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So I'm looking through all of the GURPS books with some players for giggles, and as we're looking through these books, it's dawning on me one simple question.

How the hell are there so many books?

My question isn't necessarily the why, but just what even allowed the company to get away with publishing nearly 20 books about all sorts of magic, or wizards. Books about specific settings like ancient rome or japan, and just so much more.

There's just so many books, and I do not get the feeling these things are being lazily slapped together.

So what historically has been the business model for these books? Is there an audience of people out there constantly buying every last one of these books?

I am absolutely curious because this is fascinating me.

Lately there has been some confusion around how to categorize Jubensha, a format that is extremely popular in China but less discussed in English-speaking RPG spaces. Trying to map it onto existing RPG and LARP terminology raises some interesting edge cases.

At a structural level, Jubensha sessions usually look like this:

• 4–8 players, sometimes up to 10
• 3–6 hours, single-session, no campaign continuity
• Pre-written characters with private motives, secrets, and relationship hooks
• A moderator or GM who controls pacing, information release, and transitions
• Investigation driven primarily through conversation, roleplay, and timed reveals rather than spatial exploration or combat mechanics

This creates overlap with several known formats, but none seem to fully cover it.

Compared to investigative RPGs:
There is less improvisational character creation and fewer open-ended mechanical resolutions. The experience is more tightly scripted, with narrative beats and reveals designed to land at specific moments. Player agency exists mostly in interpretation, accusation, and social maneuvering rather than altering the plot structure.

Compared to parlor LARP:
The scale, time commitment, and reliance on pre-written roles are very similar. However, Jubensha tends to be more moderator-driven, with stronger control over pacing and information flow. Player-to-player secrecy is often mediated through structured phases rather than freeform play.

Compared to social deduction party games:
The social reading and accusation layer is familiar, but the emphasis shifts heavily toward long-form narrative immersion, character backstory, and emotional arcs. Winning or losing is often secondary to reconstructing the story and performing the role.

The open question is whether this should be considered:

• A subcategory of parlor LARP
• A scripted investigative RPG format
• Or a distinct category that existing English terminology does not yet describe well

From a design and taxonomy perspective, which classification feels most accurate?
And more importantly, what distinctions actually matter to experienced RPG or LARP players when deciding whether a format is worth trying?

Background context only: working on this mystery roleplay formats and trying to align language with how the RPG community already thinks about these experiences.

About 6 months ago I made a post asking about “systems for historians” and got a lot of great suggestions. We actually tried some of them — Pendragon, Mytras etc. — and while I was mostly fine with them, the rest of the group struggled quite a bit.

The main issue is that most of my players are relatively new / casual RPG players, and crunch-heavy or very systemized games tend to overwhelm them quickly. So this time I’m looking for something more specific:

• Beginner-friendly / low-crunch
• Easy to teach and easy to hack
• Flexible enough to work in any historical context
• Ideally adaptable to late 19th – early 20th century Ottoman history (but not necessarily designed for it)
• Less focus on tactical combat, more on narrative, social dynamics, investigation, politics, everyday life, etc.

I’m totally fine with systems that:

• Are generic or toolkit-based
• Can be reskinned without much effort
• Lean more narrative than simulationist

If you’ve run historical games with non-gamer or historian-heavy groups, I’d especially love to hear what worked (or didn’t).

Thanks in advance!

Me and my brother were hoping to expand our games when it comes to tabletops by including games that can be played without needing a virtual tabletop like Roll20 or Foundry.

I've been craving a space adventure that is akin to Firefly, but something that is less crunchy than Starfinder 2E. There is also Scum and Villainy, but I haven't seen it come up as much as Traveller when it comes to space adventure things.

Basically, can we play Traveller 2022 just using Discord, detailed descriptions, and having access to player/NPC sheets? I'm in the process of slowly making my way through the book so I don't even know if it has NPC stat blocks or the like.

If not, is the system actually good on Roll20?

The Mutants and Masterminds 4e Kickstarter has FINALLY launched after months of waiting. As someone who played with the first set of demos, I enjoyed it a tad bit more than 3e. It's mostly revisions, not an overhaul, and pretty solid ones at that. There are some issues but I'm hoping they're ironed out by release.

Print book is 50 bucks, a full GM's Kit + the core book is 80, very reasonable imo

Hey guys!

I'll be visiting Rome in April, and I wanted to visit a couple of RPG stores if possible. I don't speak Italian, so preferably ones that also sell stuff in english

if you could point me to your favorite ones, I'd really appreciate it

thanks in advance!

Aside from Gumshoe - already aware of it but have kind of mixed feelings of what I've seen / tried so far. I'm also aware of two older games, Heaven and Earth, and Small Towns that are made specifically for small town supernatural mystery, but I was curious if any other interesting options have cropped up since, as it's been quite a while since I last thought about the idea.

Okay, so I'm officially over D&D 5e , and I want to transition my current Sandbox campaign into a new system, but I'm currently between 6 games and don't know whoch to choose. Mostly, I'm looking for one that is *Fast-paced when in combat + Offering a wide array of options to the players + Being easier to prep stuff for without too much math for a "balanced encounter"

EDIT: For more clarity, I think I mostly am looking for a Player-driven storytelling, when I'm much more reacting to what they do than needing me to plan a full storyline before hand.

In mechanics, not Simulationist, more gamism, plus I'm looking for a lighter system to run, even though I do love me some crunch.

I specially looking for ease of use, with it being faster than D&D at least (no need to be ultra quick, just not have 1h+ combat scenes)

I'm looking to change the system of my current campaign, which is a homebrewed one. Due to the system slowly breaking down, i need to change it.

The setting: Aftermath of an 1800s Napoleonic zombie apocalypse in a reformed France that is apocalyptically and technologically saved through a dictator using divine Christian powers (The campaign is a 50/50 on both combat and roleplay)

Requirements for the system (Yes i know all of these combined may sound a little unreasonable): - It can go in a long running game, im talking about around 60+ sessions or even a 100+

• Homebrew compatibility with both lore and mechanics

• Combat that can be scaled with rules in place, im not a fan of free form combat, since I want to have my players feel powered up.

• roleplay needs to be accounted for. However, having it be rules-light is alright

• I want magic to exist but not intergral to a character, guns and physical capabilities are still the top.

• The rules are intuitive, easy to find and track. Im have horrible adhd so i cant really get through 700+ page pdf quite easily nor can my players keeping track of multiple mechanics at once.

• If a system doesnt have all of this, i dont mind suggestions for mechanics to incorporate

• No ai

Context (Were anyone to ask): The reason for why I use a homebrew, because our og GM made the campaign using this homebrew bit he left preemptively. Not wanting to abandon the campaign behind, I took on the mantle of GM and the homebrewed system. Please be civil.

What makes the game great in your opinion? Is it hype or is it indeed a gem?

Title

I really like the light sword and sorcery in an early mankind setting, almost like Conan.