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Hey everyone. I've been paging through this forum looking at people's posts about other games out there. I must have 30 tabs open at the moment of things to check out.. haha. I thought I would make a thread seeking advice on something I've been trying to find for a long time.
A roleplaying game with rules that make the focus on the roleplay, the characters, the development, the stories.
I know that it can be done with Pathfinder (though I homebrew it dramatically into a FASCRIP style amalgam you can see here), & I've also done it with World of Darkness.
Both were tons of fun.
I am merely trying to find something different. It isn't completely that I'm bored with the rules of these two systems, but I feel like maybe there is something else out there I would totally love, but have no idea where to start!
Here are some things I have looked into more in depth:
Ars Magica - It sounds fun, but after reading pages & pages of forums, it seems common opinion is that with each edition the Magic system & rules get more complicated. The troupe style could be interesting, but when I GM/ST, I know that not all my friends who are playing will want to play mages. As much as I would want to try it myself, I can't seeing it work with the people who game when I GM.
Blue Rose - it sounds beautiful but just starting to look into it. A lot of the reason I try to look for something outside of Pathfinder & d20 is the odd ability scores of Dexterity & Charisma. (In my own system I split Dexterity into Finesse, which handles nimble handedness, & Agility, which is more akin to bodily dexterity. I've also never liked how the book tries to make Charisma into two things at once: force of will & how much people like you. While I realize they'd be related, to have them as one stat never worked for me). Currently trying to find out if Blue Rose has the same d20 stats, or does things differently, as the setting sounds beautiful. I also just found out is a setting for True20.
Dresden Files - I know nothing about the TV show, & have only looked at a character sheet. I liked how different it was, though I know nothing about the FATE system either. I have heard it is more about roleplay, so I'm looking into this one too. Is everyone meant to be a magician in this system, though?
Angel/Buffy (dramatic Unisystem) - I had these books a long time ago & lost them in a move. I remember liking them but at the time I had just been new to d20 & didn't really understand much of it.
I've also looked at the iCAR system (though for me to sit & read all the pages of it.. would take a LONG time.. one day haha), as well as the beautiful Into Dreams. (I'll post links to these shortly). Into Dreams seems like it could be made into something completely different, or used as a sort of different system when characters in another one "go into dreams".
I like in depth creation & stories, where the players have more control over their character's story. I am not a fan of class systems but have compromised in the FASCRIP homebrew mashup I made.. I'm just trying to find something I can play out of a book as is. Or mostly as is.
I also have never been great with high level d20 play. I'm not saying I need my fantasy to be as realistic as a modern game, but I tend to play E8. (This is another reason I like World of Darkness.. but still looking!)
Thanks in advance. If you can offer advice on lines to look at, with a little info about each one, & your experience with it, what you think of it, how it relates to previous editions if any, etc etc, it would be so appreciated!
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A couple others I've looked at but still know nothing about:
Eoris Essence. This. looks. beautiful. Very pricey though.. But gorgeous. I downloaded some character sheets to look at & am blown away by the detail.
Earthdawn - Sounds very cool. One of the only books I've come across to NOT be cheaper on AMazon, but that's alright. I love the cover (it is in its third edition) & have read what I can of the rules.
True 20 (I mentioned Blue Rose earlier, but was looking more into True 20)
I have never played either of these. Anyone who has?
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Blue Rose and True20 have the same six ability scores as d20. That said, I'm a HUGE fan of True20. It retains most of the detail of d20, but drops some of the clunkier stuff, and avoids the trap that normal d20 falls into where either Str or Dex becomes a god stat in melee - Dex is always used for accuracy, str always for damage, but you can use the higher of str or dex to determine your defense. The logic is tht high Str makes you good at blocking, high dex makes you good at dodging.
White Wolf's non-World of Darkness Storyteller games are FANTASTIC and lose some of the issues with the WoD version of storyteller/d10 system. Exalted is one of the most intensely roleplayed games I've played in - there are few fantasy settings that are better written, hands-down, though the power level is obscene and Dex is just flat out a god stat, but the game is *mostly* functional right out of the book. Just don't run it with the core alone, if you want to play it, it really doesn't play right without the expansions. at the very least, get the core, the sorcery book (White and Black Treatises), and the martial arts book (Scroll of the Monk).
