Hi everyone, I thought I’d say hi in this new community as a new moderator. I’m Foon (she/her), and I love table top games. My partner and I have been gaming a lot in the past 5 years or so, and we have a bunch of friends that turned into boardgamers too, and boardgamers that we turned into friends. So on average we get almost a game a day in.
I’m excited to discuss all things tabletop gaming with you all. Some of my favourite games are Gloomhaven/Frosthaven, Spirit Island, Aeon’s End, Terraforming Mars.
What are y’all’s favourite games?
Hi, I’m Hunted.
I’ve been into tabletop gaming for a couple years now. We had a group of friends that we had over weekly for some board games, then Covid hit, and we haven’t really picked it back up on any determined schedule. In the midst of that though, I picked up playing TTRPGs, and those have been a big hit. I’ve finished a few adventures now, primarily in the Pathfinder 2e system, and am just rounding out a level 1-20 AP named Agents of Edgewatch as a player.
As far as favourite games I’ve played, I’ve always enjoyed Mysterium, Betrayal at House on the Hill, and Codenames, but am no stranger to card games like Skip-Bo, Swipe, and Phase 10.
Oh of course, I forgot to mention TTRPGs! Would be excited to read more about various RPG systems. I’ve only ever played D&D 5e, I’ve been in 2 separate campaigns for the past 5 years (although one is on hiatus for a few months). I do enjoy it a lot, but it does make me wonder what else is out there. It’s just been difficult to make the plunge and attempt something new…
Would you recommend Pathfinder 2e to someone like me (for trying out in a oneshot or a few sessions)?
If you get into PF2 know that it does everything DnD does, but different (and much better imo). So try not to get frustrated with things at first because I’ve seen that from a lot of 5e players who go into it bringing their 5e expectations.
Also teamwork is critical. In 5e everybody is a one person army after level 5 or 6 and teamwork isn’t really needed unless forced by the DM. In PF2 you won’t be able to land a hit on certain enemies unless you coordinate with teammates to lower their AC with various techniques and abilities.
Also, since there’s so much customization with PCs during leveling everybody in the party could make a human fighter and end up with WILDLY different characters by level four or five.
I could talk for a while about it, but since switching away from 5e I’ve been much happier. I’d say start with the core rulebook stuff first and then add books from there. Going with all of them right out of the gate might give some analysis paralysis because there are so many player options.
Happy to discuss more though, I’d love to get as many people as I can to not only try what I feel is a better system but one not owned by WotC. Paizo is unionized and doesn’t send Pinkertons to peoples homes so I like them a lot more lol
Yeah I’m a bit hesitant to try to switch exactly because of what you describe. I worry that everything is just going to be frustrating because we can do the same things, but just have to do them differently. We did discuss making the switch in our group (exactly because we want to step away from WotC and it seems to offer great gameplay), but ultimately it’s up to the DM. I do know they bought a whole lot of source books already, so who knows, maybe soon.
I would love to try different systems for oneshots I run, though, but then to start with I think they need to be very different from D&D 5e so I don’t get things mixed up. Any suggestions? 😊
I think as long as you’re aware of those differences it should go a lot smoother for you. Just try to let go of the “well I’ve always done it this way” which I know is easier said than done. I like to bring up familiars as a good example between the two systems. Apologies if this comes across as over explaining or anything, just wanting to be clear and I really love this system lol
In 5e, I’m sure you’re familiar, you cast the Find Familiar spell and pick from a list of stat blocks provided by RAW or by your DM. Boom, you’re done.
In PF2 though, you create your own familiar from scratch, and you can do it every day. So it’s a little more involved but it feels truly unique to you and your imagination since there’s no limits on what it can look like. Here’s a link to the rule itself (another bonus to PF2 is they host all the rules online for free), but basically all you need to know is:
Each day, you channel your magic into two abilities, which can be either familiar or master abilities. If your familiar is an animal that naturally has one of these abilities (for instance, an owl has a fly Speed), you must select that ability. Your familiar can’t be an animal that naturally has more familiar abilities than your daily maximum familiar abilities.
