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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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I play in Norway where the vibe at the table is pretty direct. Sex, politics, violence, dark themes, we just go there if the game goes there. Online, especially in English-language spaces, it seems like people are very cautious in what they say, or even which topics to discuss. Which is fine, but: is that what your actual tables look like? Or is there a gap between how people talk about RPGs online and how they play in their living rooms? Not judging, just asking about the distance between the discourse and the practice.

It's just some personal research, out of pure curiosity, to find out which RPGs are the most playable.

Hello!

Since there are often questions on this sub about how much or how little to prep, I thought I'd share my method for prepping as a GM, as it's not one I've seen talked about here very frequently and it may be useful to some of you.

For some background, I'm not someone who has been playing and GMing for years and years. I've run two separate campaigns, one that fell off after about 10ish sessions, and one that ran twice a month for about a year that spanned levels 1-20 in 5e. While my first game had plenty of flaws and mistakes, I learned from those mistakes and refined my method to create a world and experience that successfully captured my players imaginations and led to a really incredible story told by all.

I call this the Catch and Release method of GM prep: 1. Writing everything down in as much detail as you can in a single sitting blitz and 2. Never looking at that writing again.

This method works on a similar level to homework or study. When you sit down to write you will probably have plenty of loosely connected ideas, but those connections can sometimes be tenuous or ill-formed. The first step in the process (the "Catch") involves writing absolutely everything down. Often, as we write, we form stronger mental connections and come up with new connections for the loose ideas in our head. This is because we're engaging with the information in a different way. Think of it like a puzzle, your head is the puzzle box with a hundred pieces in a mess. Writing them out is putting those puzzle pieces together.

As for what I write specifically, it will often be a combination of where the players are right now and everything they can immediately interact with that carries some narrative significance, and any other locations or characters nearby that are significant and that I have not written about in a previous prepping session. (Though, if it's been a while revisting these as they become relevant again is very useful) So that means characters, locations, and obstacles your players are close enough to engage with meaningfully *in the next session.* Don't prep too far ahead of time.

Important note: this is a blitz. That means you should try to get everything out in less than 2 hours. My prep sessions usually went for about an hour, but depending on how used to writing like this you are, it may take more time.

The next "half step" is, *in a different location/file,* collecting any mechanical information. This means page numbers and links to any relevant stat blocks, rules, or run downs for any encounters you want to specifically plan for ahead of time (like a boss fight). This is the only information you'll actually refer to later.

The next step (the "Release") is very simply to put everything you've written, aside from thise mechanical notes, away and not look at them again. At this point you've taken the puzzle pieces, you've structured them into a clear mental image, and now you're ready to run the game.

Often when we try to run the game following everything we've written down as it is written we lose some of our ability to adapt to player choice and freedom. At the same time, when we try to run with no prep at all based entirely off those loose puzzle pieces, we end up having to do the work of putting them together at the table. This, in my experience, leads to a lot of down time where the GM is thinking, pulling information, or formulating responses. This style, as a player, can feel like it lacks the drive and certainty for a more well prepared game.

The Catch and Release method solidifies your ideas into clear mental structures that are tied together in cohesive networks while also maintaining your ability to freely adapt to whatever surprises your players bring to the table. I'm no expert so I can't say it will work amazingly for everyone, but it's worked *really* well for me, and I hope it does for you.

Oh, and one more note: it matters when you sit down to write on relation to your sessions. I reccomend doing your writing session 1-2 days ahead of the game. This is for two reasons: first, you want to give yourself ample time for ideation. You know when you're working or in the shower and you come up with a great idea that you just *have* to include? That's a critical aspect of this process, so you want to do your writing session as close to the session as possible while still giving yourself time to move away from what you write as well.

My table and I had a weekly game for about 2-3 years straight. Level 1 to 17 in PF2e. Awesome table energy, players really dig their teeth into the lore and the world (a mix of pathfinder 2e and Legend of the 5 Rings lore. We took a bit of hiatus for a few years and I wrote a three day long finale. They finish off the big bad, save the realm, and then all have a really nice individual epilogues, tying up all the loose ends and giving everything a satisfying conclusion.The players loved it. I had a ton of fun and am proud of the the final product. I am still playing with this group with other campaigns, but I can’t help feel a bit sad after I spoke the last line.

I’ve finished other campaigns before (however more campaigns have started than ended), but I’ve never had a reaction like this. I guess this is probably a good thing in the end.

/vent

I'm moving in a few months and will be alone for the first time in about twenty-five years. Really looking to get into solo TTRPGs (or any game, really) to keep me from going bananas.

Any suggestions?

Hey everyone,

My wife and I are looking to start a duet campaign using Mythic as a GM emulator.

We're currently trying to decide between Daggerheart and Savage Worlds for our system. We would love to hear anyones experience with either system in a solo or duet setup.

Some things we're interested in:

How easy is it to throw combats together/run them on the fly without a dedicated GM?

Specifically with Daggerheart how do you handle fear/GM moves?

Does either game struggle with having only two player characters?

Does one take more time to adjudicate/set up scenes rather than playing them out?

We like both games for their own merits and understand they have unique pros and cons for this style of play. We just want some advice and insight so we can make a more informed decision.

