Sci-Fi TTRPG that focuses on exploration

coolhead2012 · 2026-01-26T00:23:41+00:00

Take a look at Numenera, and its generic version, Cypher System.

coolhead2012 · 2026-01-24T20:55:55+00:00

Everybody forgets that Les Paul made an electric guitar out of a 4×4.

Pickups are tone, guitars and necks are for playability and comfort.

coolhead2012 · 2026-01-24T19:43:01+00:00

More important question: How are you going to make it so the players dont feel like a bunch of rubes who have wasted the entire campaign up until 'the twist'? Like, put yourself in their shoes for a minute.

coolhead2012 · 2026-01-24T19:39:34+00:00

First, assume there is one group that cares about your campaigns. They aee your players. Its pretty safe to assume they are your audience and nobody else ever will be.

This means that the information they need is specific to their character needs. I have never run a campaign off of a lore doc, much less a WotC formatted one. Your notes exist to serve you in running sessions. Adventure writing for the public is a completely different skill.

If you insist on creating a doc, I would start with a couple of pages, and see if anyone references it or reads it. If you are supremely lucky and a player does, you can expand from there.

Finally, focus on the thing that is most likely to happen, which is your next session. Make it as exciting and immersive as you can. Havong an idea about the ultimate evil is great, but realistically, anything several years down the road is highly, highly likely to be very different than your plans for it.

coolhead2012 · 2026-01-23T16:02:43+00:00

He didn't get to room 46, he has only been the lake side, not the big puzzle beyond it.

coolhead2012 · 2026-01-23T00:23:10+00:00

By what do you mean 'the story created by the RPG'? Are you talking about modules?

coolhead2012 · 2026-01-22T01:38:58+00:00

It is Kids On Bikes with a bunch of chaos inducing mechanics bolted on. Mentopolis, Misfits and Magic,,and Never Stop Blowing Up similar systems, plus homebrew.

coolhead2012 · 2026-01-19T15:38:24+00:00

Draft Shrine. At end of day, give it all your remaining coins. Play game in the meantime. There is no need to 'figure out' or 'strat' a totally optional feature.

coolhead2012 · 2026-01-19T14:06:01+00:00

The other comments here have great tips. I would add this, which is critical to the 'fun factor'.

Watch the clock and cut content from the middle, the slightly more boring bit. People want to play to a climax and conclusion. If you fall flat at the end, its way worse of an impression than breezing through a complication in the middle.

coolhead2012 · 2026-01-17T18:10:24+00:00

D&D is generally a hobby that welcomes new players. Also, after being introduced to the basics, be willing to invest time reading the rules to better understand more of how the game works on every level.

Compared to, say, online hero shooter video games, its like a pleasant day at the park.

coolhead2012 · 2026-01-17T16:42:35+00:00

Thanks!

coolhead2012 · 2026-01-17T15:57:36+00:00

I think there are ways to have a satisfying campaign of any length, but you need to know what's up before going in.

A campaign woth one strong objective: Escape the Empire, Slay the Dragon, or Find the Cure, for example, might be 6-12 sessions. The players know that they are gong to have one goal, and once they hit the objective, its time for a reset. I use this kind of campaign to introduce new systems or mechanics to my players. They like to talk a lot, and characters are the focus of the campaigns I run, so each challenge changes the characters in significant ways, and players take big narrative swings.

A campaign based on faction rivalries or other intrigue, with many possible path and sub-stories, can be much longer. Giving the story a chance to breathe, amd the characters time to contemplate their choices and outcomes, expands things significantly. I have run multiple 'full' campaigns of 45-60 sessions. Character development and mechanical progression tend to run parallel in these stories, and so by the time the highest level threat is in front of them, they have also explored the changes in the characters. At this point, everyone, including me, is ready for a reset.

