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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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I’ve been thinking about this while reading Symbaroum.

A huge part of the game’s appeal is exploring Davokar, a forbidden forest full of ruins, treasures and horrible things waiting to kill you. Then the introductory adventure sends you across a mountain pass, far away from Davokar. You spend the entire adventure travelling towards the forest... and never actually reach it.

Sure, it teaches you a few rules. But it doesn’t really show you what playing Symbaroum is supposed to feel like. It’s one of my favourite games, but I can’t help feeling that its introductory adventure completely missed the mark.

The more games I read, the more I see the same problems. Too many NPCs, huge lore dumps, unclear objectives, investigations that fall apart if the players miss a single clue, and encounters that expect the GM to already understand every subsystem. Sometimes it feels like these adventures are more interested in showing off the setting than teaching people how to actually play the game.

I’m currently working on the introductory scenario for my own TTRPG, and it has made me realise how difficult this is to get right.

So, which games do you think really nailed their introductory adventure? And which ones completely missed the mark? Why?

Hi there, I want to know your favorites ttrpgs that are free or pay what you want that you find it great for the price or just a lot of fun.

Personally I will recommend cairn, they have a new second edition that its free too and it's a great osr.

Continuing on the train of learning more about TTRPGs, one thing I love learning about any hobby is the general history of it. I enjoy reading Hobby Drama posts on drama, or just major development milestones in the hobby. I've learned a lot from this subreddit about what makes a game good or bad, what makes a system clunky to learn, how to learn a system, and some reasonings for why systems people dislike get added.

But today, I'd like to ask about some of the important historical events in the TTRPG space. I realize that's a broad topic, especially with so many different TTRPGs all having different milestones, and events of importance may be more or less important depending on who you ask. But I'd really like to learn more of the history of the hobby outside of the (few) events I know.

-DnD was first published in 1974 by TSR, adapted from Tabletop Wargaming into a new format.

-Vampire the Masquerade was first published in 1991 by White Wolf, becoming a smash success and even threatening to overthrow DnD as the most popular TTRPG in the world.

-2003 is the publishing of DnD 3.5, a revision from 3.0 that launched to a lot of success, managing to yank DnD's crown back from VtM-who would try and fail to follow in 3.5's success. Many new games would come out using 3.5 as a frame work.

-2008* is the release of DnD 4th edition, a very messy attempt to adjust the systems for DnD to behave more like a video game, the result of this was many publishers breaking off-including Paizo who would go onto create Pathfinder.

2015-2021, the launch of Critical Roll and the Covid 19 Pandemic led to an explosion in popularity for the Hobby. With more popular actual plays, and the increasing isolation of Covid driving more and more people into trying to get into the hobby.

2023-The OGL controversy where WoTC attempted to change the rules of the DnD Open Game License, leading to other publishers breaking off and forming their own open game licenses. Leading to "never back down 2: The Back Down."

2018-2025: The whole White Wolf Debacle with Paradox buying White Wolf, shutting them down due to some controversy in 2018 with the Camarilla sourcebook, and then reopening them again in 2025.

Those are some of the major events in this hobby I know, and I've probably got a few details really wrong regarding it. But I'd love to know some more major events of the hobby in general, just as a curiosity thing. I believe this falls in line with the rules of the subreddit, but if not I apologize.

*I originally listed 2010 as the publication date of 4E, that was the date of DnD Essentials, 2008 was when 4th ed was published.

Edit: TO CLARIFY-THIS IS NOT MEANT AS A DEFINITIVE HISTORY LIST. This is me, as a complete newcomer sharing what my Limited Knowledge of the history of TTRPGs is, and seeking to learn more from people who have been here longer, and know more about the hobby. I'm sorry if I gave off the intention that this was a "definitive history of TTRPGs, when that is in no way my intention." I'm just a history nerd who really wants to learn about this cool hobby.

Everything i see about Lancer seens sooo fcking cool! But to be 100% honest all my players are very casual, myself included although im the forever GM and as such always try to get a little deeper into the rules and system.

I dont think that any of my friends will ever try to read a rule book to min max, create a build or find optimal play. No one will ever argue what is a balanced party or will try to create one, it is all about fun and what sounds cool for each player. So much so that i dont even try to play more tactical games which require deep understanding of the system or even builds at all, I tend to prefer narrative-focused systems because of the freedom they give and because they are much easier to explain to my friends. My group generally enjoys rules light games where we can focus more on the fiction and less on knowing the ins and outs of the mechanics.

And yet... Lancer looks so fucking cool that I'm tempted to give it a shot.

As such, can a group of very casual players just make characters based on what sounds cool and have a good time with it? And if Lancer really isn't a good fit for that kind of group, are there any games you would recommend that scratch the same itch but more narrative/rules-light? I'm open to pretty much anything!

i'm decent at plot and bad at people. Six sessions in I'll have an NPC contradict something they said in session two, or forget entirely that a player did them a favour, and it undercuts the moment more than a plot hole ever does.

Written notes don't fix it for me. I have the notes. I just don't remember to look at the right one at the right time, and by the time I've found it the scene has moved on.

What actually works for you? Index cards, a one-line "wants / hides / owes" per NPC, something baked into a prep template? I'm more interested in the system than the tool.

I've never played or run any version of Fate before. I knew it was supposed to be a lighter version of Fate Core, but I was still surprised when I got the book, I think it's the shortest RPG book I own. I'm really looking forward to giving it a try, probably for one or two sessions before starting a campaign in another system

For anyone who's played both Core and Accelerated, is the latter really a "lighter version of Core" or they actually play as almost two completely different systems?

So a motif is an idea, pattern or visual that repeats throughout a work of art, or across many. Some can become like the signature of an author, a distinctive mark of their touch. For me, as a GM, I love my main guiding NPC to be a clown, a jester, or something in that vibe. It doesn't matter the system we're playing, I just adjust the concept accordingly to the tone. Sometimes they are happy clowns, in others they are sad, but they are always this sort of "aw shucks" guy that my players quickly endear themselves to. What is your signature?

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Hello, I got the opportunity to run a game for some friends on Discord, but it will be their first time playing ttrpgs. Does someone have a suggestion about a game to run for new players?

For context, they like the classic medieval fantasy settings, and I have some books with me, but idk if they're good for starters, like daggerheart, Ironsworn, vampire v5.

Thanks for the attention!!

Hi, I'm new to the whole tabletop RPG scene. I'm looking for a game set in the modern world with ordinary people, preferably a versatile one (because I have a lot of ideas for stories, and Delta Green was recommended to me before, but not all stories are suited for a detective setting). I’d like to be able to create stories about adventures, serious crime dramas, and things like that. Please help.

*I wrote this using a translator; please excuse any mistakes or awkward phrasing.

Does anyone know of or have made a role-playing game, or even just a class file, where you play robotic samurai who can control magic set in the samurai era?

I love cyberpunk's style Edo-era samurai, and all kinds of magic, and my dream would be to be able to embody all three in the same rpg

So, if anyone knows of anything similar or comparable, I'd appreciate

Ty :)