**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.

• D&D - We start in a tavern...
• Pathfinder - We start in a slightly different tavern...
• Warhammer Fantasy - We start in a tavern with a blood soaked floor...
• Runescape RPG - We start in a tavern trying to level up our bartending skills...
• OSR - We start in a rundown tavern that is a local favorite...
• 13th Age - We start in a less frequent yet extremely sturdy tavern...
• Worlds/Stars Without Number - We start in a roll a d100 to determine...
• Call of Cthulhu - We start in a speakeasy...
• Vampire: The Masquerade/World of Darkness - We start in a night club...
• Vampire: The Requiem/Chronicles of Darkness - We start in a brewpub...
• Cyberpunk Red - We start in a dive bar...
• Any Star Wars RPG - We start in a cantina...
• Warhammer 40k RPG: Dark Heresy - We start in an Underhive drinking hole...
• Warhammer 40k RPG: Only War - We start in the mess hall...
• Warhammer 40k RPG: Rogue Trader - We start in the Rogue Trader's private drinking lounge...
• Fallout 2d20 - We start in a bar that only sells expired drinks...
• Doctor Who - We start drinking tea in the Tardis...
• Paranoia - We are not the proper clearance level to know where we start...
• Curseborne - We start in a cafe...
• Deadlands/Through the Breach - We start in a saloon...
• Legend of the Five Rings/Exalted - We start in a wine/sake house...
• Spycraft - We start in a martini bar...
• Star Trek RPG - We start at the Captain's private dining area...

Made this using RPG's I'm familiar with. Not meant to be comprehensive. Feel free to add.

I just got the draw steel PDF for summoners because it's an archetype I've always been in love with and I hear it's good and...

I am *beyond* impressed with this class. Most ttrpg's "solve" their summoners by making them *not summon anything*. It will describe this fantastic summoning class and then reveal that infact you are just the most boring wizard ever invented but I said a dragon did it in the description.

It's to the point that my previous "good" summoners in ttrpgs where I could play them (IE. People don't ban it at every single table) was... pathfinder 2e! a game where the "summoner" is a pet class who's encouraged to keep their "summon" out at all times and where summon spells are so mid most guides encourage you to actively avoid using them. It's a really cool pet, I'll admit, I love the ability to play a god damn dragon... but it doesn't have anything to do with the fantasy of being a summoner. "

But then I read draw steel and find that it both does *everything* I want from a summoner *and* people won't run you out of a table for playing it! You can summon multiple bodies! up to 16 (at max investment)!! and they each individually have a presence on the map! the summons are not only of varied types, but there are various options *within types!* Everytime a feature *could* have subtracted from the "dangerous" fantasy of summoning to put more power in your base summoner there are at least options that funnel yet more of your power budget into summons and buffing those summons! And most importantly for me, there are explicitly rules for sending your summons to do things out of combat! You *feel* like a summoner through and through in every aspect of play.

This isn't the first system to do this, I've seen others, technically dnd 5e can acheive these results... if you spend 7 years of downtime with a high level necromancer you can technically have hundreds of skeletons... but this is the *only* time I've had this feeling on a class that no one seems to hate.

Because even when you have 17 bodies, seperated between three classes of creatures... those creatures still only shake out to three die rolls maximum! that's actually less than a lot of other classes and it's pretty much your maximum. It also elegantly gets around the usual summoner problem of *forcing* Dm's to have AOE effects in combat by making summons *die* in squads the same way they attack in them- so one big hit can wipe out a squad the same as it would a single target.

I have been hunting for a system that strikes this ballance for *actual decades* and it's insane to me that this is the first time I've ever felt like the fantasy works *and* no one's going to kill me if I use it. So am I wrong? Is there some other mythical rpg that figured this out first? Cause right now I'm trying to convince every DM I've ever met to run draw steel because this is pretty much the only home I have for my favorite archetype of character

I love quick reads ttrpg and adding rules from other system to my games. What are your favorite rpg systems under 100 pages

Our group finished a two-year fantasy campaign last weekend. The big confrontation was great, everybody survived (barely), and we spent the final session figuring out what our characters were going to do afterward.

At some point our GM asked what we wanted to do with all the stuff we'd accumulated.

We'd been pretty diligent about tracking equipment, so there was a ridiculous amount of it. Weapons, potions, old maps, random valuables, things we'd picked up 40 sessions ago and completely forgotten about.

We started going through the list.

The expensive stuff was easy. Sell it, keep it, give it to an NPC.

