**Come here and talk about anything!**

This post will stay stickied for (at least) the week-end. Please enjoy this space where you can talk about anything: your last game, your current project, your patreon, etc. You can even talk about video games, ask for a group, or post a survey or share a new meme you've just found. This is the place for small talk on r/rpg.

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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This submission is generated automatically each Saturday at 00:00 UTC.

**Come here and talk about anything!**

This post will stay stickied for (at least) the week-end. Please enjoy this space where you can talk about anything: your last game, your current project, your patreon, etc. You can even talk about video games, ask for a group, or post a survey or share a new meme you've just found. This is the place for small talk on r/rpg.

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.

----------

This submission is generated automatically each Saturday at 00:00 UTC.

Just asked this over on Bluesky and getting some great answers so, for those of you who either write fiction or your own scenarios/adventures/campaigns etc (professionally or not), what is the nerdiest most pointless research rabbit hole you've gone down in the name of worldbuilding, which you're well aware that no one else will ever care about but you wanted to get right?

this was prompted by finding my old notes with all the phases of the moon & tides in Northern England in 1566, which for those of you thinking "well actually it's entirely reasonable that the players might want to know the tides & phases of the moon in 1566 over the course of a scenario, best to be prepared," the scenario in question took place in 1583

Running games for a while now and I have always been a chronic overprepper. Statblocks for NPCs who never show up, maps for locations the party skips, contingency notes for decisions they never make. Classic stuff. My assumption going in was that a ruleslighter system would naturally produce lighter prep because there is less mechanical scaffolding to build around. What I actually found is that the prep just shifted shape. Less time on stats, more time secondguessing whether I had enough fictional texture to improvise confidently when the rules stop holding your hand.

Which is interesting because that second type of prep is harder to measure and easier to underdo. At least with a crunchier system you know when you are done because you have filled in the boxes.

Curious whether other GMs experienced something similar or whether the lighter prep thing actually delivered for you. Did you end up running more sessions on the fly, or did you just frontload different kinds of work? And does the answer change depending on the system? I suspect games like Ironsworn handle this differently than something like Fate, where the GM scaffolding is almost entirely vibebased

Also wondering if player experience level changes the equation. My group is pretty comfortable improvising, but I could see a newer group needing more GM prep to compensate regardless of what the rulebook says.

As a DM, Im terrible at taking session notes. I pro.ise myself I'll do it, get my notebook out, start the session....and then realize 2 hrs in I have been so wrapped up in running the game I haven't written anything. Has anyone tried recording their sessions audio and using a tool to summarize the session? ​what tools did you use? How successful was it?

I've never played an RPG. Neither has my wife or my friend. I want to try it with them this weekend and maybe make it a regular thing.

Three of us total — me running it, two players.

Looking for a game that's simple to learn fast, works with two players, we can finish in one evening, and that can get us hooked.

What game should we start with, and what do I actually need to have ready? And any beginner mistakes to avoid?

Thanks.

I’m curious what people think about some of the more abstract and potentially divisive mechanics in Warhammer The Old World Roleplaying Game 🔰

• 1.The game uses a relatively abstract wealth system. Instead of tracking every coin, characters have a pool of Coin based on their Status. That pool refreshes between adventures, and unspent wealth is generally lost unless characters use Downtime Endeavours to bank or invest it.

• 1. Combat is also intentionally abstract. The battlefield is divided into GM-defined zones rather than a square grid, and characters do not have movement values measured in yards or metres. Positioning is handled through range bands, zones, conditions, and effects such as Give Ground, Staggered, and Prone.
• 1. Combat without traditional health points: damage is based on a single roll and its Success Level result. If the roll exceeds the opponent's defense, Wound occurs. Some find this dynamic and cinematic, while others find it less clear than a classic damage track.
• 1. No traditional critical hits: successfully penetrating defenses is supposed to be a critical moment in itself. This can be interesting because it limits damage escalation, but players accustomed to natural 20 or double critical damage may feel the lack of a "big moment."
• 1. Finally, many combat outcomes rely on interpretation at the table. The rules provide the mechanical framework, but the GM often decides how a result is represented in the fiction and which consequence makes the most sense in the current situation. I can see the appeal: less bookkeeping, faster play, and more focus on the fiction. But I can also see potential problems if the group does not share the same expectations about positioning, consequences, or the use of GM discretion.

For people who have played it or games with similar design choices how did these mechanics work at your table? Did they feel freeing, or did they feel too subjective? What other TOWRPG mechanic is controversial for you?

