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I want to start off by saying I don't play 5e, pathfinder or any other similar system. Most games I run are NSR games like Monolith, Cairn or ShadowDark, or pure improv games like Lasers and Feelings, Roll for Shoes or Everyone is John.

I find the most common sentiment when it comes to RPGs is that being a player is fun and being a GM sucks. It's work, it's difficult, and the only joy you get as a GM is in joy of creation, like a writer or game designer and in the entertainment you provide for your players.
I think this is complete bullshit. Or at least, it doesn't have to be that way.

As a GM one thing you do have to do is either prep, or be good at improv. That really is hard, and you also have the greatest ability to influence how much fun everyone else has. I've had games where one player wasn't paying too much attention and wasn't too into the game, but the GM and other players still had a great time. But if the GM isn't switched on for the game, then no one will have a good time.
So the GM has a greater responsibility than the players. But they do not have to have a more difficult time.

When I GM I feel like I'm watching a movie, I'm almost never making any difficult decisions and letting the NPCs do whatever is most logical / interesting. As a player, I have a much harder time because I have to actually make choices. I have to choose whether I want buy a crossbow for my magic-user that's a terrible shot. On one hand, he's a terrible shot, on the other hand he gets to use magic missile once per day, and afterwards he's useless without a weapon. But crossbow's are pretty expensive and would use up all my starting gold.

This is just one of the constant stream of decisions you have to make as a player. But as a GM? I don't have to care, if the player wants to buy something I just have to go tell them how much it costs. When I give the party a challenge I just have to make sure I telegraph the challenge properly and give them enough information to be able to make an educated decision on whether they want to take it on or not. I just have to make an interesting world, which usually just involves rolling on a few random tables and plagiarizing taking inspiration from my favorite books and movies.
At the table, the session mostly runs itself.

If it seems like I'm humblebragging, I kind of am yeah. But I hate the narrative that being a GM is scary or that you're some kind of martyr or providing a service for your players. I GM cause it's fun. And if you don't want to be a forever GM then you shouldn't make your players think it's some kind of horrible prison sentence to be one. And if you actually dislike being a GM, you should try changing how you run it so you do have fun.

Hi all! I'm Hipólita, a ttrpg designer from Argentina. I've recently put out LEX ECCLESIASTICA, a free TTRPG built on the Resistance system (Heart: The City Beneath and Spire: The City Must Fall) about the Adepta Sororitas, from Warhammer 40K.

It was written out of love for the Sisters and frustration at the untapped potential they represent, and it takes some liberties with established canon to turn some of my favorite tabletop units into fully-realized ttrpg classes that do more than just kill. It's meant to explore the ways in which ironclad adherence to dogma fails real human beings on the ground (while still celebrating the faith, zeal and strength of will of the Sisters), but also the ways in which expedient and pragmatic solutions sometimes really are worse than strictly following the Ecclesiarchy's tenets.

Expect brutal firefights, quiet prayers in ruined chapels, tense political entanglements with priests and inquisitors, and the slow accumulation of scars: physical, spiritual, and political. Trad games for tactical simulation in the 41st millennium already exist (and I love Dark Heresy and especially Rogue Trader!) but for this game I wanted to built something more narrative that felt like a pressure cooker for the characters rather than a wargame. Lex Ecclesiastica is less about counting bullets, more about what it costs to pull the trigger.

I hope you'll enjoy it!

For reasons I don't need to post, I've decided Cyberpunk Red isn't for me. CP 2020 also would be a chore to return to. In hopes of minimizing my own work to get a more preferable cyber future game, I thought I'd get some opinions of what other folks use to play in a similar world.

I don't think I'm looking for a narrative system, so I'm not aiming at any of the PbtA or BitD type games. I think I'm looking for something with a modest amount of crunch, ideally on the lower end without being overly handwavey. Details and variations in gear should matter, but be simple to adjudicate.

Thank in advance for any recommendations.

I can just play light to no rules system narrative heavy games but that means no fun. I want rules because I want to play a ttrpg. I’ve already played DnD and CoC. I want something more than CoC but less than DnD if that exists

So ive been running an experiment lately on running a ttrpg but as a rogue-like and honestly its been the most fun combat heavy style rpg ive ever played.

