#gm notebook

[mythrilthread]

Starting Binderary with my first commission!

This is a campaign-specific A4 notebook for the GM of our ttrpg group. We’re playing Monster of the Week, so the notebook is themed after the SCP Agency-type organization, B.R.I.G.H.T. (Bureau of Ratification of Idiosyncratic Genesis and Holistic Termination) that employs all the player characters.

The inside of the front cover has the Bureau’s covenants, and the inside of the back cover has an envelope attached (yellow envelopes are how the PCs in-game get their briefings and additional resources from the HQ). I printed out some handouts for the GM’s future players, and the smaller envelope contains some stickers with cryptids defeated by our group.

This was my first time using a foil quill, what fun!

[dragonsdendoodles]

One last Enorace kiss before I retire my Eevee sketchbook 🥲

[justalittlebluetiefling]

"You take really good notes." is the best compliment I could ever receive from my GM.

[topbanana-art]

Finally got the new DM notebooks made!!! The overall design is mostly focused on map making, but still works fine for notetaking! I've updated my st0re with the new stock too!

Link below!

Etsy

[iridikron]

imperium maledictum group is gonna do occasional deathwatch oneshots .... space marine time >:)

[auroramancygaming]

Hello Tumblr!

We are a family owned shop for TTRPG players that want to organize and elevate the play table.

We sell dice rolling devices and storing containers, that keep the table clutter free and also make great display items.

We also sell notebooks and notebook inserts to help you during your gameplay, making all the information that you need to consult accessible, as well as taking notes an easy task. Your GM will love you for all your efficient play and if you are a GM, we also have things to help you stay organized while you play.

We're currently prototyping and releasing new products, so be sure to follow our shop on Etsy to be notified when new products are launched.

You can also follow our resident designer and DM, @yagamiraaky.

Let the chaos be in the game and not in the table with our products!

[thoughtsfromthegm]

reblogging for that first picture

The Alleyway Oracles by Publishing Goblin — Kickstarter

It's time. The Alleyway Oracles are live.

Three new decks. The 100-card, mismatched Alleyway Tarot. The 60-card, bright and joyous Oracle of Play. The 60-card, dark and brooding Oracle of Secrets.

Which oracle are you listening to...?

The Alleyway Oracles by Publishing Goblin — Kickstarter

[inkdemonapologist]

[BatIM Cthulhu AU] A couple of doodles from session two, which UNSETTLED SAMMY A LOT ACTUALLY...

There have been small changes, throughout New York -- doors opening on the wrong side of the street, houses ending up just a block away from where you remembered them -- but the only people who can even tell seem to be those who remember Carcosa. Joey, Sammy, Henry, Jack, Peter, and Norman all experienced the strange shifting realm when a Mardi Gras party attempted to bring dread Carcosa to New Orleans, but Susie wasn't there. She can't see the changes we see, and the entire rest of the city agrees with her. That door was always there? The car was always that colour. That's where I remember the address being before, and there's no record it was ever different.

She trusts what the boys are reporting must be true, that maybe there are changes she can't see or remember, and both she and Sammy are terrified. These are only little things, but as more and more of the city slips into the world of the King in Yellow, what else might be rewritten...?

Anyway EVERYONE'S HAVING A GREAT TIME. If you're here for Out Of Context Quotes from our session, I have some of those too, here, under the cut!!

[Sammy is played by me, Joey is played by Boo (inkyvendingmachine), Henry is played by Maf (inkcryptid), Jack is played by Mochi (whatyouwantedmetosee) and Thren (haunted-hijinxer) is our GM!]

[Jack] I love how detective Pete is for a guy who is NOT a detective. [Sammy] He just got assigned that by Joey Drew and now it's true. [Joey] Exactly! That's how it works.

