Quote from: Socratic-DM on March 17, 2025, 07:46:55 PM

Quote from: Brad on March 17, 2025, 02:49:55 PMThat Transformers game is hot garbage, honestly. It uses the same rules as the GI Joe game, right? How do you fuck those up...glad I got my money back for that crap.

Anyway, while I like MERP quite a bit, I looked for a less lethal Middle Earth game. The One Ring sucks, in my opinion, and I sold it and everything I had for it because after a couple sessions of play I just found it to be super boring and lame. Adventures in Middle Earth is just D&D 5th with a thin veneer and again not that cool.

Lo and behold, something useful from RPG.net:
https://forum.rpg.net/index.php?threads/middle-earth-d6-rules-mostly-complete.190283/

That actually...works. Pretty well, I might add. It's a solid, free game.

Back when I was playing 5th edition I really liked adventurers in middle earth due to it having non-magical class alternatives, allowed you to bring the power-level of 5th edition down to something closer to an old school game. Though I don't really play 5th at all anymore so to each their own.

But indeed it seems RPG.net is good for something, just skimming these rules I might just have to run this! they do look quite solid.

More like back in 2005, rpg.net was good for something! (LOL)

I think we should make original IPs rather than promoting corporate IPs. In fact, I think we need more public domain material so that we aren't held hostage by those evil corpos.

Every fan-made alternative is better than the steaming pile of shite that is Exalted's native system.

Quote from: weirdguy564 on March 16, 2025, 09:28:04 AMThese games are all rules lite stuff, which is my preferred method.  I don't have time for giant rulebooks that have night fighting, in the rain, while you're blind in one eye.

Ha!!!  I agree.  Life is short.  Game while you can.

Quote from: Kiero on March 26, 2025, 10:23:10 AMEvery fan-made alternative is better than the steaming pile of shite that is Exalted's native system.

Absolutely.

Quote from: BoxCrayonTales on March 25, 2025, 12:09:30 PMwe need more public domain material so that we aren't held hostage by those evil corpos

I mean, a few really big Disney characters have recently been liberated.

Quote from: Socratic-DM on March 13, 2025, 11:56:19 PMTL;DR: Any fan games which you have found to be better than the officially licensed version of?

I'm gonna second Transformers. I've got a homebrew system I've been tinkering with since the 80's. But that's niche of a niche. A homebrew for a not-D&D setting.
I figured with an official RPG, I might be able to get people more interested in playing.
But the system is so not-Transformers, it's criminal.

Quote from: D-ko on March 27, 2025, 08:12:33 PM

Quote from: BoxCrayonTales on March 25, 2025, 12:09:30 PMwe need more public domain material so that we aren't held hostage by those evil corpos

I mean, a few really big Disney characters have recently been liberated.

All do-able with TOON!

Palladium's old Robotech/Macross and TMNT RPGs did it right.

Was oddly unimpressed with gurps Lensman. And even less impressed with Usagi Yojimbo.

WEG's Star Wars is indeed pretty good as is Star Trek. Havent seen the TNG RPG.

The original Albedo RPG got across perfectly the "War is Hell" aspect. Lil weak on the socio-political intrigue side.

AD&D Conan was pretty good long as the DM kept the class and race access ruthlessly restricted. The TSR Conan RPG felt oddly off. Never could pin down what.

TSR's Indiana Jones RPG worked, but the format was... not great in places.

Tri-stats Votoms and Dominion RPGs felt oddly lacking.

Never got into the James Bond RPG.

2001 and 2010 for Star Frontiers were ok.

I know theres more I've actually seen or have. But drawing a blank.

And several heard of but never actually seen. Mayfair's DC Heroes. Apparently it won an award or two? Middle Earth. Dragonslayer. Sailor Moon. Werent there a Highlander and a Buffy RPG? Aliens. Prince Valiant? Amber (Have it, never had a chance to read it) Judge Dredd? Thought I had WWs Street Fighter RPG but cant find it. The old Doctor Who RPG. Dallas. Rocky & Bullwinkle. Cadillacs & Dinosaurs/Xenozoic Tales. Wasnt there a gurps Horseclans?

