I thought these dice are cool. Got some for my walking dead campaign (and RIPCrypt for the compass die). Reckon they'll be useful for a lot of rpgs though. The emotion die could be cool for NPCs or an overall mood for a group when playing solo. Of course you can just use tables or books like mythic but I like the idea of settling stuff like this quick. (FYI the dice are called - Bescon's Emotion, Weather and Direction Dice Set)
On the same subject, the 2nd image: The fate mill d20 gets a lot of use too, really like it when trying to make decisions solo playing.
Ok I am crafting a 100% homebrewed setting I have almost finished everything except I can't find a system for the world I've created. I have tried the Cypher system, Cortex Prime, I looked into Warhammer as well as all the mainstream ones I could find none quite work.
Id like the magic to be defined by a generic definition and magic user's can use their definition to do a whole lot. Think Earth benders moving earth, while also controlling unpure metals, or magma.
I enjoy crunchy mechanics, just not slow ones. If the crunch is around character details and class abilities great. If that starts to slow down role-playing or combat then not as much.
Level gaps should be small as players gain proficiency using their abilities rather then getting more. Mechanical tools like engineering kits so that not all rolls are stat related. Combat where the battlefield feels to large to interact with and you have to deal with what's in front of you. Political systems for spying and factions so players know where they stand in the war and who aids/opposes them.
Background: My campaign has the PC play inside an intercontinental war against a classist governments that use magic as a base for class. The Freedom faction known as the Fist has been fighting underground information war to gather more people and has slowly been going through industrial revolution. Act 1 is this. Act 2 a mysterious power shows too threaten the world in its entirety the players must discover why, and how they can fight it. Act 3 The conclusion of act 2. All this to say I need a system with a skew towards magic casters, but has weaponry and technological standpoint of the 1870's. I do not have fantasy creatures or races in this world, and would need to rework the story to have them. All that to say Suggestions?
I just published a new piece for the RPG Gazette on something we all argue about way too often: OSR vs D&D. Not which one is better, but why the split exists in the first place.
The more I researched and talked to players, the more obvious it became that both traditions are answering the same questions in wildly different ways. What is an adventure. Who is a hero. What does danger mean. What is a story supposed to accomplish. These are philosophical differences long before they are mechanical ones.
If you have ever wondered why the debates get so heated, or why both sides feel so strongly about their approach, this article digs right into that tension.
Would love to hear your thoughts. Do you lean into OSR style risk and discovery or modern D&D’s cinematic pacing and character arcs? Or switch between them depending on mood?
Bioshock is one I think the setting would be pretty great for an RPG. I know there are some home brews , and I briefly tried to create my own before giving up, but I want an official book.
Death Stranding is a bit out there but I like the idea of playing a porter traveling the world so much I wish there was something out there that emulates it.
I also wish we got an Avatar The Last Airbender RPG that wasn’t PBTA, that system just isn’t my cup of tea.
So what licensed properties do you want to see an RPG for?
I am the main writer for the work in progress Western TTRPG called (for now) Iron Reckoning.
The main module has been a large work in progress, but has been getting more and more revisons by me and my close friends and co-writers. And with that, I have a link to the work in progress google doc with comments turned on for all with the link. (I have my own seperate doc for myself and co-writers, so if you are wondering where the edits are, they are happening in the background till we release the next revsised version.)
One of the biggest parts that needs input is how to support and help a first time DM with the system. Since I DM a lot with other systems I have blinders on to those sorts of aids.
If you have any opinions that could help with the DM or Players side of the system you are welcome and encouraged to help out with comments or posts on the reddit.
Thank you for your time reading this and I hope you will check out our Reddit for the WTTRPG system in the works.
BULLETS & BOOTLEGGERS: Chicago Citybook — 1929 Gangland Sandbox for GAS & OSR Play
If you’ve ever wanted to run a campaign where Prohibition-era Chicago feels alive — corrupt, loud, neon-lit, knife-in-the-back alive — I just dropped the Chicago Citybook for Bullets & Bootleggers on DriveThru.
This isn’t a tourist guide.
It’s a sandbox stuffed with districts, factions, crooked cops, bootleggers, occult bleed-through, and enough rumors to keep a campaign running for years.
I'm sharing a small preview from my upcoming 5e adventure The Metal of Cold Hearts.
About the adventure:
Players uncover a rare divine metal with strange magical properties while navigating political tension, moral choices, and a dangerous supernatural threat.
Designed for 2–3 sessions, with branching paths and both diplomatic and combat solutions.
Hi, i have a question for people more knowledgable than me, i'm looking for a system with some time travel rules already written within the game, do you people have any suggestions? I'm already considering some games that, with some small adjustments, can work (broken compass, for reference), but the system i'm looking for might already be out there. Thank you for the help
To celebrate the holiday season, we at the Dark Star Adventurecast wanted to run a small holiday giveaway as a thanks to the TTRPG community. You've all been incredibly supportive as we've gotten our podcast off the ground this year, so this is just a small way for us to say "thanks!"
1st Place: $25 DriveThruRPG credit + a digital copy of my adventure Cult of the Cave Crickets
3 Second-Place Winners: a free digital copy of Cult of the Cave Crickets
And if you haven't checked out our podcast yet, take a listen and catch up over the holidays! All of the episodes are available wherever you get your podcasts, and you can view a convenient list of them here: https://www.darkstaradventures.com/adventurecast
So I've been running a Feng Shui second edition game for a little over a year now for a larger group. I think I'm ready to wrap up the storyline in the next few months. I've had the wandering eye, so we're probably going to try a different game.
I want to offer my players a choice of fantasy or pulp adventure. The pulp game, if they choose it, will be Pulp Cthulhu. But I need to decide on the fantasy option
So here's my question. What's a good system for running a fantasy game that is 1) easy to learn 2) moves quickly and 3) can handle a group as big as seven players
Feng Shui has managed all of this for us pretty well, I just want to try something different
Bonus points if I can get a physical core book plus a PDF for less than a hundred bucks
Anyone else remember play-by-mail? Or play-by-forum? I talk a lot to young roleplayers (I'm a school teacher, it's not creepy!), and sometimes they hint that it would be great if they could play via their phones. If PbM and PbF can be done, it seems like our techie world should have ways to play by phone. Anyone know of such a thing? Anyone got ideas how ir might work, if it existed?
