rpg

4796 readers

3 users here now

This community is for meaningful discussions of tabletop/pen & paper RPGs

Rules (wip):

Do not distribute pirate content
Do not incite arguments/flamewars/gatekeeping.
Do not submit video game content unless the game is based on a tabletop RPG property and is newsworthy.
Image and video links MUST be TTRPG related and should be shared as self posts/text with context or discussion unless they fall under our specific case rules.
Do not submit posts looking for players, groups or games.
Do not advertise for livestreams
Limit Self-promotions. Active members may promote their own content once per week. Crowdfunding posts are limited to one announcement and one reminder across all users.
Comment respectfully. Refrain from personal attacks and discriminatory (racist, homophobic, transphobic, etc.) comments. Comments deemed abusive may be removed by moderators.
No Zak S content.
Off-Topic: Book trade, Boardgames, wargames, video games are generally off-topic.
No AI-generated content. Discussion of AI generation pertaining to RPGs is explicitly allowed.

founded 2 years ago

MODERATORS

Avogadro@ttrpg.network

sirblastalot@ttrpg.network

TripHammer@ttrpg.network

Primarch@ttrpg.network

BrentTaylor@ttrpg.network

What surprised you most when you ran your first full campaign? (ttrpg.network)

submitted 5 days ago by realmkithq@ttrpg.network to c/rpg@ttrpg.network

17 comments fedilink hide all child comments

What honestly surprised you most when you ran (or played in) your first full campaign?

I've been talking to a lot of indie TTRPG creators lately — people designing their own systems, running campaigns, preparing Kickstarters — and one thing keeps coming up: the gap between what you planned and what actually happened at the table.

For some it's pacing (sessions ran 2x longer than expected). For others it's player attachment to NPCs they thought were throwaways. For some it's the opposite — a carefully built villain got ignored completely.

As someone who builds tools for TTRPG creators, I'm genuinely curious what the community thinks:

What's the one thing you wish someone had warned you about before running your first campaign?

Could be prep, could be player dynamics, could be the mechanics themselves. No wrong answers — I'm here to learn from people who've actually been at the table.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] pteryx@dice.camp 6 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

It's my experience that many players have no idea that deciphering is *even a thing that needs to be done* with clues. They assume that clues are MacGuffins that you just collect in order to redeem for the ending once they've got enough, or that their characters are CSIs and the DM is the detective. Even if they intellectually understand the need to figure stuff out, there's a chance they won't think to talk to *each other* about ideas, or think that anything other than a one-step solve loses.