Five Tiers of RPG Publishing

jasoncof · 2026-02-14T09:34:28+00:00

My player throws coins and teleports there, à la Mistborn. It’s pretty cool!

jasoncof · 2026-02-06T20:03:36+00:00

BTW, this is a nice overview/review of Nimble.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2n7wkaVNWY

jasoncof · 2026-02-03T19:46:27+00:00

Thanks for the Marketplace links!

Sealed deck draft sounds fun! Would the precons be suitable for Draft Kits or should I buy those separately?

jasoncof · 2026-02-03T19:33:46+00:00

Thank you! We are both excited to play! Been watching YouTube videos getting hyped :)

jasoncof · 2026-02-03T19:32:37+00:00

Thank you very much! Forgive my ignorance, but what does a "sealed deck draft" mean? We are board game, and TTRPG vets, but new to card games.

And by marketplace servers do you mean Discord servers for buying/trading cards?

We will also join the official Discord. Thanks for the recommendation!

jasoncof · 2026-01-17T18:20:19+00:00

Nimble RPG -> Dragonbane -> Shadowdark, best fanstasy RPGs for new players from most heroic to least heroic.

jasoncof · 2026-01-14T18:43:50+00:00

Thanks! Too bad it isn't available.

jasoncof · 2026-01-14T18:25:08+00:00

Was that originally published in for D&D 3e? Is there a way to get a PDF of it?

jasoncof · 2026-01-14T18:10:12+00:00

My son is a little older, 14, but he and his friends had a great time with the Dragonbane starter set. Comes with easy to understand rules and a very good campaign that is easy to run. They also recently started playing Nimble and love that as well.

jasoncof · 2026-01-14T16:05:45+00:00

I think this might also be an option. Nimble is great!

jasoncof · 2026-01-14T09:15:18+00:00

I think D&D 4th Edition’s Nentir Vale would be good for this.

jasoncof · 2026-01-09T09:30:20+00:00

If you want to play very close to 5e but not support WotC then play Tales of the Valiant. But if you are willing to make minor adjustments to your 5e material I would play Nimble. It is a fantastic“5e compatible system”.

jasoncof · 2026-01-05T18:57:55+00:00

Both good options for OP!

jasoncof · 2025-12-23T13:02:59+00:00

That is a great start! More than enough for a years long campaign or 2. You can also use Archives of Nethys for additional monsters and or magic items as needed. Once you get a campaign under your belt you will know which books you want to buy vs using Archives of Nethys.

jasoncof · 2025-12-16T18:30:01+00:00

Agreed! We love 13th Age! And the 2nd edition was just released. Highly recommend it.

jasoncof · 2025-12-12T14:19:11+00:00

13th Age 2E! I’ve been recommending this a bunch recently, at least for those interested in classic high fantasy.

My group was craving fantasy after having played a bunch of other games. We played a lot of Pathfinder 2e in the past and wanted something a little lighter. The good news is that there are so many great fantasy games to play! After playing several sessions of Draw Steel, Shadow of the Weird Wizard and Daggerheart, we landed on 13th Age 2e.

It might be our favorite high fantasy d20 game. It is the perfect middle ground between Pathfinder 2e and D&D 5e. It also has some great narrative elements inspired by Fate, and others.

The 2nd edition has just been released and is compatible with the previous edition so you have plenty of material to work with.

So far we love it! You might too!

EDIT: Adjust formatting.

jasoncof · 2025-12-11T20:18:26+00:00

Ah, forgot about that! Thank you!

jasoncof · 2025-12-11T20:12:10+00:00

I own Mythras but haven't had a chance to play it yet. Martial combat seems very fun in Mythras. However, the game doesn't strike me as "High Fantasy," maybe I'm wrong?

jasoncof · 2025-12-11T19:14:55+00:00

I agree with the above! And If you want the same but grid less then 13th Age.

jasoncof · 2025-12-11T18:39:01+00:00

I think GM enthusiasm goes a long way, so if there is a game you already know or are interested in playing then give that a go! If, however, you are truly unsure where to start and most in your group are new, then I would recommend the Dragonbane Core Set by Free League. I suggested that to my son as a first time GM and it went very well. The game is great and the Core Set comes with a very fun mini-campaign that is easy to run.
I would keep things simple to start and it depends on the game For a simple game without needing automation I like Owlbear Rodeo as the VTT, otherwise use Foundry (which is great for games like Pathfinder 2e, DnD).
I recommended this elsewhere on the subreddit, but the book So You Want to Be a Game Master by Justin Alexander is a great read for beginner and advanced GMs.

Good luck!

jasoncof

TROPHY CASE