**Come here and talk about anything!**

This post will stay stickied for (at least) the week-end. Please enjoy this space where you can talk about anything: your last game, your current project, your patreon, etc. You can even talk about video games, ask for a group, or post a survey or share a new meme you've just found. This is the place for small talk on r/rpg.

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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do you create a sandbox filled with adventures your players can freely choose or disregard? do you create a more linear, story-focused game where the adventures come one at a time, and each one narratively leads into the next? or, do you do something in between?

I know there's a Dark Souls rpg, but it doesn't appear to have inspired a subgenre in the ttrpg field in quite the same way as it's video game counterpart.. Not really surprising for obvious reasons.

But as a growing fan of that genre (who apparently enjoys the torture), I enjoy wondering how it could be replicated. Or how ttrpg's might be so inspired.

Big boss fights can't really work in the same way since they are reaction based not dice based.

But what if you had a setting where death was part of the experience. That is, your character can and will die a lot (as is the norm in soulslikes, it's meant to happen). Maybe while dead characters become something else or go somwhere else (party splits notwithstanding - soulslike games are solo experiences for the greater part). So you don't lose your PC, but something changes, even if temporarily.

Any system, any game. Give me the best of the best

I am always looking for new rpgs to read and try, but there's always a hitch, not having enough time to play every game I want and living in Europe and not the US which screws my time zone notwithstanding.

That is, I often feel like I am missing out when games get praised even though they are are not my cup of tea. A big category of those is what I call DnDlikes. Call them alternatives... probably not heartbreakers, as they definitely have their own rabid fans and a good niche. I'm talking about games like PF2e, Draw Steel, Daggerheart, Nimble. They get a lot of talk, but of all of them the only one I really enjoy is Dragonbane.

Because they are praised as the answer to everything, I feel like something is wrong with me for not getting their appeal. Yet, I know why I would not like them.

Draw Steel is too heroic, abstracts resources and cares mostly for combat and definitely not for exploration, for example. Daggerheart sits between narrative and trad games without committing to either, PF2e is again too heroic, tactical and very rules over rulings, when I am big fan of NRS/OSR and narrative games, so it is antithetical to what I like.

I could explain how I wouldn't really enjoy them in more detail, but that's not the point. What is is that I google up builds, keep up with their news and read avidly over posts on their subreddits.

And every time I do I see people being happy with them. People telling stories of how their group finally moved on from DnD and they are having a blast or how they really want to move because this game is the answer to all their problems, when the stuff I like playing is different from DnD altogether and it's been a while since I've played it, so I don't remember all the gripes I had with it besides the major ones because time made let go of the hard feelings and left mostly memories of having fun with my friends.

I feel like they are yapping round about which hamburger is more delicious when I'm a quest to try foods from around the world... but holly fuck... that must be a really good hamburger to get so much praise.

I don't know their actual name but they go by mekhami on discord, anyways they made this website to index TTRPG material that I think is neat.

https://rpgbase.net

I'm just going to copy/paste their explanation of what and why this is:

I've made this application to fill a need in the ttrpg hobby - a place to discover materials for your favorite games, get up to date information about them, add your own new materials that you've written and want to share, etc.

It's all user curated. Like Wikipedia, users do all of the submitting and editing. It's based on a reputation system to prevent vandalism. Initially, submits and edits go into an approval queue to be moderated. After a sufficient amount of reputation, the system will automatically approve your changes.

This is for ALL material. Trad, old school, story games, fan zines, everything. If it's for RPGs, it belongs here.

I really believe in this and believe the community needs it, and can benefit a ton from it on all sides. But it only succeeds if the community embraces it and volunteers care enough to add and maintain the knowledge they have.

If you like this, if you feel like I do that our hobby needs it, please consider sharing in your communities and with your friends.

(I do not and will not ever profit from this application. You can see my policy on the support link at the bottom.)

Heya, folks. I have some campaign ideas floating around for a modern/near future/light sci-fi scenario. I'm defaulting to doing it in Chaosium's Basic Roleplaying, as it is my go-to system, but maybe there is one out there that does what I want out of the box. As such, I turn to you for recommendations.

So, I'm looking for a system that can do the following:

• Somewhat realistic (within reason);
• Fast and lethal tactical engagements, based on real modern military combat doctrine;
• Emphasis on teamwork and resource management;
• Diegetic mechanics, with as little "gamey" fluff as possible (such as character classes and levels);
• Bonus points for support for guerilla warfare specifically.

Generally, I'm pretty flexible on the specifics. For reference, I'm looking for something that can perhaps emulate some elements from something like XCOM (Enemy Unknown and 2), Arma, Escape From Tarkov and Metal Gear Solid. Thanks in advance, folks.

I’m going to be running a game for a group of players based in a fantasy city. It’s going to be sessional, basically a string of loosely connected one shots.

Can anyone suggest any city packs or resources that they really like?

I've enjoyed the Malifaux world for many years but I recently gotten into Deadlands. Although they both have a dry sense of gallows humor they are not really similar. Malifaux is about the darkness in people and organizations and how the monsters and humans are not that different Deadlands is more about persevering in the face of evil. I think Deadlands is both the worst world to live in -looking at you Hell on Earth!- but the one with the most hope.

I am curious to thoughts.

I've noticed something over the years.

Players rarely remember the exact combat encounter.

They remember moments.

The creepy forest.
The tavern where everything went wrong.
The boss reveal.
The final battle.

I've always used music and ambience heavily because it helps sell those moments.

For years our group used Watch2Gether because it was the easiest way to get everyone listening to the same thing, but I always felt there was a gap for something designed specifically around tabletop storytelling rather than just sharing media.

That eventually led me down a rabbit hole of building my own tool for campaigns.

A few people have been testing it recently and it's got me wondering whether I'm in the minority.

Do you use music and ambience in your games?

Or do you prefer running everything with theatre of the mind and no audio at all?

For me, the games I've played fall into the following categories

1. I enjoyed it. I want to try again.
2. I have not enjoyed it. I don't want to try again.
3. I have not enjoyed it. But I am willing to give it another chance.

I recently saw a post in another forum, in which the OP said while they enjoyed the game, they would not pick it up again, which I found to be very puzzling.

So I wanted to ask, are there any games that you have played or GMed that you've enjoyed but would not want to pick up again? If so, why or why not?

Looking at Exalted, the game has a mechanic called “stunting” which gives a player a bonus to their rolls for describing their actions in a cool way.

I’m kinda curious about ways that different games have tried to do similar things to try to give players a reason to get creative with what their characters do.