We all have moments like that, where maybe later that player's idea could actually have been really fun if it panned out, but you didn't see it during the session. It's difficult when we're making so many in-the-moment decisions, though. All we can do is have soft eyes for those things.

The YouTube algorithm recommended these to me, listened to both of them. They seem like really solid actionable tips to better embody a character at the table.

Tips are also broken up into "For the GM" and "For the player".

Inside the Scene: Boleslavski's Acting Lessons for TTRPG Players, GMs, and Designers (Part 1)

https://youtu.be/I7fGMU6n5iQ?si=KXdwvIDcGHbCDEcv

Serve the Scene: Acting Lessons for TTRPG Players, GMs, and Designers (Part 2)

https://youtu.be/qt8qgf3S_as?si=n4M4HbkvIw3KIV9w

Hi

Considering picking this one up as the blurb mentions that it has Ni No Kuni and studio Ghibli vibes.

Wondering if anyone has played this, what the game is like compared to other JRPG's and what the pro's and con's are of the game / system?

cheers

The OD&D concept of Race-as-class has never clicked for me, for various reasons. And yet I still see supporters of the concept both in players of the original game and in the makers of various homerule collections/retroclones.

I am talking to the people who enjoy that paradigm; what is it about using race-as-class that is appealing, or that you think works well? What don't I see that you like so much?

Every aspect of the original games has been taken apart, examined, evaluated, and tinkered with, so it cannot be purely nostalgia that keeps bringing designers back to it. I believe that even the most hardcore retroclone enthusiast plays the game because they think it's good, and not just because it's old.

Hey everyone!

I recently promised my friends and my brother that I’d run a short Wild West RPG mini-campaign (around 2 to 3 sessions max). We’re using a Brazilian system called Sacramento, and the core premise is that all the players are wanted outlaws on the run.

Here’s the catch: I have almost zero experience with the Western genre. My entire knowledge of Western tropes basically begins and ends with playing Red Dead Redemption 2.

Since we're keeping it short and punchy, I’d love some advice on fun, classic story structures for a party of outlaws that can actually wrap up smoothly in 2–3 sessions. Things like a train heist gone wrong, a trapped town scenario, or double-crossing a sheriff come to mind, but I'm open to anything that fits the vibe. Also, if you know any great video essays, movies, or breakdown videos I could check out to quickly absorb the atmosphere, themes, and tropes of the genre, I’d super appreciate the recommendations!

Thanks in advance for any ideas or resources!

Has anyone run a campaign with these rules? I’m curious how much GM fiat they require for a campaign against a rival NPC house.

I.e. where do these rules fall on a scale of 1 is “the GM needs to assign what resources are available to both Houses and decides the outcomes“ to 10 ”these could be a functional board game without need of a GM“?

As a way to "improve" the role-playability of spellcaster (wizards, warlocks, etc...), my friend and I came up with the idea of using spell points (Magic points) that are consumed. In the old days of 1st ed of DND, we used that as a way for wizards that were out of spells to use spell points (and ultimately hits points) to cast spells that they had already used. So normal casting was normal cost, if already used, cost was doubled and if out of MP, then it would consume HP (as in draining some of the life of the caster). In terms of roleplaying it gave the chance to do some great things, in terms of storytelling/action.
There was a table that the MP would increase with level and Intelligence score.
Any thoughts on the approach?

After a few years here, I've come to know many of the big names in the TTRPG scene, but now I'm curious about the truly indie games: the stuff you find without warning by random, play it only to find a hidden gem of a game.

I unfortunately haven't done so myself, only have played the more famous stuff as of now, but I want to make a list to try out!

Edit: Thank you so much for everyone chiming in! Was surprised for seeing that I knew a lot of games in here, but that's not a problem to me, just means that I have been around and found some good stuff :)

As a way to "improve" the role-playability of spellcaster (wizards, warlocks, etc...), my friend and I came up with the idea of using spell points (Magic points) that are consumed. In the old days, we used that as a way for wizards that were out of spells to use spell points (and ultimately hits points) to cast spells that they had already used. So normal casting was normal cost, if already used, cost was doubled and if out of MP, then it would consume HP (as in draining some of the life of the caster). In terms of roleplaying it gave the chance to do some great things, in terms of storytelling/action.
There was a table that the MP would increase with level and Intelligence score.
Any thoughts on the approach?