So if we’re making an Owl familiar like they show in the rule description, you’d select Flier and one other ability you want your familiar to be able to do such as the Speech which would allow it to speak a language you know. Or, you could pick Manual Dexterity if you want it to be able to do more fine tuned motor skills. Some classes and feats you select will allow you to pick more than two abilities if you want to make your familiar more powerful. So you could as you level up have that Owl familiar with the Flier, Speech, Manual Dexterity, and then combine that with Lab Assistant for a perfect recreation of Merlin’s Archimedes 😄
Or you could choose any other number of abilities to take your Owl familiar in a different direction, like Burrower for example. No reason you can’t make a tunneling Owl, because why not? It’s your familiar!
Things like that, people say it’s more complicated and I guess you could say that it is because there’s more options. But I feel it’s still very intuitive, easy to pick up and gives players soooo much more empowerment over their characters.
I would love to try different systems for oneshots I run, though, but then to start with I think they need to be very different from D&D 5e so I don’t get things mixed up. Any suggestions? 😊
I have a looooot of systems I could recommend tbh lol
To help narrow it down are you looking for something of a specific genre like scifi, fantasty, post apoc, etc?
Actually, I’ll throw one right out of the gate that you might like based on the vibes I’m getting from your comments and you can start today if you wanted. It’s an indie solo journaling RPG called Apothecaria (Link here). You play as a witch in a village that makes potions for the villagers that come to you. You go through week by week to forage for ingredients, brew the cure they need, and sell it. Instead of dice it works based on a normal 52 card deck of cards and what happens is based on the card you draw. I only recently started trying solo RPG’s like this but it’s been a fun one.
Let me know if you want more recommendations based on if you want something more fluffy or more crunchy or if there’s a specific genre you’re interested in. I love talking shop 😄
Just try to let go of the “well I’ve always done it this way” which I know is easier said than done.
Definitely easier said than done… I’m sure I’d really struggle with that.
I think the Familiar example is a great explanation. It really does sound much cooler. In 5e, you don’t really get a whole lot of meaningful choices after level 3 or so.
It’s an indie solo journaling RPG called Apothecaria
Based on this description, you seem to have picked up my “vibes” pretty well :D It sounds super cute. I’m not sure about the solo aspect, though. I generally don’t enjoy solo gaming as much, and especially TTRPGs are something I do with friends.
But generally, I like whimsical and cute settings. I’m much more of a fantasy person than scifi. Also not looking for dystopian worlds, right now that’s not something my group would handle well. Also a big fan of strange creatures (for example the Feywild is my favourite realm in D&D) and animals. Generally looking for more wholesomeness. More “Help the Forest Queen and her pack of magical forest creatures get rid of the creeping blight in the forest” rather than “A cabal of evil people has released a monster that’s set to devour all the poor people”.
Edit: Also, a strong bonus would be tight rules. With little ambiguity. So players can have clear expectations of the consequences of their actions, rather than just “GMs discretion”.
Does that help at all? I’m excited to learn about new systems.
I didn’t think I would be into solo rpg’s either until I gave it a shot, it’s pretty fun. But I’m also a writer and see it as a fun writing tool. So if you’re not that then I could see why it wouldn’t appeal. BUT! If you change your mind Apothecaria is super fun for a solo rpg haha
That actually does help but also makes it a little harder because it seems like the rule of thumb for TTRPG creators is that the cuter the setting the less tight the rules are. I have no idea why this is the case but it is lol
Off the top of my head I would say Thirsty Sword Lesbians might be worth a shot. It’s fantasy, cuter setting, and it has sword swinging lesbians so it’s hard to go wrong there. I haven’t personally tried it but I’ve had friends say very good things about that system. ROOT the TTRPG might be worth looking into as well, you play as woodland creatures based off the setting in the ROOT board game; which then goes into Mouse Guard for an older system but similar woodland creature vibes. Ryuutama is another one that might fit what you’re looking for but I haven’t personally played it or know anybody that has but it seems like it might be something that could work for you based on what you said.
There’s probably some more I’m missing but you threw a curveball when you said cute setting AND tight rules 😂
Edit:
Honorable mention is Magical Kitties Save the Day. But it’s less tight on the rules.
To echo what Dee what saying, I’d recommend PF2e to D&D 5e players. I actually started with a 1-4 adventure in 5e, then switched over to Pf2e. Having someone experienced to help guide you along the way is really nice, but I wouldn’t say it’s required.