Thanks

Edit: to everyone commenting about use of AI, I have not suggested that once. We are planning on playing together using a GM emulator (a book to help determine outcomes which has been around for many years) so we will be equal parts player and GM. This post was asking for advice about which system would be better on this style of play. If you are unsure about what I've posted please ask rather than assuming or just don't comment. Thanks again

Hello! I go by forthesect most places.

I've been an amateur rpg designer for about 4 years, longer than I've been a gm by at least a couple weeks funnily enough, and I’ve been running a free rpg bookclub subreddit for most of that time. I’ve seen tons of really cool games of all different types and sizes!

Varied size type and genre, 1 to 200+ pages, fantasy/scifi to historical fiction, solo to full party with a gm, and some rarer or even unique stuff like full a table controlling one character, games where the way you roll dice matters as much as the number, toolkits for generating random roads and hazards, and a game where you perform irl actions throughout the day to exorcise objects that look like faces!

Its really made me love the indie/amateur rpg scene!

So I organized a pwyw collection of some of the most unique and well developed submissions I’ve seen to show of how creative and passionate ultra small studios, or even hobbyists like me can be!

I also got and vetted more submissions by making posts asking for them on other subreddits, and some from Bluesky.

We decided to donate any proceeds to charity, and DOTS RPG Project, a charity that promotes accessibility in rpgs, agreed to work with us! They make braille dice, run spaces and panels at pax, develop alt text for various publishers, and are designing tools to help designers make their pdfs more accessible.

We launched on June 24th, and within two weeks hit our $1000 goal! That may not seem like a lot, however, we managed to get this far with the bundle being available for free, containing just 45 projects, and all our games being pretty underground except for maybe a fate accessibility toolkit. No donation matching, and no press coverage!

It gets less attention, but the limited scope is part of why I wanted to organize the bundle. I’m hoping the smaller (than other charity bundles) handpicked selection will encourage people to really check out as many of the games as they can!

I’m happy to take questions on anything from the ideas behind the bundle and process of organizing and sharing it, to some the work DOTS does, to the games in the bundle, which I’ve looked through thoroughly excluding some supplements/add ons, to what I’ve had for breakfast this morning! There might be some things I can’t answer, but no question is in bad form.

Here’s a link to the bundle if you want to see it for yourself! https://itch.io/b/3605/indie-charity-bundle-for-accessibility-in-ttrpgs-pwyw

Theres a full list of all the games in the description, each with a 1 or 2 sentence summary! I’ll be here from about 930 a.m. to 930 p.m., maybe not active the whole time. I have some wrist issues, and might switch to speech to text at some point, so apologies in advance if my capitalization and grammar starts to suffer.

What is your favorite sword & sorcery RPG? When I say that, I’m talking about RPGs inspired by the pulp works and sensibilities of authors like REH Howard, Fritz Lieberman, and Michael Moorcock. Examples include Barbarians of Lemuria, Crypts & Things, Red Mists, any number of Lankhmar-based games, various Conan-based games, The Black Sword Hack, and Hyperborea.

TL;DR: What is the minimum amount of information (omitting stat blocks) you need to feel comfortable running a character as a GM?

I'm a time-strapped father that just recently got back into running weekly sessions for my group. I was guilty of over-prepping in the past when I had more free time, but now I need any prep to be as efficient as possible.

I've read Sly Flourish's Return of the Lazy GM years ago which helped ensure I wasn't over-prepping the wrong things, but something I've always struggled with is: How much information do I need to know about a character before I can confidently run them at the table? This is assuming the character will have a moderate amount of spotlight time for at least 1 session or more, not a one-off character that needs to answer a question or two and fade into the background.

Currently I am attempting to detail:

• 1x Want: Their primary goal.
  • 1x Method: How do they primarily achieve progress towards this goal?
  • 1x Blocker: Why haven't they achieved this goal yet?
• 1x Dont Want: A fear, secret, or an event they don't want to occur.
• 1x Strength: Something they can use to overwhelm or challenge the players with.
• 1x Weakness: Something they are susceptible to that the players can leverage.
• 1+ Relationships: Ideally to the PCs. If not, then to someone they care about (friend or foe).

This has been working well, but...

1. It feels bloated. I feel this should be 2-4 points instead of 7+, but I always feel I'm "giving something up" when I try to remove more from here.
2. I struggle with Dont Wants. It usually ends up being "dont not want my goal to succeed" which isn't helpful. I tend to populate this after they've already made an appearance and need a twist for a reason they will/won't help/hinder the PCs.

Some of this is that I need (and want) to get more comfortable running games with less prep, but I like having a consistent framework I can rely on. Regardless of system and/or stats, what information do you like to have on hand for your NPCs and characters to feel confident running them?

Hi everyone.

I am an avid TTRPG player and more recently (the past 4 years) have been using a TV for my 'maps' when I play. Normally using Foundry. But I am also a MASSIVE Path of Exile (specifically 2) fan. The maps in this game are slick as and it got me wondering if there's a way to utilize these visuals in a TTRPG. I am not a tech save guy, but surely there would be a way of doing this well. Anyone?

Constantly see posts on this subreddit about people who abandoned d&d for another game but was wondering if the opposite was true for some people