Dragao Brasil magazine did a bunch of adaption articles to convert this or that IP to AD&D or WOD. I recall one being Dino Crisis. Men in Black. Gurps Battletech, Ghost in the Shell, Swat Kats, Thundercats, and Parasite Eve. Highlander using WOD.

Quote from: Omega on March 28, 2025, 04:47:25 AMPalladium's old Robotech/Macross and TMNT RPGs did it right.

Was oddly unimpressed with gurps Lensman. And even less impressed with Usagi Yojimbo.

WEG's Star Wars is indeed pretty good as is Star Trek. Havent seen the TNG RPG.

The original Albedo RPG got across perfectly the "War is Hell" aspect. Lil weak on the socio-political intrigue side.

AD&D Conan was pretty good long as the DM kept the class and race access ruthlessly restricted. The TSR Conan RPG felt oddly off. Never could pin down what.

TSR's Indiana Jones RPG worked, but the format was... not great in places.

Tri-stats Votoms and Dominion RPGs felt oddly lacking.

Never got into the James Bond RPG.

2001 and 2010 for Star Frontiers were ok.

I know theres more I've actually seen or have. But drawing a blank.

And several heard of but never actually seen. Mayfair's DC Heroes. Apparently it won an award or two? Middle Earth. Dragonslayer. Sailor Moon. Werent there a Highlander and a Buffy RPG? Aliens. Prince Valiant? Amber (Have it, never had a chance to read it) Judge Dredd? Thought I had WWs Street Fighter RPG but cant find it. The old Doctor Who RPG. Dallas. Rocky & Bullwinkle. Cadillacs & Dinosaurs/Xenozoic Tales. Wasnt there a gurps Horseclans?

Dragao Brasil magazine did a bunch of adaption articles to convert this or that IP to AD&D or WOD. I recall one being Dino Crisis. Men in Black. Gurps Battletech, Ghost in the Shell, Swat Kats, Thundercats, and Parasite Eve. Highlander using WOD.

The Buffy one ain't bad, been running an old fan conversion (it's the Cinematic unisystem, mostly uses the buffy incarnation but takes from around and even a bit from World of Darkness)based on the series my pfp is from, Fate, and it's pretty interesting, a fairly simple system at it's root and thankfully quite easy to homebrew as I want to add new stuff to it (have permission)

Quote from: Omega on March 28, 2025, 04:02:44 AM

Quote from: D-ko on March 27, 2025, 08:12:33 PM

Quote from: BoxCrayonTales on March 25, 2025, 12:09:30 PMwe need more public domain material so that we aren't held hostage by those evil corpos

I mean, a few really big Disney characters have recently been liberated.

All do-able with TOON!

Hey, man! We have to abolish copyright so uncreative doinks can attach their terrible projects to a name-brand.

Quote from: Ratman_tf on March 28, 2025, 11:31:42 AMHey, man! We have to abolish copyright so uncreative doinks can attach their terrible projects to a name-brand.

Oh so very very true.

I've got a couple of games that are clearly meant to be Star Trek.  From what I understand the official Star Trek RPG is a bit of a mess.

Instead, I have Tiny D6 Frontiers, Pocket Space, or a few D&D/OSR clones to pick from if I wanted to do Star Trek.

Quote from: Omega on March 30, 2025, 06:14:55 AM

Quote from: Ratman_tf on March 28, 2025, 11:31:42 AMHey, man! We have to abolish copyright so uncreative doinks can attach their terrible projects to a name-brand.

Oh so very very true.

Copyright was never meant to be forever.

QuoteThe length of copyright established by the Founding Fathers was 14 years, plus the ability to renew it one time, for 14 more.

Without loss of copyright, the Christmas classic It's A Wonderful Life never would have become a known film. The entire point of copyright was to promote creativity and when you have Disney running around suing people for drawing something that looks too much like their version of a public domain character, you gotta just shake your head in shame.