we live in ohio and have just travelled from the Sin Sea to Columbanus

Columbanus sounds like something that climbs up your butt.

1980s New York. Nearly everything I dm plays there. I have a map on paper for that.

What the fuck are these acronyms?

40K: Warhammer 40K Roleplay TTRPG: Tabletop roleplaying game DM: Dungeon master/game master D&D: Dungeons and Dragons VtM: Vampire the Masquerade RL: Real life

Searching for India

The joke is that the 40k game is set in the far future which kinda blends scifi, horror, and fantasy elements. It's not very popular so to play it with high quality components, you need to craft them yourself. D&D is super popular, so it's easy to pull premade resources. Vampire the Masquerade is set in modern day, so you don't need anything crafted. [40k = Warhammer 40,000](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warhammer_40,000) [TTRPG = Table Top Role Playing Game](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tabletop_role-playing_game) DM = Dungeon Master, which doesn't technically apply to a Warhammer 40,000 game, they're usually called Game Masters in anything that isn't D&D [D&D = Dungeons and Dragons](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dungeons_%26_Dragons) [VtM = Vampire the Masquerade](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire:_The_Masquerade) RL = Real Life

Indiabutthole?

Be the efficient DM you want to be!

and WoD is World of Darkness, the 'master' setting that the various vampire, werewolf, changeling, mage, promethian, hunter, etc. games are set within.

The real problem with WoD games? The setting books and DM intros are always so good at crafting that beautiful eerieness of the monsters in the shadows, while the average group handles everything by clunking around like toddlers on stilts. My group tried three times, then it was back to standard 'kick-in-the-door' style games. Roleplaying isn't the easiest thing, and it sucks. I just want a good werewolf or hunter game with some nice politicking and investigation. I'm not even asking for anything crazy, like an introspective mage or changeling meditation session! /cries_in_desperate_desire

Instructions unclear, I've prepped for the past two months and yet I'm in "make shit up" territory already 10 minutes into the session.

Sounds like the instructions were clear!

Played a game where the GM just pulled up Google Maps when needed it was neat

I had one really good game of Vampire. Lasted a couple years. We still talk about it sometimes, and its best scenes. Like how one PC saved an NPC by jumping out a 10th story window with her. Or the time they had a huge in character fight because the job they'd tried to do went sideways. But I've also had a couple really bad games. There was one where they just didn't read and retain anything from the books. One of the players on like session 4 was like "wait. How do I get more blood? Do I like... Bite people?". My friend what do you think was happening in the other scenes when people were hunting for blood? They also didn't retain anything about the different factions, so they didn't really understand anyone's motivation. It was bad. Still feel bad about it.

I ran a game in near future New York and used Google maps and street view for guidance. Worked well. None of the other players lived here, so I think the visuals helped them.

Some of the very best game sessions I've ever had were ones that didn't use any map whatsoever. It's nice to have visual aids, of course, but I don't think it's always an absolute must-have.

You're narrating 40k wrong, *anything* can be explained as "Orks were here and thought of this"

I still have notebooks full of my late brother's Vampire games. He was an accomplished DM in many circles. Printed copies of real estate listings in NYC that he used in game. Dozens of npcs, lore from multiple clans. If anyone has a use for thousands of dollars worth of whitewolf VtM original books...I have a literal laundry basket full since nobody I know will play.