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This is an often discussed topic in RPG circles, and it's an ever enduring one as many GMs come face to face with the topic. The imbalance of engagement of players versus gamemasters, where the gamemaster must put in great effort while the players just have to show up.

I have some experience with this. When trying to expose new players to a new system (GURPS, in the Cyberpunk setting -- I don't like RED!), the sheer amount of passive resistance to engaging with the game part is noticeable. We play bi-weekly, so there should be plenty of time to read over the basic rules and perform in-between tasks (like shopping, character progression, etc.), but it feels like this is simply too much to ask!

I play via VTT, and it feels exhausting to put in effort in designing the handouts, enhancing the presentation, and simplifying the automation, while my players all but refuse outright to familiarize themselves with the rules at even a passing level.

I've mentioned upfront that it would be a good idea to read over the basics (I provided a pdf of the basic rules, with only 4 or 5 pages of actual rules and the rest being extra detail), but it feels foolish to expect the players to do it on their own. Additionally, the campaign is intended on being more roleplay heavy, so specifying where they live and what those conditions are is a part of grounding their characters in the fiction by giving them control over a little worldbuilding.

The players are great when we're actually playing. They are involved and engaged, asking questions and getting into character; however, it feels like all that engagement vanishes immediately after the session ends, making it difficult to optimize our playtime by offloading book-keeping to between sessions, or ensuring the players are familiar with the rules of whatever decisions they make.

Does anyone else currently deal with this problem? Any tips for dealing with it?

I never expected I'd make this question, but I recently been to a Bluebeard's Bride game (one of the alternate modules, where it's modern day, present time) where the players decided they wanted to play Bluebeard's Bride without engaging in feminine horror, so they lined, veiled or just asked about a third to a half of the potential explorable themes, mostly the actually meaningful and juicy ones. Between the GM being awfully unprepared and wtf just happened, we got 20 mins of actual horror and the rest was character creation and players pointing out at various shit and rolling to investigate a mysterious object. Taking stock did almost nothing, because the house wasn't really that dangerous.

The GM only at the end of the session figured out what random horror themes she could inject into a room to make it somehow scary like a surreal scene where we might have just given birth to a rat or maybe we were hallucinating. Before that, not much stuff happened tbh. We didn't even get to experience the horror of the first room because everything in it was lined, so all we were left with was a weird mask we found. Besides that, there was a fire, I suppose.

We also randomly flattened a servant with a taxidermied bear after we gauged the bear's eyes out. The bear didn't move btw. It had human eyes, so that was someone's solution to this conundrum.

Idk how I feel, because I have played this twice before and it can be utterly innerving in a good way. Maybe it's just me, but if you sign up for a specific type of horror, you should want to be terrified and made uncomfortable in certain way. I feel that despite being Halloween month, besides me and my friend every other player wanted to engage in a mystery where you explore a weird mansion.

What's funny was that the session started with "Do you know the fairy tale?" And everyone said yeah.

I'm looking for pre-written, ready to run adventures/campaigns that are set in scrapyard/mining town or similar locations. Basically a place where people get by by doing some labor and or finding refuge. I'm looking for something where exploration is the focus of the story (rather than using the location as a backdrop for adventure)

Need not be post apocalyptic. Better not be post apocalyptic.

System agnostic preferably but I can work with anything

Hi!

I’m looking to collect some advice on good online platforms for TTRPGs that are not D&D. One-Shots, personalizable systems, systems based on other IP, etc.

I’m looking for platforms they support games that use dice and ones that may use other randomizers, like playing cards, flipping coins, etc

I know Roll20 has some variety of options, but I’ve struggled with getting it to work. Any tips on tutorials or ways to get comfortable are also welcome.

Thanks in advance!

Which games released in 2026 are your favourites and why?

Friends,

A question for the GMs out there. Part curiosity, part wanting to grow from an evening that didn’t go well.

This past weekend, I ran a Legends in the Mist / Sleepy Hollow one-shot for a mixed group of new and intermediate players. Everyone was new to the system, which may have mattered more than I initially thought.

During the game, I found myself steering the players from location to location. I don’t love railroading, but they weren’t doing much with the scenes, setups, and clues I provided. They would discuss the situations at length, out of character and very matter-of-factly, but rarely turn those conversations into action.

Later in the evening, they seemed to be boring themselves. I reminded them of their characters’ personal motivations and the objective of the adventure, but unless I made the way forward evident—or downright blatant—they didn’t move.

Here’s where things took a turn.

In the final act, they followed the advice of an ensorcelled child and all drank a hallucinogen. This brought them into a confrontation with the main enemy while intoxicated and compromised. From my side of the screen, it looked like they were walking into certain doom. I nudged them away from it. They did it anyway.

Even in that reduced state, I gave them several opportunities to escape. After a few TERRIBLE rolls, though, I ended up saying:

“You all died here in this room. Historians will find your bodies in a nearby field, and that discovery will become part of the dark stories people tell about the Hollow.”

TPK. Not proud. I hated it.

My first reaction was: wrong players, wrong setting, just not a good fit. But I don’t want to settle on that explanation without examining my own part in it. What seemed obvious or actionable to me may not have been clear to them.

