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I'm doing personal research on dungeon crawling rules, and I'd like to read as many different examples of dedicated dungeon crawling rules and subsystems as I can find. The more specific, the better.

I know that Ironsworn has Delve, and that either Basic Roleplay or Old School Essentials has a section on dungeon delving. Bonus points if it's not just d20/OSR, but anything distinctly and explicitly about it would be appreciated.

I've had this on my mind for a while as I've been trying to explore more ttrpgs.

There are two main attributes I'm looking for. The first is the investigation side of things. Talking to witnesses, combing through areas searching for clues and scouring the lore to piece together what you're facing. Is there a system that allows you to be a bit more hands on in these sort of things beyond one note checks?

The other thing would be the range of "monsters" and how their attributes affect combat. Nothing is really as simple as stab or shoot, there's always some form of MacGuffin or limitation that feeds into how the encounter is handled. Is there a system that integrates more variety into combat depending on what you're fighting?

I'm aware some of these things can be integrated into other systems by an imaginative GM, but I was wondering if there were any systems/resources that already exist to help me find what I'm looking for?

Thanks in advance for any help!

Do pre-written modules or any other material exist for Mythic Bastionland? Or is it too weird a system for that kind of pre-written material?

Cheers.

One thing I see a lot with new GMs is starting a campaign by building a huge, detailed world map.

Continents, nations, full histories, everything mapped out before session one.

It feels productive, but in practice it often creates problems.

Most players don’t need to see the whole world at the start. They care about:

• Where they are now
• Where they can go next
• What feels unknown and dangerous

When a map shows everything, exploration loses some of its magic.

What worked better for me was starting small:

• One region
• A few locations
• Blank space beyond the edges

Then I expanded the map only when the story needed it.

It saved prep time and made the world feel more alive as it grew naturally.

Wanna know how others handle this.
Do you start big, or grow your world as the campaign goes on?

Looking for TTRPGs with a little more depth than a one-two pager but not too much. Trying to see what genres/possibilities work within that rule framework.

No restrictions on genre/mechanic/resolution, just trying to get an idea!

I’ve designed and run many RPG mysteries, and they’ve never really fallen flat at the table. I have a decent instinct for drama and pacing, and when tension starts to fade, I know how to adapt and push things forward.

Still, there’s always been a telling gap between the mystery as designed and the mystery as played. Not because players did something wrong, but because mysteries as designed rarely line up with what they actually need to do at the table. And this happens with most of the published mysteries too (not the ones I published, those are great :p)

On paper, a mystery may seem to flow very well but, in play, you realise it is not flowing at all. I think this comes from two sides. One is reduced player agency: analysis paralysis, confusion, or simply not knowing what to do next. The other is the need for momentum. When investigation stalls, drama still requires movement.

Most advice tries to fix this mechanically: redundant clues (the Three Clue Rule of Justin Alexander), automatic information (GUMSHOE), fail-forward mechanics (Call of Cthulhu 7e). These help, but they don’t really address the core issue. Brindlewood Bay essentially turns the problem around and becomes a game about telling mystery stories together, not solving them.

I think the problem is mostly about design and expectations of the designer and/or the GM, and starts when we mix the goals and means of two very different types of mysteries that require different design approaches.

(Enclosed) crime mysteries are interpretive. They’re about weighing evidence, holding competing explanations, and slowly realising how to solve the puzzle. There is a deductive challenge to the player. And a large part of the enjoyment comes from something else: interacting with a wide cast of interesting NPCs.

Horror mysteries, by contrast, are escalatory. Clues don’t so much clarify as commit: each revelation pushes the group closer to horrific realisation and danger.

When players hesitate, it’s often because the mystery itself is confused about what kind of engagement it wants. If you expect players to “figure out” a horror mystery in the same way they would a crime mystery, you’re often setting it wrong. In horror, the trail of clues exists precisely to lead players where they need to go, so it shouldn’t be hard to follow.

In crime mysteries, the opposite problem appears. Here, passivity in the face of complexity is the real danger. The GM/designer needs to offer clear courses of action (even if they’re wrong ones) and inject pressure to force forward motion.

And the most satisfying endings aren’t always the ones where the characters, Poirot-style, identify the culprit. They’re the ones where players took a stand and lived with the consequences.

