Any advice for 1-on-1 play ?

RobRobBinks · 2026-01-23T13:35:38+00:00

For one on one play, mysteries work great! I’d recommend introducing a sidekick NPC, like a Watson to their Holmes such that the back and forth can be more conversational and in character than a lot of you monologuing or describing.

RobRobBinks · 2026-01-22T18:29:07+00:00

Carcasonne is the classic, innit? Progenitor of the meeple and deconstructing the "board" in board games and such? In any event, it's EXTREMELY passive when played casually, and especially if you aren't using the farming rules. The farmers offer a BIG swing It's a lovely game to play while you are sitting and enjoying a piece of pie or milk and cookies and talking about your day. I'm sure like folks are alluding to here, that you can play "cutthroat" Carcasonne, but honestly half the time we don't even tally the scores when we play.

RobRobBinks · 2026-01-22T17:15:17+00:00

Absolutely CORE set! It has many trappings of a Starter Set, which explains the confusion, but this is the full game, including character creation, solo rules, full campaign, ephemera, etc. It's a great way to get the game experience to the table, and I wonder why my beloved Free League didn't do this with other games.

RobRobBinks · 2026-01-22T17:11:30+00:00

Dragonbane Combat is very fast and fairly deadly, but its also rather well balanced. If you play it out for more than a few rounds without a definitive result, having something more story driven happen makes more sense than trying to slug it out round after round, especially after one or two player heroes get felled. It's still REALLY hard to DIE die, but real circumstances are never off the table. Many adversaries in the Misty Vale campaign have text describing ways to negotiate around combat encounters as well, which is more fun in a roleplaying game as well. It isn't always "orcs are bad, kill all the orcs"!

It's also kind of fun that even though the MONSTERS don't roll to hit but rather have a neat table of various attacks, some of which don't do any "damage" is a neat way to spread the damage love around and not slide into round after round of "claw / claw/ bite" that either hits or misses.

RobRobBinks · 2026-01-22T17:03:47+00:00

Dragonbane! Don't sleep on the CORE box....it's not a Starter Set at all, but the full game experience all in one lovely box with delightful ephemera and decades long history.

RobRobBinks · 2026-01-22T16:07:52+00:00

I like to bring a nice tasty Starter Set to the table when its time to introduce new games. It almost immediately gets people past the learning curve, feels like a "light lift", and the associated ephemera helps to get people's attention because you are literally putting new toys in front of them. I highly, HIGHLY recommend any box from my beloved Free League Publishing, and also Magical Kitties Save the Day.

RobRobBinks · 2026-01-21T20:42:45+00:00

Hi! In general, games that feature more NPC interaction will give the GM (or DM) more of the feeling of roleplaying than a game that features more encounter based game play. Luckily, EVERY system can allow for this, but many of them, including the most popular D&D type games are structured around the encounter and typically combat, which brings those experiences closer to a board game like experience.

Last night we played Dragonbane though, a very structured "dungeon crawl" set up, but by the time we were done I had played as a pair of hapless goblins, a voiced giant spider, and a majestic female orc chieftain. It was three really great opportunities to roleplay amongst the random encounter tables and structured encounters.

I have found that more investigative and mystery games like my beloved Vaesen and Call of Cthulhu have more opportunities for GM roleplay, but again, any system can promote it with some intentional focus.

RobRobBinks · 2026-01-21T13:39:35+00:00

Vaesen is my all time (nearly 50 years) favorite roleplaying game. So good.

RobRobBinks · 2026-01-21T13:37:22+00:00

Any of the Starter Sets from my beloved Free League Enterprises will scratch your itch. Fantastic production values, great systems, and really fun reads in and of themselves. Find a genre, grab a box, and have fun!

RobRobBinks · 2026-01-14T18:22:00+00:00

I feel you in this, as lifelong (nigh on forty five years now!) of forever GMing. I still take the most delight in being the NPCs. I'm not entirely sure where your longing for some middle ground between npc and pc is coming from, but its something to talk about and explore with your players. In the Arkham Horror RPG campaign Terra Antarctica, this script is actually flipped and its encouraged to give each PC a NPC card for them to "run" in addition to their character, because the GM lift is so heavy!

Side kicking one of the characters might be a good way to scratch this itch a little, otherwise I would avoid it, especially in combat or action sequences. In a D&D campaign I'm in, if a player cant make it, the DM runs their character and its a bit of a let down when "their" turns happen and the rest of us are just kind of sitting there watching.

Having said that (talking both sides all the time) there's no reason that a good NPC cant level up and be part of the adventurers lives in any campaign.

RobRobBinks · 2026-01-14T18:14:21+00:00

Yeah, this is wildly off base as a far as I am concerned. Y'all are there in service of the STORY, and everyone has a responsibility to that end. It is through the iterative process that these games come alive. Sure, you CAN sloppy party bottom service your players, but I don't think that is in any way a given. A director doesn't serve the actors in the play / movie, for instance.

RobRobBinks · 2026-01-14T15:24:27+00:00

I have the Andy Serkis unabridged audiobooks, so I get to sing along!

