The 2dX Design Pillars: A TTRPG Engine that Delivers Customization, Danger, and Flexibility
Setting design pillars help guide you in the arduous process of building an RPG system.
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
In this post, I cover why I have developed a whole new TTRPG system and some of the design pillars that are the guideposts for the 2dX Engine.
Why build a whole new system?
Short answer: I wanted to make the game that I could not find on the shelf.
After three decades across hundreds of systems, I kept coming back to the same ideas. The 2dX Engine is me using those elements to create the game I could not find.
This distilled into a few key goals that I wanted to ensure were present in the 2dX Engine:
True character customization both at creation and during advancement.
Character creation that focuses on customization but doesn’t have to take hours and hours.
Mechanics that scale power cleanly from novice to demigod.
Distinct forms of magic that play and feel different.
Combat with teeth. Not just losing hit points, but risk, tactics, and wounds that really matter.
A universal engine that can be tuned for multiple genres and play styles.
Base mechanics that were similar enough to traditional TTRPGs but had their own innovations.
A strong element of the PC’s Destiny and Doom. Ensuring that the PCs were the protagonists of the story with a lot of agency. Meanwhile, giving the GM the tools necessary to challenge those PCs and to work with the players to create a compelling story.
Those goals shaped the 2dX Engine and the design pillars below. These are the guardrails that help guide every rule, exception, and edge case I evaluate.
What are design pillars and why do they matter?
Design pillars are the core principles that define the project. They keep the vision tight, the rules consistent, and the experience cohesive. When a mechanical design decision pops up, the pillars help decide which way to go. If something is out of alignment with a pillar, it does not make the cut and/or needs to be reevaluated.
Pillar 1: Focus on character customization during creation and advancement
The problem I wanted to solve
Many popular systems limit how you can shape a character at level one, then funnel advancement down narrow tracks. That leads to sameness and early boredom, especially for veteran TTRPG players.
How 2dX tackles it
Point buy character creation sits at the center, but it is tuned for approachability. You build with clear, guided chunks so choices feel impactful but not overwhelming.
Ancestry sets your species and lineage, providing baseline attributes and traits.
Background explains who you were and what you picked up along the way.
Archetype optionally speeds up character creation and defines how you approach conflict and challenges, providing a framework that matches common tropes: Warrior, Wizard, Scout, etc. This is entirely optional; if you prefer to purchase each advantage separately to create a more bespoke character, you can do so as well.
Kits bundle advantages into common builds and tropes so you can get moving fast. So if you want to play a wizard who is also an archer, you can pick up the archer kit and receive key advantages that get you started as a trained archer.
Point Buy fuels everything. If it is on your sheet, it has a point value and a reason to exist.
The result is a character that matches the concept in your head, keeps opening new doors as you advance, and takes around an hour to create instead of twelve.
The 2dX Engine's Destiny and Doom dice play a vital role for the mechanics as well as the narrative.
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Pillar 2: Power that scales from novices to gods
The problem I wanted to solve
Some games, like Rifts, allow you to have a party with dramatically different power levels. The classic example is a human rogue scholar in a party with a Dragon. I think this is great, so long as there is some level of balance between the characters, but often, this is not the case, and the spotlight stays on the Dragon as they are clearly better at almost everything. I want a farmhand sorcerer prodigy, a veteran sellsword, and a storm-crowned demigod to all live in the same rules space without breaking the math and becoming unbalanced and overwhelming (See approachable point buy above).
How 2dX tackles it
Everything has a character point value. If you want to play a dragon, you pay heavy Character Points to get that raw power, which means you sacrifice breadth. If you want to play a human, you keep more points to invest in edges and versatility. Both builds invest their points in different ways but retain a good level of balance.
PC and NPCs in the 2dX Engine have ranks. With each rank representing a total number of Character Points spent on that character’s abilities. These are:
Novice
Professional
Adept
Expert
Master
Legendary
Epic
Mythic
Supreme
Godlike
The 2dX Engine frames powers/abilities/advantages around three clear tiers, each of which typically has increasing character point costs:
Mundane: capabilities anyone could train to achieve. Think of what Elen Ripley, John McClain, and Daniel LaRusso can do.
Heroic: feats at the edge of believability. Think John Wick, The Bride from Kill Bill, or Conan.
Supernatural: abilities that bend or break reality. True magic, advanced technology, superpowers, etc. Think Luke Skywalker, Gandalf, Iron Man, or Geralt of Rivia
Pillar 3: Every mystic path should feel unique and interesting
The problem I wanted to solve
Too many games make magic feel samey. Same slots. Same cadence. Same recovery. Similar spell lists.
