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Just a tiny ttrpg hot take. I see a lot of folks trying to recommend systems and using mechanical simplicity as the only criteria for beginner friendliness. I think we can be more helpful to anyone trying to break into this rather intimidating hobby by being a little bit more specific.

I got into ttrpgs as someone who loves math and logic and puzzles, but was terrified of role play and improv. For me, a crunchy system was WAY easier to break into. I had more scaffolding, more preset ways to interact with the world, and honestly sometimes I used the rules of the system, calling for a roll or asking a rules question or something, to kind of hide behind and give myself a break from long role play scenes. From there I was able to get comfortable and now I love both crunchy games and looser ones.

I think newcomers are often scared of both the "figuring out the rules" part of ttrpgs AND the "roleplaying and improvising" part. But while there are infinite resources to figure out the mechanics and rules, improv skills REQUIRE practice, and are much harder to help someone with through a reddit post. A newby willing to put in time can eventually figure out any rules system with maybe a book and the internet, but they won't get comfortably roleplaying before doing it.

I'm sure LOTS of people are more scared of math than acting even if they are scared of both. But this is something to keep in mind if you're trying to help a beginner. If you're talking to an experienced theater kid who hates math, point 'em towards a rules light system, but a video game nerd who never talks to anyone may find more complex rules to be less intimidating. Maybe link them to this post, to help them figure out themself where they want to start on the spectrum of super crunchy to super loose games.

(Even in my less math-savvy friends, I've seen lots of players use rules questions or calling on a game mechanic to "break out" of moments when they get overwhelmed in roleplay. IE, in a dnd game, when I give someone an intense line of dialogue and they aren't quickly sure how to respond, they might go "uhhhh, can I roll insight?" or something similar. I think this is a really really useful type of interaction that lets a player slow down play. It falls somewhere on the hierarchy of "tools for helping players establish boundaries and stay comfortable" because let's face it, no amount of healthy table dynamic will fully alleviate feeling of "I don't want to bother others by asking for x thing that would make me more comfortable". But also make sure new (and old) players know they can ALWAYS call for a break directly!)

I'm starting to get into Obsidian and I'm discovering that there are a ton of RPG plugins for it.

How do y'all use it for your RPGs (especially as DMs)? Are the RPG plugins worthwhile? Interested in hearing about how you structure your vaults and use tags if you don't use the plugins.

How would you recommend approaching the series? What is your favorite game?

I had played a lot of games before but WoD have overwhelmed me with options.

So I have been interested in Powered by the Apocalypse games for awhile, but I seem to keep bouncing off of them. And I think it really comes down to the idea combat being treated like a scene, just like any other interaction and typically being resolved via a single roll to see how things go (usually with a mixed success).

In comparison to other RPGs that treat combat as an action-by-action moment, PbtA kind of wraps the whole thing up in just a single dice roll, and it's never quite felt satisfying to me.

Do folks happen to know if there are any Apocalypse Engine games that instead do round-by-round combat or is that just not something anyone has tried to create?

I'm looking into Savage Worlds, and it definetly intrigues me. My only concern with the system, is how Fast & Furious is combat really? Is it much faster than 5e?

If not, any other setting agnostic RPGs you would recommend?

Looking for a rich, meaty feudal Japan game. I would appreciate any opinions or comparisons on these systems. There’s a good deal right now on one of them.

https://bundleofholding.com/presents/RisingSun2026

I see a lot of rpgs nowadays that are either directly or indirectly related to these systems. And I really want to get into them but there's this tension in the fiction for me whenever I try and interact with them.

From my own understanding. And please correct me if I'm not getting it, these games are said to be fiction first. Meaning that what happened is a result of the world itself and what you are doing. You engage mechanically only when the fiction would call for it.

But the biggest confusion I have about it is how to ensure this works consistently? In pbta systems for example success with a complication can seemingly spawn things into existence? Or different parts of the system can just have things happen that don't make sense? Or weren't there or planned. I understand improvisation is a large part of any RPG but if it's ALL improv then is there an actual sense of world there? How do you all understand it? How do you make GOOD SENSIBLE complications or success? And do you think these types of games can be run in a way where the fiction it's trying to model is simply a living hostile world?

