So... Anybody here ever run or played in a slice of life tabletop

My group ran a short game where we were all staff in space ship that doubled as a cafe. There were a few interesting events but ultimately we realised that SoL is more fun to watch than to act out.

>>52670904
That makes sense. I wonder if it'd be more fun to play if there were a system specifically designed to constantly produce problems and such. Like a narrativist system made specifically for high school drama, for instance.

>>52671304
Just play MAID.

>>52669588
Does a Ryuutama game centered around a merchant and her friends traveling from town to town buying and selling wares?

>>52670904
>There were a few interesting events but ultimately we realised that SoL is more fun to watch than to act out.

Slice of Life is one of those genres that just doesn't lend itself to table top roll playing
Maybe when Full Immersion Virtual Reality allows for players to enter a virtual world where all the calculations are made in real time by a super intelligent A.I. GM we can play a game of F.R.I.E.N.D.S where we all hang out at a coffee house in a city we've never been to and deal with wacky sitcom shenanigans, but until then I don't see SOL being used for anything other than a one shot at most

>>52669588
ryutama. i did not care for it, it felt like playing an npc, but ive met people that like it

>>52671304
MAID does a surprisingly alright job of this, though it's obviously designed for a very specific genre. I can't say I'd recommend it for more than a handful of silly one-shots, but it is fun.

I've heard good things about Ryuutama, though I've never had the chance to play it myself.

Chuubo's Marvelous Wish Granting Engine has a lot of neat ideas, and definitely encourages running slice-of-life anime-inspired campaigns. It's a shame it's also a huge clusterfuck. I have the physical rulebook, but I doubt I'll ever try and foist it on my players.

Hillfolk (Drama System) could probably handle it rather well. Easily one of my favorite systems, and it's a shame it doesn't get recommended more often.

>>52678378
>slice-of-life anime-inspired campaigns
I actually want a weird ongoing murder mystery, town has dark secrets kind of thing. Twin Peaks, Riverdale, Broadchurch, etc.

>>52678471
I'm not super familiar with the sources you mention, but my best recommendation would probably be Hillfolk. In part because you might have noticed most other "slice of life" RPGs are anime-inspired, but also because interpersonal drama is literally what the game is all about, and it sounds like that's at least part of what you're after.

There's a catch, though: Hillfolk is not a traditional RPG in the vein of, say, D&D. There are two big adjustments you have to make to play it.

The first is that there are no dice. The game does provide a conflict resolution mechanic, but it's expected that most conflicts will be resolved narratively, by someone simply saying what happens without the need for randomization.

The second is that there is no uneven division of power between players and GMs. The GM is effectively just the player who portrays all the major NPCs—the other players have just as much free reign to invent details about the setting, voice background characters, narrate events, etc.

If those elements turn you off, then you'll have to look elsewhere. If not, then Hillfolk is one damn good system, and I highly recommend you at least give it a look.

>>52678471
>>52678766
On the other hand, if you're just looking to run a game ABOUT something else (a mystery, say) where there is also a secondary focus on the characters' personal lives... that's definitely doable, and you don't really need a system for it.

That's the kind of game I run most of the time, and I use Chronicles of Darkness, which I don't even think is a particularly good system. But it's just there to handle the procedural stuff—the drama comes from having an interesting cast of NPCs caught up in your plot, and players that are active about roleplaying.

Ran a brief one shot, of Ryuutama with the one guy I thought would hate it and he adored it. I'd argue slice of Life is great for short bursts or for something aside from Dramatic World Rending conflict BUT not every night if that makes any sense?

>>52675336
That.... the point?

If you walk into a game of Ryuutama expecting to be playing D&D, you're in the wrong game.

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>>52669588

Slice of Life is a vital component to any RPG involving people like humans, but it isn't really that engaging on its own because it's just that: a component of a complete experience. It's up to the other modules such as those that dictate combat and setting to determine what the drama is and how it's dealt with.

MAID seems to be on the top of my head when I think of RPG systems that eschew focus on combat for focus on diplomatic and environmental challenges.

My preferred structure for RPGs these days is slice of life segments in between the action/adventure bits. Let things get really chaotic and hairy for a while, then give people a chance to let their hair down and interact with one another more casually, cooling off.

I know some groups don't really like the slow, non-action oriented bits, but I've been lucky enough to find a group who love them, and the structure works great for us. Of course you need the action to spice things up and add new events to base character interactions on, but the slower segments also give you room to breathe after the more intense sessions, letting you catch your breath.

I want to troll my friends and run an Animal Crossing role play during weeks when normal sessions get canceled for whatever reason.

Slice of life, home decorating, helping people with social problems, running from swarms of angry bees, you know how it is.

Any suggestions?

>>52683196
Well, both Ryuutama and MAID have been brought up a few times in this thread.

>>52669588
It was. I have posted about it before, Orsen the Alligator.
>tfw dm turned it into a magical realm at the end though.

>>52669588
I came here to mention Ryuutama and Chuubo's, but I see that's been sorted already.

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>>52672045
>Slice of Life is one of those genres that just doesn't lend itself to table top roll playing
Maybe not as a full on "chore simulation", but I feel like it the SoL moments are paired with a unique premise it could manage to work for a little while at least.

One example I think of off hand is the beginning of the Incredibles, and maybe using that kind of tone for a SoL campaign. The PCs are heroes and know they are, but for whatever reason they have to learn to live "normal" lives that are difficult to adjust to thanks to their status and powers. The major obstacles of the campaign would then be not about using the characters' strengths, but figuring out how NOT to rely on them to solve everyday problems. Of course, you can always through your group a bone and let them tackle actual threats from time to time, though that taste of liberation might just make it harder to fit in with civilians later on.