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Seagulls

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Woman in Blue Blouse by Scottish artist James McNaught

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The Tight 90

(This is a continuation or a fractal reviewing of what I've written about in The Worksheet Manifesto and The Quickstart, The Home Game.)

THE TIGHT 90 is a 90-minute RPG session. It riffs on the perfect length/density of a movie, and I think it's a term I learned/stole from will jobst.

WHY RUN SHORT GAMES?

Short games are easier to fit in a schedule. (We're all so fucking busy.)

Short games are easier to pay attention to. (We're all so fucking mentally ill.)

Short games focus on the good stuff and discard the bad stuff. (We're all so fucking tired.)

HOW RUN SHORT GAMES?

Tell everyone, "We're only going to play for 90 minutes. Because of that, I'm going to focus on the things that are most interesting and exciting for everyone at table, and I'm going to skip over everything else. I would appreciate it if you would do the same. If there's something you're really excited to do, tell the table! And if things are dragging, offer an alternative that moves the game along."

But then we actually have to do that. :( How?

SET SCENES AND STAKES

Don't start in a place where nothing is happening and ask your players "What do you?" Give them something to latch onto! Give them an immediate problem! Here are the first four pages of an issue of Uncanny X-Men by Chris Claremont, Dave Cockrum, et al:

In four pages we get a fatal problem, introductions, flashbacks on how they got here, and spotlights on everyone's powers. Awesome!

And while you don't have to have your players' characters falling out of the sky, at least start them at the dungeon entrance with a couple clear things to DO.

(For more on setting scenes and stakes, check out Primetime Adventures by Matt Wilson, which Sam Dunnewold was kind enough to run for me.)

Of course, if they're falling out of the sky or standing at a foreboding dungeon entrance, some player is bound to ask, "What do I have with me?" To which I say:

CUT THE BORING SHIT

Shopping? Don't do it! If someone would logically have something, they can have it. And if they try to exploit that, they're no fun to play with! Tell them no. (More on that later.)

Conversations on meandering horseback? Don't do it! Comic writer Chuck Dixon said that if Batman and Robin needed to have a heart-to-heart, they should never just stand around talking. They should have a heart-to-heart while training on top of a speeding train.

(The example was actually Nightwing and Robin, but I didn't want people to click away and look up who Nightwing was. Also, Dixon is a shitty guy! But at least in this, he was right.)

Basically, almost anything you can get out of a shopping scene or a campfire chat, you can get from everyone falling out of the sky or trying to escape a wildfire. ALL SCENES SHOULD PULL DOUBLE DUTY AS PLOT AND CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT.

BE GENEROUS WITH INFORMATION

Imagine a scene at a gaming table. The characters walk into a house in an empty town and ask what they see. The GM tells them to roll perception. The highest result is middling at best. The GM says, "You think you can see some blood." Someone else asks if they can roll investigation. They get a middle high result. The GM says, "There are some bullet casings on the floor and claw marks on the walls." Are the claw marks big? Roll perception again. Do they look like any local animals? Roll nature.

THIS SHIT SUCKS. It's a way to take 30 minutes to poorly tell the players that something interesting happened, and it doesn't give them anything to do after.

Instead, try this: the walls are splattered with blood and empty shell casings lie cold on the floor. The blood doesn't line up with what you know about bullet wounds, though; it lines up with the huge claw marks that tear the walls and floor. And blood drops continue in a line outside...

AND THEN if a player has a cool ability or is an investigator or druid or whatever, you get to write them a cool note that says, "These claw marks are bigger than any animal from around here. Maybe bigger than any animal you've ever seen."

Other examples:

The prince says he doesn't feel threatened by the king. He's clearly lying.

Moving stealthily, you make it to the general's bedroom, but it's clear that he has some sort of sensors or security system set up there.

As a wizard, you know they're casting some sort of summoning spell, and if at least half of the cultists aren't hurt or incapacitated in five minutes, the spell will succeed.