I’ve written a short series of articles unpacking this in more detail: crime vs. horror mysteries, clue design, pacing, and endings; but the core idea is simple: mystery design isn’t only about building a puzzle. It’s about designing for hesitation, confusion, and the need for action.

You can read the first article in the series here: https://nyorlandhotep.blogspot.com/2025/08/designing-better-rpg-mysteries-part-1.html

It has links to all the others, if you have the patience. And I would very much like to hear what you think about it.

Hi guys My friend group have been playing the Rulers wargame/rpg for couple weeks and while it is fun, I find it a bit lacking. There is no research and technology rules, there are ports but no ships and marine units, no magic, a lot of things are not really explained, and also the book itself has a lot of contradictory rules that my group had to navigate and homebrew through. Now there is a possibility, that I'll DM the next season of this game, and I'm looking for a better developed system so I don't have to homebrew everything myself. Does anyone know any systems (with free pdf online would be best, but it's not an absolute requirement) that are basically kingdom management/politics/wargames that have well developed rules, or am I asking for too much and homebrew is all that's left?

Hey everyone!

I found burning wheel to be great and modular on paper but every aspects of it that I liked was overly crunchy in practice. I was eyeing mouseguard for a bit but it seemed too setting specific (and a very unique setting at that). torchbearer almost doesn't support politics because it is designed around dungeon delving. there is also miseries and misfortunes by Luke crane another great , lighter and highly political but setting specific member of the burning wheel family. And that leaves me with (based on my gasp of the subject) Legends of the five rings and houses of the Blooded both are setting specific and lore heavy. So what i am asking is :

1- if there is anything like this that i dont know about?

2- if there are any setting agnostic hacks of these games ? Homebrews that people shared in RPGnet etc?

((Please forgive me if I put this under the wrong flair, I am new to posting on this sub.))

I am working on making a ttrpg based on the world of SCP. I am a huge fan of the series and have been reading the site and playing the games since around 2010. As a huge fan, I was hoping to build a ttrpg to run for other fans to enjoy.

The major issue is I want to make sure its as fun and enjoyable as possible. I plan to allow players to be Researchers, MTF members, Thaumaturgy Users, Containment Specialists, Field Researchers, Civilians, and even D-Class, if they so wish. I plan to definitely try to include some of the major fan favorite SCPs like 173, 049, 999, 096, 106, 682, 131, and 035. The plot will either be surrounding a site failure ((probably not a canon site)) or a field research setting where things go wrong, depending on my players' hopes for the game. Either way, I want to ask anyone who is a fan of the series for their opinions on the following questions.

1) Besides those specific SCPs, what SCPs would you enjoy seeing as a fan?

2) Fellow GMs/DMs, what systems do you think would be best to build a game for this in?

3) If you have other ideas or questions, I am open to all of them. I am working with another GM friend of mine who is a fan of the series as well. He and I are hoping to make this a wonderful and enjoyable game, so please, feel free to ask anything.

This is still very much a work in progress but I am hoping to base the entire game around the Foundation, SCP, and the fight against the anomalous and those who act against the Foundation. Whether the players are genuine followers of the ideals of The Foundation or a spy against them or an unhappy researcher forced to follow the demands of The Foundation will always be up to the players, this game is fully meant to allow for players to truly feel like they are in the world of SCP. Thank you for your responses and I will be watching the comments closely and responding as fast as I can!

Thank you again, and remember... Secure, Contain, Protect!

Imagine for a moment a world in which your favorite tabletop RPG surges in popularity overnight, becoming the undisputed leader in terms of sales, active players, supplements and expansions, third party publishers, actual play shows, licensed adaptations, and so on and so forth, the good and the bad.

In light of this new theoretical ur-game, what knock-on effects ripple out through the rest of the hobby moving forward - a whole generation of people embracing a particular style of play and genre, or creating opposition that openly defies and goes against the big game's designs and ideas?

... Unless your favorite game is D&D 5e already, then maybe sit this one out.

(To be clear I personally don't think we'd be any better off replacing one such overcentralizing game with another; However, it might make for fun what-if scenarios.)

I dont mean just learning the system, but also having to figure out timelines, historical events or lore outside the book. Which games do you feel that requiere a lot of homework in order to wrap your head around?
its gonna sound silly maybe but i wanna get into the one ring, and im already building a small tolkien library here. going with the silmarillion, the hobbit and LotR but im being told i should get the the letters and the books about his universe by christopher tolkien