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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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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?

Hi. I run a game in a library, once per week, to a group of 12-14 years old players. The sessions last 1 hour, or 50 minutes if you consider the time of sitting down, recap, etc.

It doesnt seem a lot of time, but week after week we get to progress on the story. Now, I found some frustating moments with the system I use, pathfinder. Pathfinder gives a lot of player freedom to customize the characters as they want, and the rules are solid for many situations. However, I had many moments that the players feel lost, or dont react as fast as I expect, and in a 50 minutes session, the addition of many moments like leads to "wasted time". This happens becuase, well, these players are not as well versed in reading rulebooks or understanding games as my generation was at their age. Some examples:

-Rolling damage after hitting. Small thing, but if happens a lot of times, when the player says "I HIT!" and stares at me without, well, rolling damage.

-Crunchy maths. Calculating the bonus you hit with. If you are a "pro player", you know your numbers, but these players have to look to their sheets everytime, as they dont know

-Adding multiple dice together. Like a fireball damage, roll 5d10, they do that, but they are slow with maths, so I have to do it myself. It is not a lot, but that adds to my cognitive loadout (which is a lot, specially when the players dont know their characters well), and every second counts. Or, in daggerheart you thow 2 different dice and then you compare them. The comparison itself takes values time.

-Throwing multiple dice means that the dice rolls out from the table and they need to pick it back. More seconds.

-Initiative. Not following the combat, not thinking on what they want to do when is their turn... more seconds.

There are more examples. Clearly, I need to change to a faster system. I wanted to ask about systems that I could use or take inspiration from, that solve these issues. One roll for hit and damage, no heavy cognitive load in maths or combining or comparing dice, simple initiative system that keeps everybody engaged, AND a system that allows players to create the character they want without needing to read the whole handbook to know what abilities they want. Fabula Ultima is kinda simple, but then, when leveling up, you need to know what ability or class you want to pick up now, and I know my players wont read anything about that.

Thanks

Hi,

I'm a new player to a longer running game with a lot of players. I've been exploring my characters build and role within the game, and discovered that I don't particularly enjoy what I initially did, but can shift into something I enjoy much more with just one or two shifts. Moving away from a tanky frontliner, towards more of a social build with a focus on "pet" mechanics.

The narrator agreed I could do this, but I had to do a quest to make the shifts happen. The quest requires help from another player who has been there from the start. When I approached the player asking for assistance, they added a bunch of extra steps to the quest making it far more difficult than it already was. I was initially fine with this, but then got incredibly upset when at the end of it they added on:

"Oh, and I get to choose what your pet is."

When I told them I didn't find that acceptable, since it was one of the only meaningful choices as a Player I'm allowed to make, and have any sort of agency over the narrative. I more or less got told: "Sucks to suck, get the narrator to give you another option or keep playing as you are," along with: "That's the nature of the game, and I'm not holding a gun to your head."

And the result has made me very weary of continuing to play because of how tight this player is with the narrator.

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.

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?

​

What makes it interesting?

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.

​

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.

So I have no one I can share this with, as the people who I'd share it with are going to be playing the game so I can't really talk about it. So why not share it with y'all! This is for my hexcrawl sandbox Shadowdark campaign. Any comments or recommendations are welcomed :)

First disclaimer - like any good GM, these are mostly a mishmashed combo of item ideas I was inspired by, or just wholesale taken from various sources. I claim no originality to these.

Also, I tried to make some item descriptions that I could give players once they had identified the items that would inspire interest in the world. I've long been inspired by the worldbuilding of the Souls series and how they build this mystique about a wider world, and realized it was an underutilized element of my games, so I've tried to create similarly stimulating descriptors that might lead them to visit locales or ask questions that lead to adventure.

Anyhow, the items in question:

Tir’Nach, the Silver Needle (Silvered Rapier, +1)

A mirror-bright, slender silver rapier. Its needle-fine blade is threaded with pale cloud patterns that shimmer like stormlight. Forged at the peak of the Glass Mountains, this blade was wielded by a fae woman who angered the sky.

