What have you been playing in MARCH 2024?

[Kyonshi]

Spalls is doing this all the time in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action, which
for some reason is the only one of those computer game groups that seem
to get any kind of real engagement. And I was thinking... why don't we
do that here in rec.games.frp.misc as well?

So, what have you been playing in March 2024?

I had

Shadowrun 3rd edition
We have a campaign set in the 2050s right now via discord/google meets.
It started as an idea to play through the really old modules, but one of
our players just did a scenario she came up herself.
I have the suspicion she came up with that while watching TV, as the
whole scenario was about trying to ruin a chef's 15 minutes of fame on
television.
Unfortunately we are somewhat too careful about our runs, and my combat
oriented character really had a hard time trying to find something to do
that wasn't coming up with bad ideas.

Barrowmaze (Alex Schroeder's Halberds rules)
I am on a discord server where two DMs are running their own versions of
Stonehell and Barrowmaze in a shared setting. This is all in short 2h
time slots only focused on the actual dungeon delve part of the
adventure. As this is an open table format and I was rather busy with
work and family stuff I didn't manage to attend more than once though. I
think the DMs also got a bit distracted by other games.

Troika!
Well, technically we are doing a PbP on campaignwiki.games,
unfortunately it seems that one fell asleep. Which in my own experience
can happen with PbP games. I did post a few posts though. Troika! still
is a game that feels somewhat elusive to me. I just can't get a proper
grasp on what it is trying to do.

So, what have you been playing, if anything?

[Justisaur]

Post by Kyonshi
Spalls is doing this all the time in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action, which
for some reason is the only one of those computer game groups that seem
to get any kind of real engagement. And I was thinking... why don't we
do that here in rec.games.frp.misc as well?

I tried to do that years ago, and the problem was no one was doing much,
of course that was after the group had mostly died.

Post by Kyonshi
So, what have you been playing in March 2024?

None. I haven't played or run anything in more than a year now. My
last was January of last year running Dungeon Robber (the tabletop
version) on Rpol which does play by post. Unfortunately I burned out on
it as I was posting way too frequently. I also found a lot of flaws that
were irritating to me, I wanted to fix but would likely require a
reboot, and I was down to 3 players who really only wanted to play solo.

It seems to be getting harder and harder to get players who are
interested in non-5e play. Or maybe I've picked up bad habits and am no
longer a good DM. I'm not sure. Ah for the days I was running 2e with
7 players for years on end.

[Kyonshi]

Post by Justisaur

Post by Kyonshi
Spalls is doing this all the time in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,
which for some reason is the only one of those computer game groups
that seem to get any kind of real engagement. And I was thinking...
why don't we do that here in rec.games.frp.misc as well?

I tried to do that years ago, and the problem was no one was doing much,
of course that was after the group had mostly died.

Well, that's why I will try to do this a bit now. Maybe we can actually
get some discussion going again.

Post by Justisaur

Post by Kyonshi
So, what have you been playing in March 2024?

None.  I haven't played or run anything in more than a year now.  My
last was January of last year running Dungeon Robber (the tabletop
version) on Rpol which does play by post.  Unfortunately I burned out on
it as I was posting way too frequently. I also found a lot of flaws that
were irritating to me, I wanted to fix but would likely require a
reboot, and I was down to 3 players who really only wanted to play solo.

What's Dungeon Robber?

Post by Justisaur
It seems to be getting harder and harder to get players who are
interested in non-5e play.  Or maybe I've picked up bad habits and am no
longer a good DM.  I'm not sure.  Ah for the days I was running 2e with
7 players for years on end.

I sure hope not, I still haven't jumped on the 5e bandwagon. I just
don't feel enthused enough about the game to actually buy the books (or
even read that far into material that's in the public.

[Justisaur]

Post by Kyonshi

Post by Justisaur

Post by Kyonshi
Spalls is doing this all the time in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,
which for some reason is the only one of those computer game groups
that seem to get any kind of real engagement. And I was thinking...
why don't we do that here in rec.games.frp.misc as well?

I tried to do that years ago, and the problem was no one was doing
much, of course that was after the group had mostly died.

Well, that's why I will try to do this a bit now. Maybe we can actually
get some discussion going again.

Actually that was on r.g.f.dnd that I tried that.

Too easy to forget what group I'm in. There's a lot more discussion
elsewhere for old D&D, though I don't know of any more broad than that.
Dragonsfoot does have an "Other Games" thread which sees a little
discussion for things like WEG Star Wars and other games. It looks like
the old Gama World email group finally dried up too, which was hanging
on longer than here.

Things seem to be heading toward Discord, but it's too private, gated
and fragmented for me.

Post by Kyonshi

Post by Justisaur

Post by Kyonshi
So, what have you been playing in March 2024?

None.  I haven't played or run anything in more than a year now.  My
last was January of last year running Dungeon Robber (the tabletop
version) on Rpol which does play by post.  Unfortunately I burned out
on it as I was posting way too frequently. I also found a lot of flaws
that were irritating to me, I wanted to fix but would likely require a
reboot, and I was down to 3 players who really only wanted to play solo.

What's Dungeon Robber?

See my other reply.

Post by Kyonshi

Post by Justisaur
It seems to be getting harder and harder to get players who are
interested in non-5e play.  Or maybe I've picked up bad habits and am
no longer a good DM.  I'm not sure.  Ah for the days I was running 2e
with 7 players for years on end.

