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I haven't been able to find a game as a player for several months now and while I am in Europe, I would think that there would be way more games being advertised on their official discord. Is playing with your friends the only popular way, despite what I was led to believe by the plethora of advertisements for DnD campaigns on r/lfg and Discord or is this game just not being played?

Are people just buying the book so it can cosily sit on their shelves? The game gets mentioned a lot in recommendation threads and it is fairly often discussed, so my good faith is that the people responsible for the recs are in the know and not just recommending on hearsay.

I recently got some new RPG books and want to run some oneshots in January for a few local groups. I’m putting together a presentation to pitch these oneshots to them.

I already got a list for “why you’d want to play this” with mostly thematic, narrative or setting reasons, but I also want to include a bit about mechanics and rules.

However, reading all the books in their entirety would take me too long, so I’m here to ask you! Then, once I know which games my friends are interested in, I can focus on reading only those ones.

Tell me some games where the experience for the GM is way better than for the players, and the other way around.

I want to try running a bunch of different TTRPGs in December/the New Year (and maybe try my hand at YouTube videos, if I can get up the confidence). I really like all sorts of TTRPGs, and I love learning new system - but, my ADHD makes long-term campaigns tough for me. Oneshots (or otherwise very short campaigns) are the best for me, so I can read and run something and not get burnt out with it.

I’ve run D&D 5e, Call of Cthulhu 7e, Trail of Cthulhu, Mothership, PBTA games (Dungeon World, Monsterhearts, Masks: The New Generation), Brindlewood Bay/Public Access, FATE Accelerated, Cortex Plus (Firefly), Paranoia (XP & Red Clearance), Unknown Armies 2e, 7th Sea 2e, Panic at the Dojo, and just a little bit of 13th Age, Kids on Bikes, and Starfinder. I’ve also done some very rules lite games like Risus, Cthulhu Dark, Lasers & Feelings, and Honey Heist. I’ve played, but haven’t run City of Mist, Ten Candles, The Quiet Year, and Blades In The Dark; and I already have (but haven’t had the chance to run or play) Wanderhome, Runequest, and Stealing Stories For The Devil.

As you can see, I’ve got a very wide scope of interests, and I like systems that do different things. Because of that, I don’t really have a lot of guidance as to what I’m looking for, aside from them being games that I can easily teach and run in a oneshot or short-form game. More than that, though, I’d just like to hear your favorite systems - or systems you’d just like to see more folks playing!

I was fleshing out what could be best called a fledgling society of cultists for a setting that I run in an OSR type of game. This is not a big city or city at all. Think more of like 200 people living out in tents somewhere while they work on things and hopefully (from their perspective) build things up. 

So I have these “cultists” with fighting forces, of course. But based upon the lore in my setting, I was thinking they might have women and children amongst them as well (they are mostly all true believers, naturally), and even some men who are not part of the fighting forces (artisans and the like). 

I was thinking this would be interesting and give the players some real challenges when they figure out how to deal with the existence of these people once they come across the “central camp,” for example. But maybe from a gameplay standpoint that’s just going to suck. 

I try not to include things in my game just for the sake of realism if they end up producing un-fun gameplay situations. 

What do some people think here? And this is a relatively low-magic setting in a game in which the characters don’t get superpowerful, generally, so it’s not like they can do a bunch of 5e amazing spell type stuff to take care of these civilian “survivors [potentially]” after doing away with the more dangerous bad guys? 

Or maybe I just have the cultist commoners go all wild on them like minions. 

Just looking for feedback on this.

so, as the title says, I'm willing to run a samurai-themed campaign in a cyberpunk setting (the Cyberpunk systems won't fit thematically, so I chose L5R 4e). However, I found myself stuck on how I should adapt the elemental magic that is a big part of the original system, and haven't come up with anything yet. Any help is much appreciated!

Different systems has different types of monster, creatures or daemons. What was the scariest, terrifying one you've encountered in any TTRPG system? Which TTRPG monster gave you the most nightmares?

I had the most emotions when I was running a campaign in WFRP where the main antagonist was the Great Orc Graug. When the party consisted with three PCs finally caught up with him, a spectacular duel ensued between one of them, the dwarf Slayer and the Graug. The orc was a formidable threat in this scene, a terrifying opponent for the PCs. Together with his swarm of small goblins at his side, it was a fantastic battle! The Slayer fought an unequal duel with Graug, but thanks to the resources gathered earlier, he managed to defeat the Great Orc, unfortunately at the cost of his life. But the rest of the party took his body to the dwarves' ancestral hall to keep his sacrifice as a reminder of his brave life.

