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2D8HP
2016-04-21, 09:12 PM
I got curious after this exchange on a different thread, in which I list the RPG's I best remember playing (please forgive my feeble attempts at humor).
It depends on what we're using as a baseline, and ends up as all estimates anyways. So, looking at three baselines:

Baseline 1: D&D 5e as compared to not playing RPGs at all.
I'd put this at about a 90-95%. There are a few things about the game which I find unfun enough that I'd rather just not be playing anything, but they're comparatively rare.

Baseline 2: D&D 5e as compared to all other editions of D&D.
I'd put this at about a 80-85%. There are individual things that I think other editions did better, but they're comparatively rare. There's the quality of the 2e settings, there's the numerical range associated with skills in 4e, there's the 3e save system, there's individual spells distributed throughout. Still, for the vast majority of it, I prefer the 5e method.

Baseline 3: D&D 5e as compared to RPGs as a whole.
I'd put this at about a 10%. I'm only occasionally in the mood for the style that D&D does best at, and even then I generally prefer a non-D&D system. I don't particularly like classes*, I don't particularly like levels*, I don't particularly like the spell system or the combat system, the list goes on. There are things that work for me, but they tend to also show up in other RPGs. Plus, the whole apprentice to god character power arc as the center of the game is something I almost never have interest in.

*I do think they're a useful mechanic for any number of entirely valid game design goals, but they tend to be goals I don't care about. The percent of 5e I like is substantially smaller than the percent of 5e I think is well designed.

Oh were going to compare 5e D&D to non-D&D RPG's now? WHAT KIND OF CRAZY TALK IS THAT!
Well... just this once.:smallsmile:
Before I do, just know that:
1) I usually prefer starting as a more mundane character exploring a fantastic world. But the opposite, playing a superpowered character in a more mundane world? :smallyuk: No thank you! In fact the closer the setting gets to real life, usually the less I like it, I CAN OPEN MY DOOR FOR THAT! Even if we are playing supernatural or bionic PC's.
2) My better half brings home "Games of Thrones", and "House of Cards" videos home. I don't need anymore "dark", "grim" or "gritty" entertainment.
3) At my age the rules need to be either relatively simple, or based on rules I have already learned.
So while the jury is still out on 5e compared to 1970's D&D, compared to some other RPG's I actually played:
5e D&D is 6x more fun than Villains and Vigilantes.
5e D&D is 1.5x more fun than Traveller.
5e D&D is 5x more fun than Champions.
5e D&D is 1.3x more fun than 2e Runequest (this one kinda of hurts because I am really fond of Runequest).
5e D&D is 3x more fun than Top Secret.
5e D&D is 3x more fun to play than Call of Cthullu.
5e D&D is 2x more fun than Shadowrun.
5e D&D is 10x more fun than Vampire. And,
5e D&D is 100x more fun than Cyberpunk (yes in the 1990's real life was actually better for me than some of the RPG's I got to play).
However 5e is 3x more of a hassle to DM than 1e Call of Cthullu was to "Keeper". While D&D stories are much more fun, CoC was just so dead easy to run and I would actually recommend Call of Cthullu over any edition of D&D to learn to "Gamemaster", because it's just so easy (clear rules, wirh a simple setting).
-YOUR WELCOME:smallwink:




From this list, I am forced to conclude you like Vampire a great deal more than I do, and that you have the misfortune of ending up in groups with dramatically different tastes than you. That list is like a gigantic pile of complex rules, settings from gritty to outright bleak, with a dash of fantastic characters in a mundane world sprinkled in for good measure.

I could suggest any number of games that fit your three criteria, and while this is a crapshoot that is going to mostly error (as there are inevitably a lot of hidden criteria as well), even with that error rate I would expect literally every item on the suggestion list, even those least suited, would edge out everything on that list except Runequest, and maybe Shadowrun, and that's with a large list.
My first RPG was D&D in the 1970's, I later played just over a dozen different RPG's and bought way too many more that I never got to play.
I remember both wonderful and miseable play sessions with D&D and many different games, but while most of my hours I spent RPG'ing have not been with D&D, no other game has been as consistantly fun for me. What have I missed?

oxybe
2016-04-21, 09:35 PM
4th ed D&D, because everyone knows it's not real D&D :P

I kid I kid (well not really, 4th is my fav version), D&D as a whole is very... ok. It does D&D well, but outside that particular niche of dungeoncrawling, I don't really care for using the system for other genres as my experience with it as either been unfulfilling or akin to pulling teeth.

scratch that. I've had multiple teeth extracted in various states of use and it was a quicker and less aggravating experience.

