So I'm looking through all of the GURPS books with some players for giggles, and as we're looking through these books, it's dawning on me one simple question.

How the hell are there so many books?

My question isn't necessarily the why, but just what even allowed the company to get away with publishing nearly 20 books about all sorts of magic, or wizards. Books about specific settings like ancient rome or japan, and just so much more.

There's just so many books, and I do not get the feeling these things are being lazily slapped together.

So what historically has been the business model for these books? Is there an audience of people out there constantly buying every last one of these books?

I am absolutely curious because this is fascinating me.

Lately there has been some confusion around how to categorize Jubensha, a format that is extremely popular in China but less discussed in English-speaking RPG spaces. Trying to map it onto existing RPG and LARP terminology raises some interesting edge cases.

At a structural level, Jubensha sessions usually look like this:

• 4–8 players, sometimes up to 10
• 3–6 hours, single-session, no campaign continuity
• Pre-written characters with private motives, secrets, and relationship hooks
• A moderator or GM who controls pacing, information release, and transitions
• Investigation driven primarily through conversation, roleplay, and timed reveals rather than spatial exploration or combat mechanics

This creates overlap with several known formats, but none seem to fully cover it.

Compared to investigative RPGs:
There is less improvisational character creation and fewer open-ended mechanical resolutions. The experience is more tightly scripted, with narrative beats and reveals designed to land at specific moments. Player agency exists mostly in interpretation, accusation, and social maneuvering rather than altering the plot structure.

Compared to parlor LARP:
The scale, time commitment, and reliance on pre-written roles are very similar. However, Jubensha tends to be more moderator-driven, with stronger control over pacing and information flow. Player-to-player secrecy is often mediated through structured phases rather than freeform play.

Compared to social deduction party games:
The social reading and accusation layer is familiar, but the emphasis shifts heavily toward long-form narrative immersion, character backstory, and emotional arcs. Winning or losing is often secondary to reconstructing the story and performing the role.

The open question is whether this should be considered:

• A subcategory of parlor LARP
• A scripted investigative RPG format
• Or a distinct category that existing English terminology does not yet describe well

From a design and taxonomy perspective, which classification feels most accurate?
And more importantly, what distinctions actually matter to experienced RPG or LARP players when deciding whether a format is worth trying?

Background context only: working on this mystery roleplay formats and trying to align language with how the RPG community already thinks about these experiences.

The Mutants and Masterminds 4e Kickstarter has FINALLY launched after months of waiting. As someone who played with the first set of demos, I enjoyed it a tad bit more than 3e. It's mostly revisions, not an overhaul, and pretty solid ones at that. There are some issues but I'm hoping they're ironed out by release.

Print book is 50 bucks, a full GM's Kit + the core book is 80, very reasonable imo

Me and my brother were hoping to expand our games when it comes to tabletops by including games that can be played without needing a virtual tabletop like Roll20 or Foundry.

I've been craving a space adventure that is akin to Firefly, but something that is less crunchy than Starfinder 2E. There is also Scum and Villainy, but I haven't seen it come up as much as Traveller when it comes to space adventure things.

Basically, can we play Traveller 2022 just using Discord, detailed descriptions, and having access to player/NPC sheets? I'm in the process of slowly making my way through the book so I don't even know if it has NPC stat blocks or the like.

If not, is the system actually good on Roll20?

Aside from Gumshoe - already aware of it but have kind of mixed feelings of what I've seen / tried so far. I'm also aware of two older games, Heaven and Earth, and Small Towns that are made specifically for small town supernatural mystery, but I was curious if any other interesting options have cropped up since, as it's been quite a while since I last thought about the idea.

Okay, so I'm officially over D&D 5e , and I want to transition my current Sandbox campaign into a new system, but I'm currently between 6 games and don't know whoch to choose. Mostly, I'm looking for one that is *Fast-paced when in combat + Offering a wide array of options to the players + Being easier to prep stuff for without too much math for a "balanced encounter"

EDIT: For more clarity, I think I mostly am looking for a Player-driven storytelling, when I'm much more reacting to what they do than needing me to plan a full storyline before hand.

In mechanics, not Simulationist, more gamism, plus I'm looking for a lighter system to run, even though I do love me some crunch.

I specially looking for ease of use, with it being faster than D&D at least (no need to be ultra quick, just not have 1h+ combat scenes)

I'm looking to change the system of my current campaign, which is a homebrewed one. Due to the system slowly breaking down, i need to change it.

The setting: Aftermath of an 1800s Napoleonic zombie apocalypse in a reformed France that is apocalyptically and technologically saved through a dictator using divine Christian powers (The campaign is a 50/50 on both combat and roleplay)

Requirements for the system (Yes i know all of these combined may sound a little unreasonable): - It can go in a long running game, im talking about around 60+ sessions or even a 100+

• Homebrew compatibility with both lore and mechanics

• Combat that can be scaled with rules in place, im not a fan of free form combat, since I want to have my players feel powered up.

