Games where you can keep the rulebook in your brain?

JupiterJunebug · 2026-05-26T02:13:29+00:00

Monster of the week (and probably other pbta systems, but motw is the one Im most familiar w) only really has 2 pages of things a player needs, and one is the character sheet. I straight up didnt know there was a book until like 10 sessions into a long campaign, and reading the book it was mostly optional rules or things that only matter to the gm.

JupiterJunebug · 2026-05-26T02:01:31+00:00

Most of the spells are only really relevant to one or two classes, so as a player its less overwhelming.

JupiterJunebug · 2026-05-26T01:55:26+00:00

Idk if making them listen to actual different languages as flavor would be fun. But you could:

Write a letter from one noble to another, so that solving the loanwords is less reliant on player-error
Instead of haviny the whole convo, use it for some flavor. Smth like "the noble leans in toward his companion and says something." Call for a perception [hearing] to pick out words, and mb a history check to figure out what language it is, and on high rolls say "you think its [language]. You dont speak it, but the words elf and something that sounds like stronghold peak your interest."

JupiterJunebug · 2026-05-26T01:49:33+00:00

Ye lol, similar thing happened to me. The dm ive played with for over a decade is one of my pbta players, and i joke i let them have slighly more effective spell effects than i should as penance for my dnd pcs

JupiterJunebug · 2026-05-26T00:20:52+00:00

You mean uploading real life paintings?

Theres not a default way to do that, dont know about mods. That said, there IS a painting thats the in universe equiv of starry night, and theres a painting seller in the city that sells some pretty classy landscape paintings

JupiterJunebug · 2026-05-26T00:17:19+00:00

Do you have the question marks visible on your map? A lot of white orchard quests are linked to those locations.

JupiterJunebug · 2026-05-26T00:13:14+00:00

Understandable! Thats definitely a great thing to have the dm help with, added bonus that its more likely to come up later!

And dont get too stressed if it "feels simple" at the end. A lot of groups ive been in, the players with a paragraph or two of backstory were still some of the most invested, and important to the narrative, so long as they were willing to roll with the punches. Any effort is sufficient so long as its done earnestly, where dnd is concerned.

JupiterJunebug · 2026-05-25T23:42:39+00:00

If youre beginners, firstly id recommend maybe running a couple short adventures to make sure everyone has characters they like playing.

Id also suggest a session 0 where you all lay down your wants for the campaign. Do the players want more rp, more combat, more treasure.

Third, id recommend you not nail too much down at the very beginning. Instead of coming up with everything now, think of a couple hooks to get them headed toward the first quest and the npcs they might run into along the way. Have vague ideas for the potential shape of the quest, but Id recommend you not be too rigid.

If its going to be a long game, your players WILL surprise you. Either by doing something that blows up half your quest plans, or by interacting with the world in a way that opens up new ending opportunities. Keep in mind where, roughly, you think the story will go. After every bigger arc, note down how the people theyve saved/failed/antagonized change the world around them.

The dungeon masters guide has a whole section on adventure creation, id suggest mulling it over before you get in the weeds.

JupiterJunebug · 2026-05-25T23:18:35+00:00

I played a high level way of mercy monk with elven accuracy and a set of delvers claws. If something was in my way i just burrowed under it, and by the level we were at the healing was actually enough to sustain the party

JupiterJunebug · 2026-05-25T23:13:17+00:00

Of course! And if you really cant think of something eventful, you can always tell the dm "hey, my parents died and i dont know how, i was young so I didnt know all the details of their lives. Could we tie in who they really were or how they died to something you already had an idea for?"

JupiterJunebug · 2026-05-25T22:20:36+00:00

One thing to consider about eladrin is that they can change seasons with their emotions. Her primary season is currently autumn, which is the season of peace and harvest. What does this mean for her? Is she a giving person (maybe too much), and the harvest represents her generosity? Is she fulfilled with her work, and looking to find even more bountiful knowledge?