[Sammy] The idea of JDS having its own employed detective is really funny to me. "Why do you need that? You're an animation studio." "Well, you know, things come up,"

[GM] Everybody went home I believe, except Joey went to the Studio, which is like home,

[Sammy] Do we have any plan, other than just go in to work, [Jack] I though you were gonna say "other than go insane"...

[Joey] If Prophet's not the one going for the ink, then why is Sammy going for it?! Do they have a SECOND prophet situation??? [Jack] PROPHET...... TWO!!! [Henry] Prophet 2: Electric Boogaloo [Sammy] *tiredly* We don't need any more Prophets..... We don't need any more Sammys..... we have enough.....

[Jack] You just need to sip some ink and tell them it's the wrong number. Like, you've got the wrong guy. [Henry] New stone, who dis?

[Sammy] It was the false king who called through the ink, not our Lord! [Joey] Interesting... [Joey] Joey's going to ask Bendy if he can... feel this? Is he getting calls? *dad voice* Is someone calling you? Don't put your number on the internet!

[GM] Bendy says he wasn't made to be a receiver the same way Sammy was. [Jack] So technically, it's "New Sam, who dis"!

[Joey] Okay, Joey's going to note this all down in his... Notebook Of Nonsense That Plagues Them,

[GM] I'm choosing to believe that whenever Norman called in, he gave some sort of outlandish excuse, and whoever answered the phone didn't... write it down... [Sammy] Like the heckin', grian excuses-- [Joey] "I'm cutting my grass, with scissors" [Jack] Yeah!! He's cutting his grass! With scissors! In winter!!! [Sammy] And then Sammy's like "Do we know why he called out?" and the receptionist is just like "No We Have NO Idea" [Jack] With the most tired sigh. Second only to Grant.

[GM] Fun fact, Norman would answer the phone. [Sammy] Norman actually was just like, "ohhhhhhh i know THIS is some supernatural bullshit happening, I'm gonna stay home"

[Joey] Joey's going to ask Estelle if he looked like-- and give a vague description of Avedon. [GM] .............................. [GM] She is SO impressed that you knew this. [Joey] *delighted cackling*

[Jack] I love how cute Joey is about this kid. Just like... the cool Bendy Uncle! He's not related at all, but, [Joey] I feel like this is kind of how Joey just gets around kids? Maybe Joey does really want kids, just, y'know, doesn't know how to do it when gay? [Sammy] Obviously that won't happen, so-- [Joey] Yeah, [Sammy] --so then you START AN ANIMATION STUDIO, that's the only other option! [GM] Yeah, then all kids are your kids!

[GM] Alright, you've made many phone calls. [Joey] Yeah, [GM] And you only rudely hung up on one of them!

[Sammy] Sammy can surely track that down; he's used to digging up musicians. [Jack] Jack's there to assist with the Talking to People in a way that makes them want to cooperate with you, and not run in fear!

[GM, speaking for Peter] *lists all of the information Peter's dug up* And that's about what he managed to get, today! [Joey] And nothing weird has been happening... to him? [GM] WELL, OKAY. ABOUT THAT,

[Peter] Could you describe again, the strange person who was at the party? What was that guy like? [Joey] *thinking very hard* Which... strange person...? I mean... Denis was there?

[Norman] Try not to fall in a swamp this time. [Joey] I'll let you know if I find one! [Sammy] There's fewer of those in New York, so, I think we're good. [Jack] I mean, you never know,, [Sammy] ...yeah, that's true..... [Joey] HEY, Joey will let him know if he finds one!!! [Sammy] If LAKE PONCHARTRAIN opens up in the MIDDLE OF NEW YORK CITY, that will certainly be something to let all of our friends know!

[GM] Make a social-type checks to have a word with them beforehand! [Sammy] I don't know, if I should do that,,, [GM] SAMMY can make an Appearance check! [Sammy] *laughing* LETS SEE IF IM HANDSOME ENOUGH to get let in!

