Quote from: Spinachcat;1026033Unisystem has been FOR ME the best system for RPGs based on fiction. AKA, the Buffy system.

It has produced the best sessions of Star Trek, Firefly, X-men and LotR that I've experienced by a massive margin.

Why? The mechanics that separate Major from Minor Hero work excellently and the players of the Minor Hero feel great because there's lots to do, whereas the Major PCs shine in the spotlight like the TV shows, movies, books, etc.

That's an interesting suggestion. Does Unisystem have ready-made monsters, magic and items appropriate for ME, or would you have to make them up?

Quote from: Spinachcat;1026033Unisystem has been FOR ME the best system for RPGs based on fiction. AKA, the Buffy system.

It has produced the best sessions of Star Trek, Firefly, X-men and LotR that I've experienced by a massive margin.

Why? The mechanics that separate Major from Minor Hero work excellently and the players of the Minor Hero feel great because there's lots to do, whereas the Major PCs shine in the spotlight like the TV shows, movies, books, etc.

Yes, I can see that:).
"Hobbit: You're always a Minor hero, staying in the shadow - but not in the Shadow - of the bigger men".

Quote from: Larsdangly;1026092That's an interesting suggestion. Does Unisystem have ready-made monsters, magic and items appropriate for ME, or would you have to make them up?

Not an expert on Unisystem, somehow I'm always a player in this one, and it's always been Classic Unisystem, not Cinematic, which Spinachcat is talking about. But my guess would be "probably no, unless you adapt" on monsters, very much "yes" on the magic, and "probably yes" on the items;). At the very least, they would be Items of Power, rare as hen's teeth and hugely powerful.


Yes, the more I think about it, the more I agree that if I was to run Middle Earth, I'd probably use Unisystem. Or I could adapt Mythras by picking the optional Passions rule, and making them like those in Pendragon. Or adapt Spellbound Kingdoms, because passions driving your magic is great for Middle Earth:p.
But Unisystem would be a strong contender, that's for sure!
Of course, the odds of me running Middle Earth are slim to none, and Slim has felt the Road calling to him, but that's because my players wouldn't be really interested in it:p. More precisely, I suspect if I was to drop the current Tekumel campaign for Middle Earth, they'd strangle me in my sleep:D! (Luckily, I don't want to do that anyway, because I like Tekumel better than Middle Earth).

Based on a minute or two of Googling, it looks like all versions of Unisystem are variants of each other, each presented as a setting specific game, and pretty much all of those are modern fantasy or modern horror. Am I wrong? If this is how the system is presented, it sounds like a lot of work to get it burnished up and ready for the table if you want to use it for some sort of quasi medieval fantasy game with a well developed setting like Middle Earth.

Quote from: Larsdangly;1026128Based on a minute or two of Googling, it looks like all versions of Unisystem are variants of each other, each presented as a setting specific game, and pretty much all of those are modern fantasy or modern horror. Am I wrong? If this is how the system is presented, it sounds like a lot of work to get it burnished up and ready for the table if you want to use it for some sort of quasi medieval fantasy game with a well developed setting like Middle Earth.

No, there are two variants, Classic Unisystem and Cinematic Unisystem:).

And they've got swords, armour and other equipment like this, because many demons and other supernaturals either use them, or are vulnerable to them. So, no, it wouldn't be that much work;).

Spirit of the Century was fantastic. The group didn't hurt either.

I haven't actually played it in a Middle Earth setting, but I think that HeroQuest 2.0/HeroQuest Glorantha would be a great fit due to it's ability to make Samewise's "Loyal to Frodo Baggins" as important as Boromir's "Kill Orc".

AD&D1 worked well.  The GM made some adjustments:

• No PC Magic-Users, Illusionists, Clerics, Druids, or Monks.
• Added in the Arcanum/Compleat Alchemist herbs and potions rules.
• Came up with a lot of minor magic items (like a pipe that lets you change the color of the smoke)

No one ever cast a spell, but there was a lot of magic.

I've been thinking about revisiting Middle Earth with Mythras.

Quote from: Larsdangly;1026092Does Unisystem have ready-made monsters, magic and items appropriate for ME, or would you have to make them up?

I haven't GM'd Unisystem, only played it. But I've seen plenty of source material for various IPs which I imagine has everything you need, or easily could extrapolate. Nothing in Unisystem seemed troublesome to convert, aka if you have a LotR list of stuff, I am sure you could snag, modify or convert with ease.

I am surprised there isn't an OGL Unisystem-clone. Or is there?

Quote from: markmohrfield;1026148I haven't actually played in a Middle Earth setting, but I think that HeroQuest 2.0/HeroQuest Glorantha would be a great fit due to it's ability to make Samewise's "Loyal to Frodo Baggins" as important as Boromir's "Kill Orc".

I've played in a HQ LotR campaign and you're right, but I find HQ too wonky for my tastes. It was extremely cool how the GM drilled down to give lists of unique traits to mundane items.

Quote from: Larsdangly;1025914I've run Middle Earth campaigns using a number of game systems other than the licensed ones.....
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Hey Lars! Did you finnish the spell list for your D&D hack, Balrogs&Bagginsess?

Quote from: Teodrik;1026349Hey Lars! Did you finnish the spell list for your D&D hack, Balrogs&Bagginsess?

I did! I was just thinking about sending another round of that fantasy heartbreaker out into the intertubes.

Quote from: Larsdangly;1026381I did! I was just thinking about sending another round of that fantasy heartbreaker out into the intertubes.

Awesome!

I have played Trudvang Chronicles and think you could play a helluva good Middle Earth Game with it. It is a d100 descendant, based on many of the same myth cycles that Tolkien was, magic system has a very similar feel, lots of similar monsters.

All Flesh Must Be Eaten is Unisystem.  It has a supplement called Dungeons & Zombies.  To quote the blurb, "It covers all aspects of fantasy role-playing, from gritty swords and sorcery to literary high fantasy, from King Arthur to the mysterious orient, all using the popular Unisystem rules...."

Quote from: Narmer;1026448All Flesh Must Be Eaten is Unisystem.  It has a supplement called Dungeons & Zombies.  To quote the blurb, "It covers all aspects of fantasy role-playing, from gritty swords and sorcery to literary high fantasy, from King Arthur to the mysterious orient, all using the popular Unisystem rules...."

I actually have that, somewhere in my gaming closet! I don't think I've played it in a decade or more, but I do remember it being cool and pretty generalizable. I'll have to dig it out and take a look.