If i want a cyberpunk experience, i'd probably go play Shadowrun then try to make D&D into something it's simply not supposed to be.

Synar
2016-04-21, 10:00 PM
That's easy. If you really want a fun, rpg just play Paranoďa.
But really, I don't think anything productive can come out of this thread, as everyone has their own favorite rpg, and it's very subjective and often arbitrary.

Belac93
2016-04-21, 10:05 PM
Well, I really enjoy KAMB, Gamma World, and Chronicles of Darkness. Those are certainly on my list of fun ones. Pathfinder is nice, but I feel it doesn't really offer anything that I can't just homebrew in 5e anymore.

I've never actually played them (although I have the rulebooks), but I heard Mythrenders, FATE, and Call of Cthulhu are all fun. I just can't find anyone interested enough to play them (and I have too many pbps already).

I have also been interested in Mutants and Masterminds, and Mouseguard, but don't have the money for them at the moment.

Knaight
2016-04-21, 10:53 PM
Like I said, there's an inherent aspect of crapshoot involved. With that said, here's the key points distilled, which I'll be using for criteria:

Rules Light. I could try for familiar, but as the baseline of games you're familiar with is D&D and a pile of stuff you hate, that seems unwise.
Mundane characters, fantastic settings.
Nothing likely to get described as grim, gritty, dark, bleak, or similar.
Absolutely no Creature: The Something.


More established standards for what does and does not qualify as fantastic would be helpful, but here's some big ones.

REIGN: This can be played with a deep cynicism, but it doesn't have to be. The characters are generally mundane, but the game also sets out a whole bunch of organizations which have their quirks in what people are taught, from the various magic schools (including one that involves cross breeding animals via burial rituals and magical trees that grow the next generation) to various different combat schools (nothing stands out quite as much here, but they're functional and generally interesting) to skill specializations (I have a certain fondness for a school that specializes the Beg skill, that comes from a bunch of sniveling politicians in exile). It also handles big organizations better than anything else I've seen, which is great if you want a game where the PCs can end up major lords or similar.

Warbirds: It's a diesel punk game set on a bunch of Caribbean islands that were taken off earth during a storm and ended up around what may or may not be the eye of a gas giant. The players play fighter pilots, who also become celebrities. The setting is fun and a bit gonzo (though no more so than the implied setting in D&D), and the mechanics are rock solid. It's also pretty cheap, so there's that, and the core mechanics are really good for anything involving dogfighting. If you wanted to run an X-Wing like game or something, this is the system to do it in.

Savage Worlds: It's a generic, but I suspect it's a generic you'd like. It's pulpy, the settings made for it tend toward the odd, and it shares some quirks with D&D.

Katanas and Trenchcoats: It's not worth more than a one shot from a playability perspective, but I suspect you'd appreciate its attitude towards the WoD games and similar. The title is thoroughly tongue in cheek.

Terra Incognita: One of the finished Fudge builds, this might be a bit too mundane for you. The PCs play members of the National Archaeological, Geographical, and Submarine society; an entity deliberately named to not attract attention to what it actually does. It's like a late 1800's Indiana Jones game in some ways, with a dash of secret societies. On top of that, Fudge is a very capable game engine with a bit of a learning curve, so this gets you past that.