[GM] Everybody's like "You guys!" You're greeted with nostalgia, and eagerness! and people are trying to small talk you, I'm guessing Sammy's not going for that. [Sammy] I mean, you can try to small talk.... AT him... [Sammy] He doesn't... y'know... it's like playing a game of catch where you throw the ball to somebody, and they just hold the ball. [Sammy] Like.... okay! [GM] I did the thing! [Sammy] Cool, catch successful. [Jack] No give, only throw!

[Sammy] Look, I was trying to drink ink this morning, so I feel like this is a step up.

[Sammy] Sammy will enjoy it! We should do this more often! [Sammy] "We should do this more often" says man who will always be too busy to do this more often,

[GM] They're impressed that, at a job where there was a gunshot right in front of the stage, the thing you want to ask about is where they sourced their music. [Sammy] I LOVE that Sammy's reputation is such that this makes perfect sense to them.

[GM] His name is Alan Leroy. [Sammy] Okay, Leroy works, because then I'll remember it, because of Leroy Jenkins. [GM] This is what's been going through my head the entire time, too...

[GM] They say he's a crazy-talented musician who blew into town a year or two ago? He's really nice and easy to get along with, and when he really gets going he can make sounds come out of his instrument like you've never heard! [Sammy] These... are all.. compliments that would be really impressive except that they can all be interpreted in really concerning ways.......

[GM] If Jack wants to look harder, he can.......... [Jack] I'm doing it, Jack can make little a bad decision! He hasn't made any yet this season!! [Jack] *rolls* That's an extreme success. How much sanity do I lose!!

[Henry] We're ghost hunters. The, the pale guy is a ghost, we're goin' after him. Ghost hunters. [Henry] ...This is why you don't let Henry lead the conversation!!

[Jack] It's occurring to me that we don't know if this guy is alive??? [Joey] YUP! This is a good time to find out! [Henry] Fun! [GM] When have you EVER gone up to somebody's house and found them dead inside? [Jack] Jack hasn't yet... [Henry] The very first scenario! [Sammy] Yeah it was a pretty bad situation as I recall, we were briefly accused of being involved! [Jack] Maybe you guys. Jack's different, though.

[Joey] We wanted to make sure he was doing alright. .....does that need a Fast Talk roll? [GM] Yeah, I was about to say-- [Joey] *rolls* *STARTS CACKLING* [GM] What did you do, do you roll a three again? [Joey] I DID ROLL A THREE! :D THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I ROLLED! [GM] I thought it was the Three Laugh!

[Henry] Henry is tired. Henry rolled a 93. [GM] Well he's out late, you know, he's a family man! He has normal hours, he hasn't been staying up late, living at the studio for the last few years! [Henry] He's regretting not accepting Joey's offer to just go home. [Joey] *muttering* See, Joey knows best!

[GM] Okay, so you guys notice, right off, that the car isn't there. [Sammy] UM. HM. [Jack] Which car did we take again? [Joey] The Mercedes... [Jack] *relieved* Okay good. [Jack] .... I MEAN, NOT GOOD, BUT...

[Joey] No, no I think it's OUR car... it's just... more yellow now... [Jack] I don't like that that means it's getting yellower... [Joey] ...........................So when do we take the sanity hit? [GM] Yeah, that would be now!

[GM] The woman says she's looking forward to when he has his own ship, and they can sail away together! [Henry] [Henry] ...I'm married,...

[Joey] Joey has his face pressed to the window-- no, he probably has the window down, it doesn't matter how cold it is -- and... CAN the window go down? Hold on. [Joey] *sounds of typing* "Car... door... window... down... history... when."

[Henry] Okay, these dice are BANNED. I rolled a 90! [Jack] What if you subtly replace the dice...? [Sammy] With slighty yellower dice!

[Joey] OKAY! There ARE rolling windows, so Joey does have the window rolled down, and he's intensely watching the colour of the car. [Joey] AND ALSO, he's STILL sitting in the middle seat, he's just going to lean over someone to do this. [Sammy] Ah. It's probably me.

