As the title says.

This, this and another post about a GM creating some handmade letter handouts for his players which I can no longer find recently all followed the same pattern. The posts were made by accounts created days ago, usually with multiple posts in very unconnected but popular subreddits. Usually there were some random comments made on other posts, done in french for some reason.

The posts all had a very similar pattern of complaining about some personal issue that demanded either sympathy or advice from their readers, always written in the most self-hating tone possible. If they described players acting badly, they always ruled out the immediate option of talking it over like adults.

None of these accounts seem to have any interest in responding to comments on their post, despite writing posts that are quite long about deeply personal issues. By the way, they seem to have a lot of deeply personal issues, judging by their other posts on other subreddits.

I might be wrong about some of these, but I would advice people to be skeptical about the stories that get posted here, and not let it distort their view of how other people actually play or interact. Bots like these can make dysfunctional groups seem way more common than they actually are.

Please tell me other GMs have had to do this, because I’m sitting in front of my notes right now having a quiet identity crisis.

I have been running a gritty investigative campaign for the past two months. Tonight was supposed to be the session where my players finally pieced together the clues and caught the noble who poisoned the city magistrate. They were sitting around my kitchen table passionately debating the evidence for an hour.

While listening to them, I glanced down at my timeline notes and felt my blood run cold. My timeline was broken. I forgot that three weeks ago, I canonically established that my actual killer was on a military barge eighty miles downriver. My own mystery was completely, mathematically unsolvable.

the players, meanwhile, somehow connected three completely random throwaway descriptions I improvised in session two. They constructed this airtight, emotionally devastating theory accusing the innkeeper. Their logic was so much better than mine that I just put on my best poker face and said, "You solved it." They literally cheered and high-fived. They think I’m teh storytelling god of our friend group, but I'm an illiterate hack who doesn't understand calendar math. Do I take this secret to my grave or am I cheating them by retrofitting their theories?

Greetings from Brazil, fellow RPG enthusiasts! While exploring the GUMSHOE system—starting with Trail of Cthulhu—I stumbled upon The Esoterrorists, a very intriguing horror and investigation RPG. When I tried to find some content about it on YouTube—like recordings of actual play sessions—all I could find were reviews of the system itself, the rulebook, and so on. Even on Reddit, I’ve seen very few people talking about this TTRPG. Have you played it? What was your experience like? In your opinion, why doesn't anyone talk about it much?

https://stonetop.cc/

Bryan Legend made an interactive web version of Stonetop RPG. I think it is quite nice.

Strandberg put his RPG's text under CC BY-SA 4.0, so this site is legal.

I'm trying to make a list of games that could fit that Gothic horror and violence. I'm thinking

Rippers

Curse of strahd

Maybe Dark Ages vampire

Maybe vaesen if you squint hard enough

Any other I'm missing?

Before anyone immediately comments "have an adult conversation with your group" or "this should’ve been handled in Session 0", please hear me out. I’m not angry at them. They’re my closest friends. I just feel deeply, quietly pathetic.

I’ve been running our campaign for about seven months. Last week, I had what I thought was an inspired idea for their investigation in the capital. I spent my entire Sunday afternoon writing three separate in-world letters, printing them in calligraphy, staining them with black tea, and even sealing them with actual red wax. I felt so proud of it.

Fast forward to tonight. They finally breach the magistrate’s study where the letters were. I set the real wax-sealed props in front of them with a grin, expecting some gasp of excitement. The barbarian player glanced at them, didn't even break the seal, and went, "Can I just roll an Investigation check to see if the desk is expensive? I want to chop it up." Everyone laughed, the wizard cast Fire Bolt to distract the guards outside, and they moved on.

They didnt even pick the props up. I just quietly slipped them back into my folder while they spent 45 minutes debating whether to adopt a stray goat. I know it’s just a hobby with plastic dice, but man... do I just have completely unrealistic expectations, or is running a game always just an exercise in emotional masochism?

I'm going to be running Call Of Cthulhu for the first time, running The Derelict. I'm hoping my players will enjoy it and that we'll be continuing with more CoC into the future

I'm a forever GM and I've noticed something that might sound too mean, but I say with the bottom of my heart. Most players write terrible characters. It's their characters so I usually don't bring it up to them, but most players write characters that are bad for a variety of reasons.

Common reasons I've noticed are that they mistake elaborate backstory for an interesting character, writing characters that are written with one specific character arc in mind, characters who are too mysterious so nobody in the party ends up caring about them, one-dimensional personalities and etc.