What is your favorite pre-written one shot (playable in a single 3 to 4 hour gaming session) that you’ve played, either as a player or a GM, for each of the major genres ?

- Medieval fantasy

- Science fiction

- Contemporary fantasy/horror

Hey y'all! Been a long time player, finally getting my toes into DM'ing a possible campaign for the regular group I roll with. Currently, I'm thinking of running a game set in an MMO in which players will control two characters: the "user" outside of the MMO and the "PC" they play as inside the MMO.

Anybody have any suggestions for a system that's a bit more RP/collaborative storytelling focused that could easily facilitate a concept like this?

I'm not opposed to crunchier systems per se but I'll be completely honest I find rules the most engaging when they're facilitating world building alongside your players, otherwise I feel like they can kinda bog down the flow of a game.

I've experience *Playing* in Fabula Ultima, Final Fantasy Legends Edition, D&D 5e, annnnd Shadow of the Demon Lord. Not so much experience (read as: next to zero) DM'ing. I'm sure if I really wanted to I could build something out of one of those systems but I figured I should look around and see if there's anything worth learning before I start knuckling down and prepping!

HELLO EVERYONE!

I run a Virtual Tabletop called One More Multiverse! It's an accessibility focused, art-forward VTT that has a beautiful Pixel art aesthetic inspired by some of the more visually evocative pixel art games that we've all played (or will play).

What makes our platform unique!

• Aforementioned Pixel Art Aesthetic
  • A growing library of over 20,000 Pixel art assets, We add more every month! (All Artist drawn, and always will be)
  • NPCs, Tilesets, Environmental Pieces, Building pieces, LIGHTING!
• Focus on accessibility, feeling more tactile, and keeping players more engaged!
• System Agnostic, while also having tools to enter rulesets for games you want to play that we don't currently support.
• A bustling community of artists and users who make their own content for OMM as well!

We currently support small number of games such as Blades in the Dark, Yazeba's Bed and Breakfast, and 5e. BUT RECENTLY, we have been partnering up with a few projects that are coming out within the next year, such as Dreams of No Sleep, Last Arc: Tactics Analogue, Legends of Akeroth, and Night Shift: Devil Division.

Our goal right now is to be able to be a dedicated spot to play your favourite TTRPGs in their ideal online form, and would love to see you all there! We are also lining up more partnerships in the future, so would also just love to hear what games you are all into! A personal goal of MINE, is to be a platform that spotlights indie TTRPGs, and makes having VTT support accessible to game devs when it might not always be.

Mostly writing this post as a bit of an awareness piece as well as a soft launch about us actively developing (rather than just adding to our art library)! Which means I would love fresh eyes on it, and want to make sure we're developing in a direction that is actually helpful to folks, while also staying fun!

And obligatory: Yes we did announce closing around 4 years ago, however we did not end up closing, and found a way to become sustainable instead! We will not be closing anymore, and are not in risk of it either.

Right now we operate as a free to play platform (just requiring you to follow our Patreon for free), however if you are looking to GM more than 1 simultaneous game group, we just ask that you subscribe to our Patreon as it helps us cover hosting costs!

Our website (and also where the VTT is located): www.playmultiverse.com

Our platform's community discord server: www.discord.gg/multiverse

Will be super happy to answer any and all Qs in the comments, so please feel free to shoot them by if you have any questions or concerns!

If you didn't know there is going to be a book for 5e adapting the World of Warcraft setting to the system. There have been talks about the original release in 3.5 and comparisons to the MMORPG with 4e. I don't particularly believe any of the editions of dungeons and dragons are well suited for Azeroth as a setting but don't have the knowledge of a system that works with the setting well. Which is why I am asking for your opinions.

So my current main group has just wrapped up our latest DnD campaign, and we’re voting on the next one. I’ve played a handful of different systems and read the rules for about a dozen more although the only other ones I’ve GMed are Monster of the Week and Call of Cthulhu, and I’m looking for something that fits like a slice of life type of vibe. Specifically the premise is that the main characters are people who are making a long expedition from southern Chile all the way around the world to the UK (inspired by a real guy who’s currently close to finishing this), and it would have like a Samurai Jack-type formula where they have one destination that they spend the whole or most of the campaign moving towards but the real meat of the campaign is the various places/people/side quests they find along the way

Also respectfully please don’t recommend GURPS or Fate, I tried reading the rules for both of them but I couldn’t stand either of them. I do kinda like the Savage Worlds rules in general (haven’t played them but I read them a couple months ago) but I don’t think they really fit the more cozier vibe I’m going for