Hoot, Holler, and Howl: devlog 1
Several days ago, Julie - the Table Host of Tiny Table - and I were bitching about how it seems as though every licensed TRPG on the market is a D&D 5E conversion - a passtime I'm sure is familiar to this blog's readership.
During this conversation, I mentioned the example of this phenomenon that boils my blood the hottest: the Adventure Time RPG from 2014. If ever a work deserved an original system tailored to its world and themes instead of an adaptation based in an existing ruleset, it's Adveture time. That the existing system in question is 5E is just salt in the wound. What could have been haunts me every minute of every day.
Of course, being the mind of a generation that she is, Julie brought a complete halt to my griping with a single word:
"Collab?"
So I'm excited to announce the development of a game we're tentatively calling Hoot, Holler, and Howl! A Colorful, Creative Adventure game about Growing Up. Let's break down what that means, and go over development so far.
Colorful
Because it's bright, exciting, and optimistic! There are plenty of spooky, unpleasant, and extremely dangerous things wandering the world of Yip, but the tone of the game is one of overcoming adversity and doing heroic deeds.
Creative
Because a lot of how you play it is by imagining things! That's true of all roleplaying games, but Hoot, Holler, and Howl leans into it. From Skills to Wrinkles to Treasures, most of your character sheet is stuff you invented on the spot with the other players; that attitude should extend to the entire world of Yip!
Adventure
Because it's a game about venturing out from your home in search of danger, excitement, and meaning. A Hoot, Holler, and Howl character doesn't spend all their time playing video games or reading books in a stuffy library; they fight monsters and argue with god-kings and uncover the secrets of the Old Folks' World that have been forgotten!
About Growing Up
Hoot, Holler, and Howl is About Growing Up. Fundamentally, your characters are kids - maybe literally, but often metaphorically. Taterfolk who grew up in an isolated utopia, Robots who have to learn how to be alive, curious but greedy Cats - they all have a lot of growing up to do. A lot of what you'll be doing in Triple-H is making mistakes, apologizing for hurting your friends, and learning how to be kinder, more generous, and more patient from now on.
Hoots, Hollers, and Howls
a Hoot is any kind of person you might be, or might encounter! If they can communicate complex thoughts and understand yours - basically anything that could become a Table Guest's character is a Hoot.
A Holler is any place where interesting stuff happens; that could be a bustling city or austere castle; or it could be a dangerous dungeon just bursting with treasure! A Holler is any place an adventurer wants to go.
A Howl is something that isn't a person - beasts and monsters and demons oh my! If a big time hero would slay it to win renown in all the land, or if a plucky Hoot might keep one as a pet, that's a Howl.
Design Inspirations
So far, Triple-H is taking major inspiration in its design from four titles:
Wanderhome, from which it takes much aesthetic and attitudinal cues, as well as the basic rules for the Table Host's side of the screen;
FATE, which I carry with me into all games to some degree. In particular, the core concept behind Aspects as discrete units of dramatic information;
Monsterhearts, for its masterful systemization of character relationships without at all flattening or gamifying the emotions involved, empitomized by Strings as a way to represent an external force as opposed to an internal experience;
and Realis, for its sentence-based diceless resolution system.
Rules Basics
At present, relaying even the simplest version of the core systems to you would be tantamount to copy/pasting the entire rules doc into the text editor, so you won't get the full rundown here. But I'll give you a synopsis:
When a Hoot comes up against some kind of challenge or risk, it is given a Rating between 3 and 10. In their attempt to best this obstacle, the character builds an Effort score from a number of resources. These are...
Skills, which are just things a Hoot is good at. There's no list of Skills, so anything goes as long as it makes sense!
Wrinkles, sentences that describe shortcomings or character flaws. Invoking one does increase a Hoot's Effort total, but also causes some kind of negative consequence - regardless of success.
and Treasures, which are items that impact a Hoot's personality. These also have sentences attached, which describe their utility. They don't produce negative consequences like Wrinkles, but you need to spend XP in order to keep them from breaking when you use them, so be careful!
If your Hoot has recently done something hurtful (putting a friend down, stealing something that doesn't belong to you, etc), then they'll also add a Will score, which is a measure of their stubbornness and gumption. Will is nice to have since it boosts your Efforts, but it also reduces the amount of XP you gain, since an unwillingness to admit being wrong isn't exactly a great recipe for becoming a better adventurer, or a better person. If they want to be a big time hero (and a more responsible and pleasant person), they'll want to get rid of it!
After an Effort score is built, then resolution is simple: Effort Versus Rating, highest wins, ties going to the Table Host.
The Host's Rules
Currently, the rules for Hosts are extremely simple. Hoots, Hollers, and Howls are represented with Yip Cards - 3"x5" cards with the name of the element in question written on them, as well as a list of some verbs - things that element "can always do," in the style of Wanderhome's Kith and Natures. These verb lists are fluid, and both the Host and Guests are encouraged to write more as the scene develops!
Besides that, setting Obstacle Ratings is the only real mechanical obligation of the Host. This is very likely to change as we iterate on the game, but this simple implementation is enough that we feel comfortable running a few playtests and seeing how things work out.
What's Next
Beginning work on Hoot, Holler, and Howl is a great opportunity for me to participate in The Year of Playtesting, a micro-trend to which I and a couple of designer friends of mine have dedicated 2026, inspired by Gabe Freeman at Mind On Fire games. Julie and I drafted up a minimum viable product for Triple-H in a day or two, and I've been given the go-ahead to run something! As of this posting, I'll be Hosting a one-shot at my home table in three days, and hopefully coming back with lots of useful data.
I'll be posting irregular updates on the state of the game as it progresses; rules updates, exciting new features, and other stuff I imagine you'll want to hear about. I also hope to post about what's going on with CLASH! in the near future - I promise I'm working on it, and I'm making good progress!
Stay tuned, folks. I'm really excited for where this little project is headed, and I think you will be too.