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I'm running ICRPG (again, I just can't quit it).

And I'm thinking of switching to side based Initiative for combat. I used to worry that it wasn't very realistic having one side so all their actions, but having watched some Actual Play where its used I think it looks like genius.

If you let the PCs pick the turn order it makes turn order a tactical decision, allows players to really build a mini-battle-plan each round, and keeps players more engaged throughout the round.

Also, I'm thinking of using 'whoever acts first, acts first', instead or rolling for Initiative, not for everything, just where it seems sensible. (I can't remember whether that's from Professor DM or Nimble).

Have you tried Side Initiative, what do you think of it?

I recently picked this up and am super excited to play it, but I'm having trouble pinning down how to prep an adventure for it even after reading the gm chapter of the book several times. If you know the game or Gumshoe system broadly, can you help a fella get some insight on figuring out what ought to be a 'core clue' as opposed to other clues?

There have been a number of official Warhammer 40,000 RPGs over the years:

• The original Rogue Trader was halfway between a skirmish game and an RPG.
• Inquisitor was a skirmish game that zoomed in on the action. It required only a handful of models, and the combat mechanics were way more detailed than other wargames (and much closer to an RPG).
• Black Industries and later Fantasy Flight Games released a number of d100-based games with similar mechanics, each focusing on a different aspect of the setting:
  • Dark Heresy and Dark Heresy 2nd edition (inquisitorial acolytes)
  • Rogue Trader (rogue traders and their retinue)
  • Deathwatch (space marines)
  • Black Crusade (followers of Chaos)
  • Only War (imperial guardsmen)
• Cubicle 7 publishes Wrath & Glory (originally by Ulisses Spiele), a d6 dice pool system that can handle various power levels, from lowly hive scum to mighty space marines.
• Imperium Maledictum is the latest offering by Cubicle 7. It's similar to Dark Heresy in the sense that characters are Imperial agents for a patron (although it doesn't have to be an Inquisitor). Mechanically, it uses a streamlined d100 system.

However, what if you don't want to use any of the official games? What if you're looking for pastiche?

The Kaos Rules adapt WFRP 1E to the 40k universe. It's entirely unofficial, of course, and you need to have access to the 1st edition rulebook. It comes with lots of detail regarding the sprawling 40k universe (and a bunch of useful stat blocks).

I feel like mechanically the BRP system is closest to the Warhammer RPG system, not just because of the d100-based resolution system, but also because of its grittiness. It's no wonder you can find an unofficial BRP conversion of 40k. You can find the PDF over at BRP Central (along with some extra creature stat blocks), or you can read the whole text on the author's blog.

There's also another game in development that began as a Mythras-based 40k adaptation (called Mythammer 40,000), but it's now become its own thing known as O MYTHODES AKMON. You can still find it on the Mythras Discord server.

There are two further d100-based free games I know of that are 40k-adjacent, both by the same designer, David Johansen. The first is Blood Red Future, which is a space opera game set in a setting otherwise reminiscent of 40k. The second is Darker and Grimmer, which describes itself as a futuristic medieval fantasy game. Both are excellent little games, if unfinished, illustrated by the author.

Outlaw Merchant is an add-on to Electric Bastionland to play in the 40k universe. It's written by Milton from The Last Redoubt, one of my favourites of the lesser known blogs. It uses a similar framework to Dark Heresy: the characters are acolytes of an inquisitor and conduct investigations into heresy, going for the more personal and human-scale aspects of 40k instead of big space marines.

RoosterEma shared a hack/mod of Blades in the Dark back in the G+ days called Blades of the Inquisition. It's not a complete game in and of itself but just a reworking of Dark Heresy's career types into the BitD framework.

Warp Cult, in contrast, allows you play cultists: heretics who fight against the Empire's oppression and injustice. It uses a detailed d6 dice pool system. It assumes (or the very least encourages) the use of miniatures unlike most other games on this list.

Warpstar! is a d20-based faux-40k game by Greg Saunders of Fire Ruby Designs. It's a sister game to Warlock! (which I reviewed here) and uses much of the same mechanics, but whereas Warlock! takes its inspiration from early WFRP, Warpstar! tries to reimagine the early days of 40k as an adventure game. It's even got a few supplements (although not as many as Warlock!).

3:16 Carnage Among the Stars is generally more like Starship Troopers, but it wouldn't be too hard to reimagine the player characters as members of the Imperial Guard and the enemies as the various alien threats to the Empire.

Necropolis 2350 (for Savage Worlds) is another game that hews a bit close to 40k; this time it's the religious crusade against demons in a dystopian world (although it lacks the interstellar grandiosity of "proper" 40k).

Of course, no list would be complete without Mutant Chronicles, which is another gothic dark space fantasy game (this time limited to our solar system). Sadly, neither the amazing 2nd edition nor the 2d20-powered 3rd edition are in print.