Boon: Absorbs a lightning strike when unsheathed. If it was casted, they lose the spell. Can discharge and cast the ‘Lightning’ or ‘Light’ spell from the blade.

Bane: Wielder feels compelled to sleep under the open sky whenever possible, regardless of weather.

J’accuse, the Pointed Finger (Wand)

A polished ebony wand carved in the shape of a gnarled but accusing finger. No one knows who created this wand, from which twisted mind it was borne. What seems to be a simple cantrip is silently one of the most powerful spells ever cast. This wand knows no limit to its range, nor its use. It is indestructible, and ancient. From what eldritch trickster does it draw its power?

Boon: When pointed with intent at a visible sentient creature, it is magically compelled to point to itself and loudly exclaim “Who, ME?!” in a dramatic tone. Regardless of whether it is capable of speech or knows a common tongue.

Robes of Galar (+1 Robes)

A pristine, billowing midnight-blue robe stitched with mismatched patches and dangling silver charms, their frayed hems somehow untouched by dirt. Its former owner was an infamously clumsy mage who achieved legendary status. Said to be the wielder of a cursed blade of immense strength, he fell to his death from the top of the Dark Tower in a pitched battle with a Son of Set. These robes may have been the true source of his power.

Boon: Can ignore one bane/curse of any equipped item, including this one. Meditate to change.

Bane: All dex saves made at disadvantage.

Abdelach, Crown of Vengeance (Headpiece +1AC)

A ruby-studded crown of gold, once worn by a Merfolk King. The great sunken city Seddon overthrew their angry tyrant, said to have sealed him in an enchanted palanquin at the bottom of the ocean. His rage fueled an unnatural lifespan, seething in darkness until he was no more. His vengeance is baked into the very metal of the crown.

Boon: Whenever you miss, add 1d4 damage to your next attack, additive.

Bane: Crown is sentient and holds grudges. Will ask wielder to exact revenge, no matter how petty, and will stop working if they refuse.

Runequake (Plated Leather Boots)

Heavy leather boots reinforced with overlapping bronze plates, their surfaces crowded with chiseled runes and old hammer dents from a lifetime of dwarven grudges. Crafted by one of the wicked triplets of Yundabar, to counter his brothers runecarvings and raid their magic vault. It is said he was felled by a simple arrow trap. Losing his life, and his boots.

Boon: May kick any magic ward or runic inscription to magically disrupt and disarm their triggering.

Bane: Transfers the magic feedback out the other boot, causing a seismic event. The more powerful the magic, the stronger the feedback.

Amnesia Font

A broad basin of black stone filled with impossibly clear sapphire water, its mirror-still surface dotted with drifting silver motes. Created in desperation by the Glass Witch of the Rook; she preserved her memories in its waters, to hide them from the insatiable appetite of the Lantern Wyrms.

Boon: Any head dunked into the water loses a specific memory as defined by the dunker. Anyone drinking the water absorbs all of the memories lost to the font.

Sanctuary Idol

A weathered stone idol of a hooded saint cradling a flickering flame, its smoke-blackened surface veined with emerald stains. In the halls of Falkrest Abbey, the abbots brought new alchemical creations to life, sustained by their enchanted garden.

Boon: Burning a candle in front of the idol causes smoke to billow out and reinforce all doors, open passageways, and windows into the room. Nothing can enter through these as long as the candle burns. Has no effect outdoors.

Gore Candle

A thick tallow candle the color of dried blood, its surface warped into the shapes of grasping hands and screaming faces that shift in the flickering light. Not all of the monks of Falkrest Abbey followed the path of peace and healing. One darkened heart saw an opportunity to twist magics of the garden to their hateful ends.

Boon/Bane: Any injuries that happen in the presence of this candle's light are extra painful, messy, and harmful, doubling any HP loss caused. Lasts 30 mins.

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.

Me and my friends group do a rpg weekend once a year and play through various funny and weird systems. I have been selected to run Paranoia RPG and I just started reading the Rulebook and find it very hard to grasp. I also watched the Paranoia Playthrough with Matt Mercer but it was just as weird.

Does anyone have any good tips on how to understand and run Paranoia as it is intended?