So, I am a longtime GM/DM, & I'm looking for a new system to try out here. I want to run a dark & extremely gritty dieselpunk roleplaying system. I am completely able to add in the dieselpunk world setting myself if the game is generic/universal... It doesn't have to be a free system, but the less books I'd have to purchase the better. What I'm looking for here exactly:
A. A system which has a robust (this doesn't necessarily mean ultra-crunchy) character creation system.
B. A system which can work for a longer campaign.
C. A system which puts the players in real peril (very possible death to PCs if they snowball bad/unlucky choices).
D. A system which is gritty!
E. A system which I haven't played yet...
With my current group we've played:
Angel/Buffy Roleplaying Game
d20
Fate Core
Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game
Nemesis
Pathfinder
Risus
Savage Worlds
Star Wars (D6)
Star Wars (d20)
Star Wars (Fantasy Flight)
Steampunk RPG
True20
What I'd like is to run my very experienced group through a dark/cruel dieselpunk era campaign... I don't really care if it's an old-school game, rules light game, or a highly crunchy game, as long as they are able to have plenty of character options when building or leveling a character.
Any help at all would be fantastic! If you need anything more specific or you have any recommendations please let me know!
Thank you so much in advance!
If you really want to use a "new system" I would suggest modifying Shadowrun, either 4th or 5th edition. It's very gritty and very deadly and easy to strip away the fluff so you can add your own. The magic rules can be easily modified to add weird world effects or completely ignored, the same goes for the matrix/hacking rules.