WW's pulp-era game, Adventure!, is really well thought-out, as are the other two games in that line, Aberrant (Supers) and Trinity (Space Opera with Psionics). All of these games use a cleaner version of d10 that I find to be superior to the WoD version. Aberrant is a supers game, but Trinity and Adventure allow the PCs to be better than normal without being godly. My Adventure! miniseries is still considered by my group to be my masterpiece of GMing, and I credit the fantastic rules for that.
FATE (Spirit of the Century, Starblazer Adventures, Legends of Anglerrere, Strands of Fate, Dresden) forces characters to be well-defined because the PCs' skills and abilities are player defined - fill in the blank instead of choosing from a skill/feat list. Dresden is the only game with a built-in setting, the others are just meant to cover a broad genre, and Strands of FATE is a completely generic game.
The way this works is by giving players a pool of "Fate points" and every time they want one of their self-defined attributes or powers to help them, they have to spend a fate point. Whenever one of their self-defined attributes hinders them, they get a fate point back, forcing balance because your cool powers don't work unless you have enough weaknesses to keep getting points back. It rewards characters with more in-game power for being interesting instead of for being piles of rules loopholes.
Players who like the "game" aspect of RPGs and enjoy breaking systems and figuring out awesome builds will cry though, but I've heard that many a disillusioned d20 player found what they were looking for with FATE.
Personally, I miss my broken d20 builds, but FATE is really, really well done. I prefer Strands because it actually does cover every possible genre in a single book, and I've run it a few times. It's the only game where, when we had to stop and look up rules, it didn't slow the game down - we had a page number and a single die roll that resolved the situation within 60 seconds of realizing we needed a rule for it.
One of my players SWEARS by Unknown Armies, because you are forced, at character creation, to define what your character's deepest fears and psychological breaking points are...and then there are mechanics for all of it.
And nothing help to break up RP stasis like a good one-shot game of Cthulhu or Paranoia.
Hope all of this helps.
I have Dresden Files and Eclipse Phase, but I haven't had a chance to play either yet. Eclipse Phase is a neat game, but you need to invest a lot of time into getting to know it. The Eclipse Phase setting itself is quite complex, and I feel like I'd need to do a lot of reading (probably picking up some sourcebooks) to really get a feel for it. The mechanics of the game aren't overly difficult since it is essentially a percentile based system. However character creation is pretty complicated since you basically create your characters mental persona, which can be stored on a server, and then several different "morphs", which are bodies that you can download your persona into. That part of it seems neat, since even if one of your morphs is killed you don't lose your character, and you can have different types of morphs to work in different types of missions. It's cool, but it make for a complicated character creation process. Several of the designers did a lot of work on Shadowrun, and if you are familiar with Shadowrun, you can see the influence of that game on Eclipse Phase. Also if you are familiar with Shadowrun you know that it isn't exactly a rules lite system, and neither is Eclipse Phase.
As for Dresden Files, I really like the FATE system, though I have yet to play it. You don't have to be a wizard in Dresden Files. It would be easy enough to run a campaign about a bunch of normal people getting involved with the supernatural. However, the game is intended to be urban fantasy. I haven't really gotten in to the Dresdenverse setting, but at some point I want to run a game using FATE. If I'm going to do urban fantasy, I prefer Shadowrun, especially since it blends in cyberpunk so well.
Another system that really intrigues me right now, but I again haven't had a chance to run is the Gumshoe system. There are three games that I know of that use this system- Esoterrorists (modern, conspiracy horror), Mutant City Blues (low powered, noir style supers), Trail of Cthulhu (essentially 1930s Call of Cthulhu, which can be run in a traditional Lovecraftian style or in a more pulp style). With this system the character get pools of points for their skills. You roll a d6 when making checks and can spend points from your skill pools to enhance your rolls. This gives players/characters a lot of control over the game because you can decide to put a lot of points into something you really want to succeed at. However, you won't have them for later in the session, so you need to decide when to spend big and when not to.
I'm also playing in a 3E warhammer game right now, and I am really enjoying it. It has a very interesting system (with the custom dice), and it does a good job of emphasizing social skills and rp, as a good alternative to solving in game problems (instead of just hacking through everything- you can still do this a bit, but combat is pretty deadly so you will likely end up dead pretty fast). It has a few commonalities with 4E dnd in that you can get action cards for your characters (some of which have a recharge rating), and talent cards (which are much like feats). However, despite certain similarities it has a much different feel overall. It is much darker and grittier than D&D, and your characters tend to feel more like ordinary people trying to make it in a very dangerous world. My main issue with the game is that it is very component heavy (it takes our gm about 40 minutes just to set up for the session).
