ickmiester - the Arcane Binder

There's deep wisdom here. You can allow the violence fantasy without forcing those combat checks.

Weapons deal 1 damage. Your feat might make it deal 2. Which takes about half of the slowdown away from combat turns. It also keeps your players away from their zords for the first few levels, which while kinda annoying is a good intro to combat without getting too complicated.

I've played a 6-session adventure with the TTRPG before, it was wonderfully straightforward in its approaches to damage and abilities, which was great for feeling like a tv character.

The cancer mage from 3.5. as much as a sentient tumor is an interesting familiar, I think I'll pass.

Megadungeons are intended for long-term play, with emergent narrative arising from the confluence of the random events, weird space, and player schemes. They need all three to function.

The Power Rangers TTRPG hooked me for structuring each session as an episode. And for mechanically gating things like calling in your megazord. Why can't you call a zord before turn 3? Because the zord is kinda lazy and wants to make sure you actually tried before asking for help. A+ no notes.

Backstory Betterment: your Character is the coolest They’ve ever been — Roleplay Resource One of the easiest mistakes to make with a backstory is to make your character cooler in their past than they are now. If they have already killed demons and dragons, why are they now a level 1 wizar...

Quick fourth of july blogpost on #TTRPG backstories again. Make sure that your backstory isnt cooler than what your character is now. don't say you've slain giants when you're level 1, unless your character is a rampant liar.
www.roleplayresource.com/blog/your-ch...

The out of bounds Stanley Parable ending is amazing. Anyone used to playing cs:source custom maps could relate so hard.

Take the Spotlight With Grace — Roleplay Resource As you play TTRPGs, you may notice that your GM isn’t a neutral game designer. Official published adventures have 15 ways to solve every scenario, so that your ranger with nature skills is exactly as...

Having your GM put the focus of a whole #TTRPG scene on you can be terrifying, overwhelming, and full of pressure. When they craft a scene to let you shine, try to take that attention in stride and remember: they're doing it for you.
www.roleplayresource.com/blog/take-th...

Take the Spotlight With Grace — Roleplay Resource As you play TTRPGs, you may notice that your GM isn’t a neutral game designer. Official published adventures have 15 ways to solve every scenario, so that your ranger with nature skills is exactly as...

Having your GM put the focus of a whole #TTRPG scene on you can be terrifying, overwhelming, and full of pressure. When they craft a scene to let you shine, try to take that attention in stride and remember: they're doing it for you.
www.roleplayresource.com/blog/take-th...

Missing Your Session — Roleplay Resource For six months now I’ve posted a TTRPG article weekly. I missed Tuesday and this is a makeup article, so my wife suggested that I own up to missing the post and post about missing! (It still counts a...

I almost missed posting an article this week! So I wrote about missing your #TTRPG session. I no-showed on Tuesday, and that sucks. Next time I'll work to level up my communication.
www.roleplayresource.com/blog/missing...

Choose Abilities Differently — Roleplay Resource At a certain point in your TTRPG career, you are going to get burned by picking abilities that sound cool from their summary. Your going to get frustrated and angry with the unfairness of it all when...

Whenever you find yourself getting frustrated with your #TTRPG system of choice, consider how you've built your character. There's lots of way to choose your abilities - maybe try going for the bit, or the fit!

www.roleplayresource.com/blog/choose-...

Ran a #CityofMist one shot yesterday. Family was in town, and that system is GREAT for introducing new players. The 2d6+tags roll and tags=power is super easy to explain. Pregen characters can fit on an index card. Name, picture, 9 power tags (I did 6 for simplicity) and a couple weaknesses.

Backstory Betterment: Who do you Owe? — Roleplay Resource One of the easiest ways to make your backstory usable is to add in a debt of some kind. A debt is like a secret implanted suggestion in your character that the GM can activate in order to engage you ...

If you just want to add a tiny piece to your #TTRPG backstory that will really make it pop, consider a debt. Everyone loves debt!

Its like a sleeper agent passphrase you give your GM to get you to instantly do a quest.

www.roleplayresource.com/blog/who-do-...

Backstory Betterment: Who do you Owe? — Roleplay Resource One of the easiest ways to make your backstory usable is to add in a debt of some kind. A debt is like a secret implanted suggestion in your character that the GM can activate in order to engage you ...

If you just want to add a tiny piece to your #TTRPG backstory that will really make it pop, consider a debt. Everyone loves debt!

Its like a sleeper agent passphrase you give your GM to get you to instantly do a quest.

www.roleplayresource.com/blog/who-do-...

