How Deep Should Your Hack Go? (Part 1)
A 3-part reflection on system hacking, inspired by my development journey with Dreadnauts
As I navigate the murky waters of developing Dreadnauts, one question keeps coming up: how deep should my game hacking go?
Should I simply apply the original ruleset (in this case, Mothership’s Panic Engine)? That would certainly be faster—and safer. After all, the system has been tested at countless tables and is widely accepted by the community.
But as often happens, the RAW (Rules As Written) doesn’t always match the goals of a particular hack. And that’s the case with Dreadnauts. Transposing a Sci-Fi Space Horror game to a Nautical Horror setting will certainly require tweaks and adjustments.
Which got me thinking more broadly about the topic of game hacking.
Born to Be Hacked
Tabletop RPGs are built on structural incompleteness. No matter how detailed or simulationist a system tries to be, the rules can never account for every situation, player choice, or edge case. And that’s a feature—not a bug.
In the TTRPG world, homebrewing is expected. Encouraged. Built into the DNA of the hobby. And that’s why every hack probably begins the same way: with GMs asking themselves, “What if I change this rule in my game?”
That moment—this itch to reshape or tweak the game engine—is the root of all third-party content creation. But once you go down that rocky road, the next question becomes: how far should you go?
I firmly believe that this moment of conflict — the eternal struggle between what the rules say and what the table wants — is where game hacking is born.
But I think there’s another factor at play here (pun intended): the impulse toward innovation. If you’re hacking a system, it’s usually because you see some room — big or small — for contributing your own new ideas, new mechanics, or even just a new cosmetic presentation of familiar elements (like renaming things to better fit the spirit of your setting).
And, as with most things in life, this isn’t a binary switch. It’s more of a continuum — and as you push further in one direction, you eventually cross certain thresholds that change the project’s nature significantly.
Anyway, I often think in terms of a simple scale — three or five steps — that help me in identifying exactly what kind of hack are we dealing with.
Today, I’ll talk about the first two.
Step 1 – RAW (Rules As Written)
This is the baseline. The original ruleset remains untouched. The hacker’s role here is primarily to reframe, recontextualize, or re-present existing rules—without altering how they function.
Examples include:
Reskinning monsters — A regular wolf becomes a “Snow Wolf” with the same stats, just white fur and perhaps a bonus to surprise in snowy terrain.
Rewriting item descriptions — A “Scroll of Fireball” is reimagined as a “Black Powder Fuse Rune,” though mechanically it still casts Fireball.
Repackaging spells or gear — Presenting standard abilities or equipment with new flavor text to better fit your setting’s tone.
You can think of this as remixing, not rewriting. The skeleton is the same— it’s the flesh that changes.
This kind of hack is commonly found in:
Pre-written adventures (for ‘open systems’ like Old School Essentials, D&D 5e, or Mothership)
Bestiaries, spellbooks, or setting materials that preserve the core mechanics
This is the most conservative form of hacking. Some might say it barely qualifies as hacking — but as it still takes that creative spark of curiosity to explore new ways to align theme and mechanics, I think it applyes. Also, this is often the first step toward building something that feels entirely new.
Step 2 – RAAW (Rules Almost As Written)
Now we’re leaving safe harbors. The core engine stays intact—you’re still using the same basic mechanics, resolution methods, and game structure—but you begin to introduce small, deliberate changes. These innovations usually fall into two categories: cosmetic/thematic or structural tweaks.
Cosmetic / Thematic Tweaks
These are surface-level changes. They alter the way things are presented without changing how the game actually functions. Think of them like videogame skins: what the player sees feels different, but under the hood, the mechanics are the same.
Examples include:
Renaming ability scores to better reflect your setting (e.g., “Strength” becomes “Brawn,” “Sanity” becomes “Resolve”)
Changing skill or Attributes to suit a different theme (medieval fantasy, superheroes, or nautical horror)
Rewriting rules in a different tone—gritty, surreal, whimsical—to shape how players read and engage with them
These changes help embed mechanics into the world’s fiction, building stronger thematic cohesion without disrupting gameplay.
Structural Tweaks
These are minor mechanical changes. You’re still not rewriting the core game system, but you’re adjusting how some of its parts behave.
Examples include:
Swapping out standard damage dice (e.g., using d10s instead of d8s for heavier, slower weapons)
Adding subsystems like “Morale,” “Firearms”, “Combat Fatigue,” or “Resolve”
Modifying initiative or turn order to reflect new priorities (speed, perception, command hierarchy, etc.)
Introducing costs or consequences for rerolls (e.g., push-your-luck mechanics)
Reframing game flow and pacing (e.g., breaking combat rounds into “phases” or introduce the idea of “combat maneuvers”)
Adding metacurrencies (tokens, grit, narrative control) or
Adopting a fail forward mindset to encourage momentum
These tweaks maintain the familiarity of the base system while adding texture, tension, and tone. They're ideal for designers who want to customize the game’s rhythm and feel without building a whole system from scratch.
Wrapping Up (for now…)
So, what do you think? Did I miss something?
Do you use a different framework when thinking about hacks?
What are your go-to tweaks?
Where do you draw the line between a remix and a full rewrite?
Join the conversation in the comments below and let me know how you approach this subject at your table or in your design work.
If you enjoyed this post, consider subscribing so you don’t miss the next parts of this deep dive into the anatomy of TTRPG hacks.
Next week, in Part 2: Beyond the Threshold – Deep Hacking, we’ll explore more radical subsystem changes and the point where a hack stops being a mod... and becomes a game of its own.
Spoiler: I’ll be talking about two of my favorite games — Blades in the Dark and Ironsworn.
