Was a while since last but…

• balance is a fickle mistress best ignored. With npc advantages/disadvantages you can easily on the fly adjust pressure.

-when in doubt throw grenades even if the npc is bad at it. Let the grenade destroy environment

• not just invite the players to get involved with resolving adv/disadv, drag them kicking and screaming into it. Including for the npcs

• spend your destiny points. Do it. Do it often

• keep the splat books to a minimum if someone wants to create their own character

• there will be narrative chaos. Don’t fight it, embrace it. Spending destiny points to steer them back on track feels less railroady than just doing it.

Played a good bit of Kingmaker and while not as refined as WotR I think is very similar. I agree with you that the DoS chaos can be a bit monotone and is too much. But I’d take that over the environmental flatness of other cRPGs.

Or simply have study areas where the silence is enforced. Rest of the premises just demands calm.

I think Pathfinder is as bad of a match for Larian as DnD mechanically speaking. Compare the sheer battlefield joy and chaos of DoS to the austere strictness in BG3. And Pathfinder is in the same vein. Better I think it would be if Larian picks up a setting fitting their humour and shenanigans. Heard good things about Discworld.

For me it’s contentment. A satisfaction in where I am and who I am. Being able to see the beauty and appreciate the small things. No need for more. And no longer comparing myself at my worst to others at their best.

I cook large batches of stew every now and then, freeze in 2 or 3 portion packages. Then each sunday I prep some carbs, defrost and pasteurize stew and put it all together. Boom! Lunches ready to go into the work microwaves.

Apocalypse World, the system that spawned the PbtAs, have a pronciple for the GM

Play to find out

For me that is the guiding light. I play to find out. There is no plot, no story. Only the situation the game finds itself in. I dont know where it will go. But I do know where it starts and who is involved.

As for managing the chaos I use two tools. First is only call for a roll when it really, really matters. When there are consequences. Second is something that can have fallen out of favor in more recent PbtAs and that 8s clearly defined Threats along with the moves they take and a few clocks/fronts. That way when I need to Play to find out I have tools to keep it contained. Which also ties into only testing when it matters because there are a threat or two involved.

Or put in another way: Read and absorb Apocalypse World.

Divinity original sin 2. Starting to get to grips with the system and things are starting to go my way. Escaped from the fort and is now exploring the marshes.

That game got a serious lesrning and difficulty curve early on. Then at one point it was like a switch flipped and the party came together. Enough gear to last long enough to start chain cc-ing the mobs and enough cc skills to keep them that way.

From where I live in my small Swedish town (about 8k inhabitants), so pretty much the whole town

2 grocery stores

2 convenience stores

2 bus stops (5 lines)

At least 10 resturants including a burger joint, a thai and a chinese. Most pizza places though

1 hardware/home appliance store

1 hardware/gardening store

2 home appliance stores

3 clothing stores, of which one for babies and one for sports

4 (?) Hairdresser

2 pharmacies

3 second hand stores

3 gyms, one of which at the sport centre

A sport centre with swimming hall, general sport hall, bowling alleys, gym and fields for outdoor sports

Two large schools and a couple of daycares

Church

2 graveyards

Police station

Municipal services

2 Opticians

1 library

Think that may be it

I started looking at OSR campaigns/scenarios after getting annoyed yet another time with far too verbose settings and constrained scene-to-scene flows. And how boy are they refreshing. Think they may be right up your alley.

Woodfall is one I recently got through a Kickstarter and been loving reading it. https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/258469/woodfall

Some hammocks even have the bug net built in creating a nice bugfree cocoon.

Completely agree with you. Being disruptive is always a player choice, everything the character does is always a player choice.

I’m one of those. Especially if my character got something wrong and is acting on those assumptions. By the gods I love digging my own grave!

A favourite of mine “I’ll put on some more tea while you settle on a plan”

Rogue Trader. It’s a cozy traditional cRPG out to its fingertips. Walls of texts, static perspective and all those traditional goodies. Combat is engaging, the word ridiculous to absurdity and the characters almost over the top. As WH40K should be.

I love that you love this song. Taste is something you should never have to feel ashamed for.

Yet 90’s/early 2000’s stuff I feel so cringe about. <begin s> how could I ever enjoy that <end s>

I tend to take one or two approaches. First being “Slowest and Loudest” in that the one worst at the test makes the roll, most of the time with help. Possibly also backed by a setup action.

Second is turning it into an extended test, I’ll put up a tracker and we’ll see what actions the narrative drags up. With this option a failure is only Stealth Over if it has to be, when there is no other reasonable consequence. So clanker can clank.

Bike is #1, all day every day. I don’t move to a place unless I have a grocery store and other services within bikeable distance.

Then it’s busses and trains.

Trees in a way are just big sticks stuck in the ground. And we all know sticks are great.

There is a diversity of Christian denominations and some are (socially) progressive. But we seldom hear about them as angry evangelical ones scream mich louder. But they are there, doing their work as they always have making little news unless you look for it.

For example the Metropolitan Community Church has ordained LGBT clergy since 1968 and United Church of Christ since -72. So there are very socially progressive denominations out there, just wish their voices were heard louder. Or that media reported on them more.

Thinking of it I would like more Christian schisms to be prevalent.