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Just trying to expand my knowledge regarding ttrpg settings for my games (which are mainly BRP style games)

I've been going through some GM burnout and while the easiest answer would be to be a player (or god forbid, take a break), I wonder what your easiest rpgs to GM are.

I'm hoping to not have to write a complete adventure or have to read through 100s of pages of pre-written adventures (i hate dnd 5e adventures for this very reason. its easier for me write something myself)

As a recent example, creating my mythic bastionland campaign map was very relieving for my burnout as it was extremely guided.

It was such a blast to contribute to [The BLUE Files](https://evilhat.itch.io/blades-68-blue-files), and while I eagerly awaited the PDF's public release, I passed the time putting together [the latest](https://injectorseat.wordpress.com/2026/11/05/piecing-together-the-shattered-isles-part-7-the-blue-files/) in my BitD lore blog series about its contents here. I hope folks enjoy the book and the post both! Dozens of incredibly talented people left their fingerprints on it and made something great.

This book has it all: a Demon playbook, a new Crew type and playset for playing out an underdog sports drama across the entire city, militant sex workers, Daggerite revolutionaries, television programs (by me!), movies, music, rocket launches, psychic spies... everything good about B68, The BLUE Files adds more.

This is a very specific, very weird, asking. As mentioned in another post, I am working on an essay and I got the curiosity if a system like this even exist, after googling for a lot, haven't find any, so asking to the internet in the meantime.

Is there any examples of systems designed with the express purpose of fitting into a West Marches or Open Table format?

Express purpose for me exist in three levels:

1. Designed to be one-shot accessible and with clear gameplay loops that allow the "exchange" of character. Most clear one I think is Lancer, missions are just combat deployments and you can easily exchange mechs and pilots between them.
2. Mentioning how they can be used in an open table or west marches format. This basically makes the system acknowledge its strength on that format, but it wasn't designed for that format in specific.
3. The system expects to be played as a West Marches/Open Table

Thanks for your time!

I missed the Kickstarter or Backerkit, or whatever-- I wasn't in a good financial position when the crowdfunding was going on. I decided I'd wait for physical books to come out, and ... nothing. I haven't heard very much about it on Reddit, as if it barely existed. So what's going on with it? Did the physical books already come out, or are they stuck in development limbo? They're not even listed on Gallant Knight Games' website, for whatever reason.

I got myself recently the Doomsong RPG and love the book and its entire art! Main question: is there an active Discord channel around this game?

I think that "JRPG" as an intended genre for a system sounds silly. For example, if someone were to say, "I want a tabletop system based on HoYoverse gacha games," that would rightfully be met with "That is too broad. Narrow down it down to Honkai Impact 3rd, Genshin Impact, Honkai: Star Rail, or Zenless Zone Zero first." But people seem to think that there can be such a thing as a "JRPG"-themed tabletop system, where "JRPG" here actually means "half-remembered ideas from turn-based Final Fantasy games played over a decade and a half ago, and the art is anime-ish."

I think that Fabula Ultima, for example, is okay-ish after having played it several times, but the whole "JRPG" theming does not hold much water to me. I must be an outlier, because my primary JRPG exposure is actually Tales, which is action.

A while back, I had a look at Last Arc: Tactics Analogue. It is a hodgepodge of D&D 3.5, Pathfinder 1e, Saga Edition, and D&D 4e. I thought that the rules were decent enough, and I would happily play them. I did, however, find it strange that the author was repeatedly marketing the game as having "JRPG mechanics."

Well, it is out on full on DriveThruRPG, now. The game seems to be selling well. It is still aggressively marketing itself as a "JRPG" system with "JRPG mechanics." Again, I have no problem with the actual mechanics, but it really strikes me as odd that we are repackaging d20 systems from the 2000s as "JRPG" just by attaching vaguely anime-inspired artwork.

I am saying this as someone who runs virtually all of their campaigns with anime-aesthetic art and heavy "You actually do get strong enough to fight gods and change the world" theming, whether it is in 13th Age 2e's Dragon Empire, D&D 4e Eberron, Mage: The Awakening, or something else entirely.

What do you think?

Ever since I've started GMing I've avoided running pre made stuff and I'm not 100% sure why. I think its because deep down in my forever gm heart I want to play in a game before exposing myself to all the content of a pre made adventure. But sometimes its easy to get burnt out having to constantly make stuff on the fly. Do you guys do this too and how did you deal with it?

As the title says. There was a very specific setting, a fictional country modeled after North America and which was somehow isolated from the rest of the world, definitely something paranormal was going on, and probably under an authoritarian regime. The setting gave dieselpunk/decopunk/atompunk vibes, or was at the very least mid 20th century in tone. The cover of the game featured an analog clock or something very similar. I'm going crazy trying to find info about that one, so help would be much appreciated.

My players have been playing a few sessions into a Strixhaven campaign that's already involved some planes walking and I want to include challenges related to the lore of MTG, such as access to the color wheel and sources of magic.

The idea is that the players would complete trials or small puzzles to open access to magic based on the principles of the color wheel.

White - Morality & Order

Ideally my thoughts would be a puzzle that can be solved by coordinating with opposing ideals. But I could see this being difficult if the players want to brute force things.

Blue - Logic & Technology

This could be a very straight forward challenge such as building up the illusion of a complex puzzle only for the door to be unlocked in the first place.

Black - Pragmatism & Amorality

This one is the inverse of white obviously in that the challenge could simply be a matter of who acts selfishly or most ambitiously first in an opportune moment.

Red - Chaos & Impulse

For this one I imagine a giant wild magic surge is consistently firing off and the players would need to stop fighting the raw and unchecked nature of the challenge, rather they need to introduce their own chaos into it that essentially makes them "worthy".

Green - Instinct & Interdependence

This one feels the most open ended, like maybe leaning into the nature aspects of green to determine worth through strength and value to a group. But that could be a simple combat or something of understanding what your best suited towards so to speak.

I give you my initial thoughts because I want to know what you would do for these types of themed challenges. Especially from people who've played TTRPGs and Magic, what kind of puzzles would fit each color?

Open ended question: When you want to do themed puzzles what is your method in prep?

I'm reading through both versions and thinking through the way gameplay reinforces the themes, as that seems to be what many love DitV for.

During a Conflict, the dice pools once rolled become public information. To borrow the poker analogy used by both games, you're playing with all your cards down on the table. You know who still has an ace up their sleeve and who is sitting on a two and a prayer. In effect, each character is completely aware of how much wherewithal everyone else has left to continue the encounter, and can probably make very well-educated guesses about when NPCs will choose to Escalate.

What does this information openness model in a thematic/characterful sense? Does it reflect something about how the characters are approaching the situation? Does every Dog have impeccable situational intuition for a thematic reason? Is it simply a gameplay convenience to prevent anyone from cheating their roll results?

I assume the game would be worse if the dice pools were secret (otherwise it would be designed that way), but I can't reason out why just from reading the systems.

I'm **not** saying this decision is good or bad. I'm just trying to understand the design intention.