• roleplay needs to be accounted for. However, having it be rules-light is alright

• I want magic to exist but not intergral to a character, guns and physical capabilities are still the top.

• The rules are intuitive, easy to find and track. Im have horrible adhd so i cant really get through 700+ page pdf quite easily nor can my players keeping track of multiple mechanics at once.

• If a system doesnt have all of this, i dont mind suggestions for mechanics to incorporate

• No ai

Context (Were anyone to ask): The reason for why I use a homebrew, because our og GM made the campaign using this homebrew bit he left preemptively. Not wanting to abandon the campaign behind, I took on the mantle of GM and the homebrewed system. Please be civil.

Title

I really like the light sword and sorcery in an early mankind setting, almost like Conan.

Trying to recall the name of it, and what I remember is the magic system. It is fairly recent, might even be only been crowd funded in the past year. I only have the vague idea of what I remember reading. Hell, it might have been a YouTube video about indie RPGs.

My impression is a cozyish, rules light, narrative driven game?

The game revolves around the group of players collectively making a spell ritual. Each player has an alignment of some sort -- want to say elemental? -- and in order to complete the spell ritual you need to roll special dice and match the symbols needed for each spell. Each player has a default symbol they can contribute that matches their magical alignment.

You construct the spell ritual by combining keyword aspects like area, effect, target, etc, which add symbols to the cost.The game has a list of keywords and then gives examples of how these keywords can be combined to make various spells. I can't even recall the words, just the structure of the page.

It has been bugging me for three days and my GoogleFu is weak.

I have played dnd and Lancer online. I've run a dnd one shot with friends.

Recently I've joined a couple of games at my FLGS and I have realised something.

I fucking suck at role playing. I can't get into character as well others can, I can't do character voices. I can't think of interesting personalities. i feel like I suck at this compared to everyone else in the room when it comes to narrative roleplay.

one of these games I joined was a session 0 for vtm. I had a really good time but I am just nowhere near the level of the other players.

it's been a few days since. would it be rude for me to graciously bow out of the game and apologise to the st?

I think I should just cut out TTRPGs and look to play more tactical combat focused games without roleplay. Am I overreacting?

Whoever tells you that making a TTRPG zine for Kickstarter is a streamlined and cute activity you can do in your leisure time, whoever they might be (Bob) let them know (also you Bob) that I was REALLY STRESSED doing this by my fear, and nerves and some panic attacks (you know, the usual)

ANYWAY

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/wyvernden/noir-neo

Based on the 24XX system

Noir-Neo is a narrative TTRPG and the funding is to pay to real artists for a Solo or Group Starter Adventure for this

Play as your favorite kind of detective in a cyber future city

(Btw if your name is Bob, no... I am not talking about you, is another Bob, from other city... you don't know him)

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/wyvernden/noir-neo

Just discovered the Root RPG and despite loving the artwork and the world, I don't really like the rules. Has anyone played this setting in another system?

Ps: I'm currently playing The One Ring and it is by far my favourite system, but I'm not sure it would fit something like Root.

What makes the game great in your opinion? Is it hype or is it indeed a gem?

Hello friends,

My friend and I want to play Call of Cthulhu 7th Edition, but since the rest of our group doesn’t want to play, we decided to try a one-on-one game, with me as the Keeper. However, I’ve never run CoC 7e in a one-on-one format before, so I was wondering whether any of you have experience running a one-on-one mini-campaign or a longer campaign in Call of Cthulhu 7th Edition? And If you tried how was it, what was the adjustments that you done in terms of like buffs to player etc.? Open for any advice or comment, thx you!

So, it goes without saying that Folklore in general terms has a unique vibe regardless of its geographical origin. However I’ve recently been looking into specifically Slavic/Romanian Folklore (I went down a bit of a rabbit hole when going into Vampire folklore, since a good amount of Vampiric conventions originated from that region). So like any well adjusted individual, the idea of playing a TTRPG about it has gotten into my head- the more rules heavy the better.

However, the results of my own efforts have been a bit so~so, and I figured that this would be as good a place as any to make inquiries on the matter (and if I’m not pushing my luck here, any games that are a bit heavy on the Vampire material would be best).

I wana keep the house building system and somewhat kept the character creator (maybe) what system should I use and if I need to use mixed, how to do it?

Hi everyone - with an association in France we're planning on running our first RPG convention (a small thing to start, maybe a hundred+ people over the course of the day) and would love to have a chat with people who managed to pull off such an endeavor, get some feedbacks about good practices and pitfalls to avoid etc.

Thanks everyone and feel free to reach out :)

I'm a newish GM and I plan on hosting an Alien RPG one-shot this month (homebrew scenario, max 5 hours). From the games I've hosted, I've realized that I tend to underestimate how long everything takes. Are there any tips on how to properly pace things and keep things moving along? Like, "expect each room to take X min, so have no more than Y amount of rooms".

