Or are multiple players needed?
Hi Carca, this is a GM and Player TTRPG - meaning two people are required to play the game!
I really liked the illustrations, colors and general design. I'm eager to try it out! Thanks :)
Hey, I'm so happy your game is finally finished and out <3
Is there any chance you could offer a Version with a easier to read font for the copytexts?
I'm so excited to dive deep into a cozy bardic experience.
Hi Lydos, I've considered this already actually! I think I'm going to put together an Accessibility Document so that anyone who may have issues reading the document as is can still enjoy the game to the fullest :)
I support this idea! It'd be super helpful for me too.
This would be so seriously appreciated. Love the art and everything, but that font...
I was about to ask about this as well, I'm not a native English speaker and this is really hard for me.