I flipped through this booklet the other day and folks need to hear about this game. You play as Lesbisnakes, and your goal is to prepare your den for winter by decorating it and building relationships with other snakes so you can snuggle all winter and keep warm in your cozy den.

Your "health" is denoted by feelings. The only real conflict is "do I like the other snakes I'm getting through the winter with" and "is this den cozy enough." So if you get into a conflict about what kind of leaves you put in your den you could have hurt feelings.

I haven't played this (although I definitely want to) but I did read the manual cover to cover (it's smol) and it just seems like such a cute and well thought out rpg.

Has anyone played this? Does anyone know of similar cozy-queer rpgs?

...so I made a backup character who just straight up is a cat. "You don't need to knock his plate to the floor to eat, you're a person!" UM my character sheet seems to imply otherwise?

On Monday 12/16, at 4PM MST/6PM EST, I'd like to have a session 0 of the ttrpg I've been working on. It would be through Discord and should take only an hour or 2, not sure. We'd just be going through the character creation process so that I can get some opinions/feedback on it. I also have a small questionnaire that'd appreciate any volunteers checking out.

If you're interested please reach out to me via DM, if the time doesn't work for everyone, it's fairly flexible.

Lastly, if you are available and down to help out, I'll send you an invite to the server with all the info for character creation written out. For those who want/have the time to look through more things in detail, or if you can't make it on the date but still want to check it out. Entirely optional ofc. Anyway, thanks!

I'll post a link in the comments to the initial post about the RPG if you want some details on it.

Now he’s canonically a legendary warrior with crippling social anxiety. Players thought it was intentional but now I’ve gotta rework this character.

presented without comment

Expensive custom tokens

Writing with a permanent marker over the faces of presidents

Honestly doesn't seem like my thing but a neat enough concept that I thought I'd post it here.

Also somebody in the comments mentioned that the itch.io bundle for trans youth earlier this year had this game.

How do you like it? I was hoping a community as sufficiently nerdy as the ttrpg community would have made an open source alternative by now but it looks like selfhosting proprietary software with a modding platform is as close as we can get.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/22796007

Ben Robbins (the creator of Microscope RPG) has laid out a few problems they see in the current state of scenes and recently some ideas to tackle those perceived problems (https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/3449/a-microscope-for-the-people/).

Has anyone tried these yet? How did these changes affect gameplay? Did you like the effect of those changes? And did you make any changes to dictated scenes (I'm asking this because the blog post seems to be mostly focused on acted scenes)?

This is also an opportunity to give your thoughts on the current state of scenes and what could be changed.

(I hope discussion about a specific game is allowed in this community)

I've been working on CID for quite some time. This is my first real project and I'm about 50-60% through it right now, mostly having done the lore/classes side of things. CID is inspired by the movie, the Craft, the 1980s counterculture scene of East Germany and WOD (gameplay wise). I've been using Affinity to design the project so far, with 48 pages done and looking at around 70-80 in the finished project. I'm trying to gauge everybody's interest in what I've got so far mechanically.

CID, like WOD, is an RPG with a strong narrative focus. Now let's talk about character creation, we start by choosing between 5 Upbringings, which is essentially how you became a witch. Each comes with a unique passive and functions as 'origin' stories, so each character should have a starting goal related to said Upbringing. We then have a choice of 8 classes, called Cliques. I'm really happy with them so far. They all come with a special ability that affects play and changes how others react to your character. They are inspired by this document that was posted here from the GDR, I saw it and thought that it looked like a character select screen and that's what led to me starting this project in the first place lol.

Gameplay-wise, I'm still working out the dice mechanics (least engaging thing for me to work on).

