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Topic Idea

How do you handle divination, forshadowing, information gathering, fortune telling, and premonitions?

I have been in a number of games where a player has some sort of divination or premonition (or something with Tarot Cards) and then as a GM I have to wedge in whatever they see, which can be tough if the players either change the plot by accident or actively try to avoid what they see.

And I've been in games as a player where you finally get a good interrogation or divination roll, and the GM just gives overly vague information or cryptically repeats something the party already knows. So, it feels like a wasted success. ("Yes, yes, you beat me, but there are dark forces at work that even you don't know about." "Really?! Yes, we know that the Vatican is evil, the Transhumanists are nihilistic, several members of our own organization including our boss are actively plotting to betray and kill us, and Live Nation is deliberately bumping up ticket prices. What else ya got?"

Often, I think GMs struggle with giving out information to players for fear of giving away the surprise instead of rewarding the players for deduction or good roleplaying and skill rolls. (I thnk part of this is the "Gms being clever" problem).

But how would you deal with it.

Not sure if this is a topic idea.

Campaign GM Stress vs "Can I run this adventure in under 4 hrs" One Shot GM Stress.....

Another topic idea:

There are a number of games that provide some sort of resource or currency for players when they make an in-character decision or action that fits their character but makes their life harder/the situation more interesting. Also when a GM encourages a character to act in a certain way (perhaps due to a flaw or trait), or the case of GM intrusions where a player/character gets rewarded when the GM makes the situation more difficult. Thinking of games like FATE, Cypher System, Burning Wheel, etc. as matching some or all of these.

Sometimes these decisions/intrusions impact more than just the character getting rewarded, though... they might derail a goal for the entire table, for instance. This can cause frustration... how would you handle these situations as a player or GM? Or is this a symptom of a mismatch between player preferences and game style?

Hey, Pandas!

I'd love to hear your take on campaigns that have players dropping in and out (either because you're playing Open Table style like the Gauntlet or just because you've got a group that's in flux, like at a game store or in a school situation where players come and go and lives happen). Like you want a persistent world with ongoing plots and NPCs, but you can't count on the same PCs being there all the time. What's your best practices from the character arc/relationship angle and the plot/storyline angle?

-Jim, who Likes Games.

Hey, Pandas!

This may not be a full topic, but maybe as a Grab Bag item... what's your thoughts on balancing The New Hotness with the Old Standbys? Everyone has a different ideal ratio of trying new things to sticking with what they know. Trying new things is what keeps game designers (and retailers, heyo!) in business. But sometimes I get weary of the treadmill and just want to stick with something for a while. I've found that month-long mini-campaigns alongside a single ongoing proper campaign with one-shots of new AND perennial stuff peppered amongst them seems to work for me, but I also play an unseemly number of RPGs in any given month and hit close to 20 cons a year, so that doesn't work for everyone (Maybe Anyone?) Where do you folks fall on that spectrum? What's your advice for folks who are having trouble calibrating that mix for themselves?

-Jim who Likes Games

How do you handle patrons and organizations in your games?

How much help is too much? How much is too little?

I'm playing in a campaign right now (Savage Rippers Plot Point Campaign) and while technically we are working for the Ripper Organization, the campaign is written in such a way that the organization incompetent at best and actively putting us in unnecessarily danger at best.

Lack of information, lack of supplies, misinformation, infighting, and ridiculous resource requirements have left our party questioning our allegiance to the Rippers and occasionally considering replacing the entire management structure. Permanently.

Talking with the GM, this is NOT what the game is supposed to be about, but as a published adventure, there is a lack of support written into the game.

On the flip side, I sometimes run games like Marvel and other modern/sci fi games and I'm never sure how much support, especially resource support, the heroes should receive.

As an old school gamer, part of my DNA is wrongly tied up in the "resources should be scarce and valuable" thing, but at the same time, I think that SHIELD would want to supply the heroes with basic amenities, weapons, gear, and the like.

Which, of course, some players will find ways to take advantage of. And I'm not certain that's a bad thing.

Obviously, in a one shot, everything is temporary, so that's already answered. But how to balance out the hows and whys of an organization?

When is a Cliche too Cliche and when is it a Trope you should lean on?

Chiches were original at one point, and they are part of the culture, but I see a lot of players and GMs trying to avoid them. But, at the same time, when are they appropriate?

The untrustworthy Kender. The cold, calculating spy. Even the Damsel in distress. When they show up, sometimes they are an eye roll.

But if they never show up anymore, are they cliche?

And when is it ok to use them.

For example, when I GM, I try to avoid the "damsel in distress" plot. Often it will be the "man in distress" with the lady trying to rescue him. (After all, we are trying to keep things diverse, which is a good thing.) But, after a while, THAT seems like a cliche too.

So, how do you do a cliche properly?

Hey friends! Just a quick update to let y'all know these topics are great! I've just updated our list to make sure they're all on it. Thank you! Keep 'em coming!

New Topic Idea:
Pandas Talking Games how would you go about creating and implementing homebrew content in games from the perspective of one-shots and campaigns? I have been toying with implementing homebrew content into my games but I am afraid of breaking the economy or mechanics of the game. I am mostly looking at this for D&D 5e and the FFG Genesys system but examples from other systems would be great too. Also at what point would be too far off of the original game and how would i then go about dealing with that?

Well, in One Shots, it's temporary....