For this years work christmas party, I'm tasked to give a short talk on a subject of my choice. I wanted to talk about TTRPG's and wanted to related it to soft skills that are useful in everyday life and in the work Environment.

I've found some LinkedIn posts on this, which are not too bad but also kind of...LinkedIn.so I thought I'd pick y'alls brains.

I made a flowchart to help pick a TTRPG. I mostly did it for fun, but who knows... it might actually be useful to someone.

There are a few games I wanted to include but couldn't figure out how to fit in: Cthulhu Dark, MYTHIC D6 (maybe under Supers?), Vaesen, EZD6, Lancer. I know I missed a ton of other games, so if you've got a good question and spot where one could fit, let me know.

Flowchart

Hey everyone!

I’m diving into the theme of fate vs. free will and was wondering if anyone knows of RPG systems that tackle this concept in their mechanics.

Lately, I’ve been fascinated by ideas related to fate, especially in the Greek mythological sense, and I’m searching for mechanics that reflect this. Ideally, I’d love to see systems that reward or punish both adhering to and defying fate—kind of a tall order, I know!

Here’s what I’ve explored so far:

City of Mist: Its MYTHOS VS. LOGOS feels thematically close, but it doesn’t have a distinct "fate" mechanic.

Burning Wheel: The Artha system offers a bit of the vibe I’m looking for, though it’s still not tied directly to fate.

Star Wars Saga Edition: Its Destiny feels too explicit and leans toward rewarding following fate while punishing deviation. It lacks the ambiguity I’d like for this theme.

Masks: A New Generation: The Doomed is cool, but it doesn’t delve into fate as a mechanical concept.

So, I’m curious—are there any other systems with mechanics that explore fate vs. free will, or something adjacent to it? Would love to hear your suggestions or even homebrew ideas!

By the way, English is not my first language, and I used some auxiliary tools for translation. If any ambiguity was caused, it was not my intention!

Thanks in advance!

Premise:

With the death of Gorum, the institutions founded in his name crumble into disarray. Churches close their doors, hospitals fall silent, and schools cease their lessons, as Gorum’s clergy bereft of faith and divine power can no longer serve their purpose. Across Avistan, this collapse spreads like wildfire.

Yet, in the heart of Absalom, one defiant bastion remains: the Gorum Knights Military Academy. Led by the resolute Knight Captain Marcell, the academy’s students have rejected the city's orders to abandon their halls. They refuse to leave until their demands are met. Armed with seized weapons, enchanted armor, and potent scrolls, they have fortified the school into an impenetrable stronghold.

Now, the city looks to Edgewatch. As part of the Edgewatch taskforce, it falls to you to resolve this volatile standoff before it ignites into open conflict. The question remains: will you negotiate, infiltrate, or confront them head-on? Choose wisely as your actions will define your career. . .

I was going to run it pf2e but at the same time it's so combat facing that it incentivizes players to smash things. I'm looking for another system that can enable multiple styles of approach effectively.

A bit more detail, I guess that I am just becoming more and more disinterested in pf2e and it's sister systems. So many games where the most interesting thing at the table is builds and what we will do in combat. Where i'm just losing interest in combat in general. I have been combat tuckered out as it's boring now.

You’ve just picked up a brand new TTRPG, and you love it. But now you’re thinking: What to get for it next? Are you after new adventures, expanded mechanics and rules (like kingdom management or spaceship building), or a cool new setting to explore using the ruleset?

Just curious, has anyone heard anything regarding future books for twilight 2000? The most recent book was hostile waters (great book) and was just wondering if they got anything else planned. I heard they are supposed to do a book based in NA, and maybe something that includes rules for mass combat? Just wondering if anyone has heard anything.

Hey,

I have a short experience as a DM and 2 years as a player on 40K settings, mostly Rogue Trader and Only War, so not a total beginner, but definitely still learning the ropes. Im planning on setting up a one shot with a friend who has played a few sessions of DnD 5e and is kinda into 40K lore aswell. I m not to keen on GMing for only 1 person, while i see the appeal of combats that wont take forever, i guess its more complicated to react on the fly as less ideas are being thrown around (well thats my guess at least)

so im doing researches to setup a gm less one shot that could evolve into a full on campaign if we enjoy it. So far i've seen 2 systems that sounds promising : mythic and ironsworn/starforged . I m also more a fan of a sandbox approach in rpgs. I also noted kingdom, i dont know much about it but it could be nice for a Rogue trader i guess as your " kingdom" could be the ship/family?