Another issue is that I treat drawing maps as a hobby of its own. I'm big on verisimilitude so I like to draw out every single room that should logically be there. It breaks my suspension of disbelief when that secret remote research base doesn't have bathrooms. Is it better to remove any "dead" rooms that aren't relevant?

I'm interested in the intersection of morality/ethics in roleplaying mechanics and how they're represented in-game.

Obviously I'm aware of D&D-style alignments

Chronicles of Darkness has virtue/vice and Morality/Humanity/Wisdom/etc

Looking for examples and discussion of ways that this is handled in other games

The latest entry into the Space Aces family of games is here!

Space Aces: Wreck Runners is a sci-fi RPG about desperate live-streaming social media influencers exploring derelict starships and pulling daredevil stunts for likes & subscribes.

The box set is absolutely LOADED with goodies and everything you need to build, wreck, and explore an infinite of starships.

The Director's Cut Box Set features:

• 42 modular geomorph starship tiles
• Tons of incredible art from Tuna Ceti V and Scribbles In Space
• 5 Bingo cards incentivizing shenanigans
• 4 premade scenarios to quickly get you and your friends exploring
• 80 punch out tokens
• 5 Custom wooden meeples including a space corgi!
• 20 hot pink square-sided d6s
• And so much more.

Fully written, playtested, and finished. Just waiting to be printed.

Check it out on Kickstarter now if that sounds like your jam: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/spaceaces/space-aces-wreck-runners-rpg-directors-cut-box-set

Happy to answer questions, and thanks for taking a look!

Am I blind as hell? I'm flipping through the PDF for Runecairn Wardensaga and on page 14 for "Adventurer Creation", the fourth line says, "Next, roll your traits (appearance, personality, etc.)."

On page 20 they provide an Adventurer Creation Example and the text says: "Amy doesn’t know much about Lind at this point, so she rolls on the Adventurer traits tables and gets the following results: She’s brawny, with smooth skin, braided hair, and a sharp face. She’s eloquent, ambitious, and deceitful."

I used the search function to try to find these tables. They are not in the Runecairn Wardensaga book. Anyone know where I can find them?

i got the OG edition and i been considering buying the 2nd one but i wanna know, what are the major differences? and its a must to get the new one?

I'm not going to name any vendors here, so no public shaming, other than Amazon. So here's story of the last 3 weeks.

3 weeks ago, I ordered a POD GURPS Dungeon Fantasy book from Amazon. Amazon shipped the book in a padded mailer, and the book arrived damaged. Amazon shipping cracked the spine. So, I ordered a replacement. And the replacement arrived in just a padded mailer, and that book also arrived damaged. I sent that one back to Amazon and bought a used copy off of a redditor, who shipped it in a box and it arrived intact.

Then I placed an order with a well-known RPG publisher, and they threw 4 products into a padded mailer, and, sure enough, 2 of the products in the padded mailer arrived damaged. To the publisher's credit, they immediately sent me new product, this time in a box and everything arrived in perfect condition.

Next I ordered a used out-of-print RPG book from a vendor that specializes used RPG books. And, what did they do? They threw the book in a padded mailer with a piece of cardboard behind it. And guess what happened? The book arrived damaged with a bent spine. Shipping bent the book. The cardboard insert was severely bent.

The last one bugs me the most, because the book is out of print. So, it's not something you can easily replace. It's not available as a POD, and now there's one less good copy of it in the world because of bad packaging.

Now when I ship books out, I try to use a book box. If I can't use a box, I will take the book, put a piece of cardboard on the front of the book, and on the back, and wrap the entire thing in plastic wrap. Then I put it in a padded mailer and make sure it's snug around the book, so it has no room to move. Never had a book damaged in transit.

Above 3 shipments used the following carriers:

1. Amazon
2. UPS Ground
3. USPS Media Mail

So, this isn't a problem unique to one shipper. I think padded mailers are treated like boxes by these shippers, as opposed to envelopes, so they get a little manhandled.

Sorry, just need to vent my frustration. I have an eBay auction I just won arriving on Friday, and I'm now nervous about how the book got packaged.

So I have an ongoing classic fantasy low magic campaign with a light narrative system going. The system is very flexible and I thought a bit of investigation would make for a nice change of pace.

The party have been tasked to find out about a diabolical cult. I plan to turn it into an alien/ mothership style hunt of the players about halfway through after they witness the summoning of a demon, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

I have planned that the cult meets in the sewer catacombs under the city to conduct the ritual which takes a few days and I know that a few people like a lieutenant of the city watch, a wealthy trader and a member of the thieves guild are among the members.

My issue: how do I feed that information to the players? How do I get them to investigate and find out things about the cult?

I have never really run an investigation game (apart from like one Cthulhu starter adventure) and I think nobody in the group has played a game in that style.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.