How 2dX tackles it
Each mystic path is built around a theme and a mechanic that changes how you play.
Distinct spell and maneuver lists that express the path’s flavor.
For example, Sorcerers pick “Facets” which represent what aspects of reality the sorcerer can shape with their inherent magic. There are ten to choose from, so one sorcerer might pick Materia and Life, while another might pick Energy and Shadow. This creates magic users who, while of the same Mystic Path, have totally separate spell lists. Making them very different in how they are played and how they feel thematically.
Resolution mechanics that plug into the core system but are different in meaningful ways.
To continue with the Sorcerer example, while Sorcerers make spellcasting tests like the other spellcasting paths, the results of their failed tests, mishap tables, and how they can fuel their spells are different. Sorcerers channel magic from their blood and body, and thus their mishaps and mechanics are more visceral.
Real risk and reward choices that shape tempo, resource use, and outcomes.
Almost every mystic path has some form of a push your luck mechanic for spellcasting. Wizards, for example, can choose to spend essence to add to their spellcasting tests to ensure a successful cast. If they fail, the spell still goes off, but something changes about the spell with the potential of a catastrophic result. Essence is a limited resource; do you spend it freely or conserve it?
A sorcerer should not feel like a wizard with a different hat. In 2dX they do not.
Pillar 4: Combat is tactical and dangerous
The problem I wanted to solve
In many traditional TTRPGs, you fight perfectly until you suddenly become incapacitated at 0 HP. Initiative rarely has a significant effect aside from the first round of combat; it quickly becomes predictable. Armor Class bends believability and does nothing to actually reduce damage. Many fights feel like nothing more than a bump in the road.
Combat should be tense and decisive. Choices should matter. And being injured should have lasting consequences.
How 2dX tackles it
Reaction-based defending forces a constant push and pull. Do you spend actions pressing the attack or holding back to keep yourself alive?
When an attack comes your way, you choose how to defend: Block it with your shield, dodge out of the way, dive for cover, or parry with your rapier.
Dynamic Initiative reduces turn-to-turn predictability.
You aren’t exactly sure when you, your enemies, or allies are going to act. Should you hold back some action points to defend, or risk it and go all out?
Wounds are descriptive, ranked, and tracked individually. Each one matters.
You got hit by a giant’s great axe (which would have cut a normal person in half). Instead of just losing some hit points that you recover in an hour, in the 2dX Engine, you have a wicked gash that cuts through your armor, inflicting a Rank 3 Serious wound. A wound that is tracked and healed separately.
Injuries can result from severe wounds. Some are lasting, inflicting permanent disadvantages.
The massive ballista bolt flew true and struck you for a rank 4 Critical wound. You have to roll on the injury chart. The results tell you that your knee took the hit, and you now have the Lame disadvantage.
Your scars build a story and character. Receiving a disadvantage from an injury grants you Character Points to spend elsewhere, creating an incentive to carry those disadvantages forward instead of tearing up your character sheet.
Even though you took a arrow to the knee and gained the Lame disadvantage, you gain character points from that disadvantage that you spend to learn new spells. It looks like your adventuring career continues, and you aren’t destined to become a town guard.
Combat should create stories your table still talks about. The 2dX wound and injury model delivers those tense moments and makes characters consider combat carefully.
A prototype of the Wound and Injury cheat sheet. Getting wounded can actually have long-term consequences!
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Pillar 5: System Hacks that allow for a tunable, universal system
The vision
Run sword and sorcery for one campaign, brutal post-apocalyptic the next, and gothic horror after that, all on the same engine. The goal is to be able to set tone, difficulty, and pacing to match your setting without rewriting the whole book. This makes converting existing settings easier and gives homebrewers the freedom to utilize a system that can be tailored toward their style.
How 2dX tackles it
Everything is modular and costed, so you can reskin, swap lists, and toggle hacks to fit the genre. The core mechanics stay the same, but can be modified easily to fit the vibe, the setting, and the story you want.
Example “system hacks” you can use
Remove Corruption to steer away from grim themes.
Automatic Healing for pulpy, high-action tables.
Increased Essence recovery for magic forward campaigns.
Adjust the wound escalation number up or down to decrease or increase the deadliness of taking damage.
You can use one or stack a few. The engine should bend without breaking.
Where to go from here
There is a lot to live up to, and that is the point. These pillars keep me focused as I refine the mechanics. I am building the game I want to run and play, and the quick-start guide is almost ready for alpha playtesting. I hope you will join me on that journey.
If you want early looks and playtest invites, join the newsletter! Questions about anything Drashar or the 2dX Engine? Hit me up on Instagram or Bluesky!
