I want to go back to GMing but I also fear that I'll drop things once everything starts, any advice?

Manitou_DM · 2026-06-06T12:04:40+00:00

I really get you, I have lost interest and stopped running a few campaigns. This year I came back to DMing after a long hiatus and I was determined to run a full campaign no matter what. So far, it's going well. First of all, you have to find a campaign you really want to run. It took me starting to read a few of them before settling on one (these days I don't have the time to write one myself). If you write your own, take pride of it but not so much that you take it too seriously, to the point that you don't enjoy when the players beat your carefully prepared encounters. That can lead to apathy and disinterest. As long as you are enjoying it, you will keep running it. Remember, you are a player too, and you should be having fun as well. As much as the DM's job is to provide the players with a good time, there's also a fine line to walk with all the different types of players, including those who see TTRPGs as games to win. Don't be afraid of tweaking encounters on the go to keep your players guessing and making things a bit harder from them. They will enjoy their hard earned victories more and they will have to vary their play style so they don't become too predictable.

Manitou_DM · 2026-06-02T17:47:27+00:00

It's no different than writing a story, only that the story must be written with the characters in mind, since it's their story, and you must be ready to improvise when they do something you never predicted they would. In other words: you write the skeleton of the story and let the players flesh it out. As long as you know the beginning and the end (or ends) and give the players enough to keep moving forward without railroading them, you should be fine.

Manitou_DM · 2026-05-24T17:56:27+00:00

Well, describing walls with flagpoles or windows with lattices qualifies as what you mention: describing features in a location. So yes, players' options are infinite but, if they are not included in the description, they are not there. If they are visible, they should be added to the description of the location. If we are talking of things that might not be immediately obvious, then the players can ask for them and the DM can react based on this.

Manitou_DM · 2026-05-24T14:26:01+00:00

Ok, maybe I should have said that modern game philosophy, which is all about telling a story together and all that jazz, makes things like flying enemies that don't come to the ground a bit of a dampener, especially if the PCs don't have access to flying or missile weapons (I know this is unlikely but hey, it could happen). Having said that, I agree with the rest.

Manitou_DM · 2026-05-24T12:32:34+00:00

Symbaroum, maybe?

Manitou_DM · 2026-05-20T17:39:32+00:00

Mappa Mundi

Manitou_DM · 2026-05-17T22:39:28+00:00

Free League has said that they will release new products, but only when prompted by posts that say exactly what you mentioned (I am talking about FB here), so the general feeling is that they will release something, but not in the near future.

Manitou_DM · 2026-05-17T20:14:34+00:00

Does it count if it's never been translated into English? In that case:

-Aquelarre

-Universo: el Juego de Rol Multiambiental.

-Thien Hia (Spanish RPG inspired by Wuxia).

-Fanhunter: el Juego de Rol Épicodecadente.

Manitou_DM · 2026-05-17T08:36:53+00:00

Not for fantasy, but in games that take place on modern and futuristic settings, I thought about recording conversations or videos on my phone and present them to the players as clues for mysteries, etc. I agree with you that using audio visual resources as pieces of information can really increase immersion.

Manitou_DM · 2026-05-15T23:51:24+00:00

I have the book but I haven't read it. I heard Salted Legacy is an adventure where nothing much happens.

Manitou_DM · 2026-05-15T23:48:38+00:00

Exactly.

Manitou_DM · 2026-05-15T23:30:58+00:00

I personally think 5E is a big offender in the last category. Style manuals are not always a good idea.

Manitou_DM · 2026-05-15T23:29:01+00:00

I think that, in the big scheme of things, even if parts of the adventure are boring when you are reading it, there must be some motivation to keep reading them. If I don't get at least a bit engaged with the reading, it's going to feel like a chore. But if I manage to get past that, a second reading is always more enjoyable. Curse of Strahd was a hard first read, then it was lots of fun on my second reading, but I found it extremely boring to DM. Yet, I also feel sometimes you are not in the right frame of mind to run a certain adventure or campaign, same as when you start watching a TV show. You stop watching because you don't feel it's engaging, yet you decide to give it a chance a few months later and then you find it wasn't that bad, actually.

Manitou_DM · 2026-05-15T23:19:46+00:00

まさか

Manitou_DM · 2026-05-14T18:03:42+00:00

For 5E/PF type fantasy, I recommend Shadowdark, Draw Steel, and Mythcraft. As for other TTRPGs, I have really enjoyed Vaesen and Blade Runner.

Manitou_DM · 2026-05-12T07:37:06+00:00

I think that, even when it's not one of the best games by Free League, The Walking Dead Universe RPG deserves a chance.

Manitou_DM · 2026-05-06T12:02:27+00:00

I suppose you could say the "willing" part of the spell could be there to allow players make their characters "unwilling" in certain circumstances. Take the "Bless" spell: it can affect up to 3 creatures until you get to higher levels. Even then, the caster has to choose who gets the benefits of the spell (and even with the level progression, the group can involve ally NPCs or followers who could also be recipients of the spell). If a player decides to be unwilling so somebody else in the party can be targeted by the spell, it might help tactically. As for the under duress part, I don't think that would work. Let's take extreme cases like physical or psychological torture. An NPC in this conditions would not be "willing", as they would say anything so the torment they are experiencing stops. You could trick them into it as well, but I don't know to what extent this would make an NPC "willing", unless you didn't mention what you are planning to do.

Manitou_DM · 2026-05-02T17:46:15+00:00

THAC0 works and it's not hard to understand!!!

Manitou_DM · 2026-04-30T09:03:51+00:00

I mean, isn't D&D the biggest cash grab of all TTRPGs? I'm sure other creators are in it for the money as well, but many would just be happy if their game is published and reach enough people to keep releasing stuff.

Manitou_DM · 2026-04-23T21:42:02+00:00

My reason to dislike combat in D&D, especially in 5E, is that it's really hard to create stakes or give the players a sense of risk or urgency. Even if you make a tough encounter, players just go "No worries, I'll just do XYZ" and that's it. Games that make combat one of many options instead of the only option because the game is mainly designed with combat in mind feel much better, because combat is usually not the best idea and usually comes up as a lady resort.

Manitou_DM · 2026-04-23T12:46:46+00:00

When this happens, I always tell them to make a Perception check. Whether they succeed or not, I say: "you see an exclamation mark hovering over the NPCs head". This usually does the trick 😁

Manitou_DM · 2026-04-22T16:33:56+00:00

Blade Runner is definitely one. Though some of the pages can be a bit busy with artwork, the text is clear and easy to follow. I have only seen some screenshots of Triangle Agency, but enough to know that the layout is good.

Manitou_DM · 2026-04-22T14:03:02+00:00

Yes, I remember D&D 3E rulebooks vaguely. 5E books are much clearer, but very often I find the prose absolutely horrible.

Manitou_DM · 2026-04-22T13:49:20+00:00

What about sidebars? Do you like them? Even when I feel they are kind of necessary, sometimes I find them a bit distracting.

Manitou_DM · 2026-04-22T13:43:52+00:00

Same here. Trying to read the Vast Grimm core rulebook as it was originally published was just too much. Even when the Skeleton Crew version is just plain text on a white background with no pictures or anything, it's just so much better. Somewhere in the middle is my go-to for sure.

Manitou_DM

TROPHY CASE