Mouse Guard: This one can get a bit dark, but it doesn't have to. It's about mice of the guard, trying to protect their tiny mouse civilization from a world around them that is very, very dangerous for mice: An owl is like a dragon; it can be killed but it's also a horrific terror, the rise and fall of rivers is a nasty thing, winter can dump snows the height of several mice, etc. It can also emphasize the heroic. Plus, look at that cover (http://www.mouseguard.net/book/role-playing-game/). Plus, if you get to know mouse guard, it brings in familiarity for:

Burning Wheel: This is a rock solid fantasy game, but it's not rules light. I'd say it's roughly comparable to Pathfinder, and there's an additional learning curve due to it being unfamiliar. It just uses similar mechanics as Mouseguard, so you get that entry point. It also shares mechanics with a game called Torchbearer, but the odds of that being up your alley are slim to none.

Legends of the Wulin: I'm not sure how you feel about wuxia, but this is a good game for that, albeit stretching the rules light end more than a bit. It also has some cool mechanics in it to just steal for whatever it is you're doing.

There's also one game that you really, really should check out. It's light, it's flexible, and more than that it's very unique. Maybe you like it, maybe you don't, but if there's one game I think every RPG player should try at least once, it's Microscope. It's a collaborative GMless non-chronological timeline building game, and part of the reason to try it is just because it gives you a nice taste of what the edge of the RPG field is like. The other reason to try it is that it is sheer genius.

Pex
2016-04-21, 11:24 PM
Pathfinder :smallyuk:

I did have a good time playing in an Ars Magica game once. I would put it at least equal if not more fun than my 2E days depending on which of my 2E DMs, but I will have to say I prefer 3E over Ars Magica though even today I would not say no to an Ars Magica game.

JAL_1138
2016-04-21, 11:24 PM
Do we count AD&D as different than D&D? They were separate product lines, after all...I tend to favor 2e (including using 2e to run 1e adventures) over nearly anything else.

Call of Cthulhu is enjoyable, Shadowrun was fun in the early days when it was a slimmer ruleset than it's become since, and WEG D6 Star Wars was an absolute blast (even just to read--the splatbooks were excellent), but I don't know if I'd consider them more fun. Different kinds of fun, and individual sessions and campaigns may have been more fun than individual AD&D sessions or campaigns, but I don't know if I'd say I liked them better.

Mutazoia
2016-04-22, 12:14 AM
Do we count AD&D as different than D&D? They were separate product lines, after all...I tend to favor 2e (including using 2e to run 1e adventures) over nearly anything else.

Call of Cthulhu is enjoyable, Shadowrun was fun in the early days when it was a slimmer ruleset than it's become since, and WEG D6 Star Wars was an absolute blast (even just to read--the splatbooks were excellent), but I don't know if I'd consider them more fun. Different kinds of fun, and individual sessions and campaigns may have been more fun than individual AD&D sessions or campaigns, but I don't know if I'd say I liked them better.

I always had a blast playing WEG Star Wars (D6), and DC Heroes. But honestly, it's hard to point at any system and say "that is more fun than X", simply because it is so subjective.

For instance, I really (REALLY) don't like Rifts, but I've still had fun games with Rifts, simply because the GM and the other players made up for the system. In the end, it's really the group of people you are playing with that make a game, not the rule set itself.

Gamgee
2016-04-22, 01:13 AM
Numenera is my go to system these days. Well its technically the cypher system but I play in the Numenera setting.

BWR
2016-04-22, 01:53 AM
I've played several great games both in D&D settings and outside. A strong contender for the best game I ever played was a V:tM. One of the worse games I played was the follow-up to that game. i've had a ton of fun with Ars Magica and some less fun things. I've had great D&D experiences and some lousy ones. I've had some great L5R games and some not so great.

Really, I can't say any single game is better than another. While there are systems I generally like more than others and there are be settings I like better than others (and these things are important), the most important element is how well the group works together. I appreciate variety, though. However much I like D&D and play it more than other games, I get bored playing nothing but it. I want to try different settings, different systems, different types of stories.

Khedrac
2016-04-22, 02:23 AM
Yes, some systems are better than others, but to me what makes a game "fun" is not the system but the group.

Get a good group of players, a good DM, a decent adventure and be in the right mood and anything can be fun.
Get the any of the above wrong and it can suck the fun out of anything.