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Eclipse Phase sounds interesting. It has won some Ennies & is very not fantasy, as are the aforementioned.
I don't have the money to buy all of these & check them all out at once haha
Eclipse Phase was released under a Creative Commons license that makes it legal to download for free. Even if you don't like gaming with e-books, downloading would at least help you preview the game.
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My group actually did crash after playing a FATE game. We're used to playing d20 and World of Darkness, the lack of hard facts or measurements in the rules made it really tough to give the players challenges to overcome, and I'm not a terribly cooperative GM - I enjoy being a game designer just as much as I like being a storyteller, so better defined games with tactical elements - something FATE is seriously lacking - don't really work.
If you're players aren't the "crawl across the floor taking 20 to serch every square" types, it will probably work better, but we went back to d20, deciding that good plot/story/character is a function of the people instead of the system.
Just gonna toss it out there, since my group had such a good experience with it.
Amber diceless.
Some of the longest lasting memories for us were from conversations in that game.
Greg
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Thank you so much for the information & advice!! This helps me so much.
I'm looking at ordering Blue Rose, Eoris, Earthdawn (I haven't heard anything else about it besides the magic system is fantastic) & reading, returning whatever is not my thing.
Strands of Fate as well. I hear beaming things about it (though over 50 bucks on Amazon.. yikes!! No go on that for now.. I may just get Dresden cos its cheaper.. though Strands sounds like THE one to get for what I'm looking for)
I can return what I don't like.
I'll make more of a response after I've gone through & looked at these suggestions more. But I'm totally grateful
You can get Strands of Fate as a pdf on Drivethrurpg for about $9.
Thank you so much for the information & advice!! This helps me so much.
I'm looking at ordering Blue Rose, Eoris, Earthdawn (I haven't heard anything else about it besides the magic system is fantastic) & reading, returning whatever is not my thing.
Strands of Fate as well. I hear beaming things about it (though over 50 bucks on Amazon.. yikes!! No go on that for now.. I may just get Dresden cos its cheaper.. though Strands sounds like THE one to get for what I'm looking for)
I can return what I don't like.
I'll make more of a response after I've gone through & looked at these suggestions more. But I'm totally grateful
What would be the difference between Strands of Fate and the other fate systems?
It is streamlined and generic, including rules to play almost any genre.
Think Savage Worlds using Fate.
You may also want to take a look at Reign : Enchiridion. It's a really fun Generic ORE fantasy system.
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I'm a fan of books, but that affordable PDF of Strands of Fate sounds awesome!! SO I'll buy that for sure. I have heard the lula or lulu whatever printing company's binding for the hardcover (or is it softcover) is not durable.
What i would end up doing with a pdf anyway would be to bring it to a printer & have them make me a book of it. Customized cover & everything, win win win!
DO you think Dresden Files *has* to be played in an urban modern day setting? (I ask as an aside, even though I'm already getting Strands)
I love the others that I've been looking at on here but Strands seems like somethign I really have to check out. I've never played anything FATE related.
I do like what Blue Rose did with hit points & a couple other things. The magic system is apparently amazing but I still haven't checked it out. True20 was released later & has updates but I have a few gripes with the return of skill points, whereas in Blue Rose there are none. I of course would do a few things differently though.. but it gives ideas.
I looked at Earthdawn & liked their character sheets - it seemed much more inventive characters could be made than in Pathfinder (not to say that it is limited at ALL in pathfinder, but if you know what I mean, then great.. haha. Archetypes are the best thing to happen to standard d20 I think.. without going on & on on that..). BUT I have heard that Earthdawn is very Exalted in style. I was not a fan of Exalted. I enjoy WOrld of Darkness, but something about Exalted was just not my taste at all.
I'm going to wait on Eclipse Phase until I can find out any information dealing with the third printing (that includes the revisions). It's unclear if its out yet.. The site has an update in April that said it was, but I can't seem to find info on amazon or other sites. It does sound cool, & not SUPER niche (though a little). The Gatecrashers book looks awesome.