Game Theory – What makes a Character Background useful? So, if you are interested in good. friendly, and sometimes even useful RPG discussion, I recommend you visit RPGGeek where one of the things they do is a Question of the Day to spark discussion.  R…

Funny, I was just writing about this: seaofstarsrpg.wordpress.com/2025/05/11/g...

oooh, I really like the idea of including "What do people think of them?" ! That's a great way to build in guidelines for NPC and even teammate interactions.

Your Backstory is a Tool — Roleplay Resource Backstories are a funny sticking point in TTRPG groups. Many people aren’t comfortable writing fiction at all. Others may be fine writing, but don’t feel the agency to “force” things into the game w...

Your #TTRPG backstory isn't a marvel movie. Dont write it to be all self contained. Its not a fanfic, don't write it to be fantasy fulfillment. It is a tool, a resource for others to use to make your game more fun. Write it for them.

www.roleplayresource.com/blog/backsto...

Been playing with the City of Mist rules lately at my #TTRPG Table. Its surprisingly carefree, but still feels "crunchy" because I'm constantly reviewing my character sheet for my tags. I'm stacking +1's, but I only ever want to get to like +2-3. Fun experience!

Dont Overload Yourself With New Skills — Roleplay Resource Every week I write an article about a new skill you can level up. I am a big believer that improving yourself over time is a noble goal. Especially when the skills you gain actually improve everyone...

I normally ramble on about ways someone can improve themselves at the #TTRPG table, but it is good to temper your expectations. Building #DnD skills takes time, and splitting your attention can hurt as much as it helps. Work on one skill at a time.

www.roleplayresource.com/blog/dont-ov...

Stop Getting Bulldozed at Your table — Roleplay Resource Feeling like you’re always getting bulldozed during session? Like you often offer your opinions to the group, and for some reason, no one listens to you? It happens to a lot of us, but there are w...

If you've ever played a #TTRPG with excitable nerds, you know how easily it is for everyone to get distracted, and how easily people can get ignored in tabletalk. If you ever feel like you get bulldozed at the table, try this:
www.roleplayresource.com/blog/stop-ge...

Dealing with Politics at your table — Roleplay Resource Politics is one of those weird things that seeps in to your games in both intentional and unintentional ways. Most TTRPG characters are caricatures, taking their chosen traits to wild extremes. This...

You're probably just as political at the #TTRPG table as people you disagree with. We should practice how to identify our differences in opinions, and how to approach or avoid confronting them. Here's a tabletop politics primer.

www.roleplayresource.com/blog/dealing...

We can stop RPG Horror Stories — Roleplay Resource We are, or at least can be , good friends at the gaming table. When you don’t focus on people, it can be all too easy to fail to be friends around the table. All you need to do to find proof is hea...

We've all seen #TTRPG horror stories online. People bringing taboo subject to their table, and causing player harm. With so much neurodivergence in the community,
I think we need to spell out what to avoid. We may not think of it ahead of time.
www.roleplayresource.com/blog/we-can-...

My gaming group says that our table is our version of church. A safe place to be, full of people who care, working together with a common purpose. (Fun!). Love this take on game night.

YouTube video by kovray Not Just A Game Night... A Message To You

A Message To You.

youtu.be/q89Kz3QJpFk

Lighthearted video around the importance of community and attending your friend's game night.

You Choose what you Bring to Your table — Roleplay Resource TTRPGs are a collaborative storytelling game. When you collaborate in writing the story of your table, you are the author. You make the authorial choice of what to bring to the game. In a world wit...

The quality of your #TTRPG experience is the sum total of what everyone at your table brings to it. Make sure you're bringing the right stuff. If a character causes problems for others, the player is responsible.
www.roleplayresource.com/blog/you-cho...

Everyone loves the person taking notes — Roleplay Resource In early editions of DnD, taking notes was considered such an important thing at the table that they suggested nominating a note taker for the group. This site is all about personally leveling up tho...

Want everyone to respect you at the #TTRPG table? Want to instantly seem smarter, more good looking? Try taking notes today! Your notes can solve everyone's problems.

www.roleplayresource.com/blog/everyon...

April Fools Freaky Friday Session — Roleplay Resource A classic story. The party does a high five in a magical place, and the sheer awesomeness released by the moment causes their brains to all swap into each others’ bodies. For a wild April Fools Sess...

I haven't done a #ttrpg freaky friday session in a long long time, but I think it is a perfect thing to try out if your session happens to land on #AprilFools! Swap sheets and have yourself a classic hijinks session.

www.roleplayresource.com/blog/april-f...

Absolutely. Being a table champion is extra effort. Even when someone wants to be it for their group, they may not be able to do it forever. I salute you for doing it for years!

When that load is off the GM, they have more energy left to make the campaign awesome!