One of the biggest things that I saw as an improvements is the difference in action economy. In Pf2e, you can spend your actions however you want, attacking 3 times in a standard turn, provided you dont want to move. It just seems to lend itself to versatility more than what I gathered from my 5e experience.
I’m pretty much always happy to chat about pathfinder, whether its character builds, adventure paths, or just rules stuff. If you have any questions, feel free to let me know.
It does sound good to make a permanent switch away from D&D 5e in our group, although also a bit daunting. But it’s up to the DM, who’s similarly on the fence. Who knows, maybe soon.
Do you have any recommendations for TTRPG systems that are very different from D&D 5e? I’d love to try some in a one-shot, but I think I’d need to have it be different enough so I don’t confuse things. I feel like over time I’ve become a walking D&D rulebook and I would probably default to that when I try to do something too similar!
I’ve run a few games of MORKBORG. It’s a very grim setting where essentially the world is ending, and everyone is just trying to eke out what they can. Each day the GM rolls a die (what type of die determines how long the game goes) and if it lands on a 1, the apocalypse progresses one stage, and theres all sorts of worldbuilding things around that. Players can frequently die at the drop of a hat (like by deciding to eat the secretly poisoned eggs in an inn, or touching the glowing onion in the stairway in the same inn, and being crushed to death by a literal ton of onions), so clear communication with players to set expectations is a must.
Sort of the polar opposite of the power fantasy that the players get in 5e and Pathfinder. It’s also pretty light on rulesets, so the GM kinda has to make it up as they go, there are no established rules for how far you can move in a turn, for example.
Oof that sounds pretty grim indeed. I don’t think my players would enjoy that all that much at the moment. It does seem cool though. But I guess I’m looking for something a bit lighter in tone 🤷
Another new moderator reporting in! (he/him)
I’m big into engine-building games. Some of my favorites are 7 Wonders, Space Base, and Jaipur.
I’m currently in the process of building new bookshelves because our game collection has outgrown the current storage 😅
waves
Space is such a challenge! Sometimes I feel like we should just move to a bigger house to accommodate all the games… We don’t add that much to the collection lately, but when we do it’s massive boxes (in the past 6 months or so, we’ve gotten Frosthaven, Oathsworn: Into the Deepwood, and Aeon Trespass: Odyssey in). The boxes are so ridiculously huge 😅
Hi, I’m Calzone, another new mod! 👋
I’ve been playing tabletop RPGs since I was very young, when my dad got me and my sister into D&D 3.5e. I love trying out new systems, though I tend to be pretty shy when it comes to the online space. I’m also a big fan of tactical skirmish wargames, like Kill Team or Frostgrave.
Some of my favorite TTRPGs include Deadlands, Cyberpunk RED, and The Orpheus Protocol. I have been trying to get my friends to play Dread with me, but that requires both people who love horror and a Jenga tower, neither of which I have 😔. I’m looking forward to seeing what this community brings to the table(top)!
Edit: forgot to include a little game I just recently found called Never Going Home, super atmospheric and spooky!
Glad to see this get up. Hopefully we’ll get more diverse rpg discussions than just D&D and derivatives :)
That’s the plan if I have any say about it! D&D and OSE are still major games though, so prepare for at least a little bit of that.
I am and will always be grateful for D&D bringing people into the hobby, but there’s so much cool stuff out there!
Hiya! I myself have been playing D&D5E for about seven years now and Pathfinder 2E for about two. As for board games, my favorite are Betrayal at House on the Hill and Mountains or Madness.
Have you run through many adventure paths in PF2e? I’m just starting up a local game where I’ll be GMing Abomination vaults after already playing it as a player. Always on the lookout for tried and recommended APs though.
I’m currently running through Skull & Shackles from PF1E in PF2E, but I’ve also picked up the first book of Strength of Thousands and I got the Kingmaker books for my birthday.
did you get the conversion to 2e from that discord server? (I dont remember which)… I’ve always heard good things about that AP, and since I’m beginning to close in on the end of the one I’m running, I’m trying to keep my head up for what’s next.
Correct, it was a Discord server
I’ve run Age of Ashes, which… needs some massaging, and if you’re interested, I would recommend a pretty heavy rewrite of book 1 to reframe the motivations of the PCs. Once that is done, I think the AP would be magnificent. But without it… it’s a little weird.
