At the end of the last session of my first ed. #Pathfinder game, the players had rolled initiative and were about to face an ancient white dragon in combat.

The #RiseOfTheRunelords adventure path is designed for 4 players and we have a party of 5, so I'm tempted to use an upgraded version. There's a thread on the Paizo message board where someone scaled up the encounters for larger groups.

I told my players they can plan out of game until the next session. The players even set up a separate chat room on Element to talk in secret. My wife told me the conversation has been going several hundred messages at this point and a few of the players seem deadset on fighting.

I hinted that violence isn't necessarily the only option. My wife has the next move on initiative and plans to try to persuade the dragon.

If it comes to a battle, I have warned them that this foe has really high stats and defense and that I will go all out.

I'm afraid it could lead to a TPK. I don't want to, but I feel I have no other choice if it comes to it. They've been smart and lucky so far. I hope it lasts, for their sake.

#TTRPGQuestionOfTheDay

Is there anything keeping you from becoming a Game Master? Any fears or concerns that keep you from stepping behind the screen? Need any advice or to talk to anyone about setting up a game and running it?

I've been listening to a lot of actual play #TTRPG podcasts and I think I've learned some valuable lessons.

The main thing I think I've gained is a better feel for pacing during sessions. I know they tend to cut and edit their sessions to make for the best possible audio, but the gist I got from them is not to get hung up on a scene that's not moving. Instead, it's better to move forward. I try and feel the flow of the action and watch the players to see if they feel engaged or if they're getting fidgety and antsy. If they start stacking dice or playing more on their phones, it's time to move ahead.

I've also learned to ask my players directly whether they want me to hand wave things or if they want to play through a scene. I don't want to take way parts that they're enjoying, but I also don't want to have a session drag because a combat that should be over, by all rights, but bad rolls or low energy are just draining things. If a fight is a foregone conclusion, I'll ask them if they want to move on and if they say yes, it's settled.

I try not to get hung up on finding the exact rule for things. I feel comfortable enough to make rulings and if they're wrong, I amend them right then or agree to make changes in the future. I consult with my players.

I think this makes my sessions more enjoyable.

I really miss playing or running #ADnD2e. That's the game I started playing, and I love the overall feel, weird rolls aside. I can't wait to get to have players start working on characters for a backup game I'm working on for when not all of my Sunday players can make game.

The mini-campaign setting search is down to a three-way tie! The finalists? #NightsBlackAgents, #Rifts, & #MechWarrior. I've got just over a month before Session 0, it’s time to roll up my sleeves and get to plotting. Conspiracies, mechs, or dimensional terrors —what’s it gonna be? #GMLife #TTRPGs

Hey #TTRPG folks, have any projects or games you want to talk up? Any questions about how to work things out in your current games? Want to workshop any ideas?

I really wish I had more #TTRPG things to post here. At this point, I've got a primary and backup #MasksANewGeneration (#Masks) games, a primary #Pathfinder game, and we're working on getting a time to make characters for a backup #ADnD2e game at some point, but we've been reliably unreliable in meeting.

I've been spending a lot of time reading up on news and politics, because as an American, I'm in the thick of it all and I'm less likely to panic if I know what's going on. However, I don't want to turn my account into a highly politicized one.

I do miss RPG shop talk though. I keep my eyes on the hashtags. I just haven't had any burning questions I wanted to ask folks.

I'm super excited to get to run #ADnD2e again, even if it's just a backup game for our #Pathfinder group.

I'm hoping that everyone is interested enough in that game that I can run some classic modules when we finish the #RiseOfTheRunelords campaign.

It'll be nice to finally get to run #AlQadim. I've had the boxed set and campaign book for a while now, and I haven't gotten to use it. Looking forward to some tomb raiding, djin wishing, carpet flying adventures!

I think I'll make a few quality of life improvements to the old system and work out ascending instead of descending AC to make it easier on the players though.

I'm going to work on a backup #TTRPG game for our Sunday #Pathfinder #RiseOfTheRunelords campaign for when we can't all make a session.

I'm leaning towards the #AlQadim #ArabianNights setting. I've had the boxed set for years, and I haven't had the chance to use it yet.

It'll probably be #ADnD2e but I'm not above trying to make it work for #CastlesAndCrusades. If it's AD&D, I'll probably convert AC to ascending instead of descending, for the ease of the players (and for me!).

