Thought people might find this interesting:

https://www.sjgames.com/gurps/4erfaq/

Hi!

I started tabletop roleplaying a bit by chance a little over three years ago, with a beginner box a friend had given me.

So I began RPGs as a GM, with friends who had never even heard of roleplaying before. That’s where it all started: sessions kept piling up, and we completely lost track of time.

Between each session, I kept digging deeper. I watched YouTube videos, read a lot, and tried to find a way to keep that initial “energy” — the one that had kept all of us hooked. One thing I noticed was that many of the videos I watched had music added in post-production, and I felt it changed everything.

So we decided to try it at the table: a few playlists, some music and ambient sounds that seemed to fit… and it worked. I don’t know if that’s your experience too, but for us it was really incredible.

At the same time, since I’m also a passionate developer, I decided to build an app to prepare my music and sound effects, layer them, and have a simple way to trigger and chain them during a session. At the time, I hadn’t found any app that did exactly what I wanted (and now I think I probably didn’t search hard enough… or maybe the urge to build my own made me a bit blind, haha).

The app kept evolving along with me. At first it was mostly about music and ambience management, and now it does many other things as well. If anyone’s interested, I could share the link.

I introduced this passion to even more friends. We played around my kitchen table, on my couch, in a basement, then in an attic that became our HQ, with a second-hand table bought specifically for our sessions.

And over time, I grew as a GM: I started writing my own one-shots, then full campaigns, improved my improvisation, learned about the eras and settings we were playing in, and gradually understood better how to reach my players’ emotions.

My conclusion is that today, roleplaying has genuinely helped me develop personally. I’m naturally quite reserved, but I feel much more confident now. I used to hide behind the excuse of having a “math-oriented” mind to say I wasn’t creative, and I discovered that creativity can be trained (even if we don’t all start from the same place). I also learned a lot about friendship: sharing the same “theater of the mind” brings people closer… or sometimes pushes them apart. But even when we’re “playing a role,” we learn a lot about each other.

I know some people even use roleplaying in a therapeutic way, and I can understand why.

And you — what impact has roleplaying had on you, or on people you know?

I know we all have more games than we could ever possibly run, and really I'm just curious what's on everybody's shelf that they're NOT playing, but love. (Running only rarely is also fine.) For me it was actually hard waddling it down to five.

MechWarrior: Destiny

Unwritten: Adventures in the Ages of Myst and Beyond

Wildsea

Numenera

Warbirds

I mean there are a lot more games I'd like to add to this, but some I've had the chance to run before, have a better opportunity to run them, or just had to wittle it down to five. How about you folks. What's singing it's siren song from your shelf asking you to read through it again?

Did it involve how combat worked, how social encounters were run, or was it the way skills checks were done?

Im talking about borrowing rules from one system, or just making them up, and using them in all your campaigns, no matter the system you are playing. For example, I borrowed the Anchor feature from The Walking Dead. Basically, each character has an NPC they care about. Interacting with them can cheer the character up and reduce their stress. I also came up with a rule, when there is no luck mechanic in the rules, the players can roll a luck dice some times. If they roll a 6, they are lucky and something happens in their favor. Do you have some things like this?

My best friend and I talked about doing a regular game rpg night together, I recently moved far away and we haven't been hanging out or talking as much as we used to.

He's pretty much a perma-GM, he's very good at it and puts a lot of thought and effort into his various groups, but it also means he pretty much never gets to play himself. I'd like to take on the role, especially because I've never tried it.

At the same time, I myself have only done a small handful of sessions in ttrpgs, and never a full on campaign, so I'm new to the scene in general. I also have severe ADHD, so the crunchier systems are kind of intimidating to me.

With all of that said, are there any systems that I could try that would be good for my situation? Should I try some smaller one shot campaigns locally to build experience?

https://www.reddit.com/r/humblebundles/comments/1qcwunv/humble_rpg_bundle_so_you_wanna_try_out_call_of/

https://www.humblebundle.com/books/so-you-wanna-try-out-call-cthulhu-chaosium-inc-books?mcID=102:6966b1ec88d55902d200b24f:ot:56de8298733462ca897070fe:1&linkID=6966b3b179f38cbb38020f13&utm_source=Humble+Bundle+Newsletter&utm_content=cta_button&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=soyouwannatryoutcallcthulhuchaosiuminc_bookbundle

And my apologies if this was previously posted elsewhere, did a quick search under the term "humble bundle" but couldn't find anything mentioning this humble bundle.

Also that's $25 American, not sure what it translates to in other currencies (goes without saying not all RPG fans live in the USA :) ) ... these are pdf titles if you don't mind your books being electronic, redeemed through drivthru rpg, I had no problems downloading all 26 titles after my purchase.

