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I've never understood the point/appeal of the open world sandbox style. However, I recently had a bit of an epiphany, so here's my attempt at a take:

Sandbox campaigns are about living an alternative life in a fantastical world.

You grow up, find work, develop relationships, go on adventures, travel, craft things, build alliances, etc. However, there's no guarantee this will ever lead anywhere "big" the way a more narrative campaign might. Then again, that's how real life works, too.

Sorry if this seems obvious to anyone else, but it's taken me a long time to realize exactly what the "point" of sandbox / West Marches games are.

I'm one of those people who doesn't understand something until I can put it into my own words.

I realize this topic has been done to death. I got excited and wanted to share.

I’m quite fond of the idea of magic being dangerous business, and would love to get recommendations of systems or settings where that’s a key component.

I’m looking for things more akin to Dungeon Crawl Classics imprevisibility instead of “magic has a cost” vibe of Kult, Delta Green or even Stonetop. The tone I’m looking for is more like “if you cast a spell you’ll likely get what you’re looking for but it comes with unpredictable twists”.

What do you know is like this?

Hi all,

I've been playing ttrpgs both as a game master and player for the better part of 7 years. The system I play the most (probably not super surprising) is D&D 5e 2014, but after so many years I feel like I've seen all the game can offer and it's left me wanting something a little meatier, but there are so many options out there, I'm hesitant to invest time learning without first knowing that they're going to be worth it in the long run. I have experience with a few other systems: I've played a fair bit of Powered by the Apocalypse, Kids on Bikes, Vampire the Masquerade, Daggerheart, and Star Wars 5e. I like elements of all these games, but none have quite scratched that itch enough for me to switch over from D&D 5e.

My biggest complaint is that everything in D&D 5e feels very streamlined and same-y to me.

Character builds can only mechanically vary so much before you've seen all the different flavors of wizard, fighter, etc. While subclasses are a nice, thematically cohesive way to give the player some variety, they also limit the number of mechanically creative choices you can make when building a PC.

I would love a system where character build customization can be open and complex. I've heard a little about GURPS, and it seems like players can spend points to create moves/abilities and modify their properies (damage, number of uses, range, etc.). This type of thing seems really appealing to me. I also like the idea of more modular number increases, like with D&D 3e/3.5e's skill increases being based on character class and intelligence rather than a flat proficiency bonus that's exaclty the same on everything.

Combat also feels very boring run rules-as-written in 5e without serious overhaul from the GM. There's little reason for a player to deviate from the optimal set of actions in a turn. A melee fighter will get within 5 ft of an enemy and attack over and over again with their strongest weapon, standing unmoving in that spot, until the creature is dead, then do the same with the next enemy. Sure every once in a while a creature might resist a damage type and a sorcerer might have to switch their go-to firebolt for frostbite, or cast a bigger leveled spell on a harder encounter, but more often than not, characters tend toward a single, optimized set of actions an only incentivised to deviate when their bread-and-butter is ineffective.

I really want a system that encourages adaptive combat. Where the objective and the players' means to obtain it vary from encounter-to-encounter. I would love to have player characters and enemies constantly reacting and adapting to each other, players rewarded for working in tandem with one another, and better rules for things like elements of the terrain that interact with the players to either give them advantages or drawbacks and make combat feel varied.

Aside from character creation and combat, I'm looking for something that still emphasizes the roleplaying element and gives mechanical and aesthetic incentive to create rich characters and settings. I'm a fan of more hard-rules games, favor fantasy or setting-neutral systems, and want a game that rewards high player and GM investment.

Please let me know if you have any recommendations that fit the bill for what I've described.

So I received an email from Magpie with the announcement of the Ennies Emporium 2026

We all know that some companies kinda use backerkit as a pre-order store, but if I'm not misunderstanding this, they are now just selling games but as crowdfunding.

I'm a bit shocked because even the FAQ says:

What is Pledging? Pledging in crowdfunding is a commitment to support the creation of a new product or project. Unlike a traditional purchase, you're not buying an item that already exists. Instead, your contribution helps bring a creative idea to life, and in return, you typically receive rewards (such as the product itself) as a thank you for your early support. 

so.. does Backerkit now offer the consumer the same protection as a store or is this still a just crowdfund? If people don't get their products will they be legally entitled to buyer protection?

Is there something I'm missing? Because from my perspective it just seems like a store without legally being a store.

I want to try Pendragon. I couldn’t find it at the local game shop, although that’s no surprise as it’s tiny.

Where am I best likely to get a copy here in the UK and should I be buying a starter set or is there a better combo of books to buy?

I was a huge fan of Arthurian legend growing up and would love to immerse myself in that world.

Two weeks ago, I was a player in a D&D game. We were playing a one-shot, and our friend playing a bard had to sing a song. He made up a really beautiful song and entertained all of us, but even our DM was laughing, he told him to roll with advantage. The rolls came up bad, and the song failed,which made me feel like something was really wrong. Am I just too Fate minded or narrative minded as a player? I know it would have been cool to explain it by saying,the song was nice, but the crowd didn’t like it (or because something unrelated to the song went wrong) so it wasn’t a good performance, but I still felt it was not ok for me.

(English is not my native)

So, I'm looking for this puff I found online. It was about how to properly GM horror.

This one talked about 5 different conflicts (against self, against nature etc) and used five different Alien movies to illustrate how they look like in movies.

I've found some gives googling it but not this one

Anyway, hope this rings a bell for someone because it really was a good guide

I have a friend who is returning to GM for the first time in years. I see articles on different specific games but what are the best overall GM primers you’ve read in the last few years?

I dont have much rpg experience just a few sessions from decades ago. But i figure it would be a good way to socialize again.

Where should i look to get started?

The first and only names to spring immediately to my mind are Mike Pondsmith and Steve Jackson. Who else would fit this roster?

I'm looking for one, but I can't seem to find anything

I've heard of Girl By Moonlight, but playbooks just always make me feel restricted rather than like I'm making my own character