Paranoia - usually good fun as everyone should b in a silly mood to even try it.
Call of Cthulhu - the way I have usually played this is we laugh a lot. We play it seriously, but we don't take it seriously. Very different fun, but still fun.
RuneQuest, D&D, etc. - all depends on the session, but usually great fun.

goto124
2016-04-22, 03:08 AM
What playstyle and 'feel' are you looking for, OP? What do you think DnD lacks, or does too much of?

2D8HP
2016-04-22, 07:11 AM
REIGN

Warbirds

Savage Worlds

Katanas and Trenchcoats


Terra Incognita

Mouse Guard

Burning Wheel

Legends of the Wulin

Microscope. It's a collaborative GMless non-chronological timeline building game, and part of the reason to try it is just because it gives you a nice taste of what the edge of the RPG field is like. The other reason to try it is that it is sheer genius.
Knaight,
Thanks for the list!

SirBellias
2016-04-22, 07:25 AM
PARANOIA is definitely mundane characters in a fantastic setting, technically rules light (the players can't know them and the GM can just make them up), and not bleak at all when played the fun way. I have to say, it is probably the one game my players enjoy a lot every time.

goto124
2016-04-22, 07:32 AM
Note: PARANOIA is a completely non-serious game where everyone is trying to kill one another in all sorts of ridiculous ways and it's all part of the fun the main source of the fun.

Amphetryon
2016-04-22, 07:40 AM
Depending on how you categorize Arthurian legend, you might find Pendragon to your liking. The world is not "I can open my door for that!" mundane, but it's not flying monsters and high magic.

2D8HP
2016-04-22, 09:26 AM
Depending on how you categorize Arthurian legend, you might find Pendragon to your liking. The world is not "I can open my door for that!" mundane, but it's not flying monsters and high magic.
:smallsmile: Pendragon tops my list of games I bought that I most wanted to play!

SirBellias
2016-04-22, 11:17 AM
:smallsmile: Pendragon tops my list of games I bought that I most wanted to play!

I can recommend that one as well, though the system wasn't all that light, if I remember correctly. It was definitely a good time though, don't get me wrong.

eru001
2016-04-22, 11:44 AM
My gaming group regularly plays a game that we call D20verse, which is a homemade game which one of us created.

it is optimized for one shots, but can be made to work very well for campaigns.

the idea is this.

At character creation the players and GM take turns coming up with a list of 20 genres or universes which they think are cool.


Film Noir
Pulp Fiction
the Roaring Twenties
Space Opera
Prehistoric
Murder Mystery
Spy Drama
Golden Age Comics
The Dark Ages
Supernatural
Modern Fantasy
Space Western
Viva La Revolucion
Post Apocalypse
BA-Barbarians
Magical Academies
Pokémon
Bad 80's action film (the best kind of action film)
ZOMBIES
Roll twice and combine


each player then rolls a D20 to determine what univers their character is from

The players characters are then abducted by a time hopping universe swapping police agency dedicated to keeping order in the multi-verse and are sent on a universe jumping hunt (via rolling D20's to see where the party is sent) where they hunt down a band of miscreants who have accidentaly hopped universes, (which the DM rolls up)

Stats are fairly straightforwards
Strength
Agility
Cunning
Inteligence
Power (a special ability based on the character's orgin)
Presence (the ability to summon things from their own universe)

roll 2d4 for each then assign scores how you please

when making a stat roll, simply roll a number of d6 equal to your score in the stat,
5's count as one point, 6's count as two points and allow you to roll an extra dice (which if you keep rolling sixes means you keep getting more dice)

Leewei
2016-04-22, 12:34 PM
GURPS has been enormously fun at times, but can also be flavorless. The GM's world-building really makes or breaks this system.

Rolemaster has the opposite problem. The setting is incredible, and the game writes itself, but the system is enormously burdensome.

Shadowrun has a good combination of setting and system, but characters the game runs into power curve issues after a while.

4e D&D compares pretty favorably with all of these. 5e/Next looks intriguing, but my group isn't reinvesting in it anytime soon.

wumpus
2016-04-22, 01:17 PM
Anything that inspires the gamemaster more than D&D?