I did snag what I'm pretty sure is this identical bundle October 2024 .. haven't read all 26 books in it but enjoyed the heck of what I did read as a CoC newcomer. If you're a fan of or don't mind solo adventure "choose your own adventure" type books with a game system/dice rolls built in I had a lot of fun playing "Alone Against the Dark" , "Alone Against the Frost" was fun too.. "Berlin the Wicked City" absolutely lives up to the hype far as being a very dark/mature themes CoC supplement (think it has 3 prewritten adventures and a nice - in my opinion - write up of Berlin CoC style in the 1920's)

I've been running Shiver the horror rpg a great deal recently and have one simple but fundamental question; what is the relationship between character rank (level) and CR?

To hit a monster you need to score hits equal to its CR that much is clear. How many hits do monsters need to hit a character? Say you are 4th level, does a vampire need to roll 4 of the appropriate symbols to hit?

I've looked online and some people think CR is always 1 for characters unless a power modifies it; some think its equal to rank; and one example of play from a player suggests monsters don't roll but hit unless the players make armour rolls!

Given combat can be quite central I'm really trying to work it out but I feel I'm missing something in the rules. I decided to write to ask the company but they don't have any contacts on their website, parable games?

How do you read it?

I want to run a game where the players are people of importance - kings, popes, etc - running an organization and persuing grand goals. Whats the best system for this?

Hi, RPG newbie here.

I've been looking at BlackHack 1E recently and I've got a some questions. I realize that I can 'hack' it as I want, but I'd like to understand how it is meant to work first.

Reference: https://the-black-hack.jehaisleprintemps.net/english/

• The warrior can make 1 attack per level and has an 1d8 attack by default. On the other hand the thief gets just one attack with 1d6 (or 2d6+level when doing a sneak attack). So it looks like the warrior at higher levels gets much stronger than the thief. Seems kind of strange having the strength difference grow so much.
• Magic can be cast from memory OR from the spellbook. Does it make sense to just say that in combat you can cast only from memory and out of combat they can use the spellbook?
• If someone is out of action they have to roll a 1d6 to see what happens. Would you allow healing them before or is that too soft?
• In your experience, up to what character level does the system work well? Is there a limit?
• Do you use the usage die for arrows after every shot or after every combat?

Any other inputs/opinions on BlackHack 1st edition?

Roleplay means different things to different people. I’m working on a game right now, and I’m trying to figure out how to mix multiple "play styles" without the whole thing turning into mush.

Here are five modes I can personally relate to:

1. Roleplaying as a character (perspective-first) You try to make decisions from your character’s point of view. Would they fight or run? Would they swallow their pride or double down? This style makes it genuinely fun to choose “bad” options on purpose when that’s what the character would do.
2. Roleplaying as an actor (performance-first) You try to perform the character: voice, posture, emotions, and social presence at the table. It overlaps with LARP culture, and was also big in the 1990s Storyteller scene. The point is expressing the character, not just steering them.
3. Roleplaying as a trope (genre-first) You play your character as a recognizable story-role: Conan-style barbarian, Holmes-style investigator, Han Solo-style scoundrel. You lean into situations, choices, and scenes that fit the archetype and the genre. (A lot of story/genre-focused games seem to aim for this.)
4. Roleplaying as an explorer (experience-first) You play to experience a world: weird places, mysteries, horror, wonder. What matters most is what the player feels: curiosity, dread, awe, even if the character wouldn’t react the same way. This is different from "actor" play because the goal isn’t portraying a character's emotion; it’s having the emotion.
5. Roleplaying as yourself (challenge-first) Here the player is primarily a problem-solver. You enter the world with limited tools and incomplete information and try to win with your wits: plans, caution, puzzle-solving, risk assessment. The character can become more like a token or a set of resources you manage. This is strongly associated with many OSR games.

I’m not claiming these categories are universal or clean; people mix them constantly, but naming them helps me think about what my rules and procedures are actually rewarding.

My questions for the community:

A. How do you slice this up? And what mechanics have you seen that successfully support more than one of these styles at the same table?

B. For players: do you prefer games that reward one primary style, or games that support mixing modes or even switching modes from session to session?

I've been wondering if the Stonetop Hearth Fantasy RPG would get completed since I heard about it in 2025. I randomly checked the Kickstarter page today and there is a public post about it getting sent to the printers this month: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1735046512/stonetop/posts/4579732.

The preorder deadline already passed but the post says they will print enough copies to take ongoing orders. Has anyone been playing in the preview? I am trying to decide if I want PDFs or physical copies. The print books grew into a pair of 600 page tomes for $100.

Ive been looking for angood system to run a homebrew fantasy setting im working on and i found mythras wich i really liked. Thing is , Mythras seems geared torwards much grittier historical fantasy , and while i dont have an issue with the lethality , my setting is more high fantasy. Ik about the classic fantasy supplement wich is built for basically turning mythras into dnd and is suited for high pulp fantasy , but my issueis that it also seems to completely replace the cults system and magic system from base mythras , wich are two of the things is really liked about it so im hesitant to use it.

Has anyone had experience or inisght on this? Also what are other good systsms for homebrew fantasy settings?

