r/rpg

I know I kinda talked about this before but now I kinda wonder if I'm some kind of coward for wanting to avoid RPGs themed around some inevitable downward spiral for either your character or society. Reflected in the mechanics by sanity, money, corruption, humanity, esc. But also in setting and lore, too. Doesn't a dystopia inherently assume we're all just slaves to history?

I feel like my perspective on life and the world is actually already pessimistic and nhilistic enough. Mildly fatalistic too, I think everything is cause and effect and that if a better world was possible, it would have happened already.

Would love some suggestions on a game for a more unqiue group of players.

I have a friend group of creatives (authors, etc) who want to try a tabletop, but are less interested in the combat aspects and more interested in the roleplaying/story telling aspects. I can obviously just run a story heavy/combat lite oneshot in dnd/pathfinder, but I'm curious if there are any systems that would be accesible to newer players (obviously with me boning up on the rules and helping) that were less combat focused that you would recommend?

Hello,

I'm a bit at my wits end and am seeking advice. I've been playing pf2e for almost 2 years now, and I don't like it, but I've stuck with it because my players really like it. I have finally hit a wall, and I need out of this system and would like advice of people who have more experience with different systems to help me find one that checks a few boxes.

My needs are:

A system that is not 100% combat focused, I like hazards and traps mean something something and having last effects on a dungeons experience, as well as travel to and from dungeons mean something with good resource management systems in place, although I can (and have) homebrew those, as PF2e has one of the worst overland systems I've ever seen in a game.

Rules for complex things, but doesn't stand in the way of improving. My biggest gripe with pf2e is the over abundance of rules that cover every inch of the game, but then nearly aimless improv rules for dc's and tests that step on the toes of the other half of the game and provide little to no guidance on how to use them effectively.

Games that do not expect a "magic shop". I don't like magic items being the norm in games, i like them to be special and be the target of players when they hear rumors of them. Like Sting, or Glamdring, not +1 long sword that you get at the local general store.

My players needs are:

Deep character customization that goes beyond combat, one of the big pros of Pf2e is the character creation for them.

grid play friendly, none of them have the ability to imagine 3d space, and using ranges is useless. I've tried.

Characters are not expendable, they like to have the same character for a long time and build a story around one pc.

I know this might be an impossible system, but I've looked and looked and have failed, but was wondering if anyone had some insight.

I've been playing with my group for almost a year. We're playing a complex political intrigue sci-fi game using the SWN system. There are a LOT of moving parts, to the point where I'm shocked our DM is managing to keep track of it all. We even had to make our own fandom wiki to keep track of information.

NOW, my question: I'm the note-taker, and I'm in the process of consolidating/organizing it so we can actually figure out what the hell is going on. Aside from literally getting out a corkboard and red string, how would you organize this information so we, as the players, can start making sense of the big picture?

Currently, I have a lot of the info in a document. I thought about having a spreadsheet with all the info then having a column of "tags" to sort by (so, for example, we can filter info by anything that's about a specific organization and/or person). But I wanted to know if there was another, potentially better, tool or system you would use if you were doing this.

This campaign has been so much fun, and the mystery has been a huge part of that. We all want to give it the respect it deserves by putting the puzzle pieces together. But, man, there are so many pieces.

I've been collecting ttrpgs for about 7-8 years now and I haven't found a good bookshelf in my area that was large enough, strong enough, or affordable enough for me to display my ttrpgs on. Any suggestions? Preferably something easy to build or prebuilt and easy to move.

I am completely new to RPG but a school counselor recommended NTYE to my 8yo and he was dying to play so I got it. We (me, my 8yo and 6yo) attempted the first recommended game and now I am SWEATING. If I wasn't trying to figure this out for him I would give up.

1. Can someone please explain to me how in the world you defeat the monsters? Is it their health that you have to get to zero? Is it that you have to roll the dice at the listed level as many times as their health says? So if its a level 3, health 3, you have to roll +3 three times? I just don't understand and I find the directions very unclear.
2. The tokens. When do these get used? Do they only get used if the characters want to "try harder"?
3. Can characters choose different actions? For example in the first story the game uses (the dragonsnot falls one) one kid wanted to look at the buttons on the random device thingy and the other wanted to just cross the bridge.....do I need to get them to work together or can they choose separate things?
4. How in the WORLD do you know if something needs to be rolled? My 6yo was going on and on about all of the things he was doing with his batmobile throughout the story (putting special grip tires on it, strapping it to his waist while crossing the bridge so it could turn into a parachute in case he fell, etc. etc. ). At what point do these things count as actions that need to be rolled?
5. At the end of the game during the celebration they each got one more "fun".....why? Do these carry into the next game or something?

