Mindpaths: A TTRPG of Human Creativity in the Face of AI

In a ghibliesque world full of whimsy and joy, people learn Mindpaths to do magic. When magic-tech tablets grow popular and AI usage grows, society starts to change.

Mindpaths is a roleplaying-focused TTRPG about human creativity in the face of AI. Frolic in flowering fields on light and whimsical children's adventures. Or delve deep into campaigns tackling societal issues and opportunistic big bads that arise as automirrols start to pervade communities. Your only limit is your creativity.

Mindpaths uses an original dicepool system designed to be fun and easy for beginners to pick up, while also offering custom mechanics and roleplaying opportunities for experienced players.

What's Inside

• 48+ page softcover rulebook, A5 perfect bound
• Multiple unique, diverse characters and ghibliesque artwork
• Original, intuitive dicepool system designed for fun
• Quick-start guide and character creation sheet
• A rich world and mechanics designed to explore your own creativity

The Setting

"In a small village peppered with banyan and oak, women load horse-drawn trolleys with crates of the morning catch as fishermen tie their rowboats to the docks. Carrier doves flit between branches, tiny scrolls affixed to their claws. A construction worker asks a tree to move a foot to the left; it acquiesces, leaves rippling with heavy fruit."

What are Mindpaths? Mindpaths are how people do magic in the community-oriented world of Prasthaloka. When a specific understanding of the world from real, lived experiences imprints in the mind as a path of firing neurons, that is a Mindpath.

Prasthaloka is a diverse world full of adventure. Vismaya University harbors much adventure, but so do Reflection Woods, Sukina River, and Phoenix Mountains - to name a few. Far up north past Paksha Cliffs resides the Rani, the warrior queen of Prasthaloka who some say is entertaining an upcoming trade deal with the Braxons from the west - are automirrols involved?

Automirrols, magic-tech tablets that automate learning Mindpaths, are slowly growing in popularity and notoriety. Students are provided automirrols in schools, but not all choose to use them. While they make learning Mindpaths easier, they can be unpredictable and prone to hallucination.

Unlike regular Mindpaths, no one knows where automirrols find the energy to generate Mindpaths. Some scholars claim it may come from [REDACTED]. Let us hope not.

There's also Beakman, caretaker of Vismaya University's carrier doves. Beakman... Beakman cannot be put into words.

Mechanics

Mindpaths utilizes an original dicepool system of D6s: players assemble pools of D6s based on their stats and support from fellow players or from their automirrol.

Success is getting at least one 6. Success on your own is hard. Learning Mindpaths is difficult. Helping and mirroring amongst players are core mechanics that mechanically lead to collaborative play (and narratively to a community-oriented society). Support from your fellow players (or from an automirrol) adds dice to your pool, enabling you to more easily succeed in your actions and leading to fun shenanigans.

Failure is an expected part of the game, and there are plenty of fun mechanics to account for that (progressive learning, determination, perseverance - to name a few). Relationship building is built into character creation.

Mindpaths can fall under one or more of the following Magimatics fields and are entirely defined by players. The key to the game is effectively and creatively using your Mindpaths. 

One fun mechanic is Twist of Fate: getting no 6s and at least one 1. In this case, what a player attempts does happen, but backfires in an unexpected way, which lends itself to interesting story moments. Narrative is intricately woven into mechanics.

Testimonials

We've playtested everywhere, from game stores to friends' apartments to even Dwarven Forge. Here are real testimonials from some of our players!

"The open structure of Mindpaths makes it easy to pick up, and provides vast creativity for new players and for veteran fans of inventive roleplaying. Its systems and whimsical world provide fun, intuitive decision making and character progression right from the jump." ~Erin, mini painter at Dwarven Forge

"Players have room to be creative in shaping their own characters and goals, and to explore how our party connects with each other. Character development plays out very naturally. I love playing Mindpaths!" ~Carrie, owner of gamestore Dungeon Books

"Mindpaths is a game that touches on modern issues without losing its wholesome charm. The layout of the game encourages collaboration and roleplaying. Spells aren't necessarily written in a rulebook that you can reference. Even the magic system requires creativity and gives the player more autonomy than most other TTRPGs I've played!" ~Ariana, artist

"I loved being able to grow in the game. Mindpaths’ game mechanics allow players to practice and learn new skills within session. Instead of getting new tools and toys to play with after “leveling up” it happens in real time. Cooperative character growth makes the sessions exciting, fun, and sometimes heartwarming." ~Mary Beth, new TTRPG player

“I’m new to these types of games and it was so fun and accessible. Mindpaths is an incredibly thought out world that everyone will love exploring." ~Natasha, writer and comedian

Rewards

Print and PDF Rulebooks

Character Art Prints

Fulfillment

After developing and playtesting over 2 years, we are excited to officially put Mindpaths out into the world! We are in the process of editing and layout and anticipate having our product ready to ship by Feb 2027.

Print-On-Demand (Global)

We are using DriveThruRPG to fulfill Mindpaths rulebook print editions. This means far less uncertainty for shipping the rulebook straight to you! Upon fulfillment you will receive an at-cost coupon code for DriveThruRPG, where you will input your shipping address and pay base printing costs and shipping on their site. For a US backer this is currently estimated at $10-11. Base printing estimates can be found on DriveThruRPG here and shipping estimates here. Please verify DriveThruRPG ships to your country.

Art prints & Thank you notes (US-only)

The creator of Mindpaths will deliver art prints and handwritten thank you notes by mail. You do not need to pay shipping for these. These will likely arrive sooner than Feb 2027 but we are keeping conservative estimates.

Stretch Goals

• $3000 - The full "Mirror for You (Mindpaths Theme)" original orchestral track by our composer will be released on Spotify, and all backers will receive a free digital download of the track! You can hear a preview in our campaign video 🎵
• $4000 - Unlocks additional commission budget for our talented artists to illustrate even more colorful characters from different Magimatics fields and environmental art to inspire your story 🎨
• $6000 - Backers help us decide the reward! Some options here include backer-only expanded lore, intro module, or upgrading DriveThruRPG print from standard color to premium color! 📖

Who are we?

Created by Smitha Nagar

Artwork and Music by