What tabletop RPG will I be excited to GM a one-shot of?
9
Ṁ1kṀ484resolved Aug 12
65%3%
Continuum: Roleplaying in the Yet.
13%5%
Nobilis
13%4%
Silent Titans. Super weird dungeon crawling using a minimalist system based on Into the Odd.
Only $15: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/m/product/272283
9%4%
Wisher, Theurgist, Fatalist (WTF)
3%Other
54%
ANTE
1.6%
Sphynx
1.6%
Inflorenza Minima
1.6%
Undying
1.8%
The Quiet Year
3%
Print Weaver
5%
Troika (I recommend Numinous Ed. https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/269791/Troika-Numinous-Edition)
12%
Dogs in the Vineyard. Just under 100 pages of content, all about moral conflict, encounters range from moments to months-spanning montages. Throw out the setting and just use the conflict resolution rules in your own story if you prefer
I love GMing! I love table-top RPGs! I love one-shots! I love GMing weird small one-shots indie title with my friends :D
So I'm looking for a new RPG to plan a session for (2-6 hours). I'm looking for a small, probably indie, game that uses the whole session to its advantage (as opposed to a game orriented toward campaigns that you can technically turn into one-shots)
Mostly interested in weird, philosophical games, with interesting mechanics. Probably not pure hack-and-slash dungeon crawling or too combat-focused, unless there is a broader experience conveyed with it.
Please post a game between ~5-100 pages. 1 page micro-rpg don't work well because they're too open and at this point I'd rather just make my own system. Also please avoid games that are on the sides of shared-GMing, we've tried and my group really prefers only exploring an existing world, not creating it.
The ideal game:
- Very open in terms of what I can do as a GM (more a system than a universe itself)
- Has interesting/novel mechanics
- Conveys a sense of wonder, questions, curiosity, interrogation
- Has a broader point/purpose
- Can be challenging to GM (I don't mind either way)
- Can require long preparation before the session (also don't mind)
- Ideally below $20
Example of games along with the points I'd give them:
- Sphynx ( https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/288234/Sphynx-English-version ): 5 points. Really the quintessence of the kind of game I'm looking for. It has exploration of life's question while being very general and open to the GM's immagination. The kind of session it creates is very full of life.
- Inflorenza minima ( https://thomas-munier.itch.io/inflorenza-minima ): 0.8 points. Might be interesting, but too participatory. The setting is too blurred and participatory to be a good match with my group. Still, has the same sense of exporation of questions and trying to convey something to be inspiring and an interesting read
- Undying ( https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/174206/Undying ): 0.5 points.
The mechanics seem novel, the setting is interesting. But it is a bit too restrained in my opinion in terms of what kind of world I could create. The ambiance is also more on the side of unsettling, which would probably not be a good match.
Resolution criterion: Upon market close, I will read the summary of every answers. I will skim through any that are free, might purchase some that really seems interesting (I will take into account how high the option is being betted on. If something seems dull but has 40% probability for instance, I will look more closely into it thinking I'm missing something). This might take a week depending on how many answers there are.
I will then ascribe points to answers. 1 point means "I can immagine myself playing with my group". 5 points means "I am going to GM this as soon as possible and I can't wait"
Answers are then resolved proportional to their points.
Author betting policy (More info: https://manifold.markets/Angela/repost-under-what-conditions-is-it#AbqapM5wyao8Lr87sJVO ): Not betting
This question is managed and resolved by Manifold.
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5 points
Oh my gosh!!! That's exactly the kind of things I wanted, thanks a lot!
Like, it has exactly the kind of overarching philosophy I was looking for, cool thematics, but very broad and without a specific setting. I was hooked just after reading the maxims, and the mechanical complexity it offers fits perfectly what I want.
Thanks again for this discovery. It might need some tweaking to fit in a one-shot (honnestly, this game made me excited to run a whole campaign out of, that's how cool it is for me!)
0.7
I could almost see myself GMing this. The shared GMing nature seems to be embroiled in it and there would be too much rework to do to remove it though. It's also a bit too close to a game I just GMed with them of my own invention
But I can immagine myself using the whisher/theurgist/fatalist trichotomy in my next game, and there are lots of clever insights
@JoyVoid the art and writing have a very specific and unique aesthetic. Ymmv if you enjoy it, but it's like nothing I've ever seen in that respect.
@MattP Thanks for the reminder!
Haven't had a chance to plan the next gaming session with them yet, so it kinda slipped my mind
I'll get to it today and resolve it asap
@MattP Thanks a lot! Can I ask what makes it unique or interesting? From the summary and some reviews, I'm not sure how it distinguishes itself
@horse Oh wow, I think this is amazing. I'll have to see how flexible this is but it is right up my alley :D
Tipped you for such an amazing discovery <3
I think this might be too much on the side of gimmicky dungeon-crawl. For an exemple of dungeon crawl-ish that I could immagine DMing there's https://shoelesspetegames.itch.io/the-well-roleplaying-game
More for reading for your enjoyment than for playing. Poetic, philosophical, shared GMing with distinct responsibilities for each of the 3 players. https://afarandasunlessland.files.wordpress.com/2018/09/wtf.pdf
Unpoetic summary: https://writeups.letsyouandhimfight.com/pleasingfungus/wisher-theurgist-fatalist/
A good summary of the lore: https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/continuum-roleplaying-in-the-yet.52575/
"There is a hidden world of spirit that surrounds us.
Within that world dwell the Nobilis.
They are creatures half-human and half-god. Each holds dominion over a single concept in the world.
You have heard the stories and rumors of the Nobilis.
You have heard of the fates of those who encounter them.
Herein you will find a guide to dealing with these Powers and their
attendant spirits." https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/89003/Nobilis-The-Essentials-Volume-1
211 pages, philosophical.
@horse Thanks a lot for the question, I had missed it. I think maybe less-philosophical and more single GM is much more likelier to appeal to my group, while more philosophical but shared GM is more likely to appeal to me :D (I'd actually love to run shared GM sessions)
So I guess it's a bit of a balance. I think they'd be completely okay with nothing-but-pure-fun dungeon-crawling for instance, while I'm not sure I'd be excited to GM it.
To answer your actual question, I think it's fine if it has some shared GMing as long as it's not the main component. To take an example, I don't think The Quiet Year would work, because it introduces a tension between "I want to do things as a player" and "I have to make the story interesting", which I've found is where we struggle when running these type of games.
But I think you can mostly ignore that, since I tend to adapt the games a lot.
A criterion I haven't found much yet, so that might be more relevant to the question resolution, is whether the game allows for a great flexibility in the kind of universe I can create, ie. it is more a system with rules for what I'm allowed to do as a GM than a pre-packaged universe. For instance, Sphynx tells you how to build your world (it should be centered around 10 questions), but doesn't tell you what kind of world it is necessarilly.
But really, all of this is broad indications of what I am looking for, more than strict requirements. If something has been a blast to GM or play for you, feel free to link it, I'm looking to explore avenues I would not have found myself ^^
Player characters are created based on your players' fingerprints, you can create enemies based on yours. Kinda Dark Souls aesthetic. Don't own this one myself. https://nlmorrison.itch.io/print-weaver
Overcomplicated time-travel ttrpg with really cool lore and rules for time travel combat. https://rpggeek.com/rpg/857/cntinuum-roleplaying-yet