Hi all,

I'm a lurker that finally decided to register.  I'm hoping to get some feedback because I'm struggling to decide on a system. Right now, I have a lot of rpg books but can't decide on which one to play. I finally have my wife and kids (older) ready to play a 2-3 session adventure.

A lot of you have really great ideas and posts, so I thought I'd list out the three games I'm leaning towards and get your feedback.

Old School Essentials
Pros: simple and elegant rule set.
Cons: lethality and they might get bored with combat encounters.

Genesys RPG
Pros: Freedom and unexpected twists
Cons: No journey system and could overwhelm them

The One Ring 2e
Pros: journey system and interesting combat (protection rolls, etc)
Cons: it seems like a lot of bookkeeping for fiddly stuff, can get depressing/bland at times

Out of those three what do you suggest?  Something different?  I wish I could squeeze them all together.

Of those, I only have experience with OSE, which is just Basic D&D. Basic D&D is outstanding.

How many players?  Anything around Basic D&D is a great way to start, but you really need to lean into the game the way it is expected to be played:

- Embrace that lethal comes with players not thinking about what the characters do, but as a GM make sure you take their plans into account.
- Make sure they roll up their own characters, because they'll probably do it several times.
- Players get a lot smarter with the second and third characters, usually.
- Depending on the number of players, you likely need plenty of opportunities to hire help.

So that first "adventure" is not so much an adventure as a series of short expeditions. 

Personally, I would do something like that first, even if you know that you'll migrate to something later where the characters are more capable out of the gate.  It's a good environment to get the hang of roleplaying.  Just don't sell as something that it's not, make sure everyone knows it's an experiment, and then after you do that, all of you will have a lot more information on whether to keep going with it or try something else.

Quote from: Pen on January 20, 2023, 03:53:26 PM
Old School Essentials
Pros: simple and elegant rule set.
Cons: lethality and they might get bored with combat encounters.

I currently play OSE.  I'm the DM, and there are 3 players.  I let each player run 2 PCs, for an adventuring party of 6.  This has worked very well for us, as a party of 6 PCs will be much stronger than a party of 3.  And if a PC dies, the sting is lessened a bit because the player already has another character to run.

The lethality is still there, but the odds aren't so overwhelming.

Quote from: Steven Mitchell on January 20, 2023, 05:03:06 PM
How many players?  Anything around Basic D&D is a great way to start, but you really need to lean into the game the way it is expected to be played:

- Embrace that lethal comes with players not thinking about what the characters do, but as a GM make sure you take their plans into account.
- Make sure they roll up their own characters, because they'll probably do it several times.
- Players get a lot smarter with the second and third characters, usually.
- Depending on the number of players, you likely need plenty of opportunities to hire help.

So that first "adventure" is not so much an adventure as a series of short expeditions. 

Personally, I would do something like that first, even if you know that you'll migrate to something later where the characters are more capable out of the gate.  It's a good environment to get the hang of roleplaying.  Just don't sell as something that it's not, make sure everyone knows it's an experiment, and then after you do that, all of you will have a lot more information on whether to keep going with it or try something else.

Me and four players. I agree.  It will be a few expeditions. I'd like to try and incorporate Doom of the Savage Kings in there as well, at some point.

Quote from: Crusader X on January 20, 2023, 05:04:10 PM

Quote from: Pen on January 20, 2023, 03:53:26 PM
Old School Essentials
Pros: simple and elegant rule set.
Cons: lethality and they might get bored with combat encounters.

I currently play OSE.  I'm the DM, and there are 3 players.  I let each player run 2 PCs, for an adventuring party of 6.  This has worked very well for us, as a party of 6 PCs will be much stronger than a party of 3.  And if a PC dies, the sting is lessened a bit because the player already has another character to run.

The lethality is still there, but the odds aren't so overwhelming.

Do your players ever feel like combat is boring?  How do you handle traveling. I like the journey being a large part of the adventure.

Quote from: Pen on January 20, 2023, 05:59:48 PM

Quote from: Crusader X on January 20, 2023, 05:04:10 PM

Quote from: Pen on January 20, 2023, 03:53:26 PM
Old School Essentials
Pros: simple and elegant rule set.
Cons: lethality and they might get bored with combat encounters.

I currently play OSE.  I'm the DM, and there are 3 players.  I let each player run 2 PCs, for an adventuring party of 6.  This has worked very well for us, as a party of 6 PCs will be much stronger than a party of 3.  And if a PC dies, the sting is lessened a bit because the player already has another character to run.

The lethality is still there, but the odds aren't so overwhelming.

Do your players ever feel like combat is boring?  How do you handle traveling. I like the journey being a large part of the adventure.

If they don't like combat much; then perhaps they would enjoy solving puzzles, disarming traps, and solving mysteries?

I can't comment on Genesys, but of the other two, I'd say OSE, hands down.  I'm a huge Tolkien fan but I find TOR 2e to be worthless trash as a game system.  The books look nice, but beyond that it's basically a board game masquerading as a roleplaying game.  Tons of unnecessary rolling and gimmicky mechanics that add nothing but complexity, yet they try to sell it as a rules-light system.  Plus, they really try to shoehorn you into replicating the books.  Personally, while I like he idea of gaming in Middle Earth, I don't want to just replay Lord of the Rings or be some side character in the "real" story.  But that's how they frame the game.

In addition to be easier to learn and far superior mechanically, OSE has some published adventures that are very family friendly.  Depending upon your conversion skills, you could convert TOR to OSE.  I converted some old MERP stuff to OSE and it was a snap.  But I know both systems well.

I'd personally go for something like Beyond the Wall. Very flavourful backdrop with very tight yet simple mechanics and can be played with very little prep if that's your thing.

It's based of the old D&D mechanics but it's very streamlined and adds 'knacks' for characters which essentially gives them character skills and talents.

The landscape basically builds itself as you play.

From what I know of those, I think OSE is probably the best to tweak to get the game where you want it.

Quote from: Pen on January 20, 2023, 05:59:48 PM
Do your players ever feel like combat is boring?  How do you handle traveling. I like the journey being a large part of the adventure.

I've heard The One Ring is really good for this.  Haven't played it myself so I can't confirm though

Quote from: Mishihari on January 20, 2023, 07:14:21 PM

Quote from: Pen on January 20, 2023, 05:59:48 PM
Do your players ever feel like combat is boring?  How do you handle traveling. I like the journey being a large part of the adventure.

I've heard The One Ring is really good for this.  Haven't played it myself so I can't confirm though

That's a myth, unless making a bunch of dice rolls instead of roleplaying is fun for you.  The One Ring has a bunch of predetermined roles that the party has to assume, then the GM rolls a bunch of dice, consults some generic tables and tells them the outcome.  It's the most antithetical to roleplaying mechanic I've seen.  It's roll playing instead of roleplaying.  That's a large part of why the game feels like a board game, which is what the lead designer specializes in creating.  And this is true in every phase (literally) of the game.  Go home for the winter?  Roll a few dice and we'll tell you what happened.  Audience with your patron?  Roll some dice and we'll tell you how it went.  Want to sing a song?  Roll some dice to see if people like it.  It's just, ugh.....

But you could cut about 