The most fun I had with RPGs was Villains and Vigilantes with a brilliant comic-book fan gamemaster (the other thing was that I had *no* *idea* of the formal rules for V&V, so it was effectively freeform gameplay. Oldschool at best (said gamemaster even had a "I hate my DM" t-shirt).

Another ancient game I loved was Bushido. Basically Bushido is a fairly uninspired generic game built around a carefully tailored ancient Japan setting (Pendragon is said to do this with Camelot, but I've never played it). Lesson learned: settings are important. A good setting with mediocre rules beats generic fantasy regardless of how good the rules are. Exception: V&V is pretty cliched comic book action, but the gamemaster was able to transcend that.

Arbane
2016-04-22, 01:53 PM
I'm in a PF game right now, and enjoying it, but I can think of plenty of other RPGs I'd rather play.

Exalted (If anyone could find a workable rules system for it)
Godbound (like this - it's basically Exalted, but based on AD&D 1st ed instead of Vampire.)
Feng Shui
Legends of the Wulin
Dungeon World
Danger Patrol (great for one-shots)
Runequest

SimonMoon6
2016-04-22, 02:03 PM
Mayfair's DC Heroes RPG.

Also, TORG.

Basically, any game with a logarithmic scale seems like a good idea to me. Also, any game with a minimal amount of arithmetic required at any given time. (Roll dice, maybe add some numbers... done. For any kind of action: combat, skills, whatever. No second rolls (like for damage) required.) Any game that doesn't straightjacket you into a "class". Any game that doesn't have "alignments". Any game where you don't have to figure out what your future (up to 20th level) will be when you make 1st level character (who will probably never make it to 20th level). Any game where the GM can instantly make a high-powered enemy in, like, 10 seconds without having to reference fifteen sourcebooks. Those are the signs of enjoyable games, imho.

2D8HP
2016-04-22, 02:12 PM
What playstyle and 'feel' are you looking for, OP? What do you think DnD lacks, or does too much of?
goto124,
If you unspoiler the original post you'll probably get a good idea.
As you could probably tell from my list of games played, which ends in the 1990's, I have no deep knowledge of current RPG's, and it was curiousity about which of the many, many RPG's that are now available had people actually played are good.
What did old (1970's rules) DnD lack? Well I simply couldn't find a table to still play it or even later DnD for about a decade while the settings of the RPG's that I could still find a seat in grew progressively less appealing, until I left the hobby (except for still buying games that then gathered dust) until I was able to recently re-enter the hobby with 5e.
What do I not like about 5e?
Well as player I like it very much indeed! But as a DM? I find 5e to be much more complex than some other RPG's especially as the PC's level up, and they level up so much faster than they used to!
For what its worth besides some of the GURPS "world books" (Swashbuckers was a stand out) that had settings I liked, while I simply don't remember the rules some games that had settings that looked fun were, Castle Falkenstein, and Space 1889.
(King Arthur) Pendragon is a stand out in that the setting looked good and I can I remember thinking that the rules looked good enough as well.
And while it wasn't a setting I particularly want to play, I remember Call of Cthullu having some of the easiest rules to GM or "Keeper".

JAL_1138
2016-04-22, 06:53 PM
goto124,
If you unspoiler the original post you'll probably get a good idea.
As you could probably tell from my list of games played, which ends in the 1990's, I have no deep knowledge of current RPG's, and it was curiousity about which of the many, many RPG's that are now available had people actually played are good.
What did old (1970's rules) DnD lack? Well I simply couldn't find a table to still play it or even later DnD for about a decade while the settings of the RPG's that I could still find a seat in grew progressively less appealing, until I left the hobby (except for still buying games that then gathered dust) until I was able to recently re-enter the hobby with 5e.
What do I not like about 5e?
Well as player I like it very much indeed! But as a DM? I find 5e to be much more complex than some other RPG's especially as the PC's level up, and they level up so much faster than they used to!
For what its worth besides some of the GURPS "world books" (Swashbuckers was a stand out) that had settings I liked, while I simply don't remember the rules some games that had settings that looked fun were, Castle Falkenstein, and Space 1889.
(King Arthur) Pendragon is a stand out in that the setting looked good and I can I remember thinking that the rules looked good enough as well.
And while it wasn't a setting I particularly want to play, I remember Call of Cthullu having some of the easiest rules to GM or "Keeper".