Quest for the Frozen flame is awesome, and I’m dying to run it as more of a “one month interlude between games”.
Are you born of the great goddesses Foo, Oo, and Oon?
EDIT: It was rude of me to ask that without being on topic and contributing to the conversation. I’m usually doing table-top role playing games these days. Usually powered by the apocalypse or fate core, but Fiasco 1e is a favorite of mine to introduce people to the concept
I’d never heard of these goddesses, but after a quick search I’m seeing they are from the Magic Tavern podcast? Is it fun?
But sure, I’ll be a goddess 😇
What makes Fiasco 1e your favourite for introductions?
Yup! It’s a fun podcast set in the magical fantastical land of Foon! I always have to warn people though that it does replicate the feeling of three friends meeting new people in a bar very well in that there’s a lot of nonsense banter. I personally love that, but I can understand why if someone finds that slow pacing where it takes half a year for a basic plot point to be driven forward infuriating that they might not like it, and might be better served by Mission to Zyxx.
As for why Fiasco 1e? It’s the copy of Fiasco I own, primarily, and it actually seems like 2e is superior in every way for introducing new people to role playing or at least alternative systems to DnD. Fiasco has a ruleset that is super easy to get people to grok quickly and get into the actual role playing and improv elements of TTRPGs without bogging them down with what armor class is.
Hi! I play a lot of RPGs (with the exception of DND, for some reasons)… And I mainly enjoy thematic/narrative games (so, no “Germans” for me, even if the distinction is losing meaning day by day!)
What’s your favourite thematic/narrative game?
I think that the best one is Arkham Horror LCG by MJ Newman. It really blends together game mechanics and narrative feeling (ludonarrative harmony, as she describes here fo example: https://www.bewaretheblackcat.com/post/behind-the-curtain-enemies ). In short, you are not simply moving cards or pulling out tokens, but you are really living an adventure.
Then there is War of the Ring, really conveys both for the Free People and the shadow player a super thematic experience, while being a tight and ruthless wargame.
Those two are the peaks (for us). But I can name many other which we enjoy. Among the new ones, there is a very nice pirate game,
forbiddenEdit: Forgotten waters (sorry, autocorrector). I also enjoy the games by Jerry Hawthorne (mice and mystics, comanauts, stuffed fables, …).And many, many others (dune conquest, for instance, or star wars: imperial assault, …)
Ooh War of the Ring is an amazing game. I’ve only played it twice, but really enjoyed it. It’s done so well thematically and it really felt like we were living a story indeed. One of those games, I was playing the Free People, and was getting absolutely slaughtered by the Shadow Armies… But I had the card that let Aragorn bring the armies of the dead, and managed to get everything in order to wipe out a huge number of enemies. My opponent being as new to the game as I was had no idea this card existed, so the look of surprise was priceless!
Yes, I like that you could think of each game as a “potential alternative retelling” of the story. And if you happen to enjoy RPGs, there is one by one the authors of WoR, which is called “The One Ring”. The 2nd ed. Came out a couple of years ago and it’s a great game, with gorgeous art and great thematic rules (e.g. for when you are despairing, overburdened by the Shadow). I highly recommend it, you can also play it solo or coop with an expansion by the author of Ironsworn.
awesome to see this space!
I love ttrpgs, although I largely modify Ironsworn: Starforged (which I saw mentioned in another comment!) so that my partner and I have something to play as a duo, with our various worlds we’ve created and character cast. I haven’t played with a group in years, although I’d like to, I just struggle on the people front of it, and math isn’t something I’m great at.
I…collect a lot of them, too. I used to run a play-by-post AU of a video game world with a system I hacked together, for about 8 years. roughly two bookcases full of games, both ttrpgs and board games, then about 10gb of ttrpgs and related things.
my favorite board game is Pandemic Legacy, I’ve grown very fond of Season Zero and I’m working through it with someone else when they have time. Settlers of Catan is another favorite, but I feel like a lot of people like that one. I don’t get to play board games often though.
would card games also be welcome here?
If you have any other duo hacks, I’d be personally interested! I’m currently trying Wushu with a friend, but I’m always open to learning new systems.