This isn't a post about me venting about players, as I would normally just keep this to myself since I don't want to judge and the good lord knows my players could find way worse things to pick apart about the settings and adventures I write.

But then I noticed, when writing settings and adventures, I have lots of guidance. There's tons of advice on how to write a good setting, adventure design and all that. While a lot of this information can be found in blogs, videos and other sources, it can also be found in the rulebooks of the TTRPGs that I'm actually playing. The Dungeon Master's Guide has tons of useful information on worldbuilding, adventure design, setting up campaigns and all that stuff.

Meanwhile, the Player's Handbook's guidance for writing interesting characters is to just come up with a concept. This extends to almost every TTRPG I've ever read, that players just need to come up with a concept without any guidance on how to make an interesting concept.

No doubt, there's tons of information on writing interesting characters from the perspective of fiction writing, but don't think all fiction and improv advice applies to TTRPGs. I think a lot of the bad characters that I've seen came from assuming a style of fiction that doesn't suit most TTRPGs.

With all this, why do you think there isn't much guidance on writing interesting characters? Am I wrong in thinking some characters are better or worse than others?

Personally I predict that Solo TTRPGs are going to grow in popularity, even if only temporarily.
Could be wrong, but making predictions is fun even when they're wrong.

Do you have any predictions? What's your biggest, most bold prediction?

I want to run a game for my playgroup since it has been a bit since we all had a campaign together ( a number of reasons including work, kids, other life stuff which has let up at least a bit). But, I'm looking for suggestions for an RPG that might be right for my table. I have been looking into Pathfinder 2 and there is a lot I really like about it including its overall game balance, the high amount of customization, and its over all GM support. However, there are a few things about it that make me worried that it might not be right for the group of people I usually play with. Specifically:

1. Might be a bit too crunchy for a couple players. Most of them have been playing RPGs for years and can handle at least moderate complexity, but there are also a few elements that I think will turn some off. Also, one potential player is new and has only played a few levels of 5e.
2. PF2's focus on loot progression: it seems like all of us, no matter who GMs, are bad at regularly giving out loot, often going entire levels without much meaningful treasure. This isn't ideal in many systems, but a big issue in P2E which really assumes you have good gear (Automatic Bonus Progression helps a bit, but doesn't solve the problem).
3. Less combat focused: it's not that we don't like combat, but we don't tend to do lots of dungeon delving and over years of playing together I think I can easily count on 1 hand the number of times we had more than 3 fights in a day (and often the limit is closer to 2). That's just not how our campaigns tend to be paced out (this also leads to the loot issues). Also, while combats should be engaging, I don't think most of the players are coming to the game looking for an immensely challenging tactical experience. It's not that there can't be consequences, but I don't think holding them to "perfect play" in order to get through an adventure is what they are after.

So, I wanted to see if people have any recommendations for a different system we might like more? A Fantasy RPG (ideally as that fits the idea I have for a campaign already) around "medium weight" rules wise, where combat is maybe a little more "cinematic" than tactical (but still rewards character building choices), and treasure is more special than necessary for advancement. Also, ideally the flavor of the system should be flexible enough, since one of the things that interests me about GMing is creating my own settings (although for whatever reason I don't mind this as much in sci-fi). I will say, this is likely my biggest person gripe with Pathfinder, as something like creating a new pantheon of gods takes a bunch more effort in some others (and creating a completely new Ancestry is a pain).

The two main systems we have the most experience with are Pathfinder 1e and D&D 5e. In Pathfinder 1e the biggest drawback was the balance issues, how 2 characters of the same level could have vastly different power levels, which also made creating enjoyable fights difficult (this was a big selling point to me for P2E). Also, the giant ocean of feats is just really overwhelming. 5e is "fine" but a) there is definitely some burnout with a few players and interest in trying something different and b) while I'm generally fine playing it I hated GMing it. It felt like the game tries to be both rules light and crunchy at the same time, and the result is the GM has to fill a bunch of holes the designers really should have worked out themselves and without much support. Personally, in addition to those I've played 3.0/3.5 (and a tiny amount of AD&D) , Genesys (which a few of the players have also tried), Lancer, a little bit of Stars Without Number, and Rifts. I have also looked a decent bit into Starfinder 1e and 2e, and Dungeon World, and skimmed a few other systems.

I'm looking for Gothic Horror adventures (not games, I already know the system I will be using, just adventures to adapt to said system), but most of my research run pretty dry.

