by ChaoticPlatypus

Related Item: RPGG News

Happy Birthday, Chris!

by ChaoticPlatypus

Related Item: RPGG News

Happy to hear that you had a good trip, but sorry to hear about the Northern Lights not behaving.

Your item regarding not getting any reply from players is my most frequently encountered sign --> everyone is mentally signing out, so time for last orders and call it a night!

by Karkared

I seldom play with an established group of strangers. Usually, I start a group instead.

Playing with strangers in conventions was very good when the group was assembled on the spot, all nice lads and great games; and a catastrophe when they were already friends. Two groups were of the murderhobo type, believing it was alright to slaughter a whole town with the gm's help ("we are just playing our characters" as if the characters were GOTO routines of "select all, murder all, ignore all resistance, end"). Another just did not register with my being there and went on with their adventures and roleplay without making an effort to involve my character (presumably I had to do all the work of becoming their new friend even though they did not even look at me).

A new episode has been added to the database: Lower Decks - Episode 5

A new episode has been added to the database: Tasks Undone | What Boundless Grief We Bear E3 | Boundless RPG

A new episode has been added to the database: S05E03: Call me Ishmael (Here Be Monsters)

A new episode has been added to the database: [Ep. 270] No Angels or Demons

by Bifford [White Hare Games] (Sam)

The Thursday Thing highlights interesting things on RPG Geek. Please Geekmail me suggestions and In My Own Words articles.


On Knowing When to Cut Your Losses
by [username=Bifford]Bifford[/username]

If you read the comments in last week's TTT you will know we had a good time in Finland, with the exception of the Northern Lights tour. 8.5hrs trip to see nothing; they should have called it at 2hrs to return back to town (4hr total) but they instead dragged it out for another 2hrs hours then had to rest for half hour, then drive back for the 4hrs.

It got me thinking about when to know to call time on something. Be it a game you are running, a game you are playing in, a project you are working on, or anything really. What are the death-knoll signs and portents? A short list follows, I'd love your input to add to it:

- When it becomes a chore, not a joy, to do anything to the thing in question;
- When getting any reply from other players becomes worse than pulling teeth;
- Your real-life time with family/friends drops to unhealthy low levels;
- When you start to get sloppy in your writing/doing because you don't care enough to check things.


Patrick has announced he'll step down as QotD host at the end of next November (2027) so is asking for potential volunteers to step forwards. Read all about it here:
My 10th Anniversary as host of RPGG QOTD and Call for a new Host next year.


First review by Ian. Let's hope more follow as this sums things up nicely.
Desperation -- FUN and so quick to learn!


Session
Item for GeekList "26 October 2026: How did your RPG session(s) go this week?"


Every day there's a new Question of the Day. Most of them are game-related but once in a while we get one that's more geek-related like favourite movies or books. The question changes every day and you can even suggest a QOTD. When you check out this week's Question of the Week, you can see a link to all the old questions and the chance to suggest a question of your own. Here's this week's QOTD:
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Banners are by the talented [username=pdzoch]Patrick[/username].

by Serpentine_C

An item RPG Item: Report 22:01:08 has been added to the geeklist 2026 Annual Geek Session Report Challenge

by Serpentine_C

Session 23

The party resumes its journey to the Northern realm. They stop again at Floria's father's home, eat a hearty meal of fried frog, and squire Floria decides to remain there for a time with her aging father.

The rest continue and the next day come across a hill riddled with small rodent-sized holes. On top of the hill lies the ruined walls of a fallen fortress. They climb the hill and find amidst the ruins a giant, shimmering snail shell. Elery enters it, walks down a shimmering passage, then into darkness. A moment later he is in a large shimmering cave chamber surrounded by a large number of Seers. They all cheer for Prentise, in the middle of the chamber. Elery calls Prentise's name. Outside the shell, Prentise hears him call and enters the shell himself.

Once he joins Elery inside, the Seers gather around him, saying things like "Your destiny has arrived," "You are the best seer," and "You always tell the truth!" That last statement stops Prentise in his tracks.

"Am I an honest man?" he asks Elery beside him.

"I don't know you well enough yet to answer that."

That response tells Prentise enough. He starts backing away as one of the seers holds out a dark, purple robe. "Take up the mantle of the Seer you were meant to be!" He quickly leaves the tunnel and shell.

Outside later, Prentise says it isn't time for him to become Seer yet. Elery asks him how he will know when it is time. But all he knows is that he was told to serve Mnimi. Prentise is sad to realize his bragging and lies are what actually tipped him off that what he saw inside the shell could not be real. He knows he is not ready yet.

The party continues traveling North across the plains. Against a full moon that night, they see the dark shape of a flying swan and hear the song of a woodwind. After a quick meal of oatmeal the next morning they pass by tall white cliffs with shimmering runes which tell them to avoid shortcuts. That night they all share dreams of a woman with her head in her hands, held in the trunk of an ironwood tree in the middle of a forest, trapped.

The next day they come across the remains of a muddy battlefield, strewn with broken helmets, shields, and bodies. Skeletal hands reach up out of the mud next to horses' skulls. The grisly scene makes Prentise dispirited and despondent. That afternoon a thunderstorm begins and lasts through to the next morning when it fades away to fog.

The party arrives at a modest tower. At the door a man in a kilt pleads with a finely dressed woman to let him seek out the Cudgel. The knights ride up and introduce themselves. The lady is Duchess Margaret, and her guard asks them to guard her so he can seek the Cudgel, an artifact as legendary as the City itself, he claims. After some argument, they agree to guard the tower for two days. He refuses to tell them where he thinks it is, but does tell them of the Hawkleon nearby that steals farmer's livestock. The knights set up in the tower. Mnimi cares for Prentise, trying to cheer him up.

The morning of the second day, everyone is rudely awakened by an old herald blasting his horn and shouting, "'Ear ye, 'ear ye! King Nechtan condemns the False Crown, and promises a grand reward for the one who turns it in for destruction!" at the top of his lungs. This wakes up the duchess. Ku-To then pesters her about this crown, but she only knows of the Antlered Crown on King Nechtan's head, bestowed by his father. She suggests they find a Seer if they want to know about any so-called "false crown" but won't tell them where the nearest Seer is until her guard returns.

Ku-To shouts that it's already been two days, and swipes everything on a nearby table to the floor. A servant comes running at the commotion and screams upon seeing him. Mnimi also runs in. Ku-To flips the table but Mnimi and the Duchess work out a deal to let them stay just one more day. Whether the guard returns by then or not, the knights will move on.

by Serpentine_C

An item RPG Item: Mythic Bastionland has been added to the geeklist 02 November 2026: How did your RPG session(s) go this week?

by aramis

Related Item: Castle Falkenstein

The Comme Il Faut: All Things Right & Proper supplement adds an option for dice based play using a full set of polies...