[Jack] No, no, Pete and Jack can get kidnapped later and take some massive sanity damage together. ✨Cute date ideas!✨

[Joey] Joey's going to inform Norman that they're going to come over, they need additional eyes on something, [GM] Well, he's good at keeping eyes on things! [Joey] So they'll be over soon. [Sammy] I like how Norman gets a heads up, but with Peter we just show up at his apartment. [Joey] Exactly! [Jack] That's because Joey's kissed Pete. When Joey and Norman kiss then that's -- not good for Sammy, probably. [GM] At least Pete and Sammy are neutral. Non-reactive. [Sammy] Norman and Sammy are "it's complicated" on Facebook.

[Sammy] Okay, we gotta go get Linda, so Susie's not alone, [Jack] We're just playing "how many NPCs can we force Thren to play at once!" How many can we shove in the back of this car.

[Jack] Jack's gonna get home and find out his cats are different colours, [Sammy] Oh NO, [Jack] Comes back and Beans is a tortie now. [Sammy] Or Beans is just an orange cat, [Jack] Oh no! Her braincells! [GM] She needs those! She has all of them!!

[Joey] Depending on who's the affected party, Susie or them, it is actually useful to have a second, like, [Sammy] Someone to compare with? Yeah. [Henry] We don't know WHO the control group is, but ONE of us is the control group!

[Joey] As trusted as Norman is, he isn't one of Joey's... white-knuckle-clutched-keepsakes of a person,

[Sammy] *sarcastic* Okay, everyone ready to go to sleep? That's not a scary prospect right now, right? That's something that we're all really confident about doing? Cool, that's great. [Henry] Yeah, yeah, that's definitely not gonna, it's gonna go great...! [GM] Nobody's even cut their hand on a slick stone! It's fine! [Henry] NO ONE BETTER CUT THEIR HAND ON A SLICK STONE! We got enough problems!! [Joey] (Looking at you, Prophet!)

[Henry] Is Joey,,, sharing this plan with anyone? [Joey] ouo Has anyone asked him?

[Joey] Let's send Henry then! [Henry] Alright. Send Henry to Carcosa! [Sammy] *exasperated* yeah that's fine.... [Joey] It's not FULLY sending him there! It's just making a connection. [Joey] A little bridge! [Sammy] Uggghhhh... Sammy doesn't think we need any bridges to Carcosa. [Sammy] We've got enough Carcosa. [Sammy] Put some back.

[Sammy] This is what happens When You Give a Joey a Dream Spell.

[Sammy] We can't actually guarantee that New York isn't going to sink. That's not out of the question. [Jack] Is the Joey Drew specialty NOT "promising things that aren't necessarily things you can promise??"

[Henry] Actually, before Henry leaves he's going to give Joey a hug. [Joey] He doesn't get to leave. [Henry] Oh. [Joey] But Joey will take the hug!

[Henry] You know this man gives good hugs. You're getting a good Henry hug. [Jack] Gonna crunch all of Joey's terrible, very bad bones. [Henry] He's gonnna try not to crunch all of Joey's terrible bones! [Henry] But, I dunno. [Henry] Roll for damage.

[GM] The lurker knows this is serious, but he's also excited, because he has heard what a slumber party is from Henry's kids.

[GM] Now it is Friday, the 28th of December. [Sammy] Okay. Cool. Let's all make an effort to not ring in the New Year in Carcosa. That's MY New Year's Resolution: Don't Be In Carcosa.

[cassimothwin]

I have indie tabletop RPGs for sale on my store!!

I designed all of them and illustrated most of them. ☺️

If you make a purchase, don't miss the deals section!

In addition to selling the tabletop RPGs I made, my store also has notebooks, shirts, hats, and prints inspired by my games and illustrations!