Needless to say my kids were sorely disappointed when we finished the first game and it was 100% because of me and my skills. *facepalm*

Making a campaign set in an archipelago of 6 (previously 7) island that for some unknown reason that to "sail" through the ocean, where after the capital disappeared, a war started for 100 years. They are in a quick explanation of each island:

- The Vortex: Previously "Clear Skies Island", it sank into the ocean one day and left a gateway to the Underworld in it's place, pouring demons and momsters out of it.

- Capital Island: Capital of the Empire, when The Vortex opened, they island sailed into the horizon to be never seen for 100 years, only now returning.

- Dead Island: tried to rebel against the empire on the past, lost, became a social pariah and official cemetery of the empire. When the cataclysm happened, they used necromancy to gain a fighting chance, though they are more defensive and open to conversations.

- Frozen Sea Island: Previously "7 Waters Island", it's home of many arcane discoveries in the empire. When the cataclysm hit, an earthquake slit the island into many part, only surviving by freezing the entire place together. They now venture into the other islands in search of magic items to prosper their land.

- Iron Forge Island: Mainland of craftsman, blacksmiths and commerce guilds, a now half normal/half frozen volcanic island have a forceful occupation from the Frozen Sea Island over the crafting of magical items.

- Desolate Island: First Island to fall in the war for succession of the imperial throne. Know a place full of ruins, refugees, pirates, but also diplomats and aspiring adventurers as the island now serves as a neutral ground in the war.

- Monster Island: First island to be taken over by the monsters of The Vortex. So grand were the dangers that now most sane citizens live in the neighboring, smaller islands or in makeshift floating villages in the sea.

Now, after 100 years, the Emperor returns and announces a Grand Group Tournament with a yet to be disclosed prize. However, I still need to create factions to make each place feel more lived in.

The group will start and do its first main quest in the neutral grounds of the Desolate Island. Which factions from what I described could be a good fit in the isle and how many should I develop?

Edit:

In general, I plan on making factions on the following framework:

1. What they WANT (General + Specific)

2. What they DON'T WANT (General + Specific)

3. What is STOPPING them from getting what they want.

4. 1 to 3 Important NPCs (with Wants, Avoids, A Secret and A Inconsistency)

I’ve noticed that newer GMs sometimes put a lot of work into figuring out how to connect different adventures into a campaign. One thing that’s easy to overlook is that the adventures don’t actually need to be related.

I’ve been using a simple four adventure structure for this, mostly with published scenarios. Figured I’d share it here in case anyone finds it useful.
I find this works best with one-shots or short adventures that take no more than two sessions. The idea is to have a recurring element show up often enough for the players to remember it and notice how things are changing.

What I do is pick a recurring element and let it develop in the background of otherwise unrelated adventures.
It could be an NPC, a faction, an artifact, a cult, or even an entire kingdom. The important thing is that it doesn’t need to be central to the adventures themselves. Sometimes it’s just a conversation, a piece of information, or something the PCs happen to encounter.
I usually think of it as a short, four adventure arc.

In the first adventure, I introduce the element and give the players a reason to remember it. In the second, I show them another side of it, preferably something that changes how they understood it the first time. By the third, it starts affecting the PCs directly. Then I use a fourth adventure, usually something I write myself, to bring that element to the foreground and give the whole thing some kind of resolution.

For example, in Delta Green (it can also work on any investigation game), I’ve been using a recurring handler (basically the guy giving the PCs their missions).
He starts off as a fairly understanding guy, willing to overlook small mistakes and help the agents when things get complicated.
But as the campaign develops, they begin seeing another side of him. They discover that he has no problem abandoning agents he doesn’t trust when it serves his purposes. At first, those are other agents, people the PCs might not even know.
Then, during a later operation, the PCs find themselves in exactly that position. Suddenly, the guy who’s been helping them all along doesn’t seem quite so reliable.
That gives me enough material to eventually run an adventure centered around this character, where the PCs have to confront what they’ve learned about him and possibly the organization they work for.

For a medieval fantasy game, you could do something similar with an entire kingdom.
Maybe the PCs visit a kingdom that seems like a fairly decent place. In another adventure, they hear about people disappearing near its borders, or villages being abandoned. Later, someone they know ends up fleeing from that same kingdom, and the PCs discover its rulers are doing something pretty terrible.
By the fourth adventure, the kingdom itself becomes the problem. Maybe they get involved in a rebellion, confront whoever is responsible, or even decide that the kingdom has good reasons for what it’s doing.

You could do the same with a quest giver who keeps asking for help, a magical relic that keeps showing up in different places, or pretty much anything you can develop over several adventures.
The nice thing is that none of the published adventures need to be connected. I can run them largely as written, introduce a little information related to the meta plot here and there, and let the players build their own understanding of what’s happening.

