For Game Masters
Run a game with us
Running games with Pittsburgh’s tabletop RPG community. Whether you’re a first-time GM or a veteran with a shelf full of rulebooks, we make running games easy, social and fun.
Questions first? Ask on Discord (opens in a new tab) · Email us
- A reply within about two days of submitting
- Pre-gens by default, and we’ll help you make them
- X-Cards on every table, survey on request
- We handle the logistics: venue, sign-ups, listing
We’re not a club with dues, a store with a loyalty program, or a Discord server that never actually meets up. We’re a group of people who show up to local venues, roll dice, tell stories, and occasionally argue about whether that counts as a critical hit.
We organize mostly around one-shots and short sessions because they lower the barrier for everyone, GMs and players alike. But connections happen and groups form, and campaigns start at our tables too. We’re also growing: new venues, new event formats and more Game Days, and the community’s voice shapes where we go next.
- Accessible. Tabletop RPGs that welcome everyone.
- Local. We support the businesses that host us.
- GM-friendly. A low-pressure, well-organized space to run.
- ClassicsD&D 5e, Advanced D&D, Pathfinder 2e.
- For the grognardsShadowdark, OSR and rules-light games.
- Everything elseIndie, experimental and lesser-known systems. If you love it, pitch it.
Episodes, short arcs and campaigns are welcome too. If a group clicks and wants to keep going, we can support that: returning players can be pre-assigned to your table so continuity carries across events. Just loop us in before the next session. The focus is short-form; the door is open for everything else.
Player count
Standard tables run 5–6 players; filling your table helps us seat everyone. 3–4 is fine when the system genuinely calls for it. Over 7? Talk to an organizer first.
Table doesn’t fill? It happens. On the day, the event lead may combine tables so everyone gets a game. If yours doesn’t run, you’re welcome to join another table as a player. Need to cancel yourself? Tell us as early as you can (see Culture).
Characters
Pre-generated characters are the default: players start playing right away, and it’s easy to seat someone brand new. Need help building them? Ask on Discord. Streamlined creation is next best. Full character creation is your call, but say so in your listing and set players up before the day.
Everything else
Tone, pacing and house rules are yours. A short mid-session break is encouraged: players grabbing food and drinks is how we support the venues that host us.
On top of that floor, Lines & Veils are encouraged, and the safety survey is there for anything heavy. Everyone at our tables follows the Code of Conduct.
The X-Card
A simple card on the table (created by John Stavropoulos). Anyone, GM included, can tap it to move past the current content. No explanation, no discussion, no vote: the story continues; the moment doesn’t. Players who don’t need it will forget it’s there. Players who do will remember you put it out.
Safety survey
An optional pre-session survey that lets players and GMs share comfort levels before play, covering common content categories. Most useful for mature, intense or emotionally heavy games, and it takes 5–10 minutes. On the fence? Use it.
See the safety survey (opens in a new tab)If something goes wrong
Pause the game, check in with the player, and tell an organizer. Anyone can report a problem to safety@steelcityrpg.com; reports are handled privately.
- A Game Day is announcedWe post the date and call for GMs a month and two weeks out.
- Submit your gameUse the GM form; we reply within about two days.
- Tables go liveYour game gets its own listing.
- Run your tableShow up, set out the X-Card, play.
- Tell us how it wentA quick check-in, not a review.
Submitting
Use the GM game submission form (opens in a new tab) as soon as a Game Day is on the calendar. We put out a call for GMs about a month before and again two weeks before, but you don’t have to wait for it.
We usually get back to you within two days, with your listing made or a quick question about it. Submitting doesn’t guarantee a slot, one submission is one game, and it’s first come, first served. First time with us? We’ll set up a quick intro chat.
No date that suits you? Submit anyway and ask for a game night of your own: we’ll help arrange it (GM-led events).
On the day and after
Your game gets its own listing as soon as it’s confirmed, and players sign up for your table directly. On the day you show up and run your game; we have a quick day-of checklist and a short report-out form. Afterwards we follow up to hear what landed and what didn’t. Not a performance review: your feedback shapes how we run things.
What’s on the form, and whyHide the form details
- Preferred name
- Whatever you go by. This is what players see.
- Run with us before?
- Tells us whether to set up a quick intro chat.
- Discord handle
- Most coordination lives in our server. Format: @username.
- Not on Discord? Give us an email so we can get back to you. We need one or the other.
- Meetup username
- Strongly encouraged: we add GMs as co-hosts so players can see you’re running a table.
- Where in Pittsburgh are you coming from?
- Helps us pick venues that don’t require a cross-city trek. A neighborhood or general area is enough.
- Game system
- What are you running? The name, or as close as you can get.
- Game title
- “Untitled One-Shot” is a perfectly valid answer. We’ll work something out.
- Tell us about your game
- A few sentences on premise and vibe. A starting point, not your final listing. Rough is fine.
- Game hook
- Optional but useful: one sentence that makes someone want to sign up. Don’t have one? We’ll write it together.
- Tone and vibe
- Pick any that fit. Helps players self-select and helps us balance the lineup.
- Anything players should know going in?
- Mature themes, graphic violence, PvP, heavy emotional content. Flag it so players can make informed choices.
- Pre-generated characters?
- Pre-gens are the default: players start right away. Custom characters? See Table expectations on Run a game.
- How many players?
- The standard is 5–6. Note it if you need fewer.
- Game image
- A picture for your listing: art, a map, a mood. JPG, PNG or WebP, up to 4 MB (we shrink big phone photos for you). No picture? Post one in #game-submission-pictures on Discord later, or the Chaos Lord picks.
- Which event?
- Pick a Game Day, or ask for another date or a game night of your own. We’ll do our best.
- Anything else?
- Another date, timing, accessibility needs, a question for us.
Two checkboxes close it: organizers may contact you before your game is confirmed, and you’ll help keep play welcoming, inclusive and harassment-free. Not formalities. Actual expectations.
We play at local game stores, community spaces, bars and cafés. You’re never expected to sell anything. We handle sign-ups and logistics, and once your game is confirmed we send venue details: table setup, terrain or props, parking and anything else you need.
Venue guide (opens in a new tab)Schedule doesn’t line up with our Game Days? We support GM-led and pop-up events: one-off sessions on your timeline, smaller or experimental games. You run it; we post the listing and help you find players. In-person is the focus, but we’re open to running online sessions under the Steel City RPG banner too. Ask on Discord.
New or first-time GMs
You don’t need a polished pitch or a fully prepped adventure. We’ll help shape the idea, talk through prep and pacing, help build pre-gens, and check in on the day if you want. The goal is to get you behind the screen feeling confident, then get out of your way.
Experienced GMs
You know what you’re doing. Run your table your way. We’re here if you need anything and invisible if you don’t.
If a player wants to tip their GM, that’s fine by us, but we don’t run anything formal. We’re working out paid events, paid tables and more, and our GMs will be the first to hear.
- Communicate early if something changes. Life happens; just don’t ghost us.
- Put out the X-Card at every table, and add whatever else your game needs.
- Welcome everyone, especially players who are new to the hobby.
Good tables create good communities. Half-formed ideas are welcome: “I have this system and no plan” is a fine starting point. Pull up a chair; we’d love to have you behind the screen.