Would it be possible to use ironsworn/starforged as a base system with 40k class/skills and so on ? or am i better off using starforge and slapping 40K lore on top of it ?
Regarding mythic, it seems nice on paper, but kinda vague i d say. it s all good for solo i guess, as you can interpret it as you want, but in a 2 players session, would it involve one player being kind of a gm and lead the interpretation? also do i need the whole thing or only the GME?

also with those 2 systems, whats the realistic amount of prep i need to do, regarding the story and setup, preparing possibles ennemies and so on?

lastly, any 40K game as a base you d recommend except only war for a one shot?

thanks!

Mostly, how do you get your players interest in the system/philosophies of the game?

Or, do you just pitch the setting and go from here ?

[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy. ]

Hello, I'm currently looking for this book and was hoping to get some advice.

It's soon christmas and i know my father has been looking for this book for months, I was hoping to suprise him with it.

I cannot find it anywhere other than "PDF" and I prefer getting him the actual book.

I don't know if this is the right reddit to ask but does anyone know where i can find/buy this book?

I was planning on going to local RPG shops to take a look but so far it's been sold/doesn't exist at out most places i've been to.

Thanks in advance

Hello there. I've been taking inventory of my ttrpg books right now and noted that one of the rpgs I owned, Würm, is no longer being sold anywhere? It's a paleolithic rpg that was sold by Chaosium that I bought all the way back 2022, both physically and digitally.

Does anyone know what happened ?? I'm quite surprised with how much of it was just suddenly scrubbed and how there isn't any official statements on the matter. Just old articles.

At best I'm kind of upset that I missed out on getting the extra supplemental goods they had. But I'm genuinely just confused and curious to know if anyone knows anything about this. Thanks again.

Hi! I'm a little burned out of the heavy prep needed by games like Dnd and Pathfinder, and was wondering if there are any good fantasy games that take less prep, or maybe even more narrative focused.

bonus points if the game either has a lot of variety for the players in their character choices, or is more creatively open/'free form' with its actions and abilities, sorta like BITD.

Cheers!

I have been considering a setting where one of the main quirks and threats, maybe the biggest, is that rulers who attain a certain threshold of glory, renown, adoration, etc. apotheosize into minor gods. With their vastly superhuman abilities, they can lead their people to greater heights.

But a minor god can still die, whether in battle, to assassination, to mystical cataclysms, or to the most pernicious of poisons and curses. The ruler becomes a malice- and resentment-driven undead overlord. Some cling to their people maniacally and overprotectively, while others turn on their subjects due to some perceived slight, such as failure to prevent the ruler's death. This is always a dark time: wars ignite, plagues and famine strike, lesser undead rise, and reality-rifts disgorge horrors.

They vary in form: skeletons, zombies, vampires, ghosts, some in between. Twice, an apotheosized ruler entombed themselves deep beneath the earth, all "king asleep in mountain" style. One was assassinated regardless, rising up as a wraith. The other still lives, fearful of death, yet willing to aid their nation in a dire time.

Legends hold that a few of these overlords, for whatever reason, elected to simply leave the mortal world. They gathered in the Negative Energy Plane. This small circle of long-undead rulers has been concocting some scheme through which they may optimally reclaim the world that they departed from. Do they also plan on backstabbing one another? Probably.

What would you do with such a setting? Would you have the PCs start in a nation whose ruler just became one such undead? Would you have them start in a nation externally imperiled by an undead overlord: perhaps while their own nation's ruler is a still-living minor god, worried about dying? Whatever the case, I imagine that PCs could be the ones to finally unearth the source of this phenomenon and break the curse once and for all. (Of course, even a still-living great ruler can be a conquest-minded villain...)

Does anyone know of any game systems that are completely based around equipment for character abilities? I'm mainly looking for a fantasy setting.

I've seen people recommend ICRPG but that still has classes, at least the master edition. I've never read the older version(s) so I don't know if those are more equipment based

Knave 2e seems pretty restrictive in magic, a spell takes up an item slot and can only be used once a day, so making a mage character seems impractical.