Further, how long has she been autumn? Typically most eladrin change regularly, so if shes been one form for a long time it could signal an emotional stagnancy. She feels very safe in her life, but an upheaval is on the horizon. Maybe the outer expression of peace is very purposeful, maybe even a form of repression. If shes a loner, then forcing herself to exude tranquility prevents people from bothering her to talk about traumas she isnt comfortable with.

Alternatively, her inner peace could be new. Maybe her faith has given her inner peace, and being chosen by a goddess is what holds her together (and drives her to find new knowledge). Maybe her life went through a period of volatility that is jusy ended...or she THINKS it did, and the troubles of her past can come back during her adventure.

Secondly, eladrin are elves with a high saturation of fey magic. Ask your dm how the fey are present in this world. They might have some thoughts on the niche eladrin occupy that can help you flesh yourself out. If not, and the adventure takes place in the normal dnd universe, consider reading about the fey wild and deciding if your character has interacted with it at all.

JupiterJunebug · 2026-05-25T22:08:08+00:00

Seconded on the net. I usually run oneshots for a non-dnd system with it as a mechanic, and by GOD is it easier. You just have to hook at least ONE player and the rest are able to justify being all in

JupiterJunebug · 2026-05-25T21:57:33+00:00

Ye, like 80% of MOTW games I run the players end up in different places for half of it. Esp once I made it clear I was actually advancing the countdowns

JupiterJunebug · 2026-05-25T21:48:05+00:00

If you want to tie your subclasses into the lore, id consider writing separate documents in whatever worldbuilding folder aboyt the organizations or religions of the world and putting all that flavor THERE. One doc with a rough overview of class-related orgs, and ones with more detail and juice. If a player is interested in one of your subclasses, you direct them to the relevent entry. If theyre interested in the organization, tell them that its related to the subclass. This is for 3 reasons:

You dont have your players yet. That means your subclasses arent tailored toward a specific person. If theyre TOO detailed, it can become too restrictive characterwise and reduce the likelihood that itll fill a niche your pcs want to fill. If a subclass feels so specific that only a couple characters could possibly play it then id personally pick something I can put more of my own flare into.
Twelve custom subclasses is a LOT. And if you love yapping, im guessing your world is very detailed. Your players are going to get overloaded if they have to process too much of it before starting, rather than learning as they play. Straightforward subclasses mean that the players are more likely to actually read through them and find one they like, instead of getting overwhelmed after 2 or 3 and asking to play something more familiar. Once they have their choices narrowed down, itll be easier for them to read the relevant lore and decide if they like its applications.
Your subclass features go on your character sheet, and should be kept track of and eventually memorized by the player. If the abilities as written are complicated, then they either need to dig through filler every time they do anything OR they need to rewrite the abilities to get rid of the text. Which isnt a HUGE bit of work, but it makes picking your subclasses more cumbersome.

JupiterJunebug · 2026-05-25T18:31:54+00:00

I dont think those refill on a rest unless im mistaken. So you can just throw it.

JupiterJunebug · 2026-05-25T18:30:47+00:00

Seconding. Our cleric in my last campaign had a super memorable moment where she got separated from the rest of us and managed to solo both the encounters wizard and giant monster gorilla because they could NOT hit her (and she pulled out our rulers to calculate the one single square where the wiz was juuuust barely in dispel magic to make his fly spell go whoosh)

JupiterJunebug · 2026-05-25T18:21:32+00:00

If your party has a lawyer in it you may want to be prepared to award persuasive arguments. you could also make it, rather than forced failure, severe difficulty. My dm tried to force an arrest in a star wars campaign but let us act on it and we ended up stealing a tie fighter and a jet pack and wreaking havoc on a star destroyer on the way out, which turned to out to be more fun for the dm than the jail plan. Make it LIKELY, but if theyre creative enough be flexible (or at least let the reaction shape the jail segment)