Im using a custom system but the rogue likeness isnt really tied to it.

• Players level up EVERY session and gain a randomized choice of 2 skills/upgrades. (I use playing cards & a unique skill table for this)

• There are no death checks, saving graces or anything of the kind, 0hp is insta dead.

• Newly made chars spawn back in at the minimum level, theyre not levelled up to match the party.

• I added a meta upgrades system that gives upgrades and buffs to new chars and to the party as a whole.

And honestly i want to report back its, really, really fun. Combat is BRUTAL and actually interesting because I dont have to worry about killing someone off so much, the 0hp means death rule means even something as small as forgetting to drink a health potion can mean death.

Yes its obviously mostly combat, but it moves away from "slowly witter down the party, gotta be gentle" to "Heres a fucking elder dragon, fuck you, die" and SOMEHOW killing the thing anyway by the skin of their teeth is such a great and amazing feeling, and we are hitting that consistantly.

That and the randomized skills means death still has meaning, levels are lost and youre not going to get the same build again.

I wanted to share, its my new favorite way to run a hardcore crawler

What's the best RPG for a group of friends who have never played and don't have a game master?

In my school the teachers have to organize clubs and I am creating a Tabletop Club. I'm letting them choose the games and I'm also bringing strategy games, party games, dialogue based games, collaborative games... but some of my students want to try RPGs (I believe Stranger Things popularized them?). Sadly, my job if safeguarding, meaning I really cannot be a GM. Leading 20 students into the same campaign seems too crazy, and also other students want to play other types of games, meaning that I need to keep an eye on a lot of adolescents.

What is the quickest and easiest introduction to RPGs that I can give to them without them needing me? I have a wonderful group of students that are super creative and want to design their own adventures, but this is their first experience with RPGs and I want to give them a little push.

I’m working on an RPG set in a Victorian Lovecraftian world, inspired by Bloodborne but with a less decadent, more functional setting. Combat is a central pillar, while investigation plays an important role by leading characters into confrontations, uncovering mysteries and cosmic horrors

I’m looking for system or hack recommendations that handle action, investigation, and cosmic horror well, including sanity and tension, without making combat too slow or overly punishing. Any suggestions?

Sometimes i dm games that i know i would not enjoy playing in as a player. But they still go well and it makes me question my skills lol

As a dm i create elaborate lore for my world but if i was a player in my game, i wouldnt care about most of it.

I like dming games with realistic consequences but as a player, id enjoy something more chill, more akin to a heroic fantasy

Does this happen to you?

Hi folks,

A few times I've tried playing a grease-monkey type of a character, and it's been... a little underwhelming. I played one in a FFG Star Wars game, as well as in a FUDGE system, and again in Starfinder, and it just didn't quite land.

I think that part of what I'd like is a game that has a system that allows scavenging, and rebuilding components, being able to provide boosts to other weapons/vehicles, etc. Bonus points if it allows you to invent new mechanical creations.

Probably a good sign that I should do a deep dive into GURPS and see what their mechanic-repair-scavenge options are and see what I can noodle up, but I thought that while I do that, I can ask here.

I like Lancer's mech-building, but it doesn't quite capture the gearhead grease monkey, scavenger guy that I'm looking for... but it could be a good scaffolding to work from.

I've also seen stuff in other systems that treats repairs like a "potion" or a "time check." A simple roll repairs the damage, or the "parts" instantly repair it. And this makes sense, right? For most TTRPGs, repairs/crafting is not the primary purpose, so it makes sense that the rules for it would be secondary so we can get back to roleplaying/combat/exploration/romance/etc.

On that note, maybe some of your have played micro RPGs (like Grant Howitt's 1 pagers) that are all about scavenging/building/repairing? If so, I'd love to hear about them!

Something that came close but is (well typically) a different genre, was Mage: The Ascension with its magical item crafting rules. Needing the right spheres for the desired item, and then needing to gather Tass, raw materials (that had magical significance) and then do crafting checks as well as arete checks really made the effort rewarding. And of course, since Mage is Mage, it was easy to envision almost any magical item possible.

Any thoughts? I'm just curious what exists that might bear some closer investigation. I love reading/playing new systems and seeing how they approach different types of engagement.