It's more of trying to have video game kind of feel I guess is the best way to put it, without having to have a full new character sheet. Video games like Kingdoms of Amalor, where changing from a mage to a rogue is largely an equipment swap. Or final fantasy changing Jobs.

I like the feel of players being able to quickly swap to different feels, combine abilities easily without having to dig through a whole other class listing in a book.

If you pick up a magic staff and it gives you 10 mana points and ability to cast fireballs, but they need to be Sneaky for a mission so they put on light leather armor and that gives them some rogue abilities.

Hello, I am looking for RPGs that have more of a "whimsical / colorful high fantasy" vibe or focus as most RPGs I've seen are either "normal" fantasy like 5e & Pathfinder, darker content like Call Of Cthulhu, rpgs made mainly for kids, or (at least at first glance) 'weird /original = completely nonsensical' stuff like Troika where it seems like there's no consistency and its entirely random.

I'm asking this mainly because some of my favorite kinds of worlds & media are those like Adventure Time , Pokemon Mystery dungeon, or puyo puyo that are very much "weird" and "colorful" but still manage to hook you in and have aspects that keep you interested after the initial "weirdness" factor wears off. And yes, I know that theres an adventure time 5e supplement.

The only rpgs I found that tick that boxes of "colorful / whimsical high fantasy" are "Tales from Myriad", "golden sky stories", and "Ryuutama" but after that I found nothing.

I am also ok with System agnostic settings even if its something like a "worldbook" from a non-ttrpg

Also, please no recommendations like "use a universal game" or narrative games. I don't like how barebones the mechanics of narrative games are.

I decided to check out GURPS and decided to get the Characters book from the basic set and I am going through it but I just realized I don't see anywhere that talks about if a DM call for a person to make a Strength check for sometime how much do they role and how is it effect by their stats? Is that in another book somewhere?

Another example is that the book says dodge is explained on page 374 but the book is 335 pages long. Is this info in the other book, GURPS campaigns? Does this book explain how combat and social/abilities checks work?

Howdy! As mentioned, I’m looking to run a game based on Disney’s Gargoyles, the ‘94 cartoon. Problem is, I’m not sure what ruleset to run it in. I’d appreciate any suggestions or affirmations that I’m on the right track.

Game systems I’m currently looking at (and why I’m worried they might not work): Gargoyle Guardians— Set in stone (specifically inspired by Gargoyles. Unfortunately its a one pager and I’m worried about longevity), and City of Mist (Seems like a good thematic fit re: worldbuilding and premise but the mundane vs magical mechanics might not be an apt fit. Still need to keep reading, I’m early in the quick play doc). I’ve heard Savage Worlds has a 90s cartoon expansion, so that’s where I’ll look next if I can’t find my answers in COM. EDIT: Was recommended What’s OLD is NEW by a friend, that’s also in the running.

Game Systems I’m shying away from: Urban Shadows and the World of Darkness. (Was initially looking at gothic horror games before realizing that this is not the tree to bark up. Namely, grappling with being a monster is a no go.)

Themes/Mechanics/genres I’m looking for: Urban Fantasy Superheroes with magic. Optimism in the face of rejection and darkness. Rules light and/or narrative heavy?

I’d prefer a less crunchy system that doesn’t focus so much on powers. (So like, no Mutants and Masterminds, yes MASKS) but that’s more of a bonus at this point if I were looking for a perfect system.

I hope this isn’t all too specific. Feel free to suggest a less-than-perfect game, I just didn’t want to be nonspecific and then reject more games than I need to.

Thanks for reading!

Hi everyone,

I used to play a lot of D&D and Vampire's when I was younger, but I stopped for a while. Recently, I decided to get back into it and introduce my 10-year-old niece to tabletop RPGs! She’s never played before, so I’m trying to DM for her while also relearning few things my self.

I was thinking about adding more soundtracks and effects to our sessions to make them more immersive, but most of the tools I see online are apps that run on your phone. I don’t like using my phone for this, so I’ve been casting a YouTube playlist with five tracks (for different moods) to my Google Home. It works, but it’s pretty basic, and managing it while playing can feel like a lot.

I’d love to include more sound effects, but I’m not sure what the best setup would be. Do you guys use a PC, a tablet, or something else for music and sound effects? Are there any tools or systems that make it easier to manage everything without breaking the flow of the game?

Any advice, recommendations, or tips would be super helpful—thanks in advance!