Short Rest Studios
By Jud Kossum
Categories: Leisure, Games
Short Rest Studios is your guide to discovering the best tabletop roleplaying games, D&D 5e alternatives, and modern GM advice. Don't quest alone! I’m Jud, and I explore new TTRPG systems, game design concepts, and GM tools that get you back to the fun. Whether you're looking to fix sluggish combat, or swap Dungeons & Dragons for fast, rules-light systems, I'm scouting the TTRPG landscape so you can focus on running great sessions. • D&D 5e Alternatives: Draw Steel (MCDM), Nimble, Dragonbane, Cosmere RPG, Pirate Borg, and Dungeon Crawl Classics (DCC). • GM Advice & Campaign Prep: Worldbuilding, combat pacing, module design, and adventure prep tools. • Game Design Deep Dives: Designer interviews, mechanical breakdowns, and OSR/indie spotlight reviews. Join the Adventurer's Guild on Patreon: https://patreon.com/shortreststudios Remember: You don't have to quest alone.
18 episodes indexed on PodSearch.
Recent episodes
- What D&D Players Actually Want (And Why It Will Free You)
Are you burning yourself out writing 50-page lore bibles, building complex tactical encounters, and crafting three-dimensional NPCs that your players barely interact with? In this episode, Jud explores a liberating truth for Game Masters: most D&D and tabletop RPG players do not actually want what…
- How to Make Your RPG Encounters Feel Alive (The 3-Question Rule)
Are your tabletop RPG encounters feeling a bit lifeless? Making your game world feel truly immersive and alive doesn’t have to mean writing a 900-page lore bible. In this episode, Jud breaks down how asking yourself just three simple questions can totally transform your encounter design…
- How Nimble TTRPG Replaces 400 D&D Spells (And Creates Better Gameplay)
Is Nimble TTRPG’s magic system too simple, or does cutting down D&D 5e’s spell bloat actually create deeper tactical play and better roleplay?In this episode, Jud breaks down how Nimble handles magic compared to D&D 5e and 5.5e. We look at why replacing almost 400 spells with 76 streamlined…
- Why D&D 5e Sucks at Mysteries (And 5 TTRPGs That Fix It)
Running a mystery or whodunit in Dungeons and Dragons 5e is doable, but its high powered spell shortcuts like Zone of Truth and combat forward rules make it tricky. D&D simply was not built for investigative gameplay. Just in time for spooky season, Jud counts down 5 tabletop RPGs that get mystery…
- Adventure Design & Campaign Prep: 4 Features Every TTRPG Module Needs
Running published TTRPG modules often means wrestling with dense walls of text, confusing page layouts, and endless prepping. Jud breaks down four essential features that every published tabletop RPG adventure from one-shots to full campaigns needs to have for seamless table play.Using examples…
- Cosmere RPG vs D&D 5e: 4 Mechanics Fixed (And Why I'm Passing)
Brandon Sanderson's Cosmere RPG raised over 15 million dollars on Kickstarter in 2024, making it one of the biggest tabletop RPG launches in history. But how does the Cosmere RPG stack up against Dungeons and Dragons 5e?In this episode, Jud breaks down four major mechanics where the Cosmere RPG…
- TTRPG Gaming Table Review: Starmork X-Tend (Affordable Setup)
Is the Starmork X-Tend the ultimate affordable game table, or should you be cautious about backing it on Kickstarter? Jud gets his hands on a prototype of this expandable board game and TTRPG table to deliver an honest hands-on review.The Starmork X-Tend offers a unique expandable design that…
- TTRPG Creator Tips: Is YouTube Harming Small Tabletop Channels?
YouTube just rolled out massive changes that double the requirements to join the Partner Program, making it twice as hard for small creators to earn ad revenue. In this episode, Jud looks behind the curtain at how much money small TTRPG channels actually make, why he is quitting shorts to focus…
- Dragonbane RPG Review: How It Fixes Bloated D&D 5e Combat
Fast, brutal, and fun: if that does not describe your party's last Dungeons and Dragons combat encounter, it might be time to bring Dragonbane to your table.In this episode, Jud breaks down five ways Dragonbane cuts through the bloat of D&D combat, offering a streamlined,OSR-inspired experience…
- Pirate Borg & Ship Combat: Limithron Interview on OSR & 5e Bloat
Why is Pirate Borg taking the tabletop RPG world by storm, and what makes rules-light OSR games so refreshing compared to crunchy 5e Dungeons and Dragons? Jud sits down with Luke Stratton (Limithron), the creator of Pirate Borg, to discuss everything from rules design and naval combat to battle…
- DM Advice: Overcoming D&D 5e Choice Overload & Bloat
Are endless character options, feats, and subclasses in Dungeons and Dragons 5e actually breaking your game? Jud breaks down the psychological reality of choice overload bias in tabletop RPGs and how overly complex character sheets can inadvertently smother player creativity and slow combat to a…
- 10 Fast D&D 5e Alternatives: Rules-Light & Easy TTRPG Systems
Did last night's game of Dungeons and Dragons feel as slow as running through a gelatinous cube? If you and your players are exhausted by complex rules, sluggish combat, and endless prep, it might be time to explore some fresh tabletop RPG systems.In this episode, Jud counts down ten fantastic…
- Dungeon Crawl Classics (DCC RPG) Review: Fixing D&D Combat
Does your last Dungeons and Dragons game feel as slow as running through a gelatinous cube? Goodman Games Dungeon Crawl Classics (DCC) takes old-school Appendix N pulp fantasy and D&D 3.5e mechanics, wraps them up in a text-heavy first-edition style, and cranks the chaos up to eleven.In this…
- Gritty Fantasy TTRPGs vs D&D 5e (feat. Joe Wolf / Reaper Miniatures)
Modern fantasy RPGs can sometimes make players feel less like gritty adventurers and more like unshakeable superheroes. Jud sits down with Joseph Wolf, lead designer for Reaper Miniatures' new RPG, Dungeon Dwellers, to discuss bringing back the dark, dangerous, and grounded spirit of classic pulp…
- Draw Steel RPG Magic System: How MCDM Replaced D&D Spell Slots
Spell lists, spell slots, and spell levels can bring a lot of Vancian baggage to a tabletop RPG. What if you could have powerful, character-driven, and intuitive magic without tracking restrictive daily limits or managing a completely separate operating system from your martial abilities?In this…
- Draw Steel Interview: James Introcaso on MCDM Rest & Resource Rules
What does heroic fantasy look like when you completely throw out the tedious attrition of D&D resting and resource management? Jud sits down with MCDM lead designer James Introcaso to discuss how Draw Steel subverts traditional resting mechanics, shifts from a game of attrition to a game of…
- 5 Best Sci-Fi TTRPG Systems: Beyond D&D 5e Sci-Fi
If you love fantasy but want to explore new horizons, it might be time to take a break from spell slots and dungeons. In this episode, Jud counts down five fantastic science fiction tabletop RPG systems that are entirely worth skipping a D&D session for, ranging from post-apocalyptic mutant fun to…
- D&D 2024 vs. Nimble: The "Rules Tight" Fantasy RPG That Fixes Combat
Dungeons & Dragons 2024 brought some welcome updates to 5e, but it also added more bloat and cognitive load to an already bogged-down system. In this episode, Jud breaks down why he is officially moving his campaign away from D&D and making the switch to Evan Diaz's "Rules Tight" system, Nimble…
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