As far as card games, I don’t see why not. We haven’t had a chance to sit down as a mod team yet though, so I can’t speak for anyone else. It’s frustrating that there’s no tag system at the moment so people can filter out what they want and don’t want to see.
I know this is super late coming (sorry) but I was trying to think of my duo games. one that I did manage to remember was one I backed on Kickstarter, called Koriko: A Magical Year. I haven’t gotten to play it yet, but I very much plan to, I think the premise is really cool.
and while I haven’t played it either, I know the new One Ring ttrpg has solo rules, so while it might take some tinkering to get it to fit duo, it’s more leaning that way than something that doesn’t have any rules in that vein.
I don’t know if you know of Mythic GM Emulator, but I thought it might be worth a mention if you weren’t familiar with it.
Hello everyone!
I’d be happy to help moderate should the need arise to add a person! Please holler if so :)
I’m a collector of tabletop board games. I have over 350 in my collection ranging from simple games like Sushi Go to heavy games like Twilight Imperium and Star Trek Ascendancy.
If I was stranded on an island with a fun gaming group, an endless supply of food, snacks, water, and other drinks, and had to pick a top 5 games to have with me:
- Firefly the Game (all expansions)
- Scythe (all expansions)
- Zombicide Black Plague
- Terraforming Mars
- Gloomhaven/Frosthaven
I happened to check the modlogs and saw you get appointed to this community when I didn’t even know we had a TTRPG community in Beehaw 😳
I’m stoked this is here though!
My favorite games? That’s hard to nail down because it changes with time, at least for me. At one point I would’ve said AD&D2e, another point I would’ve told you Cortex systems, another would’ve been CoC, or GURPS, PbtA, VtM, the list goes on as I’ve tried many many games over the past 15 years of tabletop gaming. Honestly my best memories are from my friends homebrew system that we used for a two year campaign. Which I’m using as inspiration to make my own TTRPG system.
At the moment I’ve been really enjoying Pathfinder 2e though. It does everything I wanted from DnD but better and more balanced, I’m frustrated I didn’t switch years ago! It takes everything learned from Pathfinder 1e and the lessons from DnD4e and 5e to create a very granular system that still feels fast paced and engaging without getting too bogged down like what can happen in PF1e. When I got the core rulebook I started reading it and kept turning pages until I realized I had read the core rulebook cover to cover because I was so engaged with how everything just works together in near perfect balance.
I happened to check the modlogs and saw you get appointed to this community when I didn’t even know we had a TTRPG community in Beehaw 😳
That’s because it’s not yet been announced! Shhhh 🤫
I was looking for an announcement because I assumed I missed it 😂
Glad to know it’s just not up yet and I’m early to the party lol
😮
Hello!! Nice to meet and read everyone’s lists.
Here are some of my favourites (mostly kinda older games haha)
-Terra Mystica
-Glass Road
-Agricola
-Food Chain Magnate
-Carcassone
-Keyflower
Carcassone! I love that game, haven’t played in years!
Even with all the fancier games that have come out since, it still holds up!
Yaay! You should play it again, it holds up! I recommend some of the wacky ‘spin off’ carcasonnes as well. “Hunters and Gatherers” is my personal favourite.
I’ve been playing Starfinder and Shadowrun lately for RPGs,l. For board games, Terraforming Mars, 7 Wonders, and I’m absolutely terrible at Wingspan but it’s so pretty I don’t care
One of my old Pathfinder groups is currently talking about converting to 2e. I got all the books with the Humble Bundle a few months ago and have been going through them a bit. One thing I like is that it’s a lot more different from Starfinder than 1e is, I have a hard time going back and forth on those two rulesets.
Howdy!
I’m a game designer and mostly play gateway games with the kiddos though also love Scythe, Terraforming Mars (lately Ares Expedition) and several others when my son-in-law is in town.
Happy to have a place to talk design here 😊
Ah it’s wonderful you get to game with your kids! (that’s why gamers have children, right? To play games with them? kidding, obviously)
What sort of games do you design?
My published games are Nightfall (and its expansions), World-Z League and an upcoming deckbuilder via Universal Studios that’s manufacturing now.
Unpublished I have an abstract on time travel and a real-time card game about competing food trucks that I co-designed with my son-in-law.
