80
votes
Accepted
What is this story I recall about an extremely long ever-changing character backstory?
You may be thinking of the story of Old Man Henderson, the player who won Trail of Cthulhu. He had a 320 page backstory
The explanation of the backstory is as follows:
The point to having such a ...
- 65.9k
80
votes
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What d10 RPG is this cat playing?
Exalted 3rd Edition from Onyx Path Publishing. The Storyteller system in general tend to use d10 dice pools and several of the stats ("Willpower") listed, while the term "Solar ...
- 8,061
69
votes
Accepted
Which Article Helped Get Rid of Technobabble in RPGs?
"Causality and Choice in RPGs, Part 1: Getting rid of the {TECH}" on The 20' By 20' Room blog by Neel Krishnaswami
It was a bit challenging to find this ...
- 50.1k
64
votes
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Is Morrowind based on a tabletop RPG?
Yes and no
There is no Elder Scrolls tabletop RPG that Morrowind is based on, but it is still based indirectly on a particular tabletop RPG and a certain setting: RuneQuest and Glorantha.
The ...
- 244k
63
votes
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How do I know which edition of Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) the books I'm looking at are for?
A quick, visual guide to the editions, by logo:
[note: there is no effort made here to explain or compare editions: please see Q/A like https://rpg.stackexchange.com/q/13212/23970 or https://rpg....
- 102k
60
votes
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Help me identify these 20-sided dice with assorted numbers from 4 to 72
I went and Googled for the numbers, and the first (and currently only) result was US patent 7815191B2 titled "Equals: the game of strategy for the basic facts". The abstract reads:
"...
- 24.5k
56
votes
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Is there a name for this 20 sided die with two 1s, two 2s, etc?
Gamescience, a dice manufacturer, calls such a die simply a d20 0–9 Twice. Yours appears to be this one, and, as of this writing, it appears you can buy more.
However, you may not need to. The owner ...
- 192k
54
votes
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Punching someone so hard that they become a duck
This is from the Scroll of the Monk.
The Charm they are referring to is the Charm Pattern Spider Touch (page 124) which opens with...
Once, changes to the Loom of Fate could change anything in ...
- 65.9k
54
votes
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What tabletop setting (if any) is this 1980s map from?
That is a map of Middle-Earth showing the south and east along with the traditional map section from the novels.
As noted in the listing for this Middle-earth map on Geographicus.com, this map was ...
- 652
41
votes
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What game used how much your character cared as a resource?
Apathy: The Calling
Is... this your card? A 2008 Game Chef entry found on 1km1kt.net, featuring Cthulhu, cultists, and a tongue in cheek humorous style.
The conflict resolution mechanic involved how ...
- 3,532
40
votes
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Identifying my late father's D&D stuff found in the attic
Your father's copy of Men and Magic was issued somewhere between between the first and third printing, as shown here in the summary of the early editions. The "Man on the Horse" illustration was ...
- 144k
39
votes
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What game uses six-sided dice with symbols as well as numbers on the 5 and 6 faces and a blank space where “1” should be?
The logo on the dice is the Shadowrun logo. Those dice are for the Shadowrun RPG.
The game itself uses a result of 5 or 6 as a "hit", a result of 2 to 4 as a "nothing" and a result of 1 as a "glitch",...
- 35.3k
38
votes
Is there a name for this 20 sided die with two 1s, two 2s, etc?
As noted in another answer, this is currently called by GameScience a d20 0-9 Twice. Historically, this is what d20's looked like before the invention of the proper d10. (Note that Platonic solids are ...
- 6,069
36
votes
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Identifying a tabletop book that has a panther with blue swirls on the cover
It is The Wild Beyond the Witchlight alternate cover.
Seems to to fit quite well with the “panther with blue swirls” description, and is consistent with the other info you’ve provided; it contains ...
- 152k
34
votes
What D&D manual describes this game dragons play?
It's called Xorvintaal. Monster Manual V (3.5) has some information on it, and there may be more in certain 4e books.
The actual rules for the game are enormously convoluted, taking "years to learn, ...