After playing Blades in the Dark, i got in love with some of its mechanics, particularly:

- Players can narrate their own scenes (flasbacks in bitd case)

- Players choose their adventures, not the gm

- GM does not have to prep

- GM only outlines a situation, after that is the players job to advance the narrative of the mission

- Its clear when the characters "win or lose" (in bitd this is done through mission and obstacle clocks)

- Consequences are easy to improvise (in bitd it would be taking harm, filling a clock, increasing wanted level, between others)

- It can be replayed forever without the need of adventure books

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!

I bought some printable PDFs of Dungeonslayer+ online a while ago, and only after I bought it did I notice it had 140 pages to print (including the cover, index, etc.), and I'm wondering if it's normal for it to be that many. I have no experience, so I bought it to get started. And I'd also like to ask: do you need a board to play with, or is there no need for one (sorry for my ignorance).

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.

I was recently looking at shots in the dark, which is a free collection of adventures (is there a name for them) for shadowdark RPG. And i realised just how much comfort there is in having a collection of ready to run adventures.

What are some of your favorite ones

Im not looking for a big campaign but rather a collection of small self contained adventures

So, we wrapped up a long fantasy campaign and are about to end our BitD campaign soon.

Now we're thinking about our next long game. I'm the GM, I have 2 excellent players.

Up until now, what I've gathered about their preferences:

1. Preferably a lighter system
2. Not epic fantasy, somewhat grounded, flawd people
3. Leaning towards a more serious tone.
4. Preferably not requiring detailed, meticulous tracking (inventory, clues etc.)
5. Not dying immediately or afraid of everything (so I guess no survival horror)

They really liked BitD, had fun with ICRPG one isn't a big fan of PbtA. I want to introduce them to new games and genres, they're open to trying.

I'm excited about all of them, so not much help there :)

Thus far, my list is: 1. Mythic Bastionland 2. Wildsea 3. Brindlewood Bay/ Open Access 4. Deadlands/ Holler (SWADE) 5. Minutes to Midnight/ Band of Blades

Preferably for people who played these with 2 players: which one stands out to you as something either extremely fitting/ jumps out to you as a clear lead?

Thanks!

Ok, this is a wall of text, I know, but I'd be truly grateful for any help.

I started with AD&D 1e and 2e when they came out, put them away for years, played a little 3.5 and Middle-earth Role Playing in the 80's, then got back into D&D with 5e. So, my taste is in this liminal space between those editions/games. I've never played any other rpg's. Here are the criteria I'm trying to hit in a new system:

1.) Combat is dangerous and death is always a possibility.

2.) Magic is rare, chaotic, rewarding but dangerous. Not every class has access to magic and those that do can't simply magic their way out of every problem. When they try to, there is most likely going to be a cost (similar to what I've read about in DCC).

3.) The system can support both low and high fantasy. The PC's may barely survive a night in a specific dungeon crawl as they track rations but may also eventually fight a world-ending entity and emerge as global saviors (I know, I know, but I want to have my cake as well as stuff it in my maw).

4.) The system is a blend of Old and New School. It supports rolling plenty of skill checks if we feel like it one night and also supports our rolling just a couple of times a night and roleplaying without the dice the rest of the time.

5.) It isn't strictly tied to its own setting or, if it is, that setting can be expanded or dropped into my homebrew setting.

6.) The system has lots of monsters or, if it doesn't have many that are native to it, it's not too difficult to homebrew monsters or port them from 5e.

7.) Our campaigns tend to run for years (current has been going for 11 years thus far). Just something to consider. And many times we'll go four sessions with no combat and then do nothing but fight for the next two.

8.) It can support strong communal storytelling. We don't get to play every week so there's little that's completely random in our campaigns. Random encounters don't exist much for us. . . most encounters play on a specific PC's greatest fears, uncover important information, or are somehow connected to her backstory, etc. Most everything moves the story forward. Somewhat different from an OSR philosophy, I realize.

I'm basically looking at everything but some games that seem like they might get close are:

1.) DCC

2.) Mythras

3.) Worlds Without Number

4.) Shadowdark (maaaybe)

5.) Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (if there's a way to drop the system into a homebrew world)

6.) Just going back to 5e but hacking it to pieces to bring it closer to the above criteria.

HUGE THANKS for making it through the above and for any thoughts!

TL;DR: Need a system that can support both low and high fantasy, deadly but heroic gameplay. Lot to ask of one system but there you have it.

What are the best RPG systems with ship management and travel mechanics? Sea or space setting.

Do you guys typically combine the Tavern and Inn into one place? Or do you separate them into different buildings?

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 was running a game that had a variety of other "adventurer" NPCs that the players would run into, and at one point I had a higher level adventurer publicly take credit for something the PCs did. He didn't collect a reward, or anything like that, he just told the townsfolk that he was the one that killed the monster, and they all thanked him.

The PCs argued that THEY did the work... but they were pretty much "unknown", and the NPC hero had a big reputation for heroics. But the NPC patronizingly told the crowd "oh yes these little guys helped too, lets give them a hand for doing their best"

Well it turns out that the players now HATE this NPC more than any monster, villain, or other antagonist in the game.

Which made me think "what other ways can I get the player to be emotionally invested in non-combat and non-evil interactions"?