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I'm very new to TTRPG, I've only dabbled, playing a session or two of dnd5e or Pathfinder 2e. I have the deluxe box for mother ship and wanted to try playing that. I need to DM though and so I'm wondering if you all have advice on how to do this?

I read the players handbook, and I'm going to read the wardens Manuel, then run another bug hunt, but it feels a bit overwhelming. Trying to keep everything in mind, coming up with good judgement calls and rulings, coming up with good description and dialogue to speak as characters. How do you all do it?

I've pretty much accepted that if I want to play anything besides DND or Pathfinder I need to gm it myself. And while I'm nervous over it I feel willing to, I just want to make sure I do a good job for my players.

An example of what I mean: https://www.nordiclarp.org/2018/02/21/play-lift-not-just-lose/

I wouldn’t be too surprised if some FKR game get mentioned. And that’s okay, btw - go ahead. Any level of complexity, any setting or no setting, any dice or diceless; all are welcome.

As long as they, somehow or other, try their level best to do as the title ^ suggests, that is.

So anyway, for a start, actual levels and XP (etc.) are probably not the idea here.

I’m aware, Larp is its own thing - I’ve done a few. And Nordic Larp is a distinct subtype therein. Indeed. The request, though, is for TTRPGs that get as close as possible to that approach / those priorities, implicitly or otherwise.

Heya people! So I am very lucky to go to Japan for an extended period of time this gear. Specifically Tokyo and the surrounding areas.

Anyone from there / who has been there got any recommendations for cool ttrpg stuff? Store, cafes, hotspots etc. Would love some things to check out!

Also any Japanese ttrpgs you'd recommend I check out as well I would appreciate.

Thanks

A comment in another thread prompted this one. Example settings are like Wildsea or Dark Sun - ones that are pretty far off the beaten track and require some knowledge to create a viable character with relationships to setting elements.

Do you (the GM) expect players to come in blind, with some understanding (say from a pitch doc), read up on the lore, or something else?

I am in a point in my life where I need to downsize, iv collected so many books over the years as tools to DM or just out of passion. However my wife and I have made the decision to be in a smaller location as we get older. This is going to mean condensing my office size GREATLY.

I hate reading PDFs on my phone but I dislike sitting at my laptop, I like to read in bed or on a hike etc without a ton of bulk. I honestly know nothing about the world of tablets and readers to even get started.

What's your favorite reading devices?

Has anyone produced a setting like Shadowrun, with metahumans, dragons, and such but set in the “4th World?” Not Earthdawn. I’m looking for criptids and aliens. Atlantis and prehistoric civilizations.
Has someone put this out, or am I going to have to brew it myself. THANKS!

I'm looking for not just customized dice faces, or materials, I'm specifically looking for custom sets of dice. This would include customizing what polyhedrals come in the set. I'm looking for a nontraditional setup (6d6 // 4d8 // 3d10 // 2d12 // 1d20). I understand I could just buy a massive amount of bag dice and sort through, but I was hoping to get them in a pre-made set if possible for a variety of reasons. I haven't been able to find much online and was wondering if anyone knew of a storefront that would allow you to do that without purchasing individual massive (500+) bulk of one die type at a time to put something like this together.

A few things we've used in our Pathfinder campaign:

1. We use health bars on our tokens in the VTT we sit around. If the heroes want to figure out whether a monster has a weakness, resistance or immunity they have to pay very close attention to the health bar and how it drops. (They've gotten surprisingly good at this).

2. Diplomacy, Deception, and Intimidation are just as influenced by the role playing as they are the die roll. Naturally, this requires players to be comfortable role playing.

3. A countdown timer always sits on the table in front of me. When something is going to happen after X rounds/minutes/whatever, I will discreetly spin the timer down. When players notice, that is essentially them succeeding at their perception check.

What are some other clever things you've seen groups do to shift a skill check or other mechanic into a real world interaction?

I am desperately looking for a good cyberpunk TTRPG. I really like the vibes of cyberpunk but have had a hard time to find ones that I enjoy.

There are a couple of things I want in a cyberpunk game

1. Long lists of items. I just love looking at different guns and cyberware or whatever.

2. Tactical, yet quick combat. I feel like cyberpunk combat should be fast and deadly, but I still want a bit of crunch. Dragonbane combat for example is really the perfect balance for me of being tactical, yet fast.

3. Should be able to run campaigns with the system, so a good sense of progression for the players.

I have played both cy_borg and Cyberpunk Red but idk it did not really work for me. Cy_borg is overly simple and has a very low amount of tactical depth, and Cyberpunk Red felt bloated in a not good way. It felt tactical but not fast and cinematic in the way I want cyberpunk games should feel I think. Just slow.

Are there any good cyberpunk rule systems that work well for this?

pretty much title.

I m taking modules/settings/system/adventure whatnot. mostly fantasy, but sci fi is fine aswell.
trying to make develloping a decrepit estate the main theme of my next campaign.

While i have a bunch of ideas, it's always good to look at what is already out there.

Thanks

A while ago I mentioned on another RPG community and social media a method I sometimes use to discourage metagaming, especially when it comes to enemies

Some GMs and Players told me it was unfair, that I was tricking my players, or even "lying" to them. That surprised me, because I've never really seen it that way

First, some context:

This is not how I run my games by default. It's a tool I only use if I notice the group is relying heavily on metagaming. Usually I only need it for a couple of sessions before everyone gets the message, and then I stop using it

I also ask to my players to avoid metagaming. Everyone slips up once in a while, and accidental metagaming is completely different from intentionally using out-of-character knowledge

The basic idea is simple: I sometimes change the abilities of well-known enemies

For example, imagine a Medusa, instead of petrifying people with her gaze, maybe this version uses a hypnotic siren-like song

There are two important rules, though

1. I never change enemies in the middle of a campaign just to surprise the players. If I decide my world's Medusas work differently, that's true from the start. I'm not changing things on the fly to counter whatever strategy the players came up with
2. The information is available in the world. I leave clues, rumors, books, witnesses, monster hunters, or simply allow Knowledge checks. If a player asks, "What does my character know about Medusas?", there's a very good chance they'll learn the correct information. In many cases, a character who should reasonably know about monsters doesn't even need to roll

So in this example, the only people who are actually punished are players who skip interacting with the world entirely.

If someone immediately says, "I blindfold myself and bring mirrors because Medusas petrify with their gaze," without ever asking what their character knows or trying to research the creature, they might discover that, in this setting, Medusas don't petrify people at all

I don't want to punishing players for being clever, but to reward players for engaging with the setting instead of assuming that the Monster Manual (or the wiki) is always correct

Nowadays, I actually use a "good" version of this idea much more often

Once a group has learned to separate player knowledge from character knowledge, or if they're already experienced, I usually stop changing monsters entirely

Instead, I add extra information that rewards investigation

For example:

• Green Medusas have a stronger petrifying gaze than yellow ones
• Bronze weapons are unusually effective against Medusas.
• A specific flower can temporarily weaken their magic.
• A particular species of troll can't regenerate from acid, only from fire

I want players to think, investigate, ask questions, and interact with the world instead of treating every combat like they already have the stat block open.

Do you consider this unfair, or is it a reasonable way to encourage players to rely on their characters' knowledge instead of their own?