The others mentioned - I will be looking at them eventually. Thanks a ton!
A little late to the party, but another game to mention is Burning Wheel. It's a game that is very heavy on definitions and subsystem rules, but it basically puts the plot in the players hands. A player gets to write some plot advancement goals on their character sheet and if they work towards them, they earn bonus points. Skills and attributes are only advanced through using them, if you never use a skill it never gets better.
There are also some variations to the game, like Burning Empires, which modifies the game to play in the universe from the Iron Empires comics. Burning THAC0 emulates original D&D. Burning Jihad is Dune with the serial number filed off. Mouse Guard is an alternate edition of the game with major differences, you play mice who go out on patrol, protect your village, etc. It uses a scene economy that breaks up GM challenges and player initiated actions.
A little late to the party, but another game to mention is Burning Wheel. It's a game that is very heavy on definitions and subsystem rules, but it basically puts the plot in the players hands. A player gets to write some plot advancement goals on their character sheet and if they work towards them, they earn bonus points. Skills and attributes are only advanced through using them, if you never use a skill it never gets better.
There are also some variations to the game, like Burning Empires, which modifies the game to play in the universe from the Iron Empires comics. Burning THAC0 emulates original D&D. Burning Jihad is Dune with the serial number filed off. Mouse Guard is an alternate edition of the game with major differences, you play mice who go out on patrol, protect your village, etc. It uses a scene economy that breaks up GM challenges and player initiated actions.
+1 for Burning Wheel. Burning Wheel Gold is $25 and full of awesome.
I do have to chime in on Eclipse Phase and pimp it too. It is the most interesting and fun (sorry Transhuman GUPRS and Traveller) far future game I own. If you are looking for some real crunchy set dressing and far out story concepts it is for you. The entire party could be different copies of the same transhuman consciousness investigating the death of the primary copy for example...and one can be an octopus and another might be a clanking mech, and another might be a male ego in a female body...yeah it gets twisted and weird-awesome in a hurry.
Another one I forgot to mention, Fiasco. It's a GMless game thats designed to play like a Cohen brothers movie. It's a lot of fun, takes zero prep and about 2 hours to play through a session (plus/minus some time depending how creative the players get with scenes).
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I'd personally recommend the following:
For mystery/horror games, you really can't do better than the classic, Call of Cthulhu or the more recent Trail of Cthulhu. The mystery structure creates a sense of mounting terror, and the high lethality forces players to exercise greater caution. Scenarios (which are sometimes quite involved, taking multiple sessions to resolve) often only have one or two combats, and both systems are rules-light. Both have a wide variety of phenomenal scenarios to get you started, as the vast majority of products are modules. I'd try:
Call of Cthulhu: Our Ladies of Sorrow, Final Flight, and Machine Tractor Station Kharkov-37, all of which are phenomenal scenarios.
Trail of Cthulhu: Out of Time, Bookhounds of London, and Armitage Files.
Outside of Lovecraftian horror, I've been quite impressed by all of Arc Dream's products, with Kereberos Club and Monsters & Other Childish Things being my favorites of the bunch. You can find them here.
Hope this helps!
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I love FATE, Aspects are the mechanic that helps encourage roleplaying - basically you try to describe how your descriptive qualities can aid you, or hamper you (and you want them to hamper you as that is how you earn Fate Points).
An example...
"Slave to the demon drink" can be an Aspect for a character, and one that would seem to be largely a weakness, however the player could invoke it to explain his character having a bottle of whisky in his pocket to use as a bribe, or to create a Molotov cocktail.
It could also be invoked to enhance a Contacting Test stating that Trevor knows all the pubs and bars in the area, and which miscreants frequent each one. Equally, this Aspect could enhance a Stealth Test to remain undetected when observing an illicit meet in a bar.
But it can of course be a weakness and the player could use it as a self compel to have his character get inebriated whilst on a stake out so that he doesn't notice the suspect leaving until its almost too late making it much harder to pursue. But the player would earn a Fate Point for this.
If you want to check out the FATE system (or at least one variation of it) without spending any money, try downloading Free FATE from here:
http://www.ukroleplayers.com/downloads/free-fate/
Its a 48 page pdf that gives a concise version of the FATE system.
Strands of FATE is proving popular, however I feel it strays too far away from the FATE system, losing many of the things I like about FATE (for example it loses simplicity by introducing the more traditional ability + skill divide).
For those of you that have read Strands of Fate, does it discuss cyberpunk in any detail? I have a friend who wants to run some Shadowrun without all of the crunch, and we're wondering if Strands could get him started.
It's not FATE, and it doesn't have magic/meta-humans (yet), but this is my new cyberpunk game of choice:
http://technoirrpg.com/
It's pretty simple and also includes a method of story creation that vastly reduces GM prep. The game includes Transmissions, write ups of locations that include lists of contacts, events, things, factions, locations, etc, with a way of making a plot map out of these things so that a story can be created on the fly that's fairly complex and lots of opportunity for twists and surprises.
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I love FATE, Aspects are the mechanic that helps encourage roleplaying - basically you try to describe how your descriptive qualities can aid you, or hamper you (and you want them to hamper you as that is how you earn Fate Points).
An example...
"Slave to the demon drink" can be an Aspect for a character, and one that would seem to be largely a weakness, however the player could invoke it to explain his character having a bottle of whisky in his pocket to use as a bribe, or to create a Molotov cocktail.It could also be invoked to enhance a Contacting Test stating that Trevor knows all the pubs and bars in the area, and which miscreants frequent each one. Equally, this Aspect could enhance a Stealth Test to remain undetected when observing an illicit meet in a bar.
But it can of course be a weakness and the player could use it as a self compel to have his character get inebriated whilst on a stake out so that he doesn't notice the suspect leaving until its almost too late making it much harder to pursue. But the player would earn a Fate Point for this.
If you want to check out the FATE system (or at least one variation of it) without spending any money, try downloading Free FATE from here:
http://www.ukroleplayers.com/downloads/free-fate/
Its a 48 page pdf that gives a concise version of the FATE system.Strands of FATE is proving popular, however I feel it strays too far away from the FATE system, losing many of the things I like about FATE (for example it loses simplicity by introducing the more traditional ability + skill divide).
I just picked up copies of Starblazer Adventures: Legends of Anglerre,and The Dresden Files hoping that I might like the Fate system.Still havent gotten around to reading them yet as I also picked up the Dragon Age RPG ,Savage Worlds and Barbarians of Lemuria in hopes that I will find a system that I like better than the miserable d20 system.
I like Savage Worlds. I have GM'd it, and it is a rules light system. It is easy to learn and can be used for any genre. It does have support genre books and pdfs. I will warn you that combat can be brutal.
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I like Savage Worlds. I have GM'd it, and it is a rules light system. It is easy to learn and can be used for any genre. It does have support genre books and pdfs. I will warn you that combat can be brutal.
Brutal,gritty and realistic are all things I like in my systems.My favorite fantasy system to date is WHFRP.
No one has mentioned The Riddle of Steel yet? Brutal, realistic combat, powerful and flexible magic that comes with the price of ageing your character (potentially to death) and that actually requires you to make pretty heavy sacrifices in other areas, and an experience system based on pursuing your character's goals as opposed to rewarding pointless fights. It's out of print, but you can still buy the PDFs for not very much at the community forums, and there is a free rules light version for download somewhere on there.
The original printing had a very limited run and is something of collectors item in some circles. Unused copies are going for $150 on Amazon, with some used copies going for $100 or more depending on condition. That rarity means fewer people have actually played it, though now that I know they're still selling the PDF's, I may go grab those soon.
I like Savage Worlds. I have GM'd it, and it is a rules light system. It is easy to learn and can be used for any genre. It does have support genre books and pdfs. I will warn you that combat can be brutal.Brutal,gritty and realistic are all things I like in my systems.My favorite fantasy system to date is WHFRP.
As long as your talking about 1st or 2nd ed., I agree with you. 3rd ed is a variation of a board game. At least in my opinion.
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As long as your talking about 1st or 2nd ed., I agree with you. 3rd ed is a variation of a board game. At least in my opinion.I like Savage Worlds. I have GM'd it, and it is a rules light system. It is easy to learn and can be used for any genre. It does have support genre books and pdfs. I will warn you that combat can be brutal.Brutal,gritty and realistic are all things I like in my systems.My favorite fantasy system to date is WHFRP.
I own every book from all three editions. But second edition is my favorite rules wise.
Dogs in the Vineyard.
Thank you, TriOmegaZero.
I woke up this morning with three Minimus donations in my inbox. Pleasant surprise.
Bigkilla I'm pretty much in the same boat as you. I got tired of 4E and 3E, and I've been searching high and low for a new system to run a fantasy campaign with. I've been checking out all those same games. I just downloaded Barbarians of Lemuria, and I think it's the one. However, I already started working on some houserules. The main one is that I've taken the stunt point system from Dragon Age (the best thing about that game IMO) and revised it for Barbarians of Lemuria. How it basically works is that you can spend at hero point at the start of your turn in combat and get 1d6+2 stunt points to spend. This gives you access to all kinds of combinations of tactical options, but they play fast since you don't really need to make any checks. Want to sunder your enemy's weapon, spend 3 stunt points. Want to cheap shot him with a kick and then knock him prone (spend 1 point for the cheap shot and another to knock him prone).
I like how they have done away with a skill system and instead you start with 4 careers and add your rank in the career as a bonus to any relevant skill check- such a great way to handle skill checks. It's a simple game, but seems to have tons of potential, and looks like it would be easy to build on to make it a little more robust.
I'm looking forward to test driving this game.
I just picked up copies of Starblazer Adventures: Legends of Anglerre,and The Dresden Files hoping that I might like the Fate system.Still havent gotten around to reading them yet as I also picked up the Dragon Age RPG ,Savage Worlds and Barbarians of Lemuria in hopes that I will find a system that I like better than the miserable d20 system.I love FATE, Aspects are the mechanic that helps encourage roleplaying - basically you try to describe how your descriptive qualities can aid you, or hamper you (and you want them to hamper you as that is how you earn Fate Points).
An example...
"Slave to the demon drink" can be an Aspect for a character, and one that would seem to be largely a weakness, however the player could invoke it to explain his character having a bottle of whisky in his pocket to use as a bribe, or to create a Molotov cocktail.It could also be invoked to enhance a Contacting Test stating that Trevor knows all the pubs and bars in the area, and which miscreants frequent each one. Equally, this Aspect could enhance a Stealth Test to remain undetected when observing an illicit meet in a bar.
But it can of course be a weakness and the player could use it as a self compel to have his character get inebriated whilst on a stake out so that he doesn't notice the suspect leaving until its almost too late making it much harder to pursue. But the player would earn a Fate Point for this.
If you want to check out the FATE system (or at least one variation of it) without spending any money, try downloading Free FATE from here:
http://www.ukroleplayers.com/downloads/free-fate/
Its a 48 page pdf that gives a concise version of the FATE system.Strands of FATE is proving popular, however I feel it strays too far away from the FATE system, losing many of the things I like about FATE (for example it loses simplicity by introducing the more traditional ability + skill divide).
You might like to look at either Cold City or Hot War, both from Contested Ground (www.contestedground.co.uk). I haven't played either directly (although I am playing in an "En Garde" style pbem that uses the Hot War background). The games may work well for groups that are imaginative and like to guide the story with the GM but are less into the "acting" aspect of roleplaying as they give the player whose character has greatest success in a conflict (which may be social, intellectual or physical) the right to narrate the outcome and assign consequences (within limits set out in the rules).
I just picked up copies of Starblazer Adventures: Legends of Anglerre,and The Dresden Files hoping that I might like the Fate system.Still havent gotten around to reading them yet as I also picked up the Dragon Age RPG ,Savage Worlds and Barbarians of Lemuria in hopes that I will find a system that I like better than the miserable d20 system.
To add to the Fate list, Bulldogs! came out recently. The base set up is that you're the crew of a ship and you work for a giant corporation. They give you extremely dangerous assignments (while taking out insurance on the cargo, so they still get paid if you don't make it). Kind of like a cross between Firefly and Farscape for a setting.
We're starting a game of this in one of my groups and seems like fun. My only problem with Fate is the fudge dice, I hate them (or they hate me). In general I don't like their skill system, but I love Aspects and Fate points.
The great thing about Savage Worlds is that it has an excellent balance of fluff, crunch, and flair. If I had to run a fantasy game, and I didn't have the sorts of players who wanted the Legos that Pathfinder has to offer, Savage Worlds would be my first choice.
...that also explains why I have such trouble answering these sorts of questions. There are lots of games out there, each one that cuts things differently.
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What genre, how rules heavy/rules light?
I could launch into a grand list of games, but ultimately my advice would be to leave the Paizo Forums and go here to the SA Trad Games indy thread (the rest of Trad Games owns too so feel free to look around at other threads about the genius that is Greg Stolze or at how much Eclipse Phase owns). We hit a metric ton of awesome stuff that's generally not too well known, be it Polaris or Fiasco, and they're pretty much all amazing.
My personal preference for flavor over crunch is D&D second edition.
No feats, rules light and you still have the high fantasy of an epic story.
Superhero games can also be very fun. The smash, bang and pow take a back seat to the story leading up to it.
My personal preference for flavor over crunch is D&D second edition.
No feats, rules light and you still have the high fantasy of an epic story.
You should take a look at Myth and Magic, an ADnD second edition retro-clone with better rules.
(the rest of Trad Games owns too so feel free to look around at other threads about the genius that is Greg Stolze or at how much Eclipse Phase owns). We hit a metric ton of awesome stuff that's generally not too well known, be it Polaris or Fiasco, and they're pretty much all amazing.
I love Eclipse Phase. However, Eclipse Phase is the '10s version of the Aughts Transhuman Space is the '90s version of Blue Planet - creative, far thinking SF games that are actually original, as opposed to the 3/4ths of the drek out there, scare the hell out of most people, but all suffer from a bit of being too diffuse, and giving many hooks rather than a few good ones.
Fiasco is amazing. Most of the time, non-GM games don't live up to things, or rather that most of the good ideas that they have are better stolen from the idea of collaborative narration and reincorporated into games with GMs. I would cite Fiasco as the exception to the rule.
Amber Diceless Roleplaying
we are working on product using the System Lords of Gossamer and Shadow (Diceless)
My personal preference for flavor over crunch is D&D second edition.
No feats, rules light and you still have the high fantasy of an epic story.Superhero games can also be very fun. The smash, bang and pow take a back seat to the story leading up to it.
If you like things with a dark tone/feel to them, Lamentations of the Flame Princess might interest you. It's fairly explicit though, especially the art. In the combat section, one picture depicts someone being disemboweled pretty graphically. There's also nudity. It's fairly similar to AD&D though in rule structure and concept with some OD&D thrown in (dwarf is a class).
The production value is high and it comes in a small box that is actually sturdy enough to carry around for a while.
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Wow!!!
I'm sorry to post back on this so late. I got so busy & then moved to NYC & now just found myself on Paizo forums again.
You guys have contributed so many amazing options. It's difficult & overwhelming to consider all of them, but dammit I'm going to try! mwa haha.
Much gratitude! (& If you're in NYC looking for another player whose very open to system & pro-roleplaying over boardgaming, hit me up!!)
my two bits; how much roleplay in a game is totally dependant upon the GM rather than the game system. There are basically about 5 kinds of players; you just need to get into a good mix for your style in a setting you like be it supers or fantasy or sci fi. I have found that there is not a lot or roleplay in pbp games; I think that is because it is so slow and thus less interactive and everyone forget what was said before unless they go back and peice together discussions. Some games have roles that are more familiar and easier to play; thus tend to have more conversation so you might look for that. Games that require players to learn a new system or constantly look up rules detracts from roleplay.
Counterpoint - but not entirely in disagreement with Valegrim.
The kind of roleplaying experience you're going to get is a Venn diagram, based on what aspects of the hobby your system rewards, what aspects of the hobby your GM rewards and what aspects of the hobby your fellow players reward.
A lot of "roleplaying focused" RPGs are much more explicit about making sure the system rewards a particular style of play - FATE Aspects are a good example of this. Many also move some parts of the reward mechanisms away from the game mechanics (the "kick in de door, kills da orcs, loots dere bodies" style that D&D gets mocked for) and system mastery ("Hey, look, if I take a Large Sawtooth Sabre and wield it one handed it does 2d6 base damage for -2 to hit! If I take weapon focus and the old Heirloom weapon feat, I start out proficient with a masterwork weapon that I get a +1 to hit with! Go meeeee!") and put them into the metric of "Did you entertain your fellow players with that?"
There are a limited number of play styles. Different systems reward different playstyles.
Valegrim is absolutely correct in saying that any new system is a barrier to entry. Which is why I focus hard on making sure that character creation is "grab and go" for D6 Dramatics.
