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With me having to make the red vs 2020 choice for my players, combined with my own poor decision making skills, I found it interesting how red still has a rough reputation to this day. With claims of the setting being sauce less to just flat out saying it doesn't work. (I'll probably be picking it up still, but it does fascinate me.)

I've compared it two recent sort of events I've experienced or heard about. Those being Monte Cook, and Vampire 5e.

I've mentioned it before that my friends have a bad impression of Cooks games due to the design principles of 3E rewarding system mastery over all else. The thing is, cook has said he regrets that decision and it seems like his modern games veer Away from that direction. And yet to some folks I know, he's still remembered as the system mastery guy.

By contrast, Vampire 5E came out in a really rough spot. From a poorly formated rule book, the disastrous Camarilla sourcebook, everything to do with Gehenna... But the thing is, it seems like 5E has solidified into a solid game nowadays. Especially with the very last sourcebook, Courts of the Damned being a solid read. So 5E has solidified into a solid game with its own niche... But I know a lot of folks who still write it off. And 6E is looking to be a whole other affair...

Sometimes, a bad first impression can be killer to a games reputation, deserved or not. And no matter how many amazing sourcebooks, errata, or hyperbole gets adjusted, it can mess up the games chances long term.

So, as a follow up to a previous thread I made about incorrect assumptions regarding systems. What are some RPGs that developed a reputation early on they just couldn't shake no matter what happened?

This week's RPG is Index Card RPG!

Have you played it? Have you run/GM'd it? How did it go?

What's your favourite memory from the game?

What's the best thing about the game?

What's the worst? How would you improve it?

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Last week was Microscope. Join us again next week for Cy_Borg!

Well, the title says it all! My players really want to play Scum and Villainy. I am not a natural fit for FitD games, so I want to see as many APs as I can. Any recs on one's that are good at capturing what makes S&V so much fun to play? Are they the same as the ones that are great at walking you through the rules clearly?

And yes, this what we chose to run after I walked away from Orbital Blues.

I've been running games for about five years, mostly fantasy combat-heavy stuff. Last month I tried my first real mystery scenario, a murder in a small mountain village, and it did not go well. I had clues hidden in about six locations, but my players missed two of the important ones and then spent almost two hours debating theories that had nothing to do with the actual answer.

By the end of the session, everyone was frustrated, including me. I eventually had an NPC basically blurt out the solution, which felt like a cheap fix.

I've read about the "three clue rule," where you give at least three clues for each conclusion you want players to reach. I think I only had one clue for most things, which is probably part of the problem. I also didn't have a plan for what to do when players got off track.

For GMs who run mysteries well, what's your process? Do you plan clues around conclusions rather than locations? How do you nudge players back without taking away the feeling that they solved it themselves? And are there any systems or published adventures that handle investigation especially well? I'd really like to try again, just with less suffering lol.

Was thinking about some very classic fantasy with a backdrop of "thieve's guild"-intrigue (a bit leverage, a bit john wick lore, a bit of 80s airbrushed fantasy art basically). The first thing that came to mind is blades in the dark with a modified setting, but i think that leans a bit too much on the heist/criminal aspect. I think what i'm mainly interested in, in terms of "heist", is that vibe of low-level characters using their resources to plan around bigger threats, rather than the more cinematic concept of a heist blades in the dark goes for (and flavour wise it is also a bit grittier than i'd like, cause when i think thieves and heists here i'm more thinking lupin the third, leverage or tantalus from ffIX than breaking bad). And i've been re-playing baldur's gate (the first one) so I do kinda have an itch to run some very classic fantasy setting vibes (but I refuse to run actual D&D lol)

So I was looking for a system to do a rules light oneshot, where I could suprise the players about the genre of the scenerio... like they know setting and historic period, but nothing else...

I was thinking a bout the Ghost busters system, and I found this generified version of it... Sixtacular.

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/233609/sixtacular-srd-1-0

Does anybody have any expierence with this rules set, or material written for it? Seems to be a pretty straight cut and paste of the Ghost Buster rules. Any intersting evolutions of this rule set?

As written it seems to be a "no death" kind of fun rules set... but I feel I could easily use it to run a CoC scenerio, grafting sanity onto it... as a derived stat, so players wouldn't nessesarily see the eldritch horror coming...

I've come up with concepts for RPG classes based on some random professions/skills. Not everything has been balanced/finished.

Sage Botanist

This class allow the caster to infuse their aura into soil after ingesting a magical potion, tincture, or other substance that provides magical effects. Seeds infused the same way and planted in the soil will grow leafy herbs that result in similar, but lesser, effects.

Divine Orchardist

Evolved class of Sage Botanist, and can infuse spoil with elemental mana and grow fruit trees that produce magical effects.

Defiant Pacifist

a person with this class receives no direct bonuses to physical attributes. Charisma, Intelligence, and Wisdom totals are added into Moxy. When faced with the hardest of choices, a Defiant Pacifist works with the opposing forces to forge a new path of mutual benefit. The agreements sanctioned by a Defiant Pacifist are intrinsically binding to the soul. Any party that breaks an agreement sanctioned in this manner will be secluded in a pocket void dimension for a number of years equal to the perpetrator's highest Ability score.

Runic Swashbuckler

These mages have dedicated their lives to their craft. Standard enchanting materials just don't have the same vitality when infused than a living being. Although they are scholars and enchanted, their library is the battlefield and their workbench is their opponent. With a command of precision that would impress the creator of the cosmos, they flourish their blades and score Runic engravings across the equipment and bodies of their rival warriors.

All I know is that one is free and the other is not, and I want to know if I should spend my money.

Interested in peoples thoughts of running the following for people brand new to the hobby:

- Nimble
- D&D 4e
- Pure BRP, Basic Roleplaying System, rather than one of its derivatives like Runequest or Cthulhu
- Dragonbane
- 13th Age
- Edit: Maybe Draw Steel but feels a little complicated

The group want fantasy we’ve established, that or pirates (edit: please keep other game suggestions to a minimum and no OSR)

I've not played either of these systems but will probably pick one up in the near future. For those with experience playing both systems as players or GMs, which do you prefer and why? Pros, Cons, etc. Thank you!