Here's a little about the games I made! 👇

What Crooked Roots

This best-selling encounter book features custom illustrations and thought-provoking folk-horror scenarios to put in front of your players. While it’s designed for a generic fantasy 5e setting, most of the encounters use few mechanics and are easily adaptable to other settings.

Clean Spirit

This is a 3-5 player GM-less dwelling and relationship building game. Perfect to plug into your current campaign or to play as a standalone, Clean Spirit is a setting agnostic game that helps your group explore the space you live while learning more about each other’s characters.

Tangled Blessings

This is a 1-2 player magical school horror game that doesn’t require a GM. Using tarot cards, you’ll take on the role of a student supposedly destined for greatness. Find out which house you belong to, meet your rival, and avoid curses and ghosts as you study for your final exam before graduation.

The Sticker Game

This audio drama journaling game won Most Innovative from the Indie Groundbreakers and Best Family Podcast from Minnesota Webfest. It’s difficult to describe this absurdist yet meaningful experience, but if you or someone you know has a growing sticker collection and no where satisfying to use it, this is the game for you.

Carved by the Garden

My newest work is inspired by my time growing up at the end of a dead-end road in the woods. I did all the illustrations as well as wrote the haunting prompts. It’s a single-player journaling game based on the Wretched and Alone System.

[any-prints]

Gm Rocket / GOTG Nation!! ✨ How we feelin?!

Hi! @angyc0rtoons posting here c: just to show you this notebook / journal that is now available in our etsy store! It has 6 inside printed pages and ruled line sheets.

We hope you like this design c: we're also planning to use it in a print and tshirt.

Would you like to see this design in other products? What kind of designs would you like to see in the future? You can tell us in the comments ✨

[thoughtsfromthegm]

unethically harvested vanilla extract

But at the end of the day it’s not funny, is it, because vanilla extract is made from the tears of vanillabears.

[thoughtsfromthegm]

[fuck-customers]

not my gm telling my boss i have a "major attitude problem" because i said a number wrong.

lord have mercy, i said three in a way that i speak normally, i dont grovel or kiss your ass over menus, and i'm accused of having an attitude that i GENUINELY APOLOGIZED FOR, but you still have a problem with.

genuinely believe it's a racial thing, because i know what i said and how i said it, but my mom is going to help me report it to the person above her.

(also i told her i'd go get shoes to appease her for two days, and she's rude about that. "i'm trying to give you time, but you dont have shoes, i'm sending you home next time." you ever stop to think that i have yet to get paid for me not to get shoes yet? every pair of shoes in my size on the website is literally on backorder until the 14th. and even then, they take TWO WEEKS TO GET HERE. so im gonna chill at home w no pay for two weeks while i wait on my shoes??? and have not yet had my pay??? can you fucking hear yourself?

also the issue with me being late. apparently ive been late four times, two of the four is me quite literally forgetting to clock in because we're running around trying to figure out whats going to go out BECAUSE OF YOUR STUPIDITY, you never looked at the stockroom or cooler and just assumed we had enough for ANOTHER WEEK. luckily we get stuff monday, but how the fuck are you the general manager. genuinely. god. )

PPS: i stole the fucking note she wrote to my boss. i took a picture of it, but im probably putting it back in the notebook at a random point to make sure i dont get in trouble. i dont know if i should keep the physical thing for evidence or not. any tips?

Posted by admin Rodney.

[lunarbard]

A lot of "how to help the GM as a player" advice seems to come down to some amalgam of "take story hooks & don't be selfish when making a character," which is sort of more some basic gaming etiquette than actually taking on a helpful role.

I have been properly GMing my main group for six years now (though I've often assumed a similar role since my childhood, just without a proper ruleset) and am a player at another table with a campaign going on three years now. Knowing what issues I encountered when I GMed, I decided after a bit to take a more active role in the group and hopefully ease some of the inherent stress of running the game.

