**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.

​

----------

​

This submission is generated automatically each Saturday at 00:00 UTC.

Title! It does not necessarily have to be a Core Rulebook, could be an expansion, setting book, adventure, or even a book *about* TTRPGs. What's the read that got you hooked and eating though an RPG related book the most?

In my case it was the Gaia 1 setting manual for Anima: Beyond Fantasy, I love that world so much I just ate the entire book like it was a fantasy novel.

EDIT: Also "The Elusive Shift" was one hell of a read, probably the closest I ever got to enjoying a history lesson.

I grew up playing D&D in the late 70s and 80s, took a break, and returned in 2015 with D&D 5e. The biggest change in the hobby seemed to be a focus on high-fantasy storylines: plots that developed through a campaign and ended with a climactic battle with a Big Boss and the entire kingdom (or the world, or the multiverse, depending on level) was saved. Plus bonus backstories and character arcs for each player, that all wrapped up very nicely by the end. Kind of a fantasy-novel-simulator. And it was fun, for a couple of multi-year campaigns.

But in time I drifted to OSR games, especially Shadowdark, which is my system of choice these days. It's a playstyle that's familiar to me from growing up with Holmes Basic, and it's satisfying for long campaigns in a way that 5e just isn't, and I think I've realized a big reason why. Old-school play centers around survival, exploration, and finding treasure. In a word, adventuring. If quests get completed or kingdoms get saved, it's just in the course of doing what you'd already be doing anyway. The plot is not handed down from on high or figured out in advance, it's merely the slow accumulation of events and choices. A good old-school campaign would make a terrible fantasy novel (although it might make a great series of Fritz Leiber short stories). Play can go on indefinitely. There's no reason to ever wrap up a campaign, because like life, it simply goes on and on. No one is looking for an ending. There's no climax or payoff. Individual characters can retire or die, replaced by fresh level 1 characters with fresh challenges.

To me, this old-school play is more fun because it's more like life. I don't have to create a great plot or a story that someone on the outside would want to watch. The entire audience is right there at the table, co-creating with me. And because there's no overarching grand drama, the risks feel smaller but the stakes feel more real. In a 5e game, is the DM really going to let the Dragon Cult enslave the Prime Material Plane halfway through the campaign because the low-level characters made really bad choices? No. Plots require plot armor, railroading, and forced choices. If you like to "play" through someone else's story, have fun with that. But RPGs can provide so much more interactivity and improvisation. You don't have to settle for the kind of limited plot-branching from a computer game, because the human imagination is infinite, which is the only way you can approach the sort of life-simulation that RPGs can accomplish.

What do you think? Does the prospect of a campaign ending with all the loose ends tied up appeal to you? Does a decades-long weekly grind of dungeon exploits and hex crawls sound dull? Or does the picaresque, peripatetic nature of old-school play make you want to keep playing the same game forever?

https://www.rascal.news/battle-over-yazebas-bed-breakfast-contracts-leaves-the-book-relationships-torn-apart/

I was one of six players in a game that has been going on for several months now.

A friend invited me, and I subsequently invited another friend. Friend #1 seemed to like the game, but myself and friend #2 have discussed leaving, as it's not working for us.

The GM has a story he's telling, and there's no character development, minimal player choice, and almost no RP happening. Repeated attempts (mentions OOC, attempts in character) to make these things happen or at least push things in that direction have failed utterly. The GM is amazing at many things, including battles and puzzles, but it's just not what we were after.

Out of the blue Friend #1 leaves the game. Friend 2 and myself, both ready to talk to the GM and drop as well, are now uncertain what to do - if we leave it may well be campaign over, but none of this is fun for us.

So...should we just wait a while, or rip the bandaid off now? I want to do right by the GM.

Update: I may not have been as direct and clear with him as I should've been. Going to try that route, maybe this thing can be salvaged. If not, well, we tried.

Hello fellow enthusiasts! Thanks to an estate sale, I find myself in possession of several complete Paizo Adventure Paths from both PF1e and PF2e. Although I love emergent games with random tables (currently a huge fan of Tales of Argosa in this regard), I am also a big fan of the Paizo APs.