What I mean by this is : an adventure that takes place in a world similar to our own (not Curse of Strahd, which is Gothic fantasy), if possible within the time period of Gothic litterature (18th or 19th century, but other eras can work at long as it doesn't rely too much on modern technology), with themes and tropes inspired by classic Gothic horror novels (Frankenstein, Dracula, Castle of Otranto, Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde...).

So far I've find a few Cairn adventures that can work if I remove a few of the more fantasy-coded elements, a few Call of Cthulhu adventures where I just need to change the time period.

Do you have any suggestion of stuff that would work? Thanks in advance if you do!

So I had my first game last week as a DM. I thought I'd share my experience.

So first, I had to say it was pretty cool. My players and I loved it and we had a great time. They all thought the rules were pretty light and easy to understand. The game mechanics (especially establishing truths) were really inspiring and entertaining. Some of my players even came up with problems to overcome instead of advantage.

There were some things that were challenging to deal with though.

As a DM:

1/ Knowing how when I should take the lead or let my players do.

2/ The "no prep" thing can be unsettling sometimes.

I mean, if they win the narration rights, how do you decide if they had enough or not ? At a certain point, we were in a forest and one of them won narration rights. So I let him decide the outcome and all. Then they went on going foreword but didn't know what to do next. I came up me something after a bit but I have to say it's not that easy to go "no prep" when you're used to DMing pretty standard ttrpg.

How do you guys deal with all that usually? Any advice?

As a player:

1/ Narrating some traits that weren't blending easily with the story and be stuck with a trait you can’t burn.

One of my players had "afraid of heights" but we were on plain site for some times. Trying to set up this trait, she even came up with a truth saying the group came across a zip line. But when she tried to roll she failed but roll no 1. (Which will bring me to my second point).

Any advice in order to narrate traits easier for the players?

2/ Failing but not rolling any ones so burning traits has no use.

We came across many situations in which my players were failing a roll, they wanted to burn their traits in order to reroll/keep the game moving but as they failed they didn't roll any 1. I mean I get that in order to be different from drinks, traits make you reroll only your ones. But I felt like it was kind of frustrating for them that they couldn't use their "joker card" if they wanted to, even though THEY FAILED. It happened at least 5 times.

Any advice about this matter ?

Overall it was a great experience for all of us. I feel like they would love to do it again.

I have a second game this week, this time online. I just hope I won't loose too much of the atmosphere that all the set up creates IRL. Wish me luck !

So I've been playing through a lot of Persona 3 Reload recently and a thought occurred to me: is it possible to turn this whole thing into a TTRPG campaign?

That leads to some key questions:

1. Has this been done before (sort of successfully; I don't think a D&D 5e hack is what would work here)? If yes, could you list some names?
2. If not, what system could work best if I don't want to write up a new one from scratch?
3. Has anyone played something like that? Did it work out well enough that you could recommend it to others?

I may be wrong, but I don't think it should be that difficult? You would need a combat system of some sort (the games are turn-based JRPGs to start off with, so that should be easy) with some kind of supernatural power in there. Add to that social checks when you're not actively exploring the supernatural and are just trying to get by as a school student.

Eh. Got any ideas, people?

What GM-less games have you played? What did you like about them? What didn’t you like? How about your group?

Full-disclosure I am funding a GM-less (or GM-full) story-game right now. God-Killer Prophecy: Oracle Edition https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jkitz/god-killer-prophecy-oracle-edition/ , funding ends Oct 31st.

For me there is often a freedom of creativity in these games due to the dispersed authority. You get to build aspects of the world together. It fires the imagination in a unique way. Some will have a focused experience where the game itself assumes some of the GM role (though this may best be seen like an adventure/scenario) and leaves the players with a more specific type of story.

Games I have played included The Quiet Year, Palanquin, The Hourglass Sings, Home Mech x Kaiju, Kingdom, Universalis, and (using the rotating GM option) Vanagard. There are likely others I have forgotten. Of course I’ve played God-Killer Prophecy and it’s new variant Star-Killer Rebellion many times.

Are there any resources you’ve found useful for this type of play experience?

As the title says, I'm interested in the Map Making bundle on Humble Bundle but how do I use it? Is it a separate program or can I use it with Roll20/Dungeon Fog or is it just a bunch of images assets that I put together in paint or equivalent?

It's listed in the Software Bundle but I can't see if additional software is necessary.

Check out Mythborn: Heroes of Greek Myth if you want to play as a werewolf, or worship Hades and Persephone, or "know their fear" as a powerful Seer.

Mythborn: Heroes of Greek Myth is a silver medal selling Legend in the Mist setting book for players to help you create mythic heroes of ancient Greece.

