Then I would recommend again the LARP route, either as a “light indoor larp for 10 people” or at a 10 people faction at a larger game. When I was active part of an online RPG community, we would join a LARP per year so we could play a large faction and see each others IRL. Often it was more the “Barbecue LARP format” so the not that great one but you end-up doing a barbecue and getting beer in a ridiculous costume

My 2 classic options would be

• Split the game in 2 or even 3 4-5 persons tables, works way better. On a tabletop game, if everyone takes a one minute turn to act, 10 players means you need 10 minutes per turn, it’s slow not just RPG, but in boardgames too. So split into smaller party.

• 12 players, rule-light, look for a parlour larp. There is some “easy to set-up” parlour larp, with very simple mechanics, and that you can play in a 2 room appartment (or even a barn) so they’re not as big/complicated as actual larp with big rule-books, 100’s of players, and a whole castle. Just like a real LARP, it requires a bit more “buy-in/prep” from the player, but it can be a great experience. As a rule of thumb, plan 1 extra hour before game-start for briefing/set-up, and 1-2 extra hour for debrief/cool-down (turn out that after such an intense experience most player don’t want to go home immediately but talk about-it, especially if PvP tension was rising until the final scene which is a classic larp format)

It’s the thing where local forum win

-can be read by non member

-are local focused

-Easy to run/manage

A pitty that they have been replaced by meet up/Facebook ( and their fcdi alternative)

Beam saber is pretty cool, and a solid choice when looking for a meca RPG if you have any doubt, go for it

A tricky thing, is that I don’t GM the same way a zero prep horror game where death is certain, and a blockbuster RPG campaign. And that many questions depend on the specific context. Having players who need to come home by the last train means I have a hard deadline to end a session. But if that player sin’t there we can find the right moment

Anyway, thanks for your pool, and curious about the results

In blade in the dark, you declare how much gear you plan to bring, so the GM knows whether it’s normal guys with a backpack , or guys in tactical suit with bullet proof jacket and a rifle.

But in general, yes, the setting need to react to adventurer party. It’s not ordinary

While game bars are a thing, a few thing to remember

There isn’t that much money in the rpg scene. Sure the broke kids from the 80/90/00’s are now adult with disposable income, but some have space in their living room or are used to play in the municipal culture centre that the local club rent. When you start asking to pay a large amount of money you loose many prospective players.

Regarding alcohol, it’s how non profit club pay their expense. Bring you own alcohol feel like tho worst of both world, you’re a place dealing with alcohol consumption (law and potential drunk people) and you don’t get to sell a high margin product. As you use US$ you may have some other legal issues, but that’s a point where you need legal advise.

I am not sure of the interest of a fixed immersive game space. If I want more immersion, I go larping. Also there is 90%chance that the decor doesn’t match the game/campaign I play. Even generic heroic fantasy can come with multiple ambiance

Note also that it feels like the kind of place which don’t last long. They open, struggle for 2 years then the owner call it a loss and move out. Rent are expensive, bar have (and even alcohol free one) have to deal with a lot of regulation (fire safety, noise are obviously coming here. Even at my local rpg club, noise complaints are a big problem), and an immersive room for 4-5 person that will use it for the whole night takes more space than regular bar table, where patron order every 30-60minutes

I don’t get how sales dropping and BYD massively entering the Euro market, didn’t made the stock drop. May be not a full crash but at least a can’t be that much bigger than Toyota or Volkswagen

I like that story, Looks like as fake as the story of the internet troll being a lazy GM throwing a troll at every stupid question from their player, but that’s cool

Actually remember that GM-ing is a whole part of the activity and that in principle everyone should GM, may-be not at the same time, most-likely not at the same game, and often not with the same players, but you shouldn’t be the only one GM-ing.

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Elves being magical creature, I am always puzzled that some setting try to give them human like gender and sexuality. I actually find-it more interesting that they do these things totally differently than us mundane human

I think the Gm-section of Kult divinity lost is pretty great, as it explains you how to build a mind-map for your metaplot and how to use PBTA mechanics to make the plot move in the background.

Now what I practically do is outiline the main theme and the reccuring NPC, then rely a lot on what the PC want to do and how they act to see how it develops. There is no point in writing long texts nor planning too much in advance when the PC will break everything by killing the wrong person

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I wouldn’t worry too much about the actual edition people could play with it 40 years ago, and there is enough nostalgia to do a 2025 reprint, so they must be somehow playable.

With my limited shadowrun experience,

• Beware of Decker going to the Matrix and mage doing Astral projection, it “splits the party” lead to a player having their own overcrunchy game-phase spending a hour to open a door or locate someone. I believe some latter edition got better but the early one where like their own game in the game

• I see shadowrun like the diesel engine of "crunchy system"it’s heavy, slow to start, but there is a point where it runs smoothly

• Just like every other crunchy system, and especially older one, feel free to ignore half of the rule (You know the meme about aircraft carrier, but more seriously never saw a GM caring about the Grenade dispersion roll)

Nobody talked about Castle Falkenstein which used playing cards instead of dices.

An interesting stuff is that you know your hand, and choose which card to play. So let’s say you have an Easy success, A success if you have a good-skill and a guaranteed failure for the scene. How do you manage-it ? It has interesting game-play consequence both tactically and narratively but it stayed pretty uncommon

You know to make interesting rpg stories, you need bad people, and being bad means you underpay worker and take all the money from their work.

If dwarves get a 15beer a hour minimal wage, they won’t have a reason to fight the Dragon they work for

The Deriny cycle by Kurtz is actually pretty great. You have some super human having access to some magic. And throagh the books they go for m super elite to persecuted minority before being accepted again.

Magic being either genetic on ea random birth gift would indeed have a major sociological impact. But in a setting where we have high magic, elves and dragon the whole sociology is anyway impacted

The Irony, is that while at least in my local community, the young generation includes a lot of openly neurodivergent gay/enbi players, I feel like that the reason why the theme is so sensitive for older player is that many of the older player never thought the time to question about-it, you know, the 50 year old “straight” conventionally attractive long term single who always play the other gender, may not just be too busy to date

Actually it’s hard to keep politic out of RPG.

In game, politic is what makes the game more than just killing random person you know the Princess who want to escape a political marriage, the advisor looking to become the lord, the church and and the merchant guild trying to gain influence ? All of that is politics. and all of that is what makes your campaign fun.

In real-life, like any other social activity especially if you get wider than a closed circle, politics get involved, your club need to talk with the mayor to get a slot in the municipal culture centre or rent a room in a school. Moreover, RPG tend to have a bad reputation and be not correct according to conservative which make it even more political than tons of other RPG, if you let church and right-winger tell you which hobby are acceptable you won’t be able to play RPG