Tabletop RPGs we played in 2023 | Hacker News Reader

Tabletop RPGs we played in 2023

polygon.com

70 pointswebmaven22 comments

There are so many great games out right now but, like many others, I’ve found myself returning to games like Old School Essentials and other games from the Old School Renaissance. I’ve been inconsistently playing in this game - https://attronarch.com/wilderlands - and dying a fair amount . That game is perhaps more lethal than most, but the stories I’ve come away with have made it maybe the best game I’ve participated in.

I was introduced to TTRPGs this year by my friend Robby Howell. He spent the past 10 years designing a system called Enclave [0] (which he successfully Kickstarted). Enclave is a diceless system that focuses on the character acting and collaborative storytelling elements. It was a very easy system to pickup and has been a blast to play. I've made several new friends and I'm now in a session every week. Even surprised myself in becoming a Gamemaster (Conduit in Enclave). I've found being the Conduit as a consistent way to enter "flow state" where time is just flying by as the story unfolds in my mind. Would highly recommend checking out Enclave or any TTRPG that strikes your fancy, you might find a new hobby.

[0] https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/757240159/enclave-a-tab...

I recently played The Zone[0], which is loosely based on Roadside Picnic/Stalker, and it’s the first time I found myself welling up with emotion in an RPG. I’ve played D&D since I was a teenager, but this game similarly has no dice, and describing my character’s tragic death that was poetic and heartbreaking was truly a different experience. Definitely recommend branching out and trying something outside your comfort zone.

[0] https://play.thezonerpg.com/

How did you make new friends through it, where do you play?

I've been playing online via the Discord server using their LFG channel. That might sound odd for TTRPG but Enclave is a bit unique in that its played almost exclusively as one-shot missions rather than a campaign. So you can bring your character to various Conduits (GMs) without much issue. I know what you're thinking, what about progression? Enclave does have a progression system that works in this format.

Nice, I was just looking for 2 player table top RPGs after playing "Mini Rogue" for some time.

Any recommendations?

I enjoyed the Microscope! But that one is very much on the creative writing side. Simmilarily I did enjoy Quiet Year.

Several of those map-making/settings building should work well. I wanted to try Gun & Slinger, but that one wants to be 2 players and a GM so I didn't try that one yet.

I really want to play microscope, I bought the pdf but I couldn’t successfully tempt my gaming group with it on one of our off-nights. Wish I had a bunch of time and my friends did too. I also want to use it for generating a homebrew world for some other game system.

Microscope is one of those games that is easier to play solo than most RPGs that were not meant to do that, when you use it just like your creative writing exercise quide. And somebody even made a nice app - https://utgars-chronicles.app/ if you happen to have easier time tempting your internet-friends than your irl friends.

Another fun thing to try with the irl group, if like having longer campaigns, is to start with a session of microscope first and then play in the world you scoped out :)

Gumshoe is a family of mystery RPGs and they've come out with a spin off system Gumshoe one-2-one for a single player and GM. There isn't a base book for the system but specific ones for Cthulhu, sci fi, teen detectives etc. Ironsworn and it's sci fi spin off Starforged also work well one on one.

A couple of friends do a 1-player (and 1 GM) game in the Chronicles of Darkness setting (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_of_Darkness). It focuses a lot on mystery and investigation so it seems to scale pretty well to differing group sizes. While I don't play in that game, I assume there is still much of the usual prep work done on the GM side so it may not quite fit what you're looking for.

What’s a tabletop RPG? Are these D&D games?

If so, which are the ones that don’t need a dungeon master. I’m not really attracted to those as I would think no one around me would want to sacrifice themselves to play that role.

D&D is an example of a tabletop RPG, yes.

> no one around me would want to sacrifice themselves

It's not so much a sacrifice as it is simply a different game. Some people enjoy coming up with stories more than exploring other people's stories.

D&D is the most famous tabletop RPG yes. There's a large variety in them though, so calling them all D&D games would be like calling all sports Football. Of these games it looks like Dead After Dinner, Desperation, Home, I'm Sorry Did You Say Street Magic, and What Dust Remains are all GMless games for groups. I'd also like to recommend Ironsworn and it's sci fi spin off Starforged for RPGs that can be played solo, GMless in a group, or a more traditional GM style.

Seconding a vote for Ironforge/Starsworn, very cool settings and super easy to get started solo. There's a great webapp (customized for both flavors) IronJournal/Stargazer that makes it easy to track your adventures.

https://nboughton.uk/apps/ironsworn-campaign/#/

https://nboughton.uk/apps/stargazer/#/

"sacrifice themselves to play that role"

The Gamemaster is a player too, they're just playing everyone that _isn't_ a protagonist. While there's some level of responsibility it would be a very toxic group that expects the GM to do all the "work" and they just get to "play". It should be everyone's responsibility to make sure the game is fun for the entire table.

> would want to sacrifice themselves to play that role

Fuck that, I love being the DM! It's a good bit of prep but it's _so much fun_.

Some people do enjoy the role of DM. Personally, I like it. I get to create the world and decide how it and its inhabitants react to player actions.

I’m also not limited to the character options or a single character. I can create anything I like and run with it.

Do I want a village of fox people? Grab a monster, adjust the stats, and decide on a few personalities.

The goal isn’t to tell a story. The goal is to create a playground and let the players tell the story while you get to play anything they encounter.

I have asked players to not do certain things because I’m running out of a book to save prep time and don’t have as much flexibility as I’d like to give them. Any players that have an issue with that are free to leave my game. We’re here to have fun and if everyone (including me) is not having fun, something needs to change.

The ones that don't need a DM are usually classified as board games. Assuming you want an experience where an unfolding story presents challenges across play sessions, you can look at Gloomhaven (as well as the shorter Jaws of the Lion and the "sequel" Frosthaven), Sleeping Gods or Seventh Continent.

Gloomhaven the board game might fit bill.

Alice is Missing is a pretty good GMless game. Although very specific in its tone.

I am an extremely inexperienced GM (only played a few times, and never as a non-GM), but believe me, GMing for one's own kids is a very (a) stressing (at least in the beginning) and (b) rewarding experience. I look forward to doing it again!

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