It also keeps preparation manageable. PCs might die but the players still know the meta plot. I’m not planning some massive campaign with dozens of interconnected clues. I’m just developing one element across a few adventures until it becomes important enough to deserve its own scenario.
And of course it doesn’t have to be four adventures exactly. You could do it with three or six, or use an existing published adventure as the finale instead of writing your own.

One thing worth mentioning, especially for newer GMs, is that I’m not planning how the players will react to any of this. I’m just developing the element and introducing new information as the campaign goes on. What they decide to do about it is up to them.

Cheat sheet:

Adventure 1: Introduce the element

Adventure 2: Show another side of it. Challenge the players’ initial understanding

Adventure 3: Make its consequences personal. The PCs now have to deal with it directly

Adventure 4: Make the element the central conflict of the adventure

It’s a pretty simple way of building a short campaign out of published and homebrew adventures without forcing them into the same story.

I picked up the starter set and was hoping to play it with a few friends that have played ttRPGs before but aren't what I'd call hardcore tabletop players. So far it seems a bit...overly gamey?

I'm wondering what the general opinions on it are and the big pros/cons for new-ish tabletop players.

Hello!

A little bit about me: I've been mostly GMing via Play-by-Post, but I'm now diving into in-person/live games. Reason being: I finally found players! . . . With the additional detail that they are newbies, so I want to make it easier for them to learn and enjoy the experience.

So, we'll be playing Candela Obscura, an Investigative Horror with a dice pool mechanic, and a bit of PbtA/FitD DNA. And, honestly, they don't much care for the "mechanic" side of things; they do appreciate that it's easy to learn. We did a sample, no-prep, scene just to get a feel of the mechanics, and they somehow get the "flow/gameplay loop" of the game easily—i.e. it's all just a conversation, and we only roll whenever there are stakes on the line.

Now, I already have blank playing cards as a means to disseminate scene information, clues, and other note-worthy things. Admittedly, I'll probably change, or at least try to use index cards as an alternative. I just think that the thickness of the playing cards have more "presence" when held by the players. But, again, this will be only the first time they will encounter this. So, this could go either way.

Another tool I plan to use is a simple, small whiteboard. Only to be used to quickly draw up an image whenever it is needed, and since I can only draw stick figures, I don't intend to get larger drawing tools.

Then, I'll make use of Clocks. I'll probably use the whiteboard for this as well, or I can easily just use dice, but I do want it to be more visible, intimidating. Any suggestions for alternative items/tools for Clocks? One alternative I'm looking at is some form of tokens. Where I just place on a square in front of me, or at the middle, then I state when it becomes X amount of tokens—or the inverse—whenever I take all of the tokens, X happens.

And finally, I'm still unsure if I want a curated music playlist for them, since I'm not sure how long we will be playing, but I do intend to have some background music whenever we play. Oh, and are there any free, basic soundboard apps for me to look at? Again, I just want to immerse them with the least financial expense on my end.

Any tips or opinions would be great!

P.S. If it matters, we will be using Theater of the Mind for this system.

"Why We Changed the Name of Shub-Niggurath

The decision to change the name of Shub-Niggurath to Shub-Gorath came from a few different considerations, both in and outside of the game’s world.

One reason was the feedback we saw online. Some people pointed out that “Shub-Niggurath” could be hurtful to some audiences, particularly when considered alongside Lovecraft’s own views. We want everyone sitting down to play our games to feel welcome at the table, so this was something we took seriously. Although Lovecraft scholars concur “Shub-Niggurath” was not derived from the slur, unfortunately it is one of those words that sometimes triggers automatic content filters. This is something known as the “Scunthorpe Problem”. Since our games and campaigns are promoted and discussed across many different platforms, we wanted to avoid creating an unnecessary obstacle for players and the community simply because of a character’s name.

There is also a little bit of in-world reasoning behind the change. Old Ones Origins takes place in an age long before humanity, when these entities existed without the names and titles that human cultures would later give them. Names such as Mother of All or Black Goat are therefore not necessarily the names these beings would have used for themselves.

So why Shub-Gorath? The name comes from Shuma-Gorath, a name associated with Robert E. Howard’s contributions to the mythos. Bringing elements like these together feels very much in the spirit of how Lovecraft, Howard, and other writers built these interconnected worlds in the first place: borrowing ideas, adapting names, and combining elements from one another’s stories and mythologies. Shub-Gorath grew out of that same creative tradition.

We feel like names given to beings that existed long before humans—and long before the languages we use to try to describe them—can evolve. Shub-Gorath is still Shub. She is still the same Old One, with the same place in the cosmic conflict.

We also understand that for some players, staying as close as possible to the original names is an important part of preserving the legacy of these characters. We don’t have a simple answer that will satisfy everyone, but we felt it was important to be transparent about why we made this decision rather than leave the change unexplained. We’ll continue listening to the community as we consider the best way forward.

The Stars Bear Witness.

