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This is an often discussed topic in RPG circles, and it's an ever enduring one as many GMs come face to face with the topic. The imbalance of engagement of players versus gamemasters, where the gamemaster must put in great effort while the players just have to show up.

I have some experience with this. When trying to expose new players to a new system (GURPS, in the Cyberpunk setting -- I don't like RED!), the sheer amount of passive resistance to engaging with the game part is noticeable. We play bi-weekly, so there should be plenty of time to read over the basic rules and perform in-between tasks (like shopping, character progression, etc.), but it feels like this is simply too much to ask!

I play via VTT, and it feels exhausting to put in effort in designing the handouts, enhancing the presentation, and simplifying the automation, while my players all but refuse outright to familiarize themselves with the rules at even a passing level.

I've mentioned upfront that it would be a good idea to read over the basics (I provided a pdf of the basic rules, with only 4 or 5 pages of actual rules and the rest being extra detail), but it feels foolish to expect the players to do it on their own. Additionally, the campaign is intended on being more roleplay heavy, so specifying where they live and what those conditions are is a part of grounding their characters in the fiction by giving them control over a little worldbuilding.

The players are great when we're actually playing. They are involved and engaged, asking questions and getting into character; however, it feels like all that engagement vanishes immediately after the session ends, making it difficult to optimize our playtime by offloading book-keeping to between sessions, or ensuring the players are familiar with the rules of whatever decisions they make.

Does anyone else currently deal with this problem? Any tips for dealing with it?

I never expected I'd make this question, but I recently been to a Bluebeard's Bride game (one of the alternate modules, where it's modern day, present time) where the players decided they wanted to play Bluebeard's Bride without engaging in feminine horror, so they lined, veiled or just asked about a third to a half of the potential explorable themes, mostly the actually meaningful and juicy ones. Between the GM being awfully unprepared and wtf just happened, we got 20 mins of actual horror and the rest was character creation and players pointing out at various shit and rolling to investigate a mysterious object. Taking stock did almost nothing, because the house wasn't really that dangerous.

The GM only at the end of the session figured out what random horror themes she could inject into a room to make it somehow scary like a surreal scene where we might have just given birth to a rat or maybe we were hallucinating. Before that, not much stuff happened tbh. We didn't even get to experience the horror of the first room because everything in it was lined, so all we were left with was a weird mask we found. Besides that, there was a fire, I suppose.

We also randomly flattened a servant with a taxidermied bear after we gauged the bear's eyes out. The bear didn't move btw. It had human eyes, so that was someone's solution to this conundrum.

Idk how I feel, because I have played this twice before and it can be utterly innerving in a good way. Maybe it's just me, but if you sign up for a specific type of horror, you should want to be terrified and made uncomfortable in certain way. I feel that despite being Halloween month, besides me and my friend every other player wanted to engage in a mystery where you explore a weird mansion.

What's funny was that the session started with "Do you know the fairy tale?" And everyone said yeah.

Which games released in 2026 are your favourites and why?

I think I could run mothership with its pregens and ypsilon anywhere anytime, super portable.

Anyone know any other pocket rpgs to introduce new people at a random dinner or something? Or just play with friends wherever?

Doesn't have to be rules light, so long as its fun with pregen characters that are portable and easy to explain rules maybe a cheatsheet and a few dice.

DnD, Call of Cthulu etc all require more of a dedicated session and seating, and their character sheets are intimidating for new players - maybe I could just draft mini-sheets simplified versions?

But anyway would be super cool to hear about more RPGs you know where so long as I know the rules its super easy to get started anytime anywhere.

I've been looking into getting the book and running maybe a campaign after reading the comics but I not really confident so I decided I should listen to others experiences with it. So yeah.

How was it like when you played DIE:RPG and do you recommend getting it?

Every adventure has one - a throw-away NPC that ends up somehow getting caught in the party's orbit. maybe adopted as a mascot, hired as a helper, or just kept floating around by the GM for comic relief

For us, it was a technician who had the misfortune to be working on the wiring of the ship my character (Six) was intent on stealing.

I've been keeping track of our adventure from the perspective of this poor sod we now keep dragging around with us, and how we must look through his eyes - complete psychopaths.

I present to you .. "Marlo Petrak’s day had just taken a horrible turn":

https://dead-end.pages.dev/characters/npcs/marlo-petrak

TL;DR Anyone knows of a tabletop rpg where success of an action isn't determined by a rng?

Hello!

I went in a small rabit hole about some stupid idea (described below) to skeak some "is this loss" thing in a rpg, which lead me to the question:

Are there tabletop rpg where players do more than rolling dices to determine an action's success?

Like not coin tosses or other rng either: having the player attempt something, and how well they do it impacts how successfull the character is.

The stupid idea for those interested: I remembered the tumblr post about some fifty year old dad knowing the "loss" symbol only has some kind of rune that psychichally damages younger people.

This had me thinking about spells being cast through "runes" that are internet memes.

To better drown the players with cringe, involve them. Have them draw the thing each time they cast the spell. You can't draw a dickbutt in ten seconds? Guess your bard can't cast vicious mockery in 10 seconds. Got interrupted before you could complete it next turn? You got interrupted.

So uh yeah, anyone knows rpg where success of an action isn't determined by a rng?

Looking for some insight on what it means for the TTRPG scene to use and play an adventure

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Hey looking for some
New universes to explore as me and my friends have played D&D 5E to the point we are kinda losing interest so looking to take a break from it and try something new.

Right now we still want some fantasy themes in the game but maybe a different setting.

One of the ones we looked at is Vampire masquerade as I had played the video game ages ago but not sure how hard books will be to find?

We also considered some up coming ones on like Feral or apocalypse world?

If it matters we have 4 players and I typically DM. I prefer simpler rules as we don’t have tons of time to play each week so I like the story to advance somewhat quickly.

Appreciate any suggestions.

Hello everyone, first time here so please forgive me if this isn’t anything new, but:

My latest obsession is trying to combine DnD with Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag. I love the idea of sailing an archipelago region that has just enough pockets of society to resemble cities and towns. You even have a small island that could be considered a 2024 bastion.
The problem comes from the realism of AC:BF. No merfolk and no magic are the first offenders I think of. After all, why would you need your own private ship if you can teleport everywhere?

I think AC:BF is a fantastic game, and I haven’t heard much about nautical adventures in DnD, let alone separate TTRPG games. So if you know anything like that, I’d love to hear about it!

I know I kinda talked about this before but now I kinda wonder if I'm some kind of coward for wanting to avoid RPGs themed around some inevitable downward spiral for either your character or society. Reflected in the mechanics by sanity, money, corruption, humanity, esc. But also in setting and lore, too. Doesn't a dystopia inherently assume we're all just slaves to history?

I feel like my perspective on life and the world is actually already pessimistic and nhilistic enough. Mildly fatalistic too, I think everything is cause and effect and that if a better world was possible, it would have happened already.