Welcome to the 20 Below Playtest

Part 1 · Lesson 1

What a playtest is for

You're testing the game, not yourself

20 Below is in active playtest. The rules are complete, but they've only been played by so many tables. Yours will find things ours never did. There are no wrong reports: if something confused you, slowed you down or didn't feel right, that's exactly what we need to hear.

What we want to learn

If it surprised your table, it's worth a report.

What we ask

Play at least one session per round, and send a Session report after every session you play. When something specific comes up, like a rule nobody could read the same way, send it as its own report too, so it isn't lost inside the session notes.

What you get

What you can share

Stream it, post about it, write it up. The core rules and the Backwater Static campaign core are open under the ORC License, so anything from them is yours to share. The exception is the expansions you may see before release, the Foundation book and the full bestiary. They aren't public yet, so keep them to yourself until the team releases them.

Part 1 · Lesson 2

Getting set up

You're in: your application was approved. Everything else is free and online, and setup takes about half an hour, most of it making characters.

1. Find the playtester channelOn the 20 Below Discord, the team has opened the playtester channel for you. Read the pinned post: it names the current round and its focus, and has the feedback form link.
2. Read the coreStart Here walks through the core roll, Attributes and how a turn works. GMs, also read Running the Game.
3. Make charactersUse the Character Creator in a browser, on a phone or on Windows. It does the math, so the table can focus on choices.
4. GMs, prepare the fightBuild an encounter with the Encounter Difficulty Calculator and run it in the Battle Tracker.
5. Playing online?Install the Owlbear Rodeo extensions from Downloads: a character sheet for players and a battle panel for the GM.
6. Print the Quick Reference GuideEvery player reference sheet in one PDF, for the table.

Part 2 · Lesson 3

Play it as written

Play the round's focus

Playtesting runs in numbered rounds, and each round has a focus, like character creation and the core roll, or combat. Make sure your sessions include it. Everything else is still worth reporting, but the focus is where we need the most tables.

The most useful thing a playtest table can do is play the rules exactly as they're written, even where you'd normally house-rule. A house rule hides the problem we need to see.

Notes worth taking

When the table can't agree

Pick the reading that seems closest to the text, note it, and keep playing. Don't stop the session to settle it. Send it afterwards as an Unclear rule.

Part 2 · Lesson 4

Bug, feedback or question?

Three doors

Three kinds of "this isn't right", and each has its own door. A crash or a broken button goes to Report a bug, at the bottom of every page and in every tool. Something about how the game plays goes to the playtest form. A question goes to the 20 Below Discord.

Where does it go?

Part 3 · Lesson 5

The playtest form

Open the form from the link pinned in the playtester channel. It takes about five minutes.

1. What kind of feedback?Unclear rule, Too slow, Balance, Not fun, Tool issue, or Session report for notes on a whole session.
2. One-line summarySpecific enough to tell it apart from other reports: "Sprint costs too little Ki", not "Movement".
3. Which rule or tool?Pick it from the list, so it reaches the right person.
4. What happened at the tableWhat you were trying to do, what happened, and how the table reacted. Numbers help.
5. What would have worked betterOptional, and welcome. You don't need a fix to send a report.
6. About the session, and your nameDate, number of players, GM or player, and your Discord handle so we can reply in the thread. Then send it, and note your P# ticket number.

What makes a report Detailed

At triage, the team adds the Detailed tag to any report that does all five of these. Detailed reports count toward the NPC reward.

1. Names the rule or tool
2. Describes what happened, in order
3. Gives numbers: time taken, rolls, rounds or players
4. Says how the table reacted
5. Suggests what would have worked better

Weak summary, strong summary

Tap a card to see the stronger version.

A Detailed report

Part 3 · Lesson 6

What happens next

Your ticket's tags

Every report becomes a P# ticket in the #playtest-feedback forum. Its tags tell you where it stands.

When a round ends

The team posts what changed and why, in the playtester channel, the newsletter and on the News page. Your reports are part of that. Then the next round opens with a new focus.

Every report gets read, and every report gets a reply.