Then we got to the junk.

A battered cooking pot we'd carried since our first expedition. A wooden toy somebody bought from a street vendor because they thought it was funny. Three letters we'd never delivered. A cheap lantern that had survived multiple dungeon crawls despite being replaced by better equipment ages ago.

And suddenly everyone had opinions.

Our fighter wanted the cooking pot because his character had made breakfast for the party in it hundreds of times.

The rogue insisted on keeping the wooden toy because we'd once used it to convince a frightened child to talk to us.

Nobody could remember why we still had a broken crossbow, but two people were absolutely certain we shouldn't throw it away.

We spent nearly an hour discussing what happened to items that had no mechanical value whatsoever.

And the weirdest thing was realizing that our inventory had become a record of the campaign that none of us had deliberately written.

The character sheets told us how powerful we'd become.

The junk told us where we'd been.

Eventually our GM said we should probably wrap up because it was getting late. We still hadn't figured out what to do with the lantern.

Our wizard, who had been planning to retire and open a little shop, said he'd hang it above the door.

Everyone immediately agreed.

I don't think anybody expected the final decision of a two-year adventure to be about decorating a shop.

I've played RPGs for a long time, and I can't remember another campaign ending that made me feel quite like that.

Has anyone else had a completely mundane item or piece of bookkeeping turn into something unexpectedly meaningful at the table?

So, for thoae unaware, the league of extraordinary gentlemen was a comic book series that used popular characters from old fiction (jeykll and hyde, the invisible man, Dracula, etc, some of it very niche) and brought them all together in the same world to fight figure like Moriarty and the Martians from war of the worlds.

(Later, it got really weird, involving worlds of imagination, with Harry Potter being the antichrist, and Mary Poppins as an avatar of god)

But im looking to indulge in the flavors of the first couple of series, where it was more about characters coming together to solve bigger threats.

The big idea here would be a more modern take on it, with characters from the 80s or 90s showing up, like buffy, lestat, doc brown, KITT, or the like, and having to face off against a big bad like Doctor Claw or the reborn Hans Gruber.

So, what game would do this really well?

Edit: also, who do you think should be pcs or villains in a game like this?

I've been recently interested in playing more Sci-Fi games recently. I've played Lancer and Starfinder 2e before, and I loved those titles immensely, but I'd like to try some other options which lean on players being able to feel strong playing themselves, instead of having to pilot something to engage with the combat system. Additionally, I'd prefer the system to not involve magic, but that one is a bit more flexible.

I also prefer games which have some mechanical depth, enough that as a GM I don't have to fill in blanks for a game's lack of rules. I'm down to try out other games with a futuristic theme too, between cyberpunk or space-faring adventures, I just would like to deviate somewhat from my usual high fantasy campaigns for the sake of variety.

Are there any games which you'd recommend me to try out based off of what I'm looking for? If you could, please describe what's appealing to you about said game, or link a review about it.

Hey all, wanted to share the various PDF (and other) TTRPG bundles that are going on at the moment. Anyone who has some knowledge about the games or adventures, please feel free to share your thoughts.

Disclaimer: I am unaffiliated with any of the below sites and publishers and I have not as of yet read any of the books (unless I mention it). Basically just don't want people to miss out on books and plus I can get recommendations on what to buy.

Humble Bundle

Castles and Crusades

65 items, $20, seems like the 2024 version. Ending soon, only about 2 days and 16 hours left.

My thoughts: I'm a sucker for big numbers, even though I own countless fantasy RPGs already.

Urban Shadows (physical book, GM screen, dice and tray)

4 items, $59, 2nd edition with dice GM screen and stuff, shipping NOT included so know that it could be anywhere between an extra $12 and $49. Ending soon, only about 2 days and 16hours left.

My thoughts: A bit much to commit without having tried/read it before.

Candela Obscura

16 items, $18, some of the items are for the Demuplane VTT. Ending soon, only about 3 days and 16 hours left.

My thoughts: good deal, but I read some general reviews and don't think Candela Obscura is for me.

Beadle and Bard Dice Sets (Physical)

6 items, $84, each is a fancy dice set with a coin and some cards with facts or something. US only, shipping averages $30. About 16 days and 16 hours left.

My thoughts: A good deal, since each is normally $35 and they're effectively around $19 each, but still $114 in total for 6 dice sets is asking a lot.