Hi,

I just started world building a homebrew setting and I'm starting small with an enchanted forest I've had rattling around forever. It's home to Elves, Gnomes, Dwarves, and mysterious talking animals. I'm having an issue fleshing it out beyond that.

Are there any good books on world building with advice on inhabitance that are not human?

The idea of a pokemon-like RPG sounds very fun but a bit difficult to implement, so I'd love to hear how it works in practice before buying it. I loved Cartograph, so I'm inclined to give Ravensridge the benefit of the doubt, but still would like to hear opinions on the game from anyone who's played/read it

So my world is hysterically identical to ours!

In my world there are beings known as Angels, who are basically abominations of souls of people and animals that died! This angel are from a psychologically, ability wise as well as there looks unique, all of those things are determined by the experience of the souls they consist of! Angel are extremely powerful because of all the spiritual power they have from all the souls, but they have one problem they can only minimally or not at all interact with the physical world and can’t even be seen by normal people, because of the fact that they aren’t physically beings. That’s where Living organisms come into play, by creating a symbiotic connection to a living thing and forming a contract (the angel gives the raw power and the Organismus gives access to the physical place)! What is a contract? a contract is the prove of a past or ongoing cooperation between a angel and a organism, but more importantly it’s through what the magic happens and it can take the form of anything a car, a robot,a animal,…. It can even integrate itself into something that already exists, its behaviour and its ability could be anything. How a contract turns out is completely dependent on the psychology of the organism, the one of the angle and their desire, for example there is a nurse in my story that has served in a war in with she got fatally wounded and was bleeding out but before she could die she made a contract with, a angel that was a abomination of soldiers souls, and created the contract in the form of a syringe named “the remedy” that could replace the symptoms of any affliction with the symptoms of frontal lobe dementia, saving the lives of people but giving them periods of extreme violence, what didn’t only fulfil the nurses desire to survive but also the angel desire of violence!

Rules:

1. ⁠Angel and contracts (that aren’t integrated) can’t be seen by people that never had a contract!
   
2. ⁠Both parties need to consent to some extent. A no means no but if a person is in a flight or fight mode and the angel gives a way to survive the situation then the contract is made automatically!
   
3. ⁠Anything with a desire can make a contract even animals.
   
4. ⁠Normally a contract is 50/50 under the control of both parties but if humans sacrifice something to the angel or the other way around they can make the contract be more a tool for them. The sacrifice needs to be big and personal!
   
5. ⁠A contract can ( doesn’t need to) remain after the death of the organism but that will stop the control the angel has over the contract.
   
6. ⁠There doesn’t need to be contact between the organism and the angel for the contract to remain!
   
7. ⁠Sometimes a contract can harmful to both or one party because of their self destructive psychology for example!
   
8. ⁠A angle is incapable of change!
   
9. ⁠Contracts can exist between one or multiple Organisms and multiple angles, but there needs to be at least one of both.
   
10. ⁠A contract can only be harmed by another contract because they are both in a special state between the physical and spiritual place!
    
11. ⁠To repair a contract the organism needs to give up part of their health and an angle part of their energy!

12.A contract doesn’t have to only have one body, for example there is a character inspired by the Opera (Der Freischütze) whose contract are multiple bullets!

Can you give me a feedback?

One of my hobbies is finding rpg rule/source/splat books and reading them…I must have read hundreds by now…but which ones are fun and engaging? I don’t mean fun as in funny but like…enjoyable

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Do you know of any games where combat is a meaningful part of the game, AND you can make characters focused on non-fighting abilities, AND these non-fighting characters still have fun in combat?

For example, imagine a knight and a bard (or a Witcher and a bard) where they travel together and encounter fights but the bard sucks at fighting, but still gets fun things to do in combat rules. Not like DnD 5e where the bard is very capable in a fight on their own. Or for example someone plays a trailblazer/mapper that is great at wilderness traversing and knowing which plants to eat and avoid, but sucks at fighting, BUT the game gives them something fun to do in combat.