We have 11 Magic Branches, each Upbringing is locked to 4 specific branches (unless you're playing a Goth). At character creation, you choose two branches to start and can unlock two more via level-up later on. You choose a Major (lvl 2) and Minor (lvl 1) Branch, the only difference being the starting level. Max level being 5. Every level unlocks a passive/ability and a group of Words of Power. We also have two other groups of Words, Binding and Free-form words. Binding words are acquired once per level up (but we chose two in char creation) and through various other means, such as ancient tomes and spirits/entities. Free-form words are rewards given to players upon completion of a major goal, task, trial, campaign, or ordeal, it's a word chosen by the player and then approved by our FT.

Hope that sounds clear, now, how does actual magic work in CID? There are two types of spell casting, ritual casting and quick-casting (need a better word for it). Ritual casting guarantees intent but sacrifices time and convenience, quick-casting is what most players will be using during play. I'll only be going over quick-casting rn, these spells are cast by using three Words of Power to construct a sentence.

When performing a spell, intent is what matters most and is what you are rolling to achieve. So the more vague one's spell is, the harder it is to achieve one's desired result, it's best to get creative with whatever Words of Power you currently know. Let's start with an example. I've just created my character, let's say I chose False Witch as my upbringing, and Tramp as my clique. From False Witch, I can choose between, Empathy, Astral, Hexing, and Ars Goetia. I've chosen Empathy and Hexing, with Hexing as my major and Empathy as my minor.

Now I can chose between 4 words in Hexing and two in Empathy. I've chosen from Hexing, Woe, Omen, Secret, Invite. From Empathy, Share and Despair. My two binding words are Bring and May. To finish, let's say my free-form word is Shrink. So with that being all my current words, let's cast a quick spell.

'Secret May Share', my target is someone who I've just caught following me around town, he seems entirely unaware of anything magical and most definitely following me on the orders of someone else. I failed a persuasion roll against him and he's clammed up on me, so I cast the spell, relay the intent of the spell to my FT. The spell has a very defined purpose and so my FT gives me advantage and one easy roll later, I very easily carry out said goal.

'Omen Invites Despair', my target is a rival from an opposing coven, she's recently come after one of my sisters in a attack against our coven. In retaliation, I cast the spell, relaying my intent to my FT. The intent being to be darken her future, that the next time something goes wrong for her, it goes wrong. The spell has an intent that is kinda open ended and is open to lots of interpretation so my FT gives me no advantage or disadvantage. My roll is a success and I successfully hex my rival.

Comrades, I have once again acquired a leaked paizo pdf. This time, there is a lot of lore dumping, some new cleric archetypes, and one of my new favorite witch patrons, the Choir Politic. Enjoy.

https://multiup.io/e0b460ad547b12c1eb4ea0d6080a36d3

I run a weekly WFRP group and for various personal reasons our two most competent fighters have left the group. This has left the remaining 3 characters (a hedge mage, a social character, and a ranged fighter) in a situation where they are simply too scared to take plot threads, as they might entail combat.

Yes, they have the option (and enough money) to hire mercenaries just to put bodies between them and danger, but that also entails an ongoing cost. They also happen to be at the beginning of Shadows Over Bögenhafen, which is a convenient place to on-board new players.

edit: oh, uh you can just respond to this post or DM me to apply.

That's how many four players and I rolled over 6 months of weekly 4 hour sessions of Pathfinder 2e. Roughly. There were a handful of rolls outside of the VTT, but probably less than a dozen.

The inventor rolled the most at 826, and the sorcerer the least at a mere 465. Not too surprising, with the inventor having a construct companion and the sorcerer focusing on buffing or forcing saves. The kineticist, champion, and I all rolled between 600 and 700.

The players rolled around 100 saves and 300 skill checks each, the remainder being attack rolls interspersed with the odd flat check (yes, the sorcerer rolled a mere 58 attack rolls).

Less interestingly, the means and roll distributions were pretty bang on average, with a mean of 10.51 across all rolls, the champion being the only real standout with a massive 10.70.

So next time you see an "unusual" series of rolls, remember that it only takes a few months to roll literally thousands of die.

