Hi all! Name’s Jude. Pronouns he/him. I’m 25 years old and have been playing RPGs since I was about 12. I got started with the Old West End Star Wars RPG and AD&D2e, but since then I’ve tried a lot of games and am always looking to try more. Lately I play a lot of PBTA and Resistance System games, though I also enjoy the various Chronicles of Darkness splats and me and my friends design our own games pretty frequently. I’m working on a superhero game myself. Currently, the four campaigns I oscillate between are an FFG Star Wars game (GM) set 200 years after the original trilogy about how the New Republic became corrupted; an Apocalypse World game (GM) about a flooded world presided over by strange monsters created by psychic phenomena; my friend’s Spire game (player) where we’re setting up to take the fight to the High Elf military; and my other friend’s hack of the Lumen Light system (player) where we’re Destiny Guardians in a West Marches game, exploring the planets post-Final Shape! I really enjoy trying odd games, anything off the beaten path and breaks the mold interests me. Crunchy, rules-lite, doesn’t matter as long as it has something interesting to say about its subject matter and pushes boundaries of game design. With that in mind, I guess for my intro question: what system’s rule(s) reinforced the themes of a game you played/ran?

So I recently finished reading through Jonah and Tristan’s role playing book as well as Return of the Lazy DM. Both excellent reads by the way and you should check them out as a game master, but does anyone suggest other books on running games?

Does anyone else play Shadowrun? Or is this mainly or exclusively a 5E community?

I have recognized myself doing something recently I will tentatively call Social Engagement Puzzles. I am sure someone must have written or vloged about this, but for the life of me I cant find it. I feel like I have a lot to learn or figure out, but am sharing in hopes someone can give me or direct me to a different perspective... Basic Process ... I send each player a private note/DM in discord with a bit of information about an investigation, possible next steps, or observations in a social encounter. None of these clues solves the current issue, but contained in them are pieces that fit together to reveal the solution. The characters then reveal the pieces through the prompted roleplay and discover the information they need together. Observations so far ... - It is much more interesting to discover the answer to lore checks this way than having one player roll and get a lore dump. - Giving the pieces to each player out loud skips the discovery step and feels like the GM gave them the answer rather than they found it. - The players have to buy into the concept of the roleplaying game instead of stepping above table to read their clues. - It can be effective in brining normally quiet players into the roleplay as they have soemthing needed in the conversation. - Shaping clues to backstories makes those choices feel impactful - Don't make them tricky puzzles, avoid important word choice, the telephone game effect is real be ok with the solution not being what you expected It seems to work in a variety of settings ... - Presenting choices with pros and cons that can be discussed - To present the hidden lore that is common in published adventuerers - To unstick the party when they get stuck - To slow things down when they are pushing along a straight line - To nudge or add to RP between players without disrupting it by speaking as GM Hopefully that gets you imagination going without a even more lengthy example. Surely someone has written on this already and I just cant find it...

Does anyone have a way of handling an ongoing stealth mechanic rather than just re-rolling stealth? I'm making a one shot for the back of my book that is modeled on Metal Gear Solid.