I was watching some RPG YouTube, and of course there was talk about Monsters. And with the recent OMG CONTROVERSY with the newest Monster Manual, I got to thinking about something that is more inherent in D&D and in fantasy games in general, why so many monsters? I've played various other games, and read many books, watched many movies, but it seems that fantasy games, with D&D leading the charge, seem to have more monsters than any other medium in the genre, or other genre's in particular. So yeah, why are there so many monsters?

This is a continuation of my previous post, in spirit. I've been hammering out some rules for a skill-based dungeon-crawling game with five classes, one of which is the Ranger which is meant to be the overland travel specialist. That's a pretty narrow niche, so I've been trying to flesh them out by making them really, really good at mysteries. Here's what I've come up with so far:

• If you are feeling stumped, you can privately ask the DM for help
• If you are exercising judgement on par with the average koala, the DM can warn you before your character does something uncharacteristically idiotic.
• If you are looking for clues, you don't have to roll a skill check to find it as long as you are using an appropriate skill in an appropriate manner.

Basically, Rangers get to operate as if they were using the Gumshoe system, plus the Common Sense feat from GURPS. There's also some more traditional Ranger stuff that I've come up with:

• You can make an effective ghillie suit in under an h

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/42078497

My RPG group and I (mostly the latter) have spent the past few months working on a setting-generic RPG system. I'd love to hear your thoughts on it! I'm quite proud of it as I haven't really seen very many dice systems like this. The system has character specialization (some are better at things than others) without any modifiers or math, just comparison!

Creating a Character

Players need only decide two things when creating their characters: their action die and their approach die.

A character’s “action die” broadly describes their physical attributes, skills, and talents.

• Intelligent, thoughtful, and quick-witted characters use a six-sided action die.
• Charismatic, charming, and attractive characters use an eight-sided action die.
• Agile, dexterous, and swift characters use a ten-sided action die.
• Strong, powerful, and tough characters use a twelve-sided action die.

A character’s “approach die” broadly describes their outlook on the world and how they go about executing

I've been reading through some of the books recently and I realized I haven't seen anything about robot characters. I don't remember any in Cyberpunk 2077 either. Is there any established lore for androids?

Here's how I ran a Cyberpunk RED night market. My goals:

1. Give some stuff for the players to do.
2. Add a few plot hooks, so I have stuff for upcoming sessions.
3. Make a shopping session interesting.

I was going to run the full Salted Legacy one-shot adapted by Sparky_McDibbon, but my world is almost animal free, so having cybernetically enhanced monkeys running around would have been inconsistent. Also, my players don't care if there isn't a direct path to a payoff.

Instead:

1. A Biotechnica Exec NPC that the crew rescued on a previous run was at the Market. He needed to steal some silkworms from Madame Kulp's shop, and offered the crew 400 eddies to do it. Biotechnica wants them, because Madame Kulp has engineered them to do something special. This is a hook for the current session.
2. An NPC who is trying to prevent workers from getting violent at a nearby waste processing facility was

Hi, all!

Just reaching out to see if there are any Kids on Bikes players active in this community! I've been working on a tool to support play groups at my local games shop, and I thought -- why not open it up to more people?

It's 100% free and open source (GLPv3), there are zero features stuck behind a paywall, ads, or other monetization and I intend to keep it that way. Full disclosure: there is a link to donate to the project, but it's out of the way and will never be shoved in anyone's face.

I want to make the tool better for anyone and everyone who uses it, so if it interests you at all please check it out! It's called Handlebar Heroes. Feel free to make suggestions, ask questions, give strongly worded criticisms, whatever you like. I'm here for it all. 🙂

Thanks so much for your time! I hope someone gets some use out of it.

![](https://lazysoci.al/api/v3/image_proxy?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsh.itjust.works%2Fpictrs%2Fimage%2Fc8a0825c-1d3c-44

Any suggestions on a skill check a player should make to see if they notice being pick pocketed by an NPC?

The Pick Pocket skill (p142) sets the bonuses for a character rolling against a DV while they are trying to steal something, but I'd like the players to feel like they're involved in the event.

I was thinking the player would roll an Opposed Skill Check on Perception, while the pick pocket would roll the Pick Pocket skill. If the player fails by more than 5 they have no idea it happened until they try to use the lost item; less than 5 then they notice a few minutes later.

If the player equals or beats the NPC's roll, then they notice as it's happening and have a chance to intervene.

Any suggestions on how that could work, like alternate skills to Perception or how the encounter could run?

High above the crashing waves lies a well-defended castle that is built into the side of a mountain. This castle serves as the home of Captain Flint and his rag tag army of buccaneers and outlaws!

This fortress features high stone walls reinforced with two towers and plenty of cannons to scan the horizon. A large mountain provides natural protection from the north and west. A small hamlet is set up within the castle, with a mountain spring providing fresh water. More buildings are in the process of being built, as this castle serves as a refuge for many convicts and brigands. Download the high-res map for free here.

To see more maps, check out my map archive here.

Let's forget about the Oops TPK, but let's discuss about the time it ended-up greatly, no matter whether the party decided t sacrify their life to save the world (or simply their honour) or that horror game where the PC found-out too late that they're hopeless and bound to die