Bundle of Holding

Yellow King RPG

The four volumes of the Gumshoe Yellow King RPG + music tracks for $17.95. Or $28.40 for an additional compendium of handouts and three fiction novels. Ending soon, only about 1 day and 9 hours left.

My thoughts: I really enjoy Lovecraft stuff, but I already own CoC, Delta Green, and Cthulhu Eternal books. This might be good if I liked the Gumshoe system, but I haven't tried/read it yet.

The Black Ballad

1 item for $9.95. High level 5e campaign about what happens after a TPK. Ending soon, only about 1 day and 9 hours left.

My thoughts: idk seems cool? 5e though.

Cohors Cthulhu

$14.95 for the GM and Player's Guide for the 2d20 Cthulhu system. Or $31.39 for four additional scenarios/supplements. Ending soon, only about 6 days and 9 hours left.

My thoughts: About the same as for Yellow King. Though having Eldritch horrors in ancient Rome is very appealing.

Death in Space

$19.95 for the core rules from Free League Publishing, four third-party scenarios, and three mini-scenarios (mini-scenarios are on itch and not DriveThruRPG). About 13 days and 9 hours left.

My thoughts: It's a Free League ruleset/setting, so seems like an easy pickup but I've been putting it off.

Household

$14.95 for three books in the Household collection from Two Little Mice. About 20 days and 9 hours left.

Household Volume II

Separate bundle. $12.95 for two campaign supplements for Household. About 20 days and 9 hours left.

My thoughts: Playing as miniature people/creatures could be cool. And the art looks nice.

Fanatical

Traveller RPG Ultimate GDW Collection

128 items for $32.99. The GDW version of Traveller, I assume. Only about 8 days and 21 hours left.

My thoughts: I honestly forgot about this. Which sucks, because I bought a previous Fanatical Traveller bundle and I would like to complete my collection. And apparently this bundle includes that previous one and also more stuff of Traveller: The New Era. Great deal, but damn I hate buying things twice. zer0k0ol pointed out that the previous collection is included specifically in the top tier of this bundle, so you can easily just opt out of it and get only the new stuff by buying the 67 items for $19.99. Fantastic from Fanatical.

X-Crawl RPG Bundle

41 items for $17.99. These are the same books that were included in a previous Humble Bundle a while back. About 13 days and 21 hours left.

My thoughts: I bought the aforementioned Humble Bundle and really enjoyed reading some of these modules. Crazy and zany, just overall cool. Could probably be adapted for Dungeon Crawler Carl RPG adventures, since it's a slightly similar premise. Don't quote me on that.

Call of Cthulhu RPG Bundle

33 items for $24.99. A few new additions compared to a previous Humble Bundle, like Children of Fear and Secrets of Tibet. Oddly enough it doesn't seem to have a timer? But the other page says it ends in about 23 days.

My thoughts: Goddamn I hate buying things twice and I'm probably not going to do it this time, even if it's technically worth it and cheaper than buying the individual PDFs. Great deal for anyone wanting to play CoC though.

Mutants and Masterminds Classic RPG Collection

57 items for $19.99. Superhero RPG from Green Ronin Publishing. About 43 days left.

My thoughts: Have not felt the urge to read or try a superhero RPG yet. I glanced over Invincible, but wasn't interested. No idea how this compares.

Old-School Essentials RPG Collection

31 items for $14.99. Basically everything for OSE. About 57 days left.

My thoughts: Just bought the physicals of the main books a couple of months ago. Nice art, okay ruleset (THAC0), and some of the adventures in the first Anthology book are cool. Mildly annoyed that this is a must buy for me, but at least there is plenty of time to delay it.

Welp that's everything.

Edits 1 and 2: Correction about the Traveller bundle and Colors -> Cohors Cthulhu

Note: Please don't respond with "don't pre-make scenarios", I don't pre-make my own scenarios. I prefer to improvise. This question comes from requests I saw in my preferred TTRPG's subreddit.

I was talking in another subreddit about community content, but the initial replies were from people wanting more scenarios.

Scenarios on the whole tend to not be popular compared to Enemy NPCs and Player Options.

What do you think makes for a great pre-made scenario for GMs?

My personal opinion boils down to:

• Setting agnostic - The characters and location aren't dependent on a specific setting. Like the difference between "The scenario is in a haunted house" and "The scenario is in a haunted house in New York City".
• Modular Design - The scenario comes with multiple encounters/scenes that can be repurposed for another GM's campaign.