One thing that makes DMing 5e a bit easier than it looks at first is that number of enemies can solve some of the leveling issue. If the players are a few levels too high for a goblin encounter, for example, a handful of extra goblins can turn it from a cakewalk they'll steamroller through, to a brutal scramble for survival that has a decent chance of ending in a PC death. In sufficient numbers, those goblins can challenge Level 9 PCs as well as a smaller number could challenge Lvl 1s, without doing anything to the goblin stat block.

I just run encounters through the XP calculations in the DMG and it's been pretty reliable as far as ballparking out what will be balanced and how difficult it will be. The only significant prep I do for enemies other than the XP calculation is for spellcasters; I write down short versions of the spell descriptions or set aside spell cards for them. I have pretty low tolerance for crunch-intensive prep, too.

2D8HP
2016-04-22, 08:02 PM
Do we count AD&D as different than D&D? They were separate product lines, after all...I tend to favor 2e (including using 2e to run 1e adventures) over nearly anything else.

It just so happens that after decades of having the 1e books. For the first time ever I picked up the 2e DMG, which I found used at Half Price Books this week.
While the artwork lacks the charm of the 1e books or the professionalism of the 5e books, the words are good. I already had 1e, 3e and 5e, now I need 3.5 and 4e to round out my collection. Seems silly since I just can't memorize that much material, but that's never stopped me before!

KorvinStarmast
2016-04-22, 08:13 PM
Boot Hill was fun for weekend off from D&D in college days.

Our Traveller group started having a lot of fun and then three folks left in quick succession due to RL.

:smalltongue:

Someday, I intend to buy Roll for Shoes because I hear it's fun.

Mr.Moron
2016-04-22, 08:16 PM
Savage Worlds & Iron Kingdoms come to mind. I generally find my enjoyment is generally more about the players and the campaign being run than the game itself. With I guess the exception of the white wolf games, which seem to make me miserable even with playing with people I enjoy.

RazorChain
2016-04-22, 10:12 PM
TWERPS, Renegade nuns on wheels and Machowomen with guns come to mind

2D8HP
2016-04-22, 10:19 PM
Savage Worlds & Iron Kingdoms come to mind. I generally find my enjoyment is generally more about the players and the campaign being run than the game itself. With I guess the exception of the white wolf games, which seem to make me miserable even with playing with people I enjoy.I had a similarly negative reaction to Cyberpunk. Yet I had fun with Shadowrun?

Hawksteel
2016-04-23, 02:53 AM
Palladium for a few years, mainly for their superhero game. But I had to houserule it so much that eventually I came back to AD&D.

Rakaydos
2016-04-23, 07:50 AM
If you've got a creative group that isnt afraid to take character consiquences for the sake of a story, the FFG Star Wars system is AMAZING.

Every roll needs interpreting, such as "Success, with 2 points worth of setback." could be anything from taking extra time to do the job right, to jumping out of cover to take a shot with you blaster (and hitting, the dice aready said so, you just lost your cover bonus) to having sparks blow into your face during the mechnics check for strain damage.

My group always splits the party- that's what comms are for!- and whatever team doesnt have the spotlight is more than willing to throw in peanut gallery comments. They have no REAL power, but as a GM I can take their suggestions and run with them.

Giant2005
2016-04-23, 10:32 AM
Rules Light. I could try for familiar, but as the baseline of games you're familiar with is D&D and a pile of stuff you hate, that seems unwise.
Mundane characters, fantastic settings.
Nothing likely to get described as grim, gritty, dark, bleak, or similar.
Absolutely no Creature: The Something.


If these are the criteria then Tunnels and Trolls is the perfect fit.