Chaosium Board Games Team"

Cycling around the city clears my head but it also gives me way too much time to think about how much mental energy I spend herding my group into actually playing. I’m the one who sends the when2meet links, checks everyone’s calendars, sends reminders, reschedules when someone drops, figures out if we’re doing food or not. Nobody asked me to do it but if I stopped I genuinely think we’d play half as much.

So looking back over your weeks/months/years of DMing games, aside from the PHB, MM and DMG of course. What one or two resources do you find yourself returning back to use over and over again? For me it is two third party items:

Ultimate Toolbox of Random Tables-the more I use this one, the more I see how it can be used

Book of Ebon Tide-for some reason, this one keeps popping up as a resource, even though its very specialized.

My latest game is out - and unfortunately since it's an erotic RPG it's hidden from itch's search function and front page, and also can't be shared on the itchio subreddit, so I'm just trying to share it where I can. I'm really proud of this one.

The game is directly inspired by Mickey 17, and was originally titled "Nasha Barridge Stopped a Fascist Regime by Wanting to F*ck Her Pathetic Boyfriend Crazy Style and You Can Too"

a two-player game about wanting to f*ck each other so bad you save the world about it, using a modified version of the classic card game war.

I'm usually a BSG/Stargate kinda person when it comes to sci-fi, but recently I've really been really into the more "grounded" settings of The Expanse and Firefly. I'm wondering what a good TTRPG that focuses on more hard sci-fi would be?

I'm looking for something that allows for a roleplay-heavy experience centered around a starship crew, preferably something a bit simpler (or with a very established player base I could learn from) since I'm relatively new to DMing, and with more focus on smaller-scale human exploration than aliens and galactic wars and stuff like that.

Thanks so much!

edit: yeah okay, firefly isn't really hard sci-fi - i just like the lack of aliens and cool culture

By declared intentions initiative I mean a system where you roll initiative, dm decides what the npcs are going to do on the turn, players declare what they’re going to do on the turn, then you go through initiative resolving the actions. It seems like a good way to better represent turns in combat happening all at the same time but I can see how it could slow down the game, I mainly run cy_borg and dnd 5e so I’m thinking about how this would go in cy_borg but I would like to know if anyone has experience with this system and what your thoughts on it are?

Hey everyone!

I have a quick question about what I should do with my gaming group that I play in. A little background:

So, i just moved to a new state and I ended up walking into a tabletop store thinking it was a video game store. I didnt want to be rude and just walk out so I start looking at all the products and actually found myself really fascinated with the display case that has all the painted models in it (a happy little accident i guess). I talked to an employee who pointed out that there is gong to be a "TTRPG for beginners" game that is going to be happening soon. I figured since I dont have any friends in the area I might as well sign up.

A couple weeks later we actually started playing. I was very excited and nervous about the whole thing and I was hoping I was prepared enough for the group. I showed up with my character sheet, dice, and even some artwork of my character i drew up (it wasnt very good..) everything was going great for the first couple of sessions and I really enjoyed myself and learning about this character i created in this amazing world.

After about 4 sessions the DM asked the group (just 3 of us) if we would be okay if we added 2 experienced players from his other game that finished up. None of us saw the problem so we all agreed. The new players seemd nice at first and after a couple of games I noticed that they would use some odd language.

So in game, we had to take over a stronghold that was being run by goblins. Standard quest, i guess. Once we get to the stronghold the new players started calling the goblins derogatory terms for Jewish people. I asked what they were implying and they just looked at me and said something along the lines of: "Big noses and greedy". They continued to use the verbiage even when they were killing the goblins.

That upset me pretty badly, but I kept my mouth shut because im the new guy and didnt want to piss everyone off. I spoke to the DM after and asked him if the new players always say stuff like that and he insured me that they were just messing around. A couple days later one of the new players posted a antisemitic meme in the group chat and made a (in my opinion) not so funny joke about the goblins.

That sort of stuff makes me uncomfortable. Should I talk to the DM? Or the players? Or leave the group? Im nervous about it because I am Jewish and dont want their cruel jokes pointed at me.

Anyone have any suggestions? Thank you!

EDIT: Holy smokes you guys blew me up! I went to work and now on my break and im a bit overwhelmed! I sent a text to the DM saying that I wont be joining any more of their games and just told him that I was uncomfortable with some of the language being used. I plan on telling the employees at the store just as a word of caution. Thank you everyone for the support. Hopefully i find a new group soon! I honestly enjoyed myself until the new players came.

I'm going to be playing on a superhero campaign soon that kinda could allow me to play this kind of character, someone that is dumb as rocks with a gold heart and that speaks in thirdperson of himself and refers to others by their names when talking to them.

Any advice on how to play a character like this? And any ways to avoid falling into it becoming a single one-off joke that will be better to replace eventually?