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/582626/mythborn-heroes-of-greek-myth

For those unfamiliar with the setting, it’s a post post apocalyptic sword-punk game where cannibals roaming Great Plains with cleavers are juxtaposed with ancient high tech labs once used by a long dead space faring civilization. It’s no-magic setting with a brutal world, but in spite of that groups like the Holy Nation: a cult idolizing humanity and despising old technology, The United Cities: a feudal slave state, the Shek Kingdom: a warrior culture where might makes right and death in battle is above all else, and many other minor factions and gangs have found their place in the world.

I plan on centering the story around a secret cabal of skeletons (Race of robot people in kenshi) creating robotic monstrosities from bits and pieces of their long dead behemoth brethren in order to weaken humanity and coax CatLon, their disgraced emperor, from his 1000 year exile. While that’s the main quest line, I’d love to hear some ideas y’all might have for some side quests along the way (to make money, as roadblocks, etc). I’m a first time DM so any tips in that department would be much appreciated aswell! :)

Basically the title. I can’t find a copy of this game online at all, not even secondhand. Anyone know a place where I can find it?

I am looking for some good social systems. Especially if they integrate status or reputation (or preferably both) in the inner working of the system.

Hi everyone,

I'm planning to run my first session of Inner System Blues from Jason Tocci's 2400 collection and I'd love some help getting started.

Actual plays: Do you know of any recordings, podcasts, or written session reports (AP) of Inner System Blues or other 2400 games? Seeing how others handle the flow of play would really help.

Running the first session: How do you usually kick things off? Do you start with a job from the tables, pre-generate characters, or build the crew together at the table?

Pacing & rules: Any advice on running the dice pool and harm, keeping the cyberpunk vibe without slowing things down, or pitfalls to avoid as a first-time GM of this system?

Any one-shot ideas, prep tips, or links are very welcome. Thanks!

When Crown & Skull was first published, the original idea/plan was to have a 5 book set. So far there is 2 and a small print on demand supplement. Anyone know if the plan is still to publish the remaining books or has the game been abandoned? Looks like Runehammer has dropped off YouTube as well. I understand there is a Runehammer game shop now and that is likely the focus but, I would like to see the remaining books published. Its a solid under appreciated game.

Looking for something dark, horrific and stylish to play with my friends and I, and came across these two. I'm leaning more towards Mörk Borg primarily from a price standpoint (around $25 for the core rulebook and $16 for the GM screen), though I'm torn 'cause I hear Into the Odd has some industrial horror undertones that sound pretty neat. I suppose I'm looking for advice from people who have run either game, if either is really worth it or if there's a third alternative I haven't considered.

Kinda embarrassed to even type this out after running games for so long, but I need a reality check because I feel like a total fraud right now. I’ve been a forever DM for my group for about four years, almost exclusively running 5e and Pathfinder. Whenever the pacing dragged or I got mentally stuck, I’d just throw an ambush at them. Rolling initiative buys you an hour of game time where the system does teh heavy lifting for you.

Tonight we finally tried a Call of Cthulhu one-shot (The Haunting). No battlemaps, no tactical grid, just pure investigation and horror atmosphere. But about an hour in, my players tore through the library clues twice as fast as I planned, looked right at me, and asked "Where do we go next?" And my brain just completely flatlined.

I sat there in dead silence for two minutes, shuffling papers like an idiot. Without a monster stat block to drop onto a grid, I had zero clue how to maintain tension or improvise on the fly. I panicked so hard I basically fast-forwarded them to the basement and ended forty minutes early. has anyone else had this horrifying wake-up call when ditching combat, or am I just fundamentally bad at actual storytelling?

The Rule of 3 often gets tossed around when talking about Investigation Encounters or Scenes. The interpretation I commonly see is: prepare 3 clues for your players to uncover a mystery or fact.

For example: A murder happens in a farmhouse, and the clues will be 1. The murder weapon with the murderer's fingerprints is in a haystack, 2. A piece of the murderer's clothing was caught on the door, 3. The murderer's boot print is out the back door. This is an overly simplified example, though, with each clue leading to the identity of the Murderer. Whereas you might have multiple groups of clues, each linked to a different fact about the mystery.

Have you ever had your players miss the 3 clues? And if it did happen, do you know why it did?

I tend to see it fail one of two ways typically. 1. Bad dice rolls on the important rolls (eg fail perception checks to notice a hidden object) 2. GM doesn't have players roll but expects players to say a specific question (eg the player says they investigate the bathroom, but doesn't say they lift the lid to toilet tank).