With that in mind, here are some things I do for my group as a player that are a general help for our GM & the table in general:

Take good notes & share them. I understand different people have different matters of notes & attention, but notetaking is just a basic skill you can bring to a table to the benefit of yourself, your fellow players, and the GM. The more notetakers at the table, the less likely information will fall down the cracks. I'm one of two notetakers in my second group, and between our two different styles it's typically easy to double check an event from real years prior in the campaign. The first ~15 sessions before we started taking proper notes? Lost to time, fuzzy memory, and context-free notebook lines in the single digits per session.

State your Plans. This applies to a lot of things, but basically boils down to "communicate with your GM." Give your GM a heads up if you have a course of action in mind for your next session (like wanting to visit a specific shop to get some new gear, wanting to investigate a haunted house, chasing down a specific lead in a mystery, etc).

Wrangle Your Fellow Players. GMing can be exhausting needing to run the game, manage the social group, and throwing time at prep that can get chucked down the drain. Again, each group & their needs & styles will be different, but you can ease some of this just by being a bit mindful. If scheduling's a problem, take the initiative on sorting out prime session time with everyone. Engage your fellow players openly on their plans heading into future sessions (and remember to State your Plans for the GM so they can focus their time where it will be of the most use). If your group can get a bit rowdy and/or the GM has trouble getting everyone's attention, give them a hand in returning the group to the game.

Provide Information as Necessary. This will entirely differ depending on group and game, but sometimes the GM might need help tracking a bit of information or looking up a rule (or, if you have good notes, looking up an NPC name or similar past encounter the group has had). GMing can be hectic what with managing the entire game beyond the party in many systems. You can respectfully bring up a forgotten mechanic or the text of a rule (especially if the GM asks for it). Importantly, strive to act as an impartial reminder of information and rules if you aim to perform this facet; you are arguing not to better your case, but to ease some load from the GM. A corollary to this that shouldn't need to be said, but sometimes does: strive to understand the game & how you interact with it. For D&D likes, this means "know your abilities & their functions; read your spells." If something's vague or unclear, ask your GM before or outside of game how they understand it (not that they're necessarily correct, but that you'll be on the same page).

Perhaps most importantly though: take an opportunity to GM if you can. A prime opportunity is if a portion of the group will miss a week or the GM is a bit burned out (or can't run due to not having prep time for a period of time), you can volunteer to run a one-shot or short side campaign until everything's settled. GMing may seem spooky at times, but it can easily be a ton of fun once you get into the vibe of it. Even if you don't enjoy it, taking some time to GM for yourself can give you excellent insights on how to be a better player from the other side of the screen.

[theresattrpgforthat]

Heya, I'm going to do a one shot session for my birthday and I'm looking for recommendations! If you're up for giving me some pointers, I'd be super happy. I'll be playing with people who have no experience role-playing, and I myself have little experience and I've never DM'ed. It needs to be easy to understand and the rules need to be easily readable for the players. It can be GM less (doesn't have to be) because I'm also really excited about playing :) It should be creative and not to combat heavy. Aesthetic wise I'm flexible, I like magic and fantasy but I'm not at all set on that, just one thing: I made a mysterious notebook (dark academia style) that I want to use during the session, it documents "secrets" like maps and drawings of plants and old photographs, nothing's legible in there, I just want people to make up the secrets that have been discovered within this book. So the notebook needs to somehow fit into the game, but the setting in general does not need to be dark academia style.

Wow that's a really long ask,I hope you're not seeing it as me feeling entitled to a super specific recommendation. Just if you want to give me and my inexperienced friends a hint for my birthday afternoon, anything at all, I'd be super happy

Theme: New Group Friendly, Fantastical Mystery

Alright, so for this answer, these are the following concepts I tried to consider:

Guidance for the GM

Friendly to new players, easy to teach

Creative with a de-emphasis off combat

magic, fantasy, mystery, a little bit of darkness

something that encourages the group to flip through some kind of oracle

GM-less is welcome but not necessary

All of these games have GM-less as an option, but I recommend that if you're the one picking the game, that you read through at and be ready to facilitate, as you'll know a bit more about what's going on.