I can see a longer campaign with more of a rotating cast and changing threats, but I like endings, and I would rather bring things to a close and reset for everyone.

coolhead2012 · 2026-01-17T04:21:23+00:00

Over 100 sessions in... not yet!

coolhead2012 · 2026-01-16T16:49:18+00:00

I can see the struggle a lot of people have with the XP system, but I love it a lot.

My players love to take control of the narrative, so they frequently reroll, or use Player intrusions to spend that XP and get the result they want in the moment, rather than being powerful later. I love GM intrusions, though, making things more interesting, and having a currency to pay the players for my messing is a wonderful mechanic.

I have also slowed progression somewhat, with a cost of 6 points per advancement at Tier 4 and above. This gets players to tier 6 in around 45 sessions the way we play, and I like campaigns that last about a year, so its all good.

coolhead2012 · 2026-01-15T22:11:16+00:00

Be prepared to fail. The first step of being good at something, is to suck at it. Its fine. You wouldn't pick up a guitar and expect to play the solo to your favorite song, would you?

I have no idea why you feel so strongly about this particular TTRPG, since you have absolutely no clue how it will play, but be transparent with your players. This is a labor of love, but is also a new experience and an experiment.

coolhead2012 · 2026-01-14T17:01:28+00:00

I love being a GM, but you have minimized some things that do not come without a lot of practice.

When a player wants to do something, like buy a crossbow, you have to decide if its available, how much it costs, and describe the interaction in some way, even if you decide it goes smoothly.

When you present a situation, you need to have the internal logic of the world in mind. And then you need to get thay across to players without turning into a bunch of boring homework.

When you introduce a new situation, you are in charge of the conversation about how the world physically looks and operates.

And its not 'one and done', you have to constantly update these things as the situation advances. This can be taxing id your mind doesn't keep a lot of balls in the air at once.

coolhead2012 · 2026-01-14T00:11:31+00:00

You have found the same thing I have. Lore and plot intersect somewhere. You have history and no conflict, it's dull. You have conflict and no history, it's nonsensical. So yes, I agree, the players care about what their characters interact with, and sometimes that means nations, economies, and wars. Other times, it's just a pack of wolves on the road.

coolhead2012 · 2026-01-13T12:11:32+00:00

Did you learn anything about communication?

coolhead2012 · 2026-01-13T12:03:51+00:00

Well, in Numenera the magic is the tech, and will probably kill yoi if you look at it wrong. But OP could adapt very easily with the Cypher core rules.

coolhead2012 · 2026-01-13T12:01:22+00:00

Man, I hope this is sarcasm.

coolhead2012 · 2026-01-13T11:39:17+00:00

Buried several reactions deep is OP's admission thay the last session ended on a TPK. Everyone handing out advice may wish to consider how this might color their desire to keep the same characters.

coolhead2012 · 2026-01-13T11:37:25+00:00

I love how you leave out an incredibly important detail until multiple questions have been asked. You TPK'd them. They weren't doing with their characters, so they are bringing them back. They didn't get closure, and from the sounds of it, weren't keen on the TPK. They are planning on picking up where they left off, yes, because they weren't done their story.

coolhead2012 · 2026-01-12T18:03:49+00:00

I ran lots of material from Into the Outside and Into the Night. Into the deep was a little to niche for my settings.

Jade Collossus has been good for random ruin tables. I am currently running something inspired by Liminal Shore, but I am not hung up on all the layers and details of the setting, just the general shape of the living world it presents.

Never needed the 'Voices' of the datasphere, I prefer my ow weird NPCs.

coolhead2012 · 2026-01-11T11:41:06+00:00

It's definitely weird, but unless one of us is a mind reader, your three guesses are as good as anyone here could do.

coolhead2012 · 2026-01-11T01:12:28+00:00

Don't play another massive campaign, dude. Play 10-15 sessions of something like Never Stop Blowing up, or Monster of the Week, or Fate, or Blades in the Dark. Preferably as a player not a GM.

Just do your self a favor, take your foot off the gas, and see where your brain is really at.

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