I sure hope not, I still haven't jumped on the 5e bandwagon. I just
don't feel enthused enough about the game to actually buy the books (or
even read that far into material that's in the public.

It feels like 5e is dying a bit now too. A lot of people talk
Pathfinder, but that's like 3.5 with more insane overpowered superheroes
to me, which was the wrong way to go in my opinion. Yes players love
their powercreep, but it makes the game too hard to DM.

[Kyonshi]

It feels like 5e is dying a bit now too.  A lot of people talk
Pathfinder, but that's like 3.5 with more insane overpowered superheroes
to me, which was the wrong way to go in my opinion.  Yes players love
their powercreep, but it makes the game too hard to DM.

I think one of the main reasons is that despite the name recognition DnD
is not what people want to play. They are in the love of the idea of
DnD, but they want a freeform kind of game where everything is possible.
But they also want the rules structure that DnD gives them.
But other people want to play DnD specifically and love the rules.

There has been an exodus from DnD happening for a while as people wanted
more narrative games, but no clear winner has established itself (as
usual). DnD just has too much name recognition.

For a while it was Quest which people were pushing, I assume soon it
will be Daggerheart (I already saw some people gushing about that one).

[John Dallman]

Post by Kyonshi
So, what have you been playing in March 2024?

One session of Blades in the Dark on Roll20. We find that the combination
of game and electronic support tries to overly mechanise the role-playing
part. That being the case, it is annoying that characters can end up with
nothing to do, when we get the job sufficiently right that there's no
combat.

One session of Honor & Intrigue, playing a privateers campaign in the
Caribbean in 1661.

Ran three sessions of GURPS 4e "Cold War Pulp" - a homebrew campaign that
applies a pulp sensibility to a 1950 with psychics, dero, UFOs and
further weirdness.

Ran one session of Lions, Tigers & Dragons, an occult WWII campaign set
in British-ruled India.

John

[Kyonshi]

Post by John Dallman

Post by Kyonshi
So, what have you been playing in March 2024?

One session of Blades in the Dark on Roll20. We find that the combination
of game and electronic support tries to overly mechanise the role-playing
part. That being the case, it is annoying that characters can end up with
nothing to do, when we get the job sufficiently right that there's no
combat.
One session of Honor & Intrigue, playing a privateers campaign in the
Caribbean in 1661.
Ran three sessions of GURPS 4e "Cold War Pulp" - a homebrew campaign that
applies a pulp sensibility to a 1950 with psychics, dero, UFOs and
further weirdness.
Ran one session of Lions, Tigers & Dragons, an occult WWII campaign set
in British-ruled India.
John

I don't know Honor and Intrigue and Lions, Tigers, and Dragons, what
sort of systems are these?

[John Dallman]

Post by Kyonshi
I don't know Honor and Intrigue and Lions, Tigers, and Dragons,
what sort of systems are these?

Honor and Intrigue is a fairly lightweight system, based on Barbarians of
Lemuria and optimised for swashbuckling action.

<https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/99286/Honor--Intrigue>

Lions, Tigers, and Dragons isn't a system, that was me missing out some
words by mistake. It's the campaign title; the system is GURPS 4e.

John

[Kyonshi]

Post by John Dallman

Post by Kyonshi
I don't know Honor and Intrigue and Lions, Tigers, and Dragons,
what sort of systems are these?

Honor and Intrigue is a fairly lightweight system, based on Barbarians of
Lemuria and optimised for swashbuckling action.
<https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/99286/Honor--Intrigue>
Lions, Tigers, and Dragons isn't a system, that was me missing out some
words by mistake. It's the campaign title; the system is GURPS 4e.
John

Ah, good old GURPS. I never used it myself, but I love using the
sourcebooks for other games.

[dozens]

Post by Kyonshi
Spalls is doing this all the time in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action, which
for some reason is the only one of those computer game groups that seem
to get any kind of real engagement. And I was thinking... why don't we
do that here in rec.games.frp.misc as well?
So, what have you been playing in March 2024?

1. Girl By Moonlight

A weekly game with the Lantern Light crew of Magic Girl adventures, and
feelings! Easily the best game I've played recently. The first Belonging
Outside Belonging/PbtA game that has really clicked for me. Zoom
audio/video, no vtt.

https://evilhat.itch.io/girl-by-moonlight

https://linktr.ee/lanternlightadventures

2. Delta Green

Playing some Government Spook Call of Cthulhu. Only a couple sessions
in. Pretty fun so far! Kind of grim. Discord audio/video + Foundry vtt.

https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/236576/delta-green-the-role-playing-game

3. D&D 5e

A regular game of homebrew politics and intrigue in the Dark Sun
setting. The only in-person, face-to-face, all analog game I'm playing
at the moment. It's fun!

4. Troika!

Play by post on netnews that I am kind of neglecting at the moment, but
want to get back into.

https://www.troikarpg.com/

5. Dark Conspiracy / Die 100 Times

Play by post text on Discord. Thematically kind of the same as the Delta
Green game I'm playing: investigate the Strangeness and try not to be
consumed by it. Die 100 Times is probably the perfect lightweight d100
system, and it makes me wish we were using it for Delta Green actually.

https://www.darkconspiracytherpg.info/game-index/2nd-edition-catalogue/

https://alexandre-kobayashi.itch.io/die-a-hundred-times