Tip for RPG encounter building: Don’t be afraid to borrow situations from computer games, such as collecting 3 orbs to defeat a boss. Even if they’ll feel “video game-y,” that’s okay once in a while, and players often find those conventions comfortably familiar.
Running a tabletop RPG with new players? Here’s a tool I’ve been developing: give each player a list of single-word personality traits, ideally positive ones: bold, cautious, pragmatic, curious, resourceful, etc. With one memorable personality trait, players can latch onto their character quickly.
Just posted a (personal, fan-made) tabletop RPG for the gorgeous Gwelf books, using some custom rules-light mechanics, on my blog: rpg.brentnewhall.com/2026/02/my-g... - let me know what you think!
Protip: Avoid mentally taxing situations at the end of an RPG session. People can only juggle so much mentally at once, and after a few hours of play their stamina has dropped to the point where they *can’t* make truly effective decisions; they’ll just pick something.
As hard as it can be to schedule playtests of a tabletop RPG, it’s amazing how validating it is to run a playtest and see people have a good time with it, flaws and all.
Why is it a problem for character to not fit any archetype, though? Plenty of characters in fiction don't fit an archetype, right?
Why is it bad for PCs to look alike, though? We're already playing games where everyone's an adventurer exploring ruins and fighting monsters for treasure.
I guess I'm more wondering whether every class-based RPG needs classes. If you're building, say, a generic fantasy RPG, why does the designer need to impose their notion of what a rogue is? (Reasonable in early D&D, when PCs were more like chess pieces in clearing a dungeon and the roles were new.)
In RPGs, a failed die roll should bring negative consequences, not just generic "failure": rpg.brentnewhall.com/2025/12/a-fa...
To be clear, I'm not saying that classes are bad or wrong. Just realizing that one reason players get annoyed with a class is because their view of the class's archetype clashes with the designer's view of that archetype. So why not just let them build their own class?
Noodling on the concept of what makes a “class” in an RPG. If it’s just a name for a list of abilities representing an archetype, why not let players pick an appropriate number of abilities from a list? What makes a rogue different from someone who has +2 to hide and the ability to sneak attack?
Tip for RPG play: What’s your character’s primary instinct when interacting with the world? In most situations, do they act boldly, do they seek peace, are they scrupulously honest, or something else? When you have that direction, it’ll make your character’s actions more consistent.
I’ve been thinking: To gently discourage murderhobo behavior, could you give each PC a “Morality” attribute? Say it starts at 10, then moves up or down based on their actions. And if they’re trying to, say, get a favor in a town that knows their reputation, that can give them a bonus.
Tip to invest RPG players in the story: invent a Destiny for their character. They could be the long-lost prince/princess, the keeper of the sacred talisman, or they have an ancient bloodline that’s key to resolving a crisis. If the player doesn’t interact with it, fine! Invent another Destiny.
(And the PC who died got revived by a god.)
Just put a new-ish party through a very dangerous encounter: level 4 PCs vs. life-draining vampire spawn holed up in an attic. The PCs got bottlenecked and ended up retreating, one PC dying. The mood was somber but I could see them realize: Oh, we can’t just always attack recklessly. Very useful.
Tip to deepen characters in D&D: When taking a long rest, PCs restore HP, spell slots, etc. only if they describe a moment from their past that they dreamed about during the night. The moment can be very brief. This helps players think about what formed their character’s...character.
Itching for a short fantasy one-shot of heroes facing savage monsters? I plan to playtest a dead simple RPG this Saturday at 2pm Eastern online via videoconference. Should take 2 hours total. DM me if you're interested!
Have you ever run *Curse of Strahd* in a system other than D&D 5E? I'm planning a multi-session playtest of a game using that adventure and curious about people's experiences with it outside of D&D's mechanics. Any advice appreciated!
I'm planning a playtest of a fantasy RPG that's so rules-light you can play it in a car with no equipment, and you're invited! It's a fantasy wilderness exploration and monster fighting game. Playtest is scheduled for October 18, 2pm-4pm Eastern Time online. DM me if interested!
I'm planning to do a "campaign check-in" tonight for a D&D campaign, asking:
1. What do you like about the campaign so far?
2. Are we getting the right balance of the pillars of play?
3. What do you want to happen to your character?
What would you add? What do you ask in these sorts of check-ins?
Since you're the only one who's confirmed, I'm uncomfortable running Searchers for just one person; PCs are too squishy. Let's see if we can get more folks interested at another time. Thanks for volunteering though!
2 hours or so
@ramblingrump.bsky.social @jakeeldritch.bsky.social @soturpg.bsky.social @ooc92.bsky.social
For those of you interested in a real-time game of Searchers of the Unknown, how about Wednesday May 7 (1 week from today) at 6pm Pacific / 9pm Eastern? RSVP by Friday. Thanks!
If folks need more time I'm fine with that too. :)
If I get at least 2 characters I'll run a PbP game.
@ramblingrump.bsky.social @jakeeldritch.bsky.social @soturpg.bsky.social @ooc92.bsky.social
Tell you what: anyone interested in a play by post game, create a character using the free rules at brentnewhall.com/games/doku.p... and thread them here within 24 hours of this post.
Thanks! I haven't profiled Cairn yet.
I'm good with either! I just misinterpreted the original message as being specifically about Searchers.
If folks are interested in Spaces I'll be glad to run that play by post if you all are interested. It's literally meant to be Searchers adapted for PbP.
@ramblingrump.bsky.social @jakeeldritch.bsky.social @soturpg.bsky.social
I'm just realizing there may have been a miscommunication. Is this for interesting in playing **Spaces** of the Unknown (my game built for play-by-post) or **Searchers** of the Unknown (the original OSR game)?