- 5,172
32
votes
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Looking for a late 80's (or possibly early 90's) D&D one-shot adventure based around a bar room brawl
In "The Best of White Dwarf - Scenarios Vol. 1", published in 1980, pages 26 and 28-29 (27 was an advertisement) feature the adventure "A Bar-Room Brawl - D&D Style" by Lew Pulsipher.
Further ...
- 6,588
31
votes
Accepted
What game uses yellow 20-sided dice with letters and arrows?
(I recently answered this question on BGG Facebook page, here it is reprinted)
It is for a Tennis game by Richard Archer, patented as US20020171199 in 2001, now abandoned. The twenty-sided die would ...
- 326
31
votes
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"Tarot" based RPG?
Everway
First published in 1995.
The main game is a boxed set with a bunch of handouts and cards in addition to the game book.
Magical fantasy setting with characters traveling to different "...
- 29.3k
28
votes
Is Morrowind based on a tabletop RPG?
Summary
Morrowind was not based on any particular tabletop RPG. There are elements of Dungeons and Dragons, GURPS, Vampire: The Masquerade, and possibly RuneQuest, as well as any other tabletop RPGs ...
- 1,298
25
votes
How do I know which edition of Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) the books I'm looking at are for?
The D&D logo or rear blurb is your best guide
Look at the logo at the top of the front cover. In short, a small red "D&D" logo means 5th edition, a large red "Dungeons & Dragons" logo ...
- 83.1k
24
votes
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Where is the Gold Slaad mentioned?
You are thinking of Ssendam, the Slaadi Lord of Madness detailed in the 1st edition Fiend Folio and Manual of the Planes. He appears as a golden slaad in his golden castle in Limbo near the slaadi ...
- 15.7k
22
votes
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I am trying to find a specific RPG that I can't remember the name of, player backstories affect setting
You're thinking of 13th Age, by WotC alumni Jonathan Tweet and Rob Heinsoo, published in 2013. The way a character's background helps build the setting is through your One Unique Thing, and your ...
- 244k
21
votes
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Where did this dungeon come from that was spiral shaped and contained a statue of Dagon?
The Jade Temple in Secrets of the Sokol Keep in AL season 1 (DDEX 1-2)
You can find "Secrets of Sokol Keep" here on DMsGuild. Part 3: The Jade Temple (starting on p. 17) describes the dungeon you're ...
- 5,917
21
votes
What game does this Character sheet belong to?
The game system itself is Savage Worlds
Having attributes of Agility, Smarts, Spirit, Strength, and Vigor, as well as having Bennies, the sheet is definitely from a Savage Worlds system. Compare to ...
- 2,642
20
votes
Is there a published adventure in any D&D edition where the dungeon is a construct?
Yes, plenty.
There are plenty of dungeons that are themselves constructs or located within constructs.
For example, the Doomgrinder from the eponymous Greyhawk module is a dungeon in an activated war ...
- 176k
20
votes
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What is this 1990s horror game of otherworldly PCs dealing with monsters on modern Earth?
Sounds to me like the Whispering Vault. That, too, was a horror game that came out in the early '90s — Wikipedia says the first edition came out in 1993, and that jibes with my memory. The ability to ...
- 55.4k
19
votes
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Identify this time-traveling RPG
Is it Time & Temp (2009)? Most time-travel RPGs are more-or-less serious takes on the idea, with the PCs being heroes or daring Time Agents and similar, but Time & Temp PCs are definitely ...
- 244k
19
votes
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Mid-to-late 1970's Space Based RPG: what was it?
Could it be Space Quest? Somebody at least seems to think that game has Ion Chatters.
An excellent source for raw, bad and unlikely sci-fi hardware is the
long OOP Tyr Gamemakers LTD. "...
- 7,184
19
votes
What was this role playing game from the 70s or 80s?
Possibly Star Ace.
While I cannot hit all of your bullets, there was a game called Star Ace, published by Pacesetter Games from 1984 to 1986. There was combat and experience points, and human was a ...
- 6,264
19
votes
What were these CYOA-style books?
Most likely answer: Super Endless Quest aka Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Adventure Gamebooks
The Super Endless Quest series, later renamed Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Adventure Gamebooks, ...
- 11.6k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible