How to Make Your RuneScape TTRPG Campaigns Feel ‘RuneScapey’
Welcome back, ‘Scapers! With the release of RuneScape Kingdoms: The Roleplaying Game coming up fast (February 29th, to be exact) we’ve got the writer, Richard August, chained to a desk so he can churn out articles for us. Just kidding! Moving on…
Creating a RuneScape Atmosphere
by Richard August, the definitely-not-chained-up TTRPG writer
So, let’s say you’re a Game Master (GM). You’ve got your core book, and you’re sitting down to plan your first session. One thing you might be thinking is, “How do I make my players feel like they’re in Gielinor?”
Now, don’t get me wrong; the core book gives you all the tools you need to run authentic RuneScape campaigns (which we’ll go into more detail on in the coming articles). It’s so complete, in fact, that some have even compared it to certain holy texts.
However, if you’re the kind of GM who likes to go the extra mile to make sure your player immersion is so absolute that they’ll be dreaming of RuneScape, then this is the article for you.
There are several key ways you can make sure your crew of Table ‘Scapers (a term I just invented now) are having fun in an authentically Gielinorian fashion. As it happens, I’m about to run a game myself, so the following is something I’m going to be using, too!
Epic, Irreverent, and Everything Between
Now, as the core book discusses in more detail, RuneScape and Old School possess a tone quite unlike anything else. It’s part Lord of the Rings, and part Monty Python. It’s like a giddy Terry Pratchett having a drunken hug with Tad Williams.
Now, the exact tone you opt for in your games is up to you. RuneScape is a world that’s sometimes epic, and often irreverent, so you could lean further in whichever direction you choose. With the release of a game I spent a long time working on imminent, I’m feeling drawn to the funny, eccentric, and whimsical side of RuneScape, so that’s what these tips will focus on.
Materials
There’s a common writing tip that says if you want to situate your readers in a scene, you should give them something to see, something to hear, something to smell and, if appropriate, something to taste. You can apply the same principles to immerse your players in a campaign.
Sight: Curate Images to Set the Scene
Pictures are a great way to put your players in the right mindset, and can often impact how your players engage with what’s before them. They might make different choices, depending on the vibe you set.
Let’s take Gielinor itself as an example. Are players exploring the polished, gleaming Gielinor you see in the core book art? Or the nostalgic Gielinor of Old School?
Guthix arrives at Gielinor.
Put together a short slideshow to depict where your adventure takes place, what monsters they’re facing, and maybe even the NPC’s they’re meeting along the way. As you move through the campaign, the slides will be a useful visual aid for each checkpoint your players reach. Just don’t show them the full slideshow upfront — you want to save some surprises!
Props can be another way to go. If you have the RuneScape Kingdoms board game, the miniatures can be a great way to represent characters and enemies in a tangible way. You could even have a go at painting them!
Speaking of being artistically inclined, depending on what your group is into, paper partyhats for your players could be an option, too. It doesn’t need to be anything fancy — some coloured card, scissors, and a stapler would do the trick. Heck, while you’re at it, why not make a cape?
Zamorak sears away the gigantic continent of Forinthry.
Sound: Use Music to Create Ambience
The first time I visited Jagex, I was amazed by the number of instruments, recording booths, and the skill of their sound team. As a GM, you have all of this music available to you… so use it!
Music is a fantastic way to achieve the right kind of mood and ambience at the table, and this is doubly true given the number of recognisable themes available on the RuneScape and Old School RuneScape wiki. The music is also available on Spotify, where you could even create your own playlist for your adventure!
Smell: Use Candles
This one is a little more difficult, and arguably the least important of the three in this particular case. Given none of us have had the pleasure of actually visiting Gielinor, it’s tough to say exactly what it would smell like!
Still, there are plenty of studies that say certain scents become attached to certain memories. So, at the very least, by burning a particular candle during sessions, you’ll be creating a memory trigger that means in years to come, when players catch a whiff of that scent, they’ll be transported back to the tabletop and can say, “I remember when…!”
Taste: Provide Thematic Snacks
All good game evenings require snacks. This is a truism. I have heard about GMs who don’t allow snacks at their table and, if they are reading this: who hurt you? Who took away your soul? WHAT MADE YOU THIS WAY?!
Anyway, moving on, snacks make everyone happy. So, let’s give them the RuneScape treatment!
How? One way would be to put together a smorgasbord of sweets and chips and all sorts of deliciousness, and offer a one point Skill increase to whichever of your players crafts the most delicious snack from the available assortment. Food-plus-gaming inducements equals happy players!
If you want to go a more thematic route, sandwiches would be an option. (I’m looking at you, Sandwich Lady.) Otherwise, this is one area in which you have a lot of freedom, given how many types of food appear in the game. Perhaps stay away from the Karamjan karambwan, though.
There’s a rumour there might even be a RuneScape cookbook coming out soon, so it’s worth keeping an eye out for that!
Online Games
All the above, aside from the food and partyhats, works extremely well for online gaming, too. In some ways, using imagery is easier and more immediately effective during an online game. You can quickly share your screen, or drop a picture into a virtual tabletop, and you’ve increased immersion with minimal effort.
Make Your Players Happy and Comfortable
Atmosphere, creating and maintaining it, is an important part of any TTRPG session. People enjoy games the most when they’re comfortable, and that’s truly the most important aspect of running RuneScape. The ideas I’ve given above are really about cultivating fun, about making everyone feel part of the same team. That’s the aim here.
So, think about what might make things fun for your table, and what’s going to bring the table together. Then do it. Laugh loud, and roll some dice. Oh, and don’t play with GMs who won’t allow snacks at the table. That’s basic.
RuneScape Kingdoms: The Roleplaying Game is available to pre-order now and releases February 29th! For the time being, feel free to join our Discord, and hang out with the SFG Team!