I really like the rules light aspects to a lot of this, I feel like it's a lot easier to play or possibly to run. But I only seem to find rules light attached to games that have this narrative focus where players have way more say over the world outside their character than I would like to have as a player. I want to control my character and interact with the world and explore it.

Am I looking in the wrong place or am I misunderstanding how these games work?

This week's RPG is Numenera! Edit: Typo'd the title, sorry all!

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 DnD 4E. Join us again next week for Vaults of Vaarn!

Okay, so, as a Player I love crunchy games, specially those that allow for near infinite theory crafting with multiple classes, power, spells, weapons, technologies, etc. In general, I love having numerous mechanical options at my disposal.

On the other hand, as a GM I prefer to have more streamlined options. I already have trouble preparing a session, I direct guidelines on doing so helps a lot, and so does not having to read a length NPC stat block that by the end reads in true language as just "this creature is big and bonks stuff".

So I come asking the impossible (maybe): is there a game that is Crunchy on the Player's side and Rules-light on the GM's side?

For exaple, as a player if I want to be good with a Sword & Shield, I need the Fighter class for proficiency in both, the Sword and Board Fighting Style power for +2 damage & defense, the Shield Master power to use my shield as a weapon, the Heavy Attack power for extra damage at the cost of accuracy, all the while in combat I need to flank enemies for extra accuracy... Basically to really plan out my character building and tactics.

Meanwhile, as a GM, the game is like "for a generic session, make 2 combats, 2 social Interactions and 1 puzzle" and stuff like enemy NPCs are explained plainly as "this is an Orc. They have 10 HP, 15 Defense, +2 to their rolls (+4 if using STR), have a Big Axe that makes 1 attack dealing 2d6 damage and finally have an Anger Point (after receiving damage damage, +2 to their attack and damage rolls)" and thats it.

Is such game even possible?

Soo hello their, I am about to GM my very first campaign and ill be using fate as a system well very very home brewed fate atleast to fit the world I have made but well that is not the problem, the problem lies with a friend of mine who is also doing a fate campaign which is for now my one and only experience with ttrpg's and well for this reason I listen to his advice and stuff and one thing he is constantly being mad over is that I am according to him trying to "railroad the campaign" by that he means that I am trying to force him and everyone else to do smth without leaving them with a choice by planing and preparing for stuff and I was wondring that if its bad for me to prepare for a campaign or well just free style it like how my friend does it in his campaign without doing any prep after all he does say that both the GM and the players make the story and well planning takes away that freedom from the players...

Ig for more detail I plan on dividing the campaign into chapters with each chapters following a quest which eventually leads to all of coming together for the final chapter.

Well this has deleyed my sesh 0 for a long time cause I just dont know how to proceed cause I can most def free style but it just that I cant just sit around without thinking of what should happen next and stuff and while even tho I will think about this, I dont wont to force my players into one path soo well I like to make multiple stories that will be ongoing at the same time and if the players divert they will be go into that story for that perticular chapter and welll this would in the end detect how the final chapter and stuff goes...

well I am sure I am in the wrong after all I dont know that much and well I dont even think my campaign will be that good like for godsake it got cards as a mechanic for doing combos along side fight and stuff but ohh well I just thought that ill hear the thoughts of people who are more exp then me (even tho yall ill prob agree with him)....

Back in 1995 I was introduced to dnd, I saved up and got a book that I’m trying to find. It was from
An old long closed book store that had a small rpg/dnd section.

It had demons, creatures, monsters in a dark fantasy art styles very similar to Tony Diterlizzi, Stephen Gammell and H R Geiger. I thought it was a dnd book, but it may not be.

It was mostly black / white / sepia illustrations, it was a hard back.

I know this is a pretty big shot in the dark. I had some suggestions on my dnd Reddit post, some were close to the art style, but nothing reached out and slapped me.