(we have 8 kids so certainly some should take after me right? lol)
Hot dang 8 kids?! You can even play big group games with just your immediate family!
I don’t think I’ve played any of your games, but I took a quick look and they seem pretty cool. What’s your favourite part about designing games?
LOL yep, player count is definitely a consideration :D
My favorite part is working out the mechanics of a game trying to create something new and fun. I almost always start with a mechanical idea that I think on for a long while as I piece together supporting mechanics toward a playable game and part way through that process a theme will generally emerge that aids in finalizing the mechanics.
Hello!
I’ve went though a stint where I just didn’t want to play boardgames. Largely because a lot of them are competitive and I don’t like the vibe that usually brings out of me. Recently, my housemate and I grew our collection of co-op games. I have to say that the “Star Wars: The Clone Wars - A Pandemic System Game” is our favourite so far. We only played it a few times and…failed on all counts! It’s a Pandemic game and we haven’t played the system much so we haven’t figured out the best way to work around it. I do look forward to figuring that out!
As for TTRPGs. Oh man…for group play, I would say the Genesys system (EDGE/FFG Star Wars RPG…yeah, there’s a pattern 😉 ). But I’ve shifted away from group play and into solo play. Ironsworn: Starforged, as a system, is my favourite. Not a huge fan of the setting but there are people working on addons and mods so it wouldn’t be hard to adjust. I also plan on making an attempt at solo-playing SWRPG/Genesys. I’ve noticed a lack of solo-play podcasts for that specific system so that’s something I plan on doing in the near future!
I also have a ridiculous amount of TTRPGs I’ve…collected over the years. The two I definitely want to play, solo or group, is Cities Without Numbers and Eclipse Phase 2e. I really like the cyberpunk + future tech settings and haven’t had a chance to really play a game like that. Maybe a one-shot once upon a time.
I think that’s all I have to share for now! I’m excited to see and chat about this stuff with y’all 😄
I really feel you with respect to competitive games. We occasionally play some with a group of friends, but at home it’s basically always cooperative games.
I don’t know this Star Wars Pandemic game, but in general the Pandemic games are really solid. The mechanisms get a bit stale after playing a lot in my opinion, so the only game by the same creator we still get to the table is Thunderbirds.
If you’re at all interested in legacy games, I can highly recommend Pandemic Legacy: Season 1. It was the first legacy game I played and it was an amazing experience.
I remember hearing about it but the prospect of not being able to replay it turned me off. At least, that’s what I gleaned over the years. I vaguely recall someone posting a picture of them framing the board when they were done with the game (campaign?)
Maybe I got the wrong impression? I suppose I should take another look-see.
I haven’t played that much Pandemic, really, so the mechanics have yet to get old for us 😅
I get that! I felt the same hesitation with “you can only play it 12-24 times and then never again, what?!” but honestly I’m so happy we took the plunge anyway. I don’t know about you, but many if not most games in my collection I haven’t even played that many times…
I haven’t played that much Pandemic, really, so the mechanics have yet to get old for us 😅
That’s great! I mean, they’re good mechanics, so I’m glad you’re enjoying them. They just get recycled in all the other games lol.
many if not most games in my collection I haven’t even played that many times…
…I feel called out! 🤣 But you got a point there 😛 12-24 sessions is quite a bit too. I’ll look into it, thanks!
I am basically permanently obsessed with Spirit Island.
Such a good game, right?! I really like how different games get with the different spirits and adversaries. It’s also one of the few games I enjoy playing solo.
Do you use any of the expansions?
Yeah – while I have a deep and abiding love for Ocean, most of my favorite spirits are from Jagged Earth, I think. I kind of like playing the ridiculously complicated ones to figure out how they work, like the Hummingbird one.
I like both “solitaire” solo and play two-handed by myself. They’re different kinds of challenges, which is nice. Most of my board game friends aren’t local so I’m basically constantly on the lookout for things that work well solo.
Yeah some of my favourites are from JE too, I particularly like Finder and Downpour. And Lure of the Deep Wilderness, although it’s very much dependent on which adversary we’re playing against. Although I have a lot of love for the base game spirits too, especially when we’re introducing new people to it I tend to play one of my staples Rampant Green or Thunderspeaker. And of course Ocean is awesome, though someone else tends to snap that up quickly!