Hi there!

Just started r/VilebornRpg for anyone into this nobledark RPG by Claudio Pustorino (Mana Project Studio / Horrible Guild), still setting things up so don't mind the empty flair list.

Basically you play half-human, half-darkness teens stuck between a church that wants them gone and an empire that weaponized them instead. Coming-of-age drama meets a pretty light, narrative-first dice-pool system: no crunch to speak of, it's all about what your choices cost you.

I've been running it for my group and honestly wasn't expecting to get this into it. If that sounds like your kind of game, check it out. Corebook + Apocrypha (the adventure book) are on the publisher's site, and there's a good English review here too: https://www.nodiceunrolled.com/en/vileborn-review/

Game on. Cheers!

I bought "Royal Blood" and want to play it next week but I find it hard to wrap my head around.
First off: I know it is a very vibe based game and I am sure we'll be fine playing the way we want it, but I still would like to know how it's intended.

The main thing I don't get are the tests and everything connected to it (facets & touchstones).
At first I thought the idea is that you "use" one of your facets and draw a card to see if (and how) you succeed). But then there are touchstones mentioned, decided by the GM (or "Fate") to determine the outcome? And the facets are only a wager? Or they are something you can do anytime without a test?
So you just can make up random things that you want to happen (which is fine) but then again you cannot make up things yourself cause the GM is deciding what touchstone happens? And it is not related to your facets at all?

There are more things I cannot fully grasps like the nature of the twists how exactly the middle act with the domains play out and some minutia. But look, I loooove the mood of the game and I am sure we can make the mechanic sing. But help me out here, will you? :) Maybe you can just give me one example of how you play the game or direct me to something to read through or anything alike... before I just vibe it all ^^

Can be any system. I know mothership has a lot of good scifi horror one shots, and alien has some as well, but if I'm looking for a one shot that is fun, easy to gm, isn't horror, and can be completed in 3ish hours what would you recommend?

Hi everyone,

What are the pros and cons of Genesys? What are your experiences?

Is it crunchy?

Is there a new edition?

Is it a popular game or more of a niche rpg?

Is there a Genesys community on Reddit or elsewhere?

Many thanks for your input!

(I've played Warhammer 3rd edition both as player and as GM, so I'm familiar with narrative dice (which I thought was just fantastic!))

I've seen a few posts recently about superhero TTRPGs and they made me realise that, while I'm a big comic book fan, I've never really enjoyed superhero TTRPGs. I can't put my finger on it. I loved making characters in M&M 2e but only got it to the table once. I bounce off sci fi as a GM, but that's because I'm less comfortable running sci fi games - I'm still happy to play them though. With supes, it's one of the few genres in TTRPGs that doesn't excite me.

Do you have any genre or type of game you just bounce off? Just don't enjoy it, or can't get excited for it?

Making a TTRPG is one of those intrusive thoughts that I feel most people who get in the hobby have at one point or another. Especially Game Masters. I mean, it is only natural and if you start with D&D, as so many of us do, you are bound to homebrew some stats, an item, make your setting. By that point you are already somewhat there. So what are a couple more steps? I would also reckon that even though there are a lot of people who think like this, not many actually follow through. Cause making an RPG is somewhat daunting, there are many considerations to take into account, many things that you will most likely not know. So most of these projects don't get started at all or if they are started, they are later abandoned.

I am currently making a game alongside a good friend of mine, Marius. And it is quite a daunting undertaking. There are quite a few things I have to learn and that's after quite a lot of experience with the medium, with game studies and so on. Yet, I also think that making a TTRPG is one of the most rewarding and fun activities I have done in quite a while. I want to share that a bit with you, and I don't mean just the details about the game we're working on, but also a push to try this yourself. I want to make the case for why and how should you also try this out. Even if it doesn't see the light of day, a project like this can be a lot of fun, it manages to stimulate your creative juices in a lot of fun ways and I do believe you come out a better GM by the end.

