Let's Talk About Our Year In TTRPGs

[GrimCo]

Might be time to consider using a VTT. It's not the same as in person, but since you already have those relationships it can be pretty good substitute. It doesn't have to cost you any money either. 2of3 top VTTs are now free (FG and Roll20). plus their are other simpler ones if you don't want the complexity of a fully featured one. I even played in part of one campaign years ago using Discord and web camera. If their is a will, there is a way

Thank you We tried online gaming on few occasions, since we play ToTM IRL, we used Google Meet, we tried Roll20 with discord. If we play during weekdays, we can't start before 21-21:30, and by 23 we are all zoning out. Sunday mornings, when we usually play IRL, well, kids are running around ( we all have kindergarden/elementary school age kids), so focusing on the game is hard. But biggest problem is, it's just not the same. Gaming isn't just gaming, it's quality guys only time with friends.

But yeah, will is there. It's time. Kids, aging parents, demanding jobs, other obligations that take priority, I'm thinking more of ditching campaigns and D&D and focus on one shots in rules light systems like Mork Borg, Knave, Cairn.

 

[delericho]

No gaming at all - no running games, no playing games, no prepping a campaign, no new products bought (but see below), no books read. I've posted maybe a dozen times here, but for the most part I'm out, for a while at least (no idea how long "a while" is).

While I didn't buy any new products, I have been quietly collecting a lot of the old-edition PDFs - mostly BECMI and 1st Ed adventures and the Ravenloft setting. (I already have all the Spelljammer, Dark Sun, and Eberron PDFs, those being my other favourite settings.) I'm going to continue with that, which will most likely take me a few years to get everything I want - maybe by then I'll be back to gaming more generally?

 

[Staffan]

My main group started out the year finishing off an arc in another player's time-jumping GURPS game, and starting in February we've been playing Savage Worlds in the East Texas University setting for almost the whole year. Coincidentally, we're also coming up on one year of in-game time – we probably have a session or so left of this adventure in the new year, and the one after that will be the season finale. Once that is done we'll take a break and I'll try running some Draw Steel which is a rather different game, and we'll see how that goes.

I'm also in another group of people mostly from the club I was in in my late teens that are playing maybe once a month or less. We've been mostly playing 5e using the Rime of the Frostmaiden campaign, and it's been... OK. It's something of an issue that quite a few players don't really know the rules or even their own characters, and since we're playing so rarely they don't really learn them. I don't know how many times I've been explaining to the Rogue player how Sneak Attack works and how his Insightful Fighting feature interacts with it. We've also been playing in a home-brewed system another player has made, taking place in 17th century Germany with some occult stuff going on. It's a fairly cool campaign, but I'm not too enamored with the system – possibly because a lot of it is in the GM's brain and not on paper (or at least not on paper to which we have access). However, over the last few months we haven't been playing in this campaign because the GM has been busy with work, home renovations, and politics, and that seems likely to continue for another year or so at least.

 

[TiQuinn]

We finished up a 9 month campaign started in 2024 of Rime of the Frostmaiden that we played under Dungeon World rules.

Then we had a nice stint with Mothership that included a 10 to 12 session run of Another Bug Hunt and Gradient Descent. I absolutely loved this game and Gradient Descent in particular. Easily a top five campaign/megadungeon for me.

Then we finished off the year with about 8 sessions of Shadow of the Weird Wizard using Cloud Empress as the setting. Definitely enjoyed the system here. We’re starting another SotWW campaign in 2026 that I can’t wait for.

 

[PJ Coffey]

My biggest thing was taking my RPG passion and putting it into work. On three occasions I talked to risk intelligence and security professionals about how they can replace their boring multi-hour/multi-day simulations with micro RPGs that will help engagement and learning.

Also, I was part of my second project with @PJ Coffey
Crafting Heritages, Cultures and More: Worldbuilding

At the table we're playing two different campaigns set in the same world, recently starting up an East Marches style campaign to make certain we play every week.

In 2026, like three weeks from now, I'm giving that above talk at OrcaCon here near Seattle.

Amazing, you'll kill it! You really do know your stuff.

 

[Not a Decepticon]

So how was your 2025 as it relates to TTRPGs? What did you play and/or run? Did you start and/or finish campaigns? Did you try new games? What did you buy? What did you get rid of? Did you go to any conventions or other organized events? Did you host any cons or other organized events? What was the highlight? The low point?

I'll be more detailed later when I have time, but I want to say my highlight ws first getting, then running at a convention Daggerheart. I really like the game and am looking forward to it dominating my weekly play in 2026 (once I finish this D&D 2024 campaign).

I put my D&D 5e campaign on a pause and begun running Mage: the Ascension. Meanwhile my campaign in Blades of the Dark is coming to close, we likely won't have final session in this year, but likely in January. My third game sadly fizzled out due to happenning in person and conflicting schedules. Some of my campaigns flizzled out due to scheduling - Shadow of the Demon Lord, Swords & Wizardry, Fabula Ultima - but others showed up to take their place. I am getting better financially so I bought quite few books, more than usual.

 

[Gorgon Zee]

I started this year 60% through running Pendragon's THE GREAT PENDRAGON CAMPAIGN. I ended the year 90% through. I started this year half a dozen sessions into a One Ring MORIA campaign and ended the year havbing run about 15 more sessions in.

It was a year of "continuing to do the thing"

 

[Stormonu]

This year was not great for me for gaming. I've been playing in my wife's biweekly 5E game, but very little otherwise. I didn't get to do my yearly Aliens and/or Ravenloft game this year, unfortunately.

Did get and try the new Marvel Superheroes game, but don't have enough buy-in for a regular game.
Similar with Outgunned. Like the system, but don't have a play group for extended playtime.

I've been continuing to work in my "Campaign Journals". They are literally writing journals that I'm building campaign worlds in. I've worked on about 3 this year and have actually emptied the ink on about the same number of pens handwriting (and map drawing) in them.

And, of course, I've been buying too much RPG material. I did pick up the 2024 DMG & MM, but they are sitting otherwise untouched. I've been picking up a fair amount of non-WotC 5E material - mostly sourcebooks; monsters and random generators or pre-stocked non-dungeon sites. Also a fair number of non-D&D RPGs including of course Marvel, Outgunned, Raven and LevelUp/A5E.

Finally, I self-published three books - Bestiary Malferous & Bestiary Nefarious and the Crimson Empire sourcebook. And I'm on track to have Bestiary Onerous ready (the monster blocks are done, now for text & artwork) for a test print run in late spring.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

I put my D&D 5e campaign on a pause and begun running Mage: the Ascension.

Going from D&D's ultra-specific spell descriptions to the free-form cosmic jazz of Mage had to be wild.

 

[Not a Decepticon]

Going from D&D's ultra-specific spell descriptions to the free-form cosmic jazz of Mage had to be wild.

Yes, but the players are enjoying it. I admit I'm not yet 100% good with rules so we play a bit fast and loose here and there, but so far the game has been very fun.