Last but not least, there's Renegade Scout, which is kind of a retro-clone of Rogue Trader by Ivan Sørensen. The game's implied setting is the same Unified Space as seen in some of Ivan's games (such as Five Parsecs from Home and Unity Field Agent), but it's very easy to substitute it with 40k as you can essentially take any RT stat block and match the values with those of RS one-to-one (except for point values).

(And a few more have been suggested in the comments.)

While the behemoth is still the top ttrpg system, smaller alt systems are still out there.
We dove into the stats on our "looking-for-group/players" numbers and came out with a little report on how the non-dnd systems are doing.

I'm looking to hear some of the "universal truths" that pop up on posts all the time that you think are simply not true. The stuff you hear so much and don't agree with, that makes you start to question how you've played or GM'd for years.

I feel some of these come and go over the years, like the "yes and. never say no," seems less common these days.

My current one is "If you want to tell a story, write a book." Sure, a GM can absolutely design with a small frame, that's story wide open to player influence, it's actually my go to as a GM. But that's not always the case. Many GMs who write their own games or prewritten have a fairly linear game to run, and the game is about the journey to defeating the BBEG, not just the endgame.

I will qualify that by linear, I don't mean in tracks.

I'll also mention, that I'm lucky enough that 80%+ of the people I usually play with are occasional to regular GMs (myself included), so this is my view from playing a lot on both sides of the screen.

Edit: I should probably have added, when I see these "Truisms," they are usually one line posts with zero context or explanation.

In the world, Magic and magical creatures were all obscured and unknown
Rare, personal and isolated events

Fae in their own secret world

Friends and celestial reserves only to our imagination

Humans in their own wars and things

And then, suddenly in a catastrophic event, worlds merge

And what was once the stuff of Legends and fantasy becomes "real"

.
Suddenly common folk awaken with magical powers

Deprived men suddenly become monstrosities befitting their nature

Some among the pious claim to listen to the voice of gods better than never before, and bring miracles to the world, but each hear a diferente versión...

.
Monster of myth appear and everything is at chaos, and people of the fringes speak of misterious kingdoms in distant, unexplored Woods and caverns

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Besides berserk, My main inspiration was castlevania
I love how that Game makes classic ( and often considered boring) monsters into bosses
.

And it brought into My mind the idea of making a setting where everything is relatively new and humans have to survive things they never thought off

Thinking to base the humans on a 18th or 17th Century or just 10th to 14th

Hi there,

ever since watching Orb: On the Movements of earth, ive been thinking about running a similar campaign for my group.

Now my question: Do you know any good prewritten campaigns that deal with institutional religion?

Bonus Question: I like how in Orb everything revolves around an idea that if proven would question a lot of current worldviews and is thus to dangerous not to keep in check. Any ideas what kind of "idea" would be fun to challenge the fantasy pantheon in a nuanced way?

Hey, as just a fun little project I'm wanting to design my own system, namely after playing some Maid: the RPG I thought it might be interesting to make something based on Umamusume, a property based around horse-human hybrids competing in foot races.
Now as with many artistic endevours I find that the best way to find inspiration for the designing of a ttrpg is look at similar games that have come before.
The problem is I haven't really been able to find many existing systems (indie or corprate) that are based around track and field type activities, every search for "Racing TTRPGs" I've made has inevitably led back to gaslands.
So I was wondering does anyone here have any recommendations for systems to look at?

Is GURPS a good system to run a simple, no dnd/no magic game set around surviving a societal/civilization/grid collapse?

Is there some system better than GURPS?

I want my next campaign to be an "Open Table" thing where players can drop in or out based on availability. You can't make it Saturday? No worries, we will see you next time or the time after. The sessions will begin in town - then proceed with exploration and dungeon crawling - then end back in town. There may be some sort of explorers guild (or something similar) that all characters are members of, so if you are not present then your character is on another mission elsewhere. I also want something published that I can modify to add my own stuff into with ease. So, based on the reviews I'm seeing, I'm thinking Dark of Hot Springs Island. I love that it is system neutral. It appears that all of the GM work that needs to be done is that exact work I WANT to do. I especially love the idea of the player's guide that is an actual book. --- So the only thing left to figure out is the system. 5e 2024 is the system most of my players are going to be familiar with, so it is the leading contender. There's also the idea of using a VERY simple system that is similar to D&D but stripped down - like ICRPG. I would REALLY prefer to avoid anything with very distinct rules from 5e just based on player familiarity (so things like roll under mechanics or non-d20 rolls for checks are out). So, does anyone have some good advice for simple changes to 5e 2024 that might make it more appropriate for Dark of Hot Springs Island, or have any experience running this with a simple d20-based system? Thanks in advance!

I was at a flea market and came across this and seemed to remember having seen the cover and people having enjoyed it. I'm wondering if this is a collector's product that is worth keeping sealed or if people have played and enjoyed the system, and so it is worth opening and using. Anyone have any