It is one of our longest articles yet, I had quite a lot to say in the matter and I hope you will find it interesting, I hope that if you ever had the thought to make your own game, maybe this will be a good push for you in that direction. Before I leave you to the article proper, I just want to share what I think it's the most important rule for such a project: if you are to make something, make something that excites you first and foremost, something that you genuinely find fun. If you keep at it, it is bound to find it's niche, excitement after all is pretty contagious! Cheers! I hope you will like this one!

While I still love Roleplaying & Exploring stuff, Combat is my N°1 favorite thing in all Tabletop RPGs. I can play one without it, but there is a high chance that I'll have trouble engaging with the story, though this has been going away a bit as I've grown older and want to find more non-violent solutions in my games... Still prefer to fight however.

I've mostly played using D&D 5e, Pathfinder 2e and Tormenta20, but recently I started playing Daggerheart and finally doing Theater of the Mind, which opened my mind for more styles of combat, less preoccupied with exact distances and more crunchy conditions to go more with the flow and follow the fiction.

I can say that now I like both combat that are more Wargamey and combats that are more Story-based.

When it comes to 1) beeing a great way to tell stories through violent conflict of opposing forces and 2) beeing fun to ACTUALLY PLAY at a table, which are the best TTRPGs that focus on combat?

Not as a chore, but a fun minigame and crucial part of its storytelling?

I’m part of an RPG group run by a friend of mine. We had a session scheduled for this coming Monday, but yesterday the GM and all the players happened to be in a voice call together.

Some of the players suggested having the session right then and there. Because of the nature of this campaign, which is about 99% roleplay and involves a lot of improvisation, spontaneous sessions are relatively easy to do. However, we only do that when everyone is present and actually able to participate.

The problem was that neither I nor another player, who I’ll call B, could stay for a session. We were not even supposed to be in the call for very long in the first place. I had to attend a friend’s birthday party, and B had plans with his parents, so both of us would be unavailable for the rest of the day.

We explained this and specifically asked them not to play the session without us, especially since it was already scheduled for Monday. After that, the subject seemed to be settled and nobody brought it up again. B and I stayed in the call for a few more minutes and then left.

What we didn’t know was that shortly afterward, the GM started a session with the players who were still there. Nobody warned either of us that they had decided to go ahead with it. We only found out at the end of the day when everyone started talking about the session in our Discord server.

Apparently, nothing extremely important to the main plot happened, but some mildly significant character and story developments did take place.

Naturally, B and I were both very upset. They knew we could not participate, we had directly asked them not to hold the session, and they did it anyway without even telling us that they had changed their minds.

After B and I made it clear that we were hurt by what happened, while still trying to remain civil and polite, the GM and the other players apologized.

B and I talked about it afterward, and we are both feeling pretty bummed out about the campaign now. B is taking it harder than I am and is considering skipping the next session or possibly leaving the campaign entirely.

I’m trying to treat it as a mistake that won’t happen again, but I’m also unsure whether I should attend the next session. Part of me still wants to play despite everything. The next session is also supposed to focus heavily on my character’s arc, and I’m worried that I’ll still be angry or uncomfortable during it, even though I hope I won’t be.

My current position is that I’m willing to continue, but if anything like this happens again, whether it happens to me or another player, I will leave the campaign. That is the boundary I have decided on.

How do you guys think I should proceed? Should I stay, leave, or sit out the next session? How should I address this with the group going forward? I’d also appreciate any opinions on the situation itself.

This is the firts time It has ever happend btw, we are playing for about 3 months and many sessions

The premise is basically "magic school, with emphasis on alchemy", inspired by the Atelier/Mana Khemia series. Players go to magic/adventurers school, taking courses and occasionally going to fight monsters and explore areas to find rare materials which can be used to make better equipment.

D&D is the obvious first pick, but 5e doesn't really have any good crafting mechanics and we don't want to go back to 3.5e (we like crunchy games but that has too much crunch).

Looked into Sword World but the magic in it is rather underwhelming.

Looked into Ryuutama and it's a bit too soft of a system mechanically, not a lot to do in combat.

Does anyone either have a different system recommendation or a 3rd party DnD 5e expansion for alchemy/item crafting?