GIVE THE SESSION AN ENDING

It could be an exciting cliffhanger if you think everyone will be there next session to pick it up. But if you're not sure, end with a calm moment where the players have a clear next step. That way you can start next session with, "Last time you'd promised the Cult of Mirrors that you would lead them in war against the Skeleton Army. They're ready to go and ask you what your plan is."

FURTHER HOMEWORK

"How To End Things" by Jason Morningstar. On cutting scenes. Don't be fooled by the Patron link; it's free.

"Grand Experiments: West Marches" by Ben Robbins. The ur-text of running player-motivated sessions that don't require everyone to be there.

BUT WHAT IF!!!

What if rolling investigation rolls are vital to building tension in my mystery game? What if knowing the exact inventory and distance are vital to my high-stress dungeon game? What if campfire stories are my favorite part of our cozy travel game?

COOL! There are lots of resources out there for you, so this isn't for you. But maybe I could tempt you into considering a different style of game sometimes?

(Special thanks to @ladytabletop for supporting my Tight 90 obsession.)

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Concept art of a Toad painting based on the distinctive style of Pablo Picasso, for the 2023 Super Mario Bros. movie.

Main Blog | Patreon | Twitter | Bluesky | Small Findings | Source

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Vladimir Tretchikoff (Russian,1913-2006)

Crayfish Seller, 1969

Oil on canvas

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A quick drypoint print I made during a workshop I helped out with during the Stockholm culture night. Printed with crayon rather than ink, to keep the workshop quick-moving and mess-free. Lots of people dropped in and made prints, it was especially good to see people who normally don't make art have fun with print. People who don't draw often make great drawings ...

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excerpt from kus #27 theme "BFF" 2016

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Altars

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book I finished / book I started

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If you want to hear a cool podcast play my game SpeedRune, you can vote for it here. (All the other games are cool too.)

Help Us Choose Our Next Game

We received so many wonderful submissions from the indie ttrpg community of games to play next on Tiny Table. We need your help to narrow them down! We will be taking the top 3 games to Patreon for our patrons in the Mini and Micro tier to vote on.

Reactors and Romance: Reactors and Romance is a rules-light RPG about flirting while piloting a giant robot. You only have one stat, and that is your HEAT 🔥. Your HEAT measures how hot your mech's reactor is getting, and how hot of a pilot you are 😉 Will you fight or flirt your way through battle? Can you keep your mech from overheating? What will it be hotshot? https://jp-bergamo.itch.io/reactors-and-romance 

Dawn of the Orcs: Dawn of the Orcs is a GMless dark fantasy worldbuilding and roleplaying game. You play as the magical technocrats who create the first Orcs as weapons of war, modify and improve them over time, and tell the story of how the Orcs become their own people. https://lymetime.itch.io/dawnoftheorcs 

The Trains of the Glorious Republic of the People: The Trains of the Glorious Republic of the People is a tabletop RPG where players take on the roles of a train crew in a fictional 1930s totalitarian state. Your mission is simple: get yourselves and your unique train from point A to point B though things are never that easy on the tracks of the Glorious Republic. The game requires only d6s, pen, paper, and, above all, your loyalty to the party.

'til it kills us: in ‘til it kills us, you play as a group of young, reckless queer activists fighting to make a difference in the world. you’re angry, and you’re scared, and rightfully so. not to mention, you’re all a little bit fucked up. whether you’re dealing with issues at home, struggling with mental illness, or just learning to stand on your own two feet, life isn’t easy. but you’re also in love with the world, and with each other, so you keep fighting anyway. it’s the only thing you can do. the only problem is your magic. sure, it protects you. sure, it helps you fight. but you can feel it – feeding on the most unpleasant parts of you. and the longer you have this magic, the more you fear by those feelings. you worry it might be powering but you keep fighting. what else is there? remember what you always said: we’re going to keep on fighting ‘til it kills us. https://damsels-dice.itch.io/til-it-kills-us

