In this thread, we need to balance hype vs. reality, marketing vs. content, and pick those RPGs that continue to pay off with great play and minimal cheese.
Value is the key.
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These guys did it. Great system with just the right amount of marketing cheese (I mean teasers.)
I've been playing D&D in one incarnation or another-- from the basic set to Pathfinder-- since 1980. Other games have come and gone, but that is the one constant, so there's my choice.
I'm putting MERP into the correctly rated category.
I have the 2nd ed rule book and two campaign modules. I still page through them occasionally reading all the great stuff.
Champions/HERO; if you like it, you'll probably really like it, but it's not for everyone.
A friend of mine is convinced HERO was developed by Texas Instruments so that there would still be a market for scientific calculators...
Pathfinder RPG
I can remember only seeing advertisements for Pathfinder stuff in >Game Trade Magazine<. This RPG system appears to be selling rather well.
Actually, Pathfinder may belong in the Under Rated class..
I would have to second Pathfinder here, just because it did precisely what it set out to do, which is provide a slightly updated, but still 3.5 compatible, system. It's not revolutionary, but Paizo at least never presented as if it was. They simply continued support for a system that many players liked.
Correctly rated RPG -> One we both like.
...or both dislike. Or both feel lukewarm about.
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I always figured that the reviewers were 5 of the ten. :) I'm pretty sure a lot of Dresden fans bought the game because Harry was on the cover. I also suspect that the bulk of those boxes are gathering dust unused.
I doubt it, honestly. That number's for the rulebook ("Your Story"), the world book ("Our World") is a much more likely buy for a Dresden Files fan who doesn't game. I'm sure some bought both...but that's a hefty investment for something you're not gonna use. :)
I always figured that the reviewers were 5 of the ten. :) I'm pretty sure a lot of Dresden fans bought the game because Harry was on the cover. I also suspect that the bulk of those boxes are gathering dust unused.I doubt it, honestly. That number's for the rulebook ("Your Story"), the world book ("Our World") is a much more likely buy for a Dresden Files fan who doesn't game. I'm sure some bought both...but that's a hefty investment for something you're not gonna use. :)
It seems to have a pretty strong following in our area. I own the books, but have yet to sit down and take the time to read the rules thoroughly. I have played in a few DF games, though, and once you understand the rule mechanics (which are admittedly presented in a more elusive fashion than they probably should be), it is a heck of a lot of fun and lends itself well to the cinematic nature of the novels. The PCs have the ability to influence the world they inhabit and the characters with which they interact in ways I've seen few other RPGs manage half as deftly.
I always figured that the reviewers were 5 of the ten. :) I'm pretty sure a lot of Dresden fans bought the game because Harry was on the cover. I also suspect that the bulk of those boxes are gathering dust unused.The Dresden Files RPG. Wonderful game generally percieved as such. :)By the ten people who bought and played it. :)And reviewers!
Also, the 5,000 copies that sold in the first two months argue for a few more fans than that. ;-)
I know you're just kidding but I did buy and am enjoying the Dresden rules as a good break from the set in stone style d20 rules of Pathfinder, and so far my players seem to enjoy it too, though it does take more work to adjudicate. All in all they're a very interesting cinematic system that works for some kinds of games but would aggravate me to no end for others. They seem to have a fairly solid following for being an open, semi-rules lite system designed specifically for one niche(though a large niche maybe) of game types. I won't be switching over to FATE over Pathfinder any time soon, but I will be using these rules for some time to come and feel I got my money's worth on both books(well, one book and one pdf).
D&D 4e
The hype that proceeded 4e's release was huge, and its effect after its release has been just as huge.
I think 4e's rating has been right on the money concerning its impact on the RPG industry.
Some people like it and some people do not like it. But:
* I don't see it as OVER rated, so can't put it into that thread.
* And I don't see it as UNDER rated, so can't put into that thread either.
D&D 4e
The hype that proceeded 4e's release was huge, and its effect after its release has been just as huge.
I think 4e's rating has been right on the money concerning its impact on the RPG industry.
Some people like it and some people do not like it. But:
* I don't see it as OVER rated, so can't put it into that thread.
* And I don't see it as UNDER rated, so can't put into that thread either.
The problem with 4E's hype is that the original pre release hype would not be overhype for the system as it stands now after several years of refinement, but for the shape it was in at release, it was definitely not up to par with the hype. It simply had too many bugs that needed to be worked out before such hype could be warranted, and as the bugs got fixed, they simply continued to up the hype, so the game quality has never matched what WOTC says about it. At the same time, the initial backlash has firmly established itself as a force that refuses to acknowledge the improvements in the system. While the system did and does have an impact, the hype around it, both good and bad, has always outsized the actual long term impact.
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I always figured that the reviewers were 5 of the ten. :) I'm pretty sure a lot of Dresden fans bought the game because Harry was on the cover. I also suspect that the bulk of those boxes are gathering dust unused.I doubt it, honestly. That number's for the rulebook ("Your Story"), the world book ("Our World") is a much more likely buy for a Dresden Files fan who doesn't game. I'm sure some bought both...but that's a hefty investment for something you're not gonna use. :)
Yes, Yes it is (says one of the people who bought both books and has only opened them a handful of times). It was a heck of a con game that got me to buy it though.
Yes, Yes it is (says one of the people who bought both books and has only opened them a handful of times). It was a heck of a con game that got me to buy it though.I always figured that the reviewers were 5 of the ten. :) I'm pretty sure a lot of Dresden fans bought the game because Harry was on the cover. I also suspect that the bulk of those boxes are gathering dust unused.I doubt it, honestly. That number's for the rulebook ("Your Story"), the world book ("Our World") is a much more likely buy for a Dresden Files fan who doesn't game. I'm sure some bought both...but that's a hefty investment for something you're not gonna use. :)
It's high on my list to pick up, as soon as I can squeeze the budget. It looks like a very fun system. I'll probably use it to run World of Darkness.
I'd have to say Pathfinder/D&D 3rd-3.5 etc . edition, just because it's the only game I have played that my players keep coming back to.
Also the Warhammer 40k line of RPG's from Fantasy flight games has really hit the spot with some of my players (mainly because they are huge Dawn of war fans I suspect)
And Chaosiums classic Call of Cthulhu game, for it's simplicity and the fact that it has some of the (IMO) best modules and Campaigns ever written for any RPG. Although I rarely get to play the game, I collect the books just because I like to read them.
D&D 4e
The hype that proceeded 4e's release was huge, and its effect after its release has been just as huge.
I think 4e's rating has been right on the money concerning its impact on the RPG industry.
Some people like it and some people do not like it. But:
* I don't see it as OVER rated, so can't put it into that thread.
* And I don't see it as UNDER rated, so can't put into that thread either.
Actualy I think it belongs on both threads...
It was over hyped by WotC....
But it has bween under hyped by fans who critized to a certain extent.
Though that might just be true about all games out there...
Actualy I think it belongs on both threads...
It was over hyped by WotC....
But it has bween under hyped by fans who critized to a certain extent.
Though that might just be true about all games out there...
Yeah, I'm thinking that being hyped by the developer, hyped by its fans, and criticized by those who don't like it is probably par for the course for pretty much everything with a fan base, ever. I followed a lot of E3 coverage this week. Pretty much every game covered there fit this pattern.
Yeah, I'm thinking that being hyped by the developer, hyped by its fans, and criticized by those who don't like it is probably par for the course for pretty much everything with a fan base, ever. I followed a lot of E3 coverage this week. Pretty much every game covered there fit this pattern.Actualy I think it belongs on both threads...
It was over hyped by WotC....
But it has been under hyped by fans who critized to a certain extent.
Though that might just be true about all games out there...
Holy Cow(to quote one the greats in Sports Casters ever) Scott Betts agreed with me on something.
But in all honestly all companies to a certain degree over hype their product...I mean watch a Beer commercial...drinking beer will not suddenly surround you with beautiful women...(either that or I am doing something completely wrong there)...and when people become impassion about anything they tend to focus on things that are opinion based instead of the facts.
I mean I hate it when people compared 4th ed D&D to WoW....why because it is not true. The reason why all RPGs(and yes even your favorites) bear resembalances to computer games is because they have been stealing idea from the table top games since their inception.
Yeah, I'm thinking that being hyped by the developer, hyped by its fans, and criticized by those who don't like it is probably par for the course for pretty much everything with a fan base, ever. I followed a lot of E3 coverage this week. Pretty much every game covered there fit this pattern.Actualy I think it belongs on both threads...
It was over hyped by WotC....
But it has bween under hyped by fans who critized to a certain extent.
Though that might just be true about all games out there...
Was the new D&D video game demo'd ?
Yeah, I'm thinking that being hyped by the developer, hyped by its fans, and criticized by those who don't like it is probably par for the course for pretty much everything with a fan base, ever. I followed a lot of E3 coverage this week. Pretty much every game covered there fit this pattern.Actualy I think it belongs on both threads...
It was over hyped by WotC....
But it has bween under hyped by fans who critized to a certain extent.
Though that might just be true about all games out there...
Was the new D&D video game demo'd ?
Yep. A lot of Neverwinter news broke this week, and the official site was launched. All the info is on that site.
I think >Usagi Yojimbo RPG< is a correctly weighted game, in terms of advertisement, price, and game play.
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HERO System.
Hyped as a game system in which you can run any campaign setting, any genre, with any character you want. There are no limits to what the HERO System can do, and it doesn't cheat by making GM handwaving a major component of the rules to achieve that.
Derided as a math intensive, incredibly fiddly system with an almost impossibly steep learning curve which guarantees almost everyone who plays it is playing it wrong.
All of that is true. It can do anything, and it will drive you bonkers trying to get it to do what you want it to.
HERO System.
Hyped as a game system in which you can run any campaign setting, any genre, with any character you want. There are no limits to what the HERO System can do, and it doesn't cheat by making GM handwaving a major component of the rules to achieve that.
Derided as a math intensive, incredibly fiddly system with an almost impossibly steep learning curve which guarantees almost everyone who plays it is playing it wrong.
All of that is true. It can do anything, and it will drive you bonkers trying to get it to do what you want it to.
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I have heard enough good things about the >HERO System< that I'm going to buy the >5th edition book<.
.
Could this be the last system I'll ever buy??
What "weight" are we judging.. nerdrage quotient on EnWorld, the winners on the Origins contest awards?
just be brilliant.
BattleTech RPG
Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 1st Edition. Rules are great, published campaign is even better, the sourcebooks are interesting and fun.
I was looking at the new edition in the store. It is HUUUGE! I could barely pick it up .
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Got WHRPG 1st Edition (the one with Gotrek slicing the mohicaned Ogre on the cover), and played the main campaign through Death on The Reik.
Got the 2nd Edition rules, but not played it.
The 3rd Edition seems to come packaged with a ton of power cards and custom dice; how essential are these to play?
As much as I like to open a box of shiny, I still believe the rules should be self-contained, separate from any peripherals.
If one spilled drink, or a die rolled under the fridge prevents play, I'm not sure I want to buy into the system.