Part 1: the murder
Part 2: the Nightmare begins (get it? because they cast the spell nightm- oh why do I bother with you people)

The chicken saga has finally reached its climax, and unfortunately they didn't manage to kill the party before the story demanded their removal*, but they did manage to traumatise them slightly, so that's nice. When I started this campaign 28 sessions and 7 months ago, I did not expect 5 of those months and 3 levels of gameplay to have a chicken revenge subplot lurking in the background. Actual encounters usually had about 4 sessions between them, but they stayed on the players minds the whole time.

The lead up encounters went exactly as planned, though some extra downtime taken by the party meant they went through a lot more nightmares than expected - still, it was fun seeing where each of their dreams started, and what happened to twist it for each character. Having met the first chicken and day after day of waking up Fatigued, they were fully expecting another chicken.
What they didn't expect was for the second chicken to run through a wall, peck at their feet (2d6 void damage), then run through a different wall. They especially didn't expect that to happen in the middle of fighting a wood golem. And they did not enjoy trying to chase it down, eventually losing it in a tangle of small rooms (where it was destroyed by persistant damage).
The third chicken was easy enough for them to destroy, as it simply stood in place screaming endlessly as it summoned pillars of hellfire to burn the party with (2d6 fire damage, basic reflex save). While this was the shortest encounter at only 2 and a bit rounds, the image of it left a lasting impression on the characters and players. Stood stock still, flames billowing around it, burnt wings raised to the sky as it screamed defiance at their strikes. The PCs got off lightly, but the players were shaken.
When they encountered the fourth and final chicken, they were bemoaning their decision 5 months ago to disarm a trap with chickens as soon as they opened the door. It was hanging around with 4 corpselights and spent the entire fight showing the party visions of how it died (will save or 2d6 persistant mental damage). While the fight overall left them satisfied with how they'd grown in ability (2 corpselights had nearly killed them 3 levels earlier), the chicken left a bitter taste in their mouth. Not literally, they didn't eat the ghost chicken, they just felt bad about killing it again.

The party could feel the final showdown coming, and despite their attempt to delay (they refused to accept that the answer to a puzzle might be the power of love, so spent 2 and a half hours dicking around trying other solutions after someone first suggested it) had to face it eventually - and it came in the form of a gigachicken. The final chicken in the group, killed by a beam of kaiju, had grown to kaiju propertions (Huge size plus Impossible Stature), and alternated between showering the party with angry chicken ghosts (Telekinetic Assault reflavoured into a cuccoo storm for 2d6+4 bludgeoning damage) and smashing its beak down on party members within 15 feet (2d8+4 void). While this went on, the rest of the flock harrassed the party with more pecks, hellfire, visions of death, and a foggy haze from Brrkit and Hypokokoko's fire and water interacting to conceal everything on the battlefield.
Extensive healing had to be deployed in the fight to keep everyone up as the AOEs weathered away at them, and while the tank tanked admirably, he spent much of the fight on the edge of collapsing, even after dealing with the biggest threat. Unfortunately for the chickens, the party have become fairly proficient in working together and killing ghosts now, so while they eventually won, and the chickens ghosts were drained away by whatever evil lurks at the bottom of the dungeon, they did not get out unscathed.

Honestly, I am a little disappointed - had Skiaknorth not been hit by a pair of crits that rendered his resistance to physical damage moot I think I could have killed one of the PC's, maybe even 2 with bad luck on the death rolls. On the other hand, the chickens have made the players think a lot harder about the consequences of harming living beings, especially while in a giant spooky lighthouse that fires beams of ghosts, and they gave lots of praise for the whole experience so I guess that's a plus or something. I would have preffered to kill a pc

Anyway, elsewhere they left a Morlock Ghoul sat in a beam of necromantic energy and feating on the corpses of other ghouls, then went downstairs and turned the beam of necromantic energy off. I'm thinking of turning him into some kind of slighted undead wendigo thing to chase them down? Revenant maybe? Lemme know what you think.