The problem is that I have zero interest in GM PF2e again. I've previously GMed a group through all six Age of Ages books, and am about to finish a 2.5-year stint as a player in Sky King's Tomb. Both experiences were fantastic, but I find Pathfinder to be too fiddly and rules-heavy for me these days, distracting too much from the rich stories. Prepping games as a PF2e GM--especially at higher levels--became a chore I don't enjoy.

As a result, I'm on the hunt for a lighter TTRPG system I can run my group through the APs with the following features:

1. fun to play and allows for crazy heroic stunts without the crunch
2. fun to GM
3. easy to make stuff (like monsters, hazards, etc.), or at least fun to do so
4. suitable for a long campaign (in other words, has some sort of character progression or at least the players won't get bored with the mechanics)
5. can't be tied too deeply into a setting - my group all knows/loves Golarion and my intention is to keep the lore of the APs mostly intact

I have thought about maybe Outgunned, Nimble, Fate, or Legend in the Mist. I could even use a superhero system pretty easily like ICONS or BASH. But I haven't really dived into any of these to fully explore them, and thought I would ask here to see if I can generate a coherent list of games to consider. Anything you'd recommend?

I am trying to get my girlfriend into the hobby. I pretty much only have experience with fantasy settings, which are a big no-no for her, mostly because of combat. I suppose there are combat-free fantasy systems and scenarios out there, but I would feel like something is missing.

On the other hand, we play a lot of boardgames together and she is very much into sci-fi and space travel themes. I know there are quite a few sci-fi systems out there and I can imagine they could rely less on combat than typical fantasy systems.

We also don't want to invest a lot of time in learning it, it's mostly to experiment and see if she likes it. What would you suggest?

Hey everyone!

I’m currently looking for ideas for intentionally useless or misleading magic items for a shady NPC merchant in my game.

He sells absolute junk, but presents every item as if it were a once-in-a-lifetime miracle.

Examples of items he already sells:

• The Weather Stone 

A magical stone that reveals the current weather when held up.

Stone is wet = it’s raining.

Stone is white = snow.

Stone is warm = sunny.

An incredible artifact! (Even though you could just… look outside.)

• Amulet of Danger 

This amulet glows brightly whenever the wearer realizes they are in danger.

Not before.

Exactly when they already know.

“See? Proof that the amulet works perfectly!”

I’m looking for more items in this spirit:

• Technically magical • Functionally useless or redundant • Sold with extreme confidence and enthusiasm • Bonus points if they sound amazing at first glance 

Do you have any ideas for “magic” items that a questionable merchant would swear are revolutionary?

Thanks in advance — and remember, all sales are final! 😄

Title! I'm looking for a system that emulates the vibes of games of things like Rune Factory, Stardew Valley, Coral Island, etc. Having that element of fantasy and adventure, while having a hometown/home base where they can grow crops, fish, craft, create bonds, etc. If anyone can point me in that direction, or at least for systems that would be good at emulating that, it'd be fantastic. Thanks!

My tables are rotating gm. Some of the players are new to gming. We started by playing a few gmless games, then had new gms run a few one shots, and now our newest gms are running their first longer games (6-8 sessions).

I haven't been a new gm in 8 years. I want to be a good player and support them. But I'm wondering if there are ways of providing support I might be overlooking, simply bc I'm too far removed from the new gm experience. I'm especially interested in hearing from fairly new gms. What did your players do that really helped you out? Or were there resources that were really helpful when running your very first game?

Hi there! I'm going to be running a seafaring pirate campaign soon, and I'm wondering what kind of tools are out there for generating pirate seas?

I'm looking for something like Stars without Numbers' sector generation tables, where you could roll to see how many islands are in an area. Then you roll on another table for climate, and yet another for what resources and points of interest are on an island. Ideally it would be system agnostic.

Does anyone know of something like this, or something that could be adapted? Thank you!

Things I am looking for:

-not very rules heavy

-preferably not PbtA, definitely not based on d&d 5e or pathfinder/starfinder

-sleek tech: power armor/exoskeletons, neural implants, drones, AI assistants, advanced weaponry

-interesting/cosmopolitan locations/societies already existing in the lore if possible.

-not grimdark

I am looking at games like Infinity, Nova Praxis, Eclipse Phase.

Would you recommend any of the above? Something else?