Looks like I'm running a backup game for our #Masks group. The players are okay with another #MasksANewGeneration game but with a lighter tone. I'm thinking about a mix of #QuantumLeap, #Sliders, and the #CrossTimeCaper run of #Excalibur, one of the series that really got me into collecting comics.

The overall idea will be a team of heroes who are forced to hop through different dimensions, probably heavily influenced by movies, TV shows, or books that I'm into. Everyone seems to want something lighter in tone and I can certainly do that for them!

When playing a #TTRPG, I love it when the dice tell a story.

Sunday, during our #Pathfinder game, the party espied a demon in an adjoining room, lurking in the dark. The language for the module said that the first thing the demon would do was to cast a spell to summon another to the temple, so I said it was starting to cast a spell.

Immediately, the cleric said she wanted to try and cancel the spell. The player flipped through her spell list and the core book, trying to figure out how to stop the demon. I decided to have an initiative roll-off to see if the creature could get the spell off before the cleric could stop it.

The player won the initiative roll by 1. 19 vs 20. The players were stoked, to say the least.

Then she had to roll against the spell going off, which was no guarantee. I think she needed a 14 or better and she rolled an 18, I think.

The cleric had just stopped the summoning of another huge demon. I believe they killed it in a round and a half. It was epic. I was thrilled for them. They had a good strategy and great luck. I live for those moments in game.

Tomorrow, we're starting module 5 of 6 of my #Pathfinder #RiseOfTheRunelords campaign. I never imagined I'd get this far through it when we started.

It's got me thinking about my gaming white whales.

I'd love to get to play #VampireTheMasquerade again at some point, but more likely, I'll be running #VampireTheRequiem

I'd love to go back and run some #AdvancedDungeonsAndDragons modules like the #Dragonlance #WarOfTheLance or the original #Ravenloft or things like that using #ADD2e or #CastlesAndCrusades.

As I run my players through the #Pathfinder adventure path #RiseOfTheRunelords, I've reinforced my dislike of extensive numbers of feats and systems with higher amounts of crunch and my preference towards more #OSR type games.

I've all but gotten rid of battle maps. I largely ignore the lists of feats on enemy NPC entries. Unless they're built-in to the forms, I mostly ignore them. It might be different if the information was listed on the entries, but as it is, I'd have to cross-reference across at least one other book, possibly more. That just slows down the session.

A side effect of getting rid of the battle map, I fudge distances, ignore strict rules about flanking for sneak attacks in favor of a more *shudder* #DND5e approach. If an enemy is engaged, the rogue can sneak attack. It's simple, and I don't have to worry about drawing maps or, now that we have one player remoting in, screw around with a VTT.

If I had my druthers, I'd be running #CastlesAndCrusades or #ADND2e. I really don't care a whit about character optimizing, skill points, or feat chains. Let me describe the action and let the GM adjudicate the results with a roll.

But I'm glad my players are happy and that they're happy to let me drop some annoying rules here and there to streamline the experience. /1

Mentally preparing for my first #Pathfinder session of the year. We successfully remoted in one of the players in my Friday #Masks game. We even got a die rolling script in the Discord channel.

With luck, we'll complete book 4 of the #RiseOfTheRunelords adventure path and I'll start preparing for book 5 of 6.

After about a two month break (holidays, player moving, weather, and disease), we finally got back to my #MasksANewGeneration game.

The heroes had to deal with a pair of human supremacists (Whiteout and Slay Belle) and a union security guard (Jacked Frost), intergalactic arms merchant parents, and the line between being a super powered cop and vigilante.

I was afraid I was going to be rusty, and that I had lost the story plot, but it came back like riding a bike. Lots of screaming, honking car horns, and gravel in my knee. But fun was had by all.

Tonight should be our session zero for #CityOfMist. I've more-or-less decided on a news blogger connected to the essence of either Sam Spade, Phillip Marlowe, or full bore crazy Spider Jerusalem from Transmetropolitan. Either way, I'm going with The Truth, no matter what.

Between a player who has moved, game postponements, and a week of fighting a killer cold, I'm starting to go through serious #TTRPG withdrawal.

Not only do I really enjoy playing and running games (I've more enjoyed running lately), but reading them and discussing ideas and mechanics with others involved with or new to the hobby.

My favorite might be helping new players and GMs find their footing. I love watching the hobby grow and people find a new pastime to explore and enjoy.

I want to see myself as a mentor or guide on the gaming journey, though that feels like a boast or brag. I trained to be a teacher as an undergrad, and that just feels natural to me. Might be why I enjoy GMing so much.