So as I glance at my shelf I notice that aside from my first system ever (DND 3.5) I have almost exclusively gravitated to games that you can get off the ground with single book. Rather than players guide, a DMSs guide and a monster manual, I would rather a heavy tome like you get with Stars Without Number or Lancer, a novel sized rpg, or a even a little Zine. I got Rifts at Gencon in 2023, mostly because the guy in the booth seemed real cool, but also for the promise that all the old splat books work with this new editions (which payed off since I have been traveling to different old media stores and have been able to find at least three older splats for under 10 dollars). If you were to pick up 5 new rpgs over the next year or two, what release format would be best for you?

I'm introducing a monster into my campaign that is from a Fantasy Novel my players and I are fond of, (it's the Mortiwraith from The Door Within) and one of its abilities is that it can see the true intent of anything in its vicinity. They are often very wise, and relatively good natured, so it's normal for them to test the moral integrity of potential allies. I'm intending to run a small vignette between modules where they help a living skeleton fulfil a dying promise, and the Mortiwraith sees this, so it decides to test the party with a small moral dilemma to reveal their integrity. If they succeed, they will gain a strong ally (though not a party member since Mortiwraiths die in the sunlight) I'm just a bit strapped for ideas. I thought of having it lead them to a starving family of kittens but that's kind of an easy one. But I don't want to give them the trolley problem that most superheroes face either. Can anyone help?

Many of my players are struggling with meaningful failure of their goals, in the form of repeatability. - Kill my first undead - Steal 5 items - Find a lead about where my mentor went - Use runemagic to protect an innocent - Craft/upgrade a weapon in the party I feel like the root cause is no "why" or "stakes" attached. I don't want failure to mean my players are sad and repeat attempting the same goal over again. I'm trying to come up with some actionable guidance to give these players. Maybe attaching these goals to an ongoing conflict, either in the world or internally with the character would help? - Kill my first undead: So I can be inducted into the Order of Kellos - Steal 5 items: To pay off a debt I imminently owe - Find a lead about where my mentor went: because I need their wisdom to stop the blight - Use runemagic to protect an innocent: (from the undead plague) because if I don't, the undead army will grow - Craft/upgrade a weapon in the party: to prove my craftsmanship worthy and secure my entry to Grayhaven Am I being too hard? Would the suggestion to tie these goals to ongoing conflicts help you if you were in their shoes? Do you have any other recommendations for these goals?

Has anyone here run 10 Candles? I've hear so much about it, and decided to take the plunge as a spooky season kick off on the first Friday of October. I've never run an RPG where people know off the top that they will all die. If you ran it did you have an music or sounds effects?

While my players have been focusing on the "plot" (their goals), I have been focusing on improving the narrative of many common components. For combat, I am collecting a number of tools for my GM screen. Using much inspiration from Them's FIghtin' Words, I came up with 8 descriptive senses for combat: - Hear - Smell - Taste - Armor (visual) - Motion (visual) - Nasty (evokes multiple core senses) - Touch - Pain (touch) Having a hard time with smell and taste for physical weapons/damge, though!