But from what I've seen online the classic adventures/scenarios like "The Haunting", "Lost mines of Phandelver", "Curse of Straud", "Tomb of Horrors", etc... The preferred beloved adventures seem to be: Setting Specific, Iconic Named Characters, "Nostalgic".

I feel like pre-made scenarios that are "good" are like catching lightening in a bottle. And that what people consider "great adventures/scenarios" are more so tinted nostalgia.

For instance, Lost Mines of Phandelver is a standard adventure, but for a lot of people it was their introduction to D&D 5e, everyone has a story about how they dealt with the goblins. It's this shared experience.

Same with "The Haunting" in Call of Cthulhu, which to be clear is the free adventure for Call of Cthulhu as opposed to the other adventure for Call of Cthulhu called "The Haunting" which is a bit confusing imo.

Tomb of Horrors is an outlier in that its notorious as opposed to beloved.

The Curse of Straud is a more broadly loved adventure with a lot of twists and turns. It's also a pretty chunky book with a lot of interactions. I'd probably say its appeal for the various Story Arcs introduced into. But as far as I know most people play Curse of Straud straight as opposed to stealing from it.

What's your opinion on what makes a good pre-made scenario for other GMs?

Good games, everyone!

Can anyone give advice about good paranormal investigation adventures? Better if it happened in small town or villages and in fantasy world. Also better if it don't involving very high stakes like saving world or something, but more grounded and maybe personal.

Any system/setting is good, I port this into my own anyway.

Thanks!

^{Disclaimer: I was sort-of involved in the creation of this, in terms of giving feedback and proofreading things and the like.}

After months of work, the Community Edition of the cinematic fantasy RPG Grimwild is now complete and fully available, for free digitally (via Itch.io and RPG Trader), and as a paid print-on-demand hardcover book (via Lulu and RPG Trader) around mid-November once the test prints come in.

If you're familiar with the original game, here's a quick rundown of what to expect:

• New layout and organization of the text

• The original rules have been elaborated upon more, with additional play examples and clarifications of how to apply them

• Some rules have been simplified or reworked, including harm and potency

• Many path talents were rebalanced and changed, though old versions remain available as legacy options

• Content from the paid edition of the game (such as extra paths and group-building questions) is dispersed and integrated throughout the whole book instead of relegated to a single chapter in the back

• Some new rules and options (new paths like the Summoner and Witch, expanded downtime in the exploration chapter, and optional rules like level 0 characters)

• New replacement artwork from Per Janke, the same artist who illustrated the original game

For a more complete changelog, go here.

Story time!

Grimwild originally came out in 2025, created by J.D. Maxwell of Oddity Press. Its pitch was simple: a mix of D&D-style classes, monsters, magic items, and adventures, all running on a modern, cinematic-minded rules framework, inspired by games like Blades in the Dark, Fate, and Cortex Prime.

It was kind of a surprise hit, with many articles and reviews praising its design and execution, it won an ENNIE, and was well on the way to becoming the next big indie RPG...

... And then J.D. Maxwell essentially disappeared. While the digital version of the game was finished, the hardcover print run was never delivered to the BackerKit backers, and no contact was made with the author after around mid-2025, despite many various attempts and methods.

It's still not clear what happened to him exactly, with theories ranging from simple burnout to scamming people to something as dark as an actual death. Unfortunately, we may never know.

Nonetheless, there was a silver lining - the game's community stuck around and continued to play Grimwild, and in that process found some things that could have been improved in the original text. Luckily, Grimwild was licensed under Creative Commons, allowing anyone to take the game and do pretty much whatever they wanted.

And so, starting in late 2025, Grimwild's most ardent fans began working on the Community Edition, collaboratively going over every part of the text, with lots of ideas being thrown around and considered, but ultimately a direction was chosen, to be a refinement and additive improvement of of the original game, rather than a drastic departure. Over time, preview versions started to roll out (courtesy of Chancey "Groov" Scott, who kind of became the de facto lead developer on the project), and the Community Edition began to take shape.

Additionally, while the original text of the game was freely-licensed, Per Janke's artwork was not; regardless, the community pooled together some money to reach out to Per to commission some extra new cover and interior art for the Community Edition, a cherry on top of the whole affair.

And now, the full thing is ready to go - freely available for anyone to play with and build upon further, a new chapter in the story of Grimwild. Whether you're an existing Grimwild fan, somebody who bounced off the original version, or checking it out for the first time, hopefully you'll appreciate the tweaks, clarifications, and fine-tuning that went into it all!

Forget rules and game feel for a moment whats an rpg setting and lore that you just love?