I’m discovering how much work it takes to jump-start a campaign that’s lain dormant for over a year. Our Friday evening group has played many sessions of Delta Green, Outgunned, and The Hooded Man during that span. But now it’s time to get back to our
core concepts
In this day and age, it may seem too difficult to get a campaign going. But there are ways to make it work, and it can really be worth the effort.
brain food
Tabletop roleplaying occupies a unique and valuable spot in a culture that is increasingly bland and predictable.
characters
As a game master, it's OK to reduce player agency. It can lead to some amazing tabletop roleplaying experiences – you just have to do it the right way.
delta green
Delta Green PCs are not like those in D&D and other tabletop RPGs. What motivates them? What do you as a player want to keep in mind as you build out and play your character?
I published this video in September, 2025, and am finally putting it in blog form for those who prefer to read. Like Burger King, here at Setting First, we let you have it your way. Watch it or read it, as your preferences dictate: Glorantha, the setting for Chaosium’s
core concepts
You'll never run out of possibilities with Eclipse Phase. Here’s why it is a foundational setting that can provide years worth of adventure.
Verisimilitude in tabletop roleplaying games, with an emphasis on in-person campaign play
The post-post-apocalyptic tabletop RPG Degenesis provides a foundational setting, the kind that's deep, broad, and made for Setting First play.
In making a tabletop RPG setting come to life, how characters talk isn’t discussed all that much. So let’s discuss it.
Post-apocalypse settings vary widely, but the matter of who characters trust is always important.
Throwing people together into a game is not always the best way to build a gaming community. Socializing in a no-pressure environment is a great alternative.
How your campaign interacts with canon is important, but there are other ways to think about licensed settings.
Before you build out plans for your post-apocalyptic campaign, think about what you want from it.
What does a player character do when they have to choose between what is right and what is expected of them?
Arkhane Asylum's GODS follows a path less taken.
The Stoic philosophers have something to say about players destroying the best-laid plans of gamemasters.
It can be easy to get excited about a new published setting, but it pays to evaluate it before bringing it to the table.
There is no One True Way to play tabletop RPGs, but Setting First is oriented around three particular approaches to play.
Eighty-two sessions into a Degenesis campaign, I reflect on how I’ve run the game so far, what my players and I have learned, and what the game has given us.