The Guiding Spirit Interview: Story-Rich TTRPG Simulator

We had the pleasure of interviewing the creator of The Guiding Spirit this game is perfect for anyone who love TTRPG. “Mix and match hundreds of traits, flaws, and skills to design unique heroes with complex personalities and ambitions. Watch them love, hate, help, and hinder each other. Roll the dice and become the Guiding Spirit of your group of misfits in this story-rich fantasy campaign simulator!”

Be sure to check out the trailer as well!

1. What inspired your game?

I’m a TTRPG/CRPG nerd, so I drew a lot of inspiration from games in those genres. I grew up playing choose-your-own-adventure gamebooks and computer RPGs like Morrowind, Pillars of Eternity, and the Baldur’s Gate series, and I also played a lot of M.A.G.U.S. and D&D with a group of friends. At one point, I began experimenting with rulesets of my own and eventually came up with the idea for a personality-based TTRPG system.

However, during testing, I realized the rules didn’t really fit a pen-and-paper game, so I decided to convert it into a video game – and that became Guiding Spirit.

When designing the Trait system, I took inspiration from games like Divinity: Original Sin, Fallout, Arcanum, and Pillars of Eternity II.

2. What are your goals for your game?

The game aims to capture the classic chaos of a tabletop RPG session. I placed a strong emphasis on supporting unconventional character builds – like an unlucky gambler or a clumsy thief – to encourage deeper character development and the creation of more complex, interesting heroes.

Players need to think strategically and figure out how their characters can work together and bring out the best in one another. Characters may disagree about many things, and even a small change can create a ripple effect, causing events to unfold in radically different ways. However, with careful planning and a proper understanding of the circumstances, there is always a way to make things better.

3. How would you pitch your game in 3-5 words?

Flawed heroes & personality-driven chaos.

4. What advice would you give to new devs?

Go step by step, iterate constantly, and adapt based on results and feedback. My project went through several iterations before I finally got it to where I wanted it to be.

5. What has been your biggest success story relating to your game?

After the demo was released, I created a topic on the Steam forums, and people started sharing their adventures. It was incredible to see the crazy character concepts they came up with and the stories that unfolded – some combinations I hadn’t even thought of, yet they came together in really interesting ways! People began calling the game “a D&D campaign simulator,” and many players noted that even the randomly generated characters feel like real people, with complex personalities and backgrounds – which is everything what I was hoping for!

For me, seeing people enjoy and fully immerse themselves in this project has been the greatest success.

6. Where can folks support your game?

Try the free demo on Steam! If you enjoy it, please leave a review, wishlist it – those help a lot. I’m also trying to build a small community on X and Bluesky, where I occasionally ramble about nerd stuff, share updates big and small, and read/discuss people’s feedback. Feel free to join!
Steam page
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Bluesky