Dragon and the Warrior: Create your own oldschool JRPG world as you play, by drawing monsters and maps; creating magic items, spells, allies, and quests; or filling the world with towns and dungeons. Every conflict, whether a sword and sorcery combat with monsters, or an argument with your overbearing mother, is imagined as turn based combat with a card based system. Players constantly switch between playing the hero protagonist and taking on varied GM roles, controlling Allies, Monsters, or Treasure! https://orioncanning.itch.io/ 

here, there, be monsters!: here, there, be monsters! is a rules-lite response to monster-hunting media from the monsters' point of view. It is an explicitly queer, antifascist and anti-capitalist game about the monstrous and the weird not as something to be feared, but to be cherished and protected. It features a simple tag-based system and resolution mechanics based on a pair of six-sided dice (2d6), as well as 100 pre-made character backgrounds and dozens of other tables to get you started as fast as you want. Play as a diverse crew of monstrous, anomalous or just generally odd people. Create and populate your own supernatural underworld, abnormal gang and extra-dimensional haven. Hunt monster hunters! Punch nazi occultists! Eat the rich! Protect each other! Fight back! Here, there, be monsters! https://soulmuppet-store.co.uk/products/heretherebemonsters 

Speedrune: SpeedRune is a rules-lite ancient world fantasy game. Inspired by myths and fairy tales, players build and maintain a community between seasonal adventures. It's like if Xena: Warrior Princess fought the Bible but weirder. Check it out for free here: https://erinking.itch.io/speedrune

I’m in!: A fast-paced game where you pull off a one-shot heist, including everything from assembling the crew to the getaway. Using the rules of Blackjack to resolve the various obstacles of the game, it's a snazzy, jazzy time! https://gobbogary.itch.io/im-in 

Wizards of the Long Night: WotLN is a game about WIZARDS, DOMINOES, ESCAPING DEATH and OBSCURE RULINGS. You and your FELLOW WIZARDS are trying to escape DEATH ITSELF as it twists the world around you back towards it. You are FULL OF WIZARD HUBRIS and think you can BEAT BACK THE CONCEPT OF ENTROPY which of course you can, because you have WIZARD MAGIC. You lay down paths to meet death as you lay down cards to beat it. Or tarot. Or scrabble times. Fuck it, play uno. Swap someone's hand. Play poker with a hand full of small rubber pigs. Cast wizard voltron. Read the rules. Cheat at the rules. Stick postit notes on your friend so you can offload your entire hand and declare uno. Watch the gameshow wheel of fortune. Be a horse. Email god. Cast the estrogen spell. BEAT DEATH AT ALL COSTS. The darkness stretches on forever, but if you set enough things on fire you dont need the sun to know the dawn again. https://moonhawk.itch.io/wizards-of-the-longest-night 

Death Cap Sauté: Death Cap Sauté is a GM-less one-shot TTRPG for 2 to 5 players. Players will compete in a deadly cooking competition in the weird post-apocalypse to gain the favor of the elusive Shroomp Lord! Using a simple push-your-luck dice system, face-off in 5 unique cooking challenges to see who will come out on top! https://junkfoodgames.itch.io/death-cap-saut

If you submitted a game to us and don't see it on the list, don't fret! We will be hosting many polls like this and your game is still in consideration. If you game is on here and isn't chosen to move on to our next poll, also don't fret! We may add it on to the next poll again.

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Bronze statue fragment uncovered near Geneva, Switzerland.

Roman, 1st century AD

from The Geneva Museum of Art and History

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fairies, drawn in 2019

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book I finished / book I started

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As it was becoming clear the US was headed into trade war territory, I got really interested in farming and the logistics of keeping people fed. I turned that interest into "your cool city needs a food supply," available now!

it's a hack of "i'm sorry did you say street magic" and "Microscope," two gold-standard worldbuilding games. It was polished by Nico MacDougall, who gave me some great advice on how to make this game really align with the themes and ideas I had in the draft.

I've always been a sicko about logistics and agriculture (growing up in the US midwest will do that to you), and I hope this game helps people think about how great a privilege it is to eat.

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book I finished / book I started

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book I finished / book I started

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There is a new episode of RTFM, the RPG book club podcast. @goblinmixtape joins me and Max to talk Triangle Agency. Is corporate horror for the youths? Does metafiction have a place in RPGs? And who is the yellow voice?!