A Land Once Magic, by Viditya Voleti.

A Land Once Magic is a Post-Fantasy worldbuilding game to help create unique worlds based around deconstructing and evolving fantasy tropes and creating unique magic systems that are built from the ground up. Using only random tables and a deck of cards you'll be able to create a wholly original post-fantasy world!

If you want to specifically use the mysterious notebook to add to the game you are playing, I think a world building game would be a great way to incorporate it into the setting itself. A Land Once Magic asks you to create a world together and come up with your own ideas about how magic works, using a deck of cards and random tables. However, for a game like this, you could use the book that you have to give you ideas about how to answer questions in the game. For example, to answer the question about what cost magic has, flipping the book to a page with a botanical drawing of flowers might inspire the character to talk about the the bond between magic and living things, or how flowers fail to bloom where magic has been cast.

I like the fact that this game is GM-less, giving everyone the same creative agency, and that it structures play using cards, so you should always have an idea of what you can do next. At the end of it you’ll have a completely unique setting where you can imagine the potential of future stories and adventures!

Goblin Market, by Kestrel Eliot.

Every solstice, the veil thins between the worlds, merging mortal world with fae realm. Some time ago, the goblins started a market on the solstices to encourage friendship, trade, and storytelling between the worlds. Play to get to know your characters, meet fae beings, and ultimately decide where you belong.

Another game that uses a deck of cards as prompts for telling a story, Goblin Market explores the story of mortals trying to decide if they run away into the fae realm or not. You’ll spend the game in three different phases: setting up character backstory as they explore the market, diving into the personal struggles and connections of each character as the are confronted with the magical food of the Goblin Market, and then finally a choice - do you stay, or do you go? What does this mean for you in the future?

This is another game in which you could use the book as an oracle. You could flip to different pages to help characters answer questions about themselves if you like, or even use it as inspiration for what happens once each character makes their decision. This game definitely provides the structure a first-timer might appreciate, while encouraging each player to put forward ideas and create the Goblin Market as you play.

Beating Heart Bargain, by Charlotte Laskowski.

Beating Heart Bargain is a rules-lite tabletop roleplaying game made for one to three players, with or without a GM.  You play as a Wizard who has traded a piece of themselves in exchange for more power, and now you seek to retrieve what you had once bargained away. Heavy inspiration is taken from Studio Ghibli films, especially Howl’s Moving Castle and Spirited Away.

This game has such an enchanting theme, and provides all of your characters with short but evocative options to create their wizards. This game can be GM-less, but it doesn’t have to be. If you play without a storyteller, the players will take turns describing the environment around you, the people you meet, and the creatures and details that will show up as problems emerge. You could use your book as a kind of “grimoire” in this game, possibly as an oracle to fill out parts of the setting, or perhaps the pages leave clues as to how to return your missing piece.

This game is extremely creative and really encourages you to avoid combat if possible. I strongly recommend that you check out this game!

EYE: A Murder Mystery Generator, by Zak Makes Games.

EYE is a cooperative mystery solving game for one to six players. Players take on the role of detectives, hunting down suspects, evidence and clues in order to solve a randomly generated murder mystery. It’s up to you and your friends to make sense of the information presented and get to the bottom of each mysterious case!

This is a setting-agnostic mystery game, so if you would like to use it for a fantastical setting, you absolutely can! Players will use a random word to generate the premise of the mystery, and then interview suspects and uncover evidence to determine who the murderer actually is. You can use the book as a way to come up with clues, and perhaps even make it an integral part of solving the case! This game is totally co-op, and the pieces of evidence that are required give everyone a concrete goal to pursue and points the group in a specific direction. Worth checking out!

Games I've Recommended In the Past

Research Arcanum, by J. Evan Nyquist.