Is the Rules Cyclopedia the logical choice, or could you be happy with another option?

Combined with the stuff I already possess a general understanding of, I could take the 5E PHB and work from there.  It has a little bit of MM content, and the Great Wheel of the planes of existence in the back of the book.  I could build up from those stats for higher level foes.  I'd ignore Feats, and probably roll an E6 type variant.  

Keeping the book dry, and preventing mildew would be my greatest concern; aside from food, water, shelter, and being rescued.....

I might even opt to use the Dungeon World 2d6 Resolution Mechanic, for the sake of simplicity?

I also have a first print run copy of the 3.0 PHB, which has a little MM content in the back of the book too.  I could just as easily work with that instead.

I think it would have to be the RC for the setting info, even though I prefer Swords & Wizardry for the unified save and ascending AC.

Hmm... how about a printout of the 5e SRD?

Quote from: S'mon;1071969I think it would have to be the RC for the setting info, even though I prefer Swords & Wizardry for the unified save and ascending AC.

Hmm... how about a printout of the 5e SRD?

S&W?

I started to say White Box FMAG myself.  I do like it, and it has a good monster section.

Either Classic Traveller's The Traveller Book or Mongoose Traveller 1e's Core Rulebook.

I would take the Savage Worlds core book. As much as I like all the other books, I could just houserule that content with enough time and effort.

If this is actually a question about "if you could only have one RPG book in existence", then yeah the Rules Cyclopedia.

One book? AS&SH packs solid AD&Dish rules along with spells, magic items and a full gazetteer for Hyperborea, into one book, so that's what I'd use. Pretty easy choice for me considering that's what I'm running now anyway, heheh.

Amber.

Quote from: Razor 007;1071957Is the Rules Cyclopedia the logical choice, or could you be happy with another option?

Combined with the stuff I already possess a general understanding of, I could take the 5E PHB and work from there.  It has a little bit of MM content, and the Great Wheel of the planes of existence in the back of the book.  I could build up from those stats for higher level foes.  I'd ignore Feats, and probably roll an E6 type variant.  

Keeping the book dry, and preventing mildew would be my greatest concern; aside from food, water, shelter, and being rescued.....

I might even opt to use the Dungeon World 2d6 Resolution Mechanic, for the sake of simplicity?

I also have a first print run copy of the 3.0 PHB, which has a little MM content in the back of the book too.  I could just as easily work with that instead.

No fair, considering D&D usually splits their game into 3 books...

If I limited it to D&D, I'd go with the Rules Cyclopeia then, only because it would give me the most bang for my book.

If it wasn't for the spells being in the PHB, I'd say the 1E DMG.

So maybe OSRIC?

Its a toss up between Call of Cthulhu (preferably the Games Workshop 3rd ed which I feel is the best looking of the bunch) and 5th Ed HERO.

CoC can easily be used to run a non-horror game, and could also be used for fantasy or sci-fi. It would be very good for weird tales style Sword & Sorcery which often had horror elements to them. It is less complex than some of its siblings so would be easier to teach to fellow castaways. Because it is a simple system it would be easy to make up any additional material needed. Also most editions after second were hardbacks so they are pretty durable books.


With HERO I actually prefer 4th ed, but 5th ed is a Hardback (a notably durable one at that) and includes more in the core rule book so for this purpose is the superior product. HERO can be used for just about anything, so stuck on a deserted island covers the most bases. The downside is it is more complex, so it would be somewhat dependent on who my fellow castaways were and their gaming preferences. A common complaint about HERO is the time the GM needs to prepare. Stuck on a deserted island that doesn't really sound like a problem to me.

Space: 1889. Need to have a civilized game on an uncivilized island.

Whichever supplement has the most details about shipbuilding.

Probably BRP would be the best choice for that as it can be used to run different genres and settings.

Mini Six. Or whichever GURPS book was most applicable to my situation.

A printed copy of a PDF containing all the RQ/D100 material ever published.