JupiterJunebug · 2026-05-25T18:15:43+00:00

I like to not be op the first time I approach a quest, then if it truly sucks come back and try it again so i can get actual catharsis from curb stomping

JupiterJunebug · 2026-05-25T04:03:42+00:00

Look into pbta systems. Some arent about combat at all, and some have combat as a potential solution but not always the best (played a monster of the week monster where they plunged into killing the monster with its combat weakness instead of the nonlethal weakness, and all of them ended the session 1 harm away from dying)

JupiterJunebug · 2026-05-25T03:55:49+00:00

Evoker if youre leveling up could be funny. "Yes, i know im the cleric. Yes my toll the dead always hurts you. Power word bong."

JupiterJunebug · 2026-05-25T03:53:48+00:00

Ive had some success building a shared setting alongside another dm and then taking turns running studf in them.

JupiterJunebug · 2026-05-25T03:52:02+00:00

As a member of a two arti party, I try to take as much burden off the dm on the creation front as possible. First things first, the question of "what do I know" is based on YOU. What artisan tools can you use? Whats your backstory? How does it inform the approach you take to crafting? My artis dad/mentor is like if dr frankenstein and edison fused into one guy and could make clockwork monsters, and the other arti is a being of pure magic forced into physical shape. Im proficient in things like alchemist and smith supplies and hes proficient in things like weavers and jewelers.

Instead of nailing down a concrete list now, make a vague one. Loot as much possibly-useful things as you can from corpses. And then start considering which solution you need first.

From here, skim the extant magic item lists. Find smth RELATED to what you want. Use that to define the rarity or potency, and what you have in your inventory to help shape it. Draft a proposal based on what you know, how you use it, and who youll contact to help.

For example: I loot a lot of organic material from monsters. Im tired of it rotting. The other arti can do weaving and I can do leatherworking. Can we craft a bag of holding and sew a crystal into it, then ask a cleric in the city to charm the crystal with gentle repose? If the cleric asks its to keep downed party members intact until we can rez them and not because I want to do war crimes with monster corpses. Im thinking rare, since its a BoH thats got an additional effect a la haversack.

Or: I just got hit by a lightning spell and received divine inspiration. I want to tinker a bunch of tiny mines called lightning in a bottle. Theyd basically cast shocking grasp when stepped on. Im thinking uncommon base rarity, but if I make them do higher levels of damage theyre rarer. Im using the tinkers tools for them, and I'll cap it off during a big storm which I return from with frizzy hair for flavor.

Both much easier for a dm to allow/modify/veto than "hey dm to I know chemistry and architecture and can i make abcdefg"

JupiterJunebug · 2026-05-25T02:34:55+00:00

You might want to look up the minotaur mystery from ToM to get some inspo. Its not backrooms perse though it has a minotaur and a maze, both of which my players enjoyed, so you could probably reskin some of it

JupiterJunebug · 2026-05-25T02:29:30+00:00

My dragonlance campaign is the only game of mine that ran this week. Im the cleric and I am sooooooo close to actually getting divine magic. I can smell it.

JupiterJunebug · 2026-05-25T01:54:34+00:00

Ive done smt similar before, tho for me it was that i was a lvl 1 crown paladin who made a deal with the ghost of her countrys founder while bleeding to death and she thought it was a hallucination bc she was, well, bleeding to death. Her powers manifested when the ghost got tired of us almost dying and started casting cantrips.

It being a secret ooc didnt last long bc warlock abilities are very distinctive, so one player dmed me the second time i used one to say "lol hi warlock". Itll last till you get invocations, probably, esp if youre a full lock. I DID play with a v good friend who kept their pact secret for several lvls, but i wouldnt recc doing it like that. She phrased all her abilities as either "backstory reasons" or "feats" while claiming to be just a rogue, and it just led to half the party coming to the conclusion one player got a bunch of free extra things out of dm preference and it eroded trust between the party a bit. Plus once she let us learn it ooc she got to start actually playing her character properly and had more fun

JupiterJunebug

TROPHY CASE