There is quite literally nothing on the market which is less rules intensive. If you find something with less rules, it is either not functional, or it has no rules... and isn't a game. This is especially true from a DM perspective - you won't ever have to prepare a thing mechanically. You can construct a 100 man encounter at the speed of thought. You can even finish that encounter without much more time than that.
You can be as mundane as you want to be - there is a citizen class where you are as ordinary as advertised. Although if by some miracle that ordinary character manages to continuously survive encounters far beyond his expected means, then he will eventually become incredibly powerful.
The most cited reason that DnD was a success while its only early rival (T&T) was less well received, was because it was considered to be much too light-hearted.
"Tunnels & Trolls: The Trollening" doesn't sound catchy enough for it to join White Wolf's entourage.

Thrudd
2016-04-23, 01:23 PM
It's all about the genre. If you don't want to run a game about adventuring for treasure in a medieval-ish fantasy world, then D&D will not be a fun game.

The games I had the most fun GMing:

Feng Shui: It has simple rules and a great setting. It is fun if you like action movies, the main focus of the game is coming up with over-the-top action sequences where the players use their imagination and the characters' abilities to beat the bad guys in action hero style. The game's default setting mashes together just about every action movie genre you can think of and more, but has a special focus on Chinese style action that you see in kung fu movies and hong kong shoot-em ups. It is fantastical, in that almost anything is possible, it allows travel between different time periods as well as a supernatural dimension where stuff and people from timelines that no longer exist were stranded.

Basically, you could use the game to simulate the kind of environment you see in any single action movie, or you could make any crazy combination of them you want, or start out with what seems to be a mundane action movie, and then introduce the characters to some crazy magical stuff or travel to a different time, or whatever.

For the best idea, watch "Big Trouble in Little China" again. It has everything. An everyman hero, a martial artist, a sorceror, an evil ghost/sorcerer, a couple supernatural creatures, gangs that fight with guns and martial arts, and three supernatural martial artists/sorcerors that can do some crazy stuff. There's a weird place underneath the streets of Chinatown filled with the "black blood of the earth" and monsters that jump out and eat people, that leads to a secret glowing temple where an unholy ritual will take place.


d6 Star Wars by West End Games is my favorite for that universe. Not really any explanation needed of the Star Wars Universe. I had more fun running this system than I did with the d20 version. Class and levels just didn't feel right to me, for the type of game I was running.

Cluedrew
2016-04-23, 02:04 PM
Someday, I intend to buy Roll for Shoes because I hear it's fun.I don't think you need to buy Roll for Shoes (http://story-games.com/forums/discussion/comment/438050). Also yes, it is a lot of fun and I recommend it. Although it has very light hearted attitude there is a surprising amount of stuff going on in that little set of rules.

gadren
2016-04-25, 01:49 AM
No one has mentioned Valor (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?408108-Valor-Tabletop-RPG-System) yet? For shame.

Psyren
2016-04-25, 02:58 AM
I had a lot of fun with Dragon Age (http://greenroninstore.com/collections/dragon-age-rpg/products/dragon-age-rpg-core-rulebook), but at the same time that's largely due to already being pretty familiar with the setting and lore from the video games. The mechanics are nice though with its 3d6 and stunt mechanic in place of high-end crits. It has its share of Quadratic Wizards of course.

neonchameleon
2016-04-25, 11:57 AM
I have two basic modes for tabletop RPGs.

First is the hacked single PoV wargame/boardgame where logistics or tactics is vital, and it's collaborative against whatever the DM is throwing. IME nothing beats D&D for this mode of play (with 4e and the Rules Cyclopedia/BECMI being very different ways of doing it but both doing it spectacularly well) - but Call of Cthulhu comes close.

Second is the collaborative semi improv game that's frequently involving the PCs in a rolling disaster that grows. For this a lot of modern games do amazingly well, far better than D&D. Notably IME: Fiasco, Dread, Dogs in the Vineyard, Fate Accelerated, Cortex+ (Marvel Heroic/Leverage/Firefly), Apocalypse World (and derivatives), Feng Shui 2, Star Wars (FFG/Silly Dice version). What most of these have in common is pretty simple core rules, and results that aren't simple pass/fail but instead introduce complications and more confusion.