**Come here and talk about anything!**

This post will stay stickied for (at least) the week-end. Please enjoy this space where you can talk about anything: your last game, your current project, your patreon, etc. You can even talk about video games, ask for a group, or post a survey or share a new meme you've just found. This is the place for small talk on r/rpg.

The off-topic rules may not apply here, but the other rules still do. This is less the Wild West and more the Mild West. Don't be a jerk.

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This submission is generated automatically each Saturday at 00:00 UTC.

For Ex:

Tieflings being used by edgelords nowadays it feels like they're mainly known to be used by queer players and arent really played as too serious.

I’m fairly new to TTRPGs, and one thing I find interesting is the gap between the “ideal” version of play and what actually makes a fun session.

A completely open sandbox sounds amazing, but I can also see it turning into choice paralysis.

A years-long campaign sounds epic, but shorter campaigns are probably much more likely to reach a satisfying ending.

Lots of character options sound great, but they can also slow everything down.

For people with more table experience: what idea sounded perfect to you at first, but turned out to be difficult or less fun in actual play?

Did you ever find a system, house rule, or GM technique that made it work?

What sandbox adventures you've seen would you call the best, or your favorite? What do you like about them?

Personally I am really fond of the valley of flowers, has that perfect feel where the pcs can wander in any direction and find something fascinating, every inch if a full adventure.

Some of the most useful table advice sounds completely backwards without context:

- Prep situations, not plots.

- Tell players the danger before they roll.

- End a scene once the interesting decision is over.

What piece of advice did you dismiss at first, then later realize actually improved the game?

Recently we have been playing a VTM chronicle and we noticed a small pattern with some of our characters being named after classic english characters (Alice, Henry (Jekyll), etc.), and with that I started to wonder if there is an rpg with a "victorian english literature" framework.

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I guess a bit like City of Mist but instead of gods, literary characters like Sherlock Holmes, Lupin, Doran Grey, etc.

Some "League of extraordinary gentlemen" vibes aswell. Ideally set in a "parallel world to ours" like World of Darkness.

I was listening to a podcast/panel today about how a lot of smaller game studios closed down due to increases in costs. Anyone know of any that closed this last year or had to cancel projects to stay afloat?

They mentioned that they may be lesser known companies so I'm curious if anyone knows of any.

I run and play all of my games via pure text (and image links). Sometimes, these are synchronous, live text. At other times, they are play-by-post; I have run and finished several PbP adventures in compact time frame (e.g. just under a week for a core rulebook's starter adventure) by consistently keeping things moving.

I often join PbP games that recruit online. There are often rifts in expectations. Recently, I have grasped a subtle yet high-impact preference that few people openly talk about: limited vs. omniscient narration for PCs.

In this context, limited narration focuses on physically observable traits, actions, and words. Omniscient narration talks directly about inner thoughts and emotions (e.g. internal monologue), the character's history, and other subjects that cannot be directly observed or interacted with.

Suppose the characters are at some fancy gala. One PC, Marcus, spots the high-status lady who orchestrated the assassination of his parents.

Limited narration might be:

Marcus grimaces; one blue eye twitches. He balls up a silk-gloved hand into a trembling fist, fine fabric straining over knuckles. After a low growl, Marcus points an accusing finger at her. "You have plenty to answer for," he says with clear rancor.

Omniscient narration might describe all of the above as well, or it may cut back on such details. Either way, it talks about Marcus's inner thoughts and emotions, his family's history with the lady, and so on. Consequently, omniscient narration tends to produce much longer, seemingly higher-effort posts.

I prefer to narrate my PCs limitedly; it is hard for other players and the GM to interact with non-observable characteristics. But I have been directly told by some GMs (midway through the game) that my posts should be "higher-effort" and directly talk about thoughts, emotions, history, and so on.

It is an important distinction. I think PbP groups would do well to discuss their expectations on such beforehand.

What do you think?

Disclaimer: It is possible that I am using "limited" incorrectly, and should be saying, "objective," instead.

Coming from games that either don't have mechanics for diseases or overly complex mechanics that don't add much (Pathfinder 1E), what are some game systems that do disease in an interesting or unique way?

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What makes it interesting?

After years around RPG communities, I've noticed something strange.

Everyone says they want:

- deep roleplay

- long campaigns

- complex worlds

- meaningful consequences

But the most successful groups I've seen often have:

- inconsistent attendance

- forgotten plotlines

- half-understood rules

- campaigns that never finish

Yet everyone still has fun.

So what's the biggest lie RPG players tell themselves?

What do we say we want, but actually don't?

As a teen I was big into games like D&D 4e and Hackmaster. Big crunchy games with lengthy combats and lots of moving parts. I also enjoyed dabbling in the OSR with LotFP. After taking a lengthy hiatus from the hobby for college and grad school I returned wanting to run a simulationist, rich, meaty game and run it online for months if not years.

However, life hits you differently in your 30s than 14. I yearn for the depth and richness of those sprawling systems but just can’t commit to running them with my schedule. Thus, I just bought the Troika starter bundle. :)

Curious if others here can relate.

Some rules take pages to explain. Others are only a sentence or two, but somehow change the entire table.

I’m new to TTRPGs, and I’m fascinated by small mechanics that have a much bigger effect than they seem to on paper—things like flashbacks, relationship questions, or rewards for acting on a character’s beliefs.

What small rule or mechanic had the biggest impact at your table?

What did the players start doing differently because of it?