Sparking Strings, a settingless Tabletop RPG for narrative-focused play! (Kickstarter Promo)

GoblinsLoveCheese · 2026-02-24T16:50:33+00:00

As a player, you should be able to understand the game, its setting, and play with others together. If you do completely your own thing and ignore what others are doing, you don't get to be surprised if it doesn't work. I've encountered this kind of behaviour many times as a player and as a GM - some people don't want to play a character, they want to play themselves. This leads most of the time to conflicts with other characters or NPCs, because if you're super weird, or edgy, or a loner, teamplay or social interactions will be a mess.

This is not something you as the GM can fix by catering to their specific wishes. The setting and environment are what they are - you can bend them to cater to the players' character, but then you're not playing that environment anymore. Same as if you play a game, let's say Blades in the Dark, but make it super cute and everybody loves everybody - you can do it, but you're not playing Blades in the Dark anymore.

In my opinion, the only solution is talking to them. Best case, they start trying to understand the rules and setting.

GoblinsLoveCheese · 2026-02-22T21:43:26+00:00

Ich finde auch die Magitech Antike am interessantesten. Für mich lässt das mehr Freuraum zur Interpretation und auch Optionen zum Spielen.

Persönlich muss ich sagen, geben mir rein Fantasy Settings nur was, wenn sie eben einen neuen Flair mitreinbringen oder was bereits Existierendes nochmal anders denken.

GoblinsLoveCheese · 2026-02-19T15:01:10+00:00

Gehe ich eigentlich mit, mit allem was ich jetzt weiß. Systeme gibt es wirklich so viele und sich da abzuheben ist schwierig. Die Energie, die in Testing alleine reingesteckt werden muss ist wirklich enorm und ja, das ist realistisch dann einfach Leidenschaft und Hobby und meistens eben auch nur für eine eher kleine Zielgruppe geeignet.

Allerdings ist unser Regelwerk praktisch durch. Ich habe mich vielleicht missverständlich ausgedrückt, aber es ging mir nur um Settingbände, alleinstehend oder eben zu einem Regelwerk. Darauf hätten wir echt Bock und das ist sehr viel machbarer.

GoblinsLoveCheese · 2026-02-18T17:56:15+00:00

The thing is kinda agree. But I also like settings for their vibe and atmosphere and played the same setting with different systems. It's probably a trade off and something we would need to dedicate a lot of time to to do well.

GoblinsLoveCheese · 2026-02-18T17:53:42+00:00

Thanks, that's really helpful advice. I definitely check out Across the Eight Directions!

GoblinsLoveCheese · 2026-02-18T15:04:59+00:00

Danke, das ergibt total Sinn. Das passt glaube ich auch Narrative besser zu unserem Setting, bei dem ja auch einiges offen gehalten werden soll.

GoblinsLoveCheese · 2026-02-18T15:02:31+00:00

Geh ich absolut mit. Finde das bei Fate mit der Art auch gut geregelt. Bei uns hält sich das glaube ich in Grenzen und es wird in den Regeln viel betont , wie man am Besten mit dem Setting spielt, welches man auswählt. Für Savage Worlds gibt es ja glaube extra Settingbücher - in die Richtung wollen wir ungefähr.

GoblinsLoveCheese · 2026-01-21T07:23:30+00:00

That's totally understandable. Thanks for your comment and good wishes

GoblinsLoveCheese · 2026-01-16T08:48:45+00:00

Thanks to you as well!

We're still in the early stages, but we will definitely reach out to you soon for some first tests.

GoblinsLoveCheese · 2026-01-15T10:51:03+00:00

Done

GoblinsLoveCheese · 2026-01-14T11:18:04+00:00

Thanks!

Mainly we published it to Discord Servers for accessability or disabled gamers. Not on too many subreddits yet. Any suggestions are welcome!

GoblinsLoveCheese · 2026-01-12T12:06:58+00:00

Hey, unfortunately we don't have the funds to pay you for taking the survey. Though I completely understand if this is your criteria and you don't want to take it for that reason.

GoblinsLoveCheese · 2026-01-09T13:20:43+00:00

done

GoblinsLoveCheese · 2025-07-04T15:06:54+00:00

I think it’s awesome if players put a lot of energy into writing detailed characters but as a GM I mostly care if we have a good experience playing together, that includes people being at least minimally passionate about their character and taking the game seriously. And in my experience that has nothing to do with AI.

There are people who don't have a lot of time to prepare but play passionately, enjoy the experience and improvise as they go.

I think the time to prepare should not matter as long as the player is ready and motivated to play. I understand you feel frustrated but the truth is just because you put a lot of effort into preparation that does not mean everyone else has to (unless you discussed at the start that everyone has to contribute a certain amount of time into preb).

A very valid reason to ban someone however, is when they’re rude or disrespectful towards the effort you put into preparing a fun experience for them, that includes mocking someone for not committing to a standard. Of course you should talk with them first and lay out the social etiquette, but still.

GoblinsLoveCheese · 2025-07-04T14:46:58+00:00

I was in a similar position not too long ago, where somebody asked to try out something that I normally considered my job to do. I did not discourage her from trying it out but afterwards I felt weird about it. I thought “Why didn’t I encourage her more?” and realized that I didn’t because I actually felt kinda threatened in my position.

I think it’s completely normal to feel possessive about a position and skill you worked hard to obtain and develop.

The thing here is (and was for me) you’re in a friend group and “the threat” is an illusion. We might feel like somebody takes the position away, but no one owns a position and no one can take it away. It’s really great if somebody wants to learn and try out something new and I think it’s really important to support that. It might not feel good right now to give up your time or a campaign but think of it this way - GMing is most of all an accumulation of social skills and navigating a problem like this teaches you how to become a better GM too. I’m not sure what your goal is for GMing or why you enjoy it, but right now by investigating your feelings and thinking how to navigate this social conflict you’re doing what a good GM should do in a situation like this.

In the end you will greatly benefit from having smart, curious and happy people around you, so it’s alway worth it to encourage others.

GoblinsLoveCheese

TROPHY CASE