So, for GMs who have reached a similar place: how do you help a group turn discussion into action without effectively making their decisions for them? And when their choices lead toward disaster, how do you judge whether to let the consequences stand or offer more guidance—especially in a one-shot with newer players?

I’ve never had a session unfold quite like this, and I’d like to learn from it. Any respectful, practical perspectives would be appreciated.

I recently start volunteering in a space with lots of children and teenagers. Most of them don't go to school. While talking with one of the persons that runs the place, he told me and a friend how they try to make the kids engage in reading cus, of course, every adult there knows how important it is for their development. A friend a I came up with the idea of using an rpg to encourage them to read and write about their characters and their abilities. So, I'm here to ask if you have any recommendation of simple games or systems we could use to make hour-long one-shot campaigns for children and teens with 0 notion of rpg

Every adventure has one - a throw-away NPC that ends up somehow getting caught in the party's orbit. maybe adopted as a mascot, hired as a helper, or just kept floating around by the GM for comic relief

For us, it was a technician who had the misfortune to be working on the wiring of the ship my character (Six) was intent on stealing.

I've been keeping track of our adventure from the perspective of this poor sod we now keep dragging around with us, and how we must look through his eyes - complete psychopaths.

I present to you .. "Marlo Petrak’s day had just taken a horrible turn":

https://dead-end.pages.dev/characters/npcs/marlo-petrak

ArneCon 4 is complete! The convention held every year in honor of Dave Arneson and the Twin Cities gaming crew (Dave Wesely, Dave Megarry, Greg Svenson, Ross Maker, and more) in Minneapolis by the folks who did the Secrets of Blackmoor documentary. It’s a small convention, around 100-150 people, but very intimate and personal as you get to hang out and talk to these incredible figures from the founding of our hobby and everyone else who loves gaming.

This year was my very first time running games at a convention & I playtested two of my adventures for Empire of the Petal Throne and, to the surprise of no one, they went absolutely nowhere like I expected them to (that’s playtesting for you)! I had a lot of great players that had never played in Tékumel before so I had pleasure of explaining the high points of the system and setting. I had a great time refereeing them and I hope the players had just as much fun playing in them! The event organizers did a great job from the perspective of running games. They use Tabletop.events and it was a breeze to set up and get the times I wanted to run (or my alternative time). I definitely will be running next year.

I played in 4 games, Victor Raymond’s Sable Pirate’s Lair and Fortress of Hrugga, both Empire of the Petal Throne games. Victor did an amazing job at introducing us to the setting of Tékumel, we just couldn’t figure out what the damn Eye did quick enough! Fortress of Hrugga was intended to be a town and dungeon adventure but we just had too much damn fun in the town (sorry, Victor!) If you ever meet an elderly priest in a village who needs his food chewed for him, please tell him our priestess says hello. Grampa Chompers should remember us fondle-y, I mean fondly…

Then I played in Night of the Walking Wet by Jennell Jaquays in Swords & Wizardry which was expertly ran by our referee with a great group and ended with a robot and enlarged fighter duking it out while our ornery sage and I tried to figure out how to control the robot with our tablet controller, another player blasted it to pieces with our newly found raygun, and our newly enlisted goblin Doctor Octopus got squished (RIP Clunky). I really wish I could have played in the second part the next day but my schedule didn’t allow it. A really fun game with a great group.

Finally, I got to play in Dave Weseley’s Banania. As always, Dave Weseley is an absolute master at running these games. We were short on players with only 8, but Weseley gave us multiple factions that were aligned together and the chaos began (as it always does in his games). Unfortunately, there was a scheduling issue and Weseley had to go to a Meet and Greet near the end, but I went and got pizza and we talked out what our factions were up to and how the game would have went from there when Weseley returned.

The vendor booths were awesome, got the Stennard Courier Vol. 1 from Nick Barran and spent way too much money at the Tékumel Foundation booth. I printed my Irradiated Reference Pages zine and sold a couple copies to recoup some of my spendings (thankfully). It was awesome to see the realms of Yolmi prints Matt Tapp has got back in print, a really weird game more folks should be aware of.

All in all a really fun and exhausting weekend. It is a smaller convention and they are still getting their bearings, but I enjoy it every year I’ve been and definitely intend on going next year. I really hope Dave Weseley gets his Braunstein and Banania games released, they are absolutely fantastic and I would love to see other be able to play and run them. Hope to see y’all there next year!

I think I could run mothership with its pregens and ypsilon anywhere anytime, super portable.

Anyone know any other pocket rpgs to introduce new people at a random dinner or something? Or just play with friends wherever?

Doesn't have to be rules light, so long as its fun with pregen characters that are portable and easy to explain rules maybe a cheatsheet and a few dice.

DnD, Call of Cthulu etc all require more of a dedicated session and seating, and their character sheets are intimidating for new players - maybe I could just draft mini-sheets simplified versions?

But anyway would be super cool to hear about more RPGs you know where so long as I know the rules its super easy to get started anytime anywhere.

Any good system that has a focus on a magi-tech setting, open to pretty much anything but the more "grounded" the better. I've found Fragged Kingdom already but nothing else.