Stats: Mini chickens used the same statblock as last time, with the weak template for the lead up fights, and the elite template for the showdown. Skiaknorth has the most changes, though nothing major:

Special Abilities: Most abilities come from the optional Ghost abilities (pre-remaster) - the +2 to damages is an effect of the Elite template:
Memento Mori:

The ghost causes one creature within 30 feet to relive the ghost's death. The target must succeed at a Will save or see and feel what the ghost did, taking 2d4 + 2 persistent mental damage. All other creatures are Concealed to the target until the persistent damage ends.

Pyre's Memory:

The ghost causes great gouts of flame to erupt without warning.The ghost picks three 5-foot squares within 30 feet. Creatures that start in or enter one of these squares take 2d6 + 2 fire damage, subject to a Basic Reflex save. The flames last for 1 minute and don't set other things alight unless the ghost wishes. If the ghost uses this ability again, it dismisses any existing flames.

Telekinetic Assault was renamed to GigaChicken Assault, but functions much the same:

The ghost cries out in pain and anguish as its flock flies about about attacking all enemies in a 30-foot emanation. Creatures in this area take 2d6 + 2 bludgeoning damage, subject to a Basic Reflex save.

Impossible Stature was taken from the Hekatonchiere to emphasise Skiaknorth's massive size:

30 feet. This titanic chicken warps perception and distance around them, seeming even larger and more imposing. A creature that enters or begins its turn within the emanation must succeed at a DC 23 Will save or its movement within the aura is movement over difficult terrain (greater difficult terrain on a critical failure) for 1 round.

*mostly. Every rule has exceptions, and the players did speculate on new forms. Chicken Hydra, anyone?

I have an extensive catalogue of TTRPG PDFs that have been anonymized and I will be sharing them all with you upon request or if I receive early access. I will be posting Paizo stuff regularly.

Here is Pathfinder 2e War of Immortals prior to its release date. Exemplar looks really fun. Lets discuss builds!

https://multiup.io/b24635a044e243120020974cf9bbfc19

I'll be running a Mothership RPG campaign soon, and will start off with a Session 0. Anything I should be sure to include? Might do a oneshot as well if there's a bunch of time, this is our first time with this system and my first time as a GM. Thanks!

Anyone have pdf (or whatever other format) for the Metabarons rpg core manual? I had it but lost and i can't find it anywhere in the net now.

I think I found the wargame I want to collect and never have anyone to play with lmao

They’ve made deals with Those Who Lurk Below to gain power over the world. They’ve poisoned the water. Polluted the air. Contaminated the soil. Sacrificed lives, stole resources, and made tons of money . They’ve done all of that and more. And nobody gives a shit. Drowning in goods and services, people are comfortable enough to ignore the nightmare. And ignorance is bliss. But the consequences are coming. The Deadline is looming over this reality.With each day, the end is closer and closer. They won’t stop. Welcome to the Real World

CORP BORG is a neat Mork Borg hack for the classic sub-genre of the demonic office space. The art is pretty neat, and while there isn't as much 3rd-party support as Mork Borg itself yet, I'm sure that will accrue and it shouldn't be hard to re-adapt other modules to the setting. I've always been fan of TRPGs where you play as decidedly unheroic, beleaguered schmucks (other favorite TRPGs include Delta Green and Electric Bastionland), it's certainly up my alley. I won't have a chance to run it for Halloween due to scheduling, but I hope to try out some one-shots in the near future (here or elsewhere).

Apparently there's a plot point that involves Gaia creating the Ratkin to eradicate humanity's "surplus population" through disease, which has some very uncomfortable implications, especially in the light of the gross indifference to human life that the ruling class has exhibited in the wake of Covid-19.

I realize this is hinged on a lot of assumptions (that this information is accurate in-universe and that Gaia, as the personification of the Earth, serves as a mouthpiece for the creators' environmentalist views), which is why I'm asking.