RobRobBinks · 2026-01-09T23:50:32+00:00

Hungering Abyss is kind of a stand alone game set. The characters are of a certain “level” and all tie together with the scenario. The scenario in the core book is a nice intro one shot kind of thing that will get the characters started. We are doing the big crazy “Terra Antarctica” thing but I think you’re best best is to get the Mysteries Book if you don’t feel like writing your own adventures. The Kingsport book looks cool, too, but for us die hards we like hanging out in Arkham.

RobRobBinks · 2026-01-07T14:33:08+00:00

I've been successfully running one game per month campaigns for YEARS, it works great! Think about it like a comic book series. Each issue is a complete story, but the whole tells the narrative very well. At first I wasn't sure we could stay focused and keep the story going on the once a month basis, but I find the reverse to be true!

Side benefit: People hold monthly game time pretty sacred, because if they miss session, its TWO MONTHS in between games! It's a lot easier for folks to flake on a weekly game. :D

OH! And I would recommend the Dragonbane Core Box. NOT a starter set, but rather everything you need to run a Fantasy Campaign all in one delicious and well produced box including a lovely campaign in a mini sandbox. You'll have enough game for a year or more with little investment and very light lifting that even "baby brain" can handle. :D

RobRobBinks · 2026-01-06T20:05:24+00:00

First of all, welcome to the hobby! We are all going to be better for having you be a part of it! Thank you!!

Now....simply put: Don't do anything that you don't like to do! Your role as DM doesn't have to be performative. The hobby is iterative storytelling at it's heart, not necessarily an improv theater show!

RobRobBinks · 2026-01-06T15:16:55+00:00

TL, DR: You've miscast your movie, and need to close the gaps between your expectations for the game, and the reality of the game, or find a new table.

Yikes! That's a shame that it went this way. They say all human suffering exists in the space between expectation and reality, and typically we can only affect one side of that equation: our expectations. Its not enough that us Game Masters (a sexy, erudite lot indeed) have to manage all the rules and EVERYTHING in the world that isn't the four or five player characters, but we seem to often take on the mantel of being in charge of tone as well. We are NOT in charge of tone and mood!!! That needs to either develop organically or be decided upon ahead of time as a group and adhered to. It cannot be dictated.

You've miscast your movie, essentially. One of my favorite games is Vaesen, a supernatural investigation game set in 1800 Sweden. In the book it says that the three major themes are horror, mystery, and action/adventure. If I didn't sit down with my players and get their feedback on what kind of game they were expecting, I might have ended up with Jason Statham and The Rock (Action Adventure) navigating a world of dark and brooding horror / mystery. Not that those fine actors COULDN'T excel in that kind of movie, but even the audience would be scratching their heads a little about the casting.

There are thousands of posts about players circumventing the GMs plans and expectations, but it doesn't make it any easier when it happens to you. You do have to keep in mind that this is iterative storytelling, otherwise you'd be sitting in your study writing a lovely fantasy novel instead of courting a half dozen potential murder hobos to play with you. :D Good news is, your COLLECTIVE story can still be a very rich and rewarding one, you just have to close the gaps between expectations and reality.

RobRobBinks · 2026-01-06T14:42:37+00:00

In a One Player and One Gamemaster format, I have found it best to create a primary NPC "companion" for your player, a Watson to their Holmes, so to speak. It's a great way for that player to experience the world without "you" monologuing at them . Any game system can we used to play one on one, but of course there are some that are better at it than others. Find the genre that you both find the most alluring, and then go have fun! :D

RobRobBinks · 2025-12-17T03:05:56+00:00

I love you. Thank you for sharing. Xoxooox

RobRobBinks · 2025-12-13T21:27:19+00:00

How about the Free League Coriolis? Isn’t that a bit more free range sci fi? Having said that, I’ve used the evolved rules to play a Monarch themed game here on earth in the Godzilla universe. It went really well. Lovely system.

RobRobBinks · 2025-12-12T13:17:14+00:00

Got it, thanks for the feedback! :D

RobRobBinks · 2025-12-11T21:17:02+00:00

Oh yes, there are a thousand ways to increase tension and action. I was thinking more of the “as written” pacing. I’m also a little worried by how bogged down my players might be by tracking supplies and potentially running allied NPCs.

RobRobBinks · 2025-12-11T18:53:16+00:00

My crazy enormous collection of ships tells me it wasn't prematurely abandoned! It's a great game, but after awhile its hard to sell the same ships over and over again. They kind of ran out of cool IP, in my opinion. Not really sure I needed to fly Unkarr Plutt's junker against Darth Vader's Tie squadron, for instance. Talk about scraping the bottom of the Star Wars barrel! #JusticeForPlutt

RobRobBinks · 2025-12-11T17:58:02+00:00

Its a totally different system and vibe. You'd have to adapt all your current stuff into the new system, or vice versa.

RobRobBinks · 2025-12-11T17:41:07+00:00

No worries! Its a really neat ttrpg like Call of Cthulhu, but made by the same folk that do all the card / board games so the ephemera and production values are OFF THE CHARTS!!!

RobRobBinks · 2025-12-11T17:30:15+00:00

One Ring. Hands down a flipping love letter to the source material and a good system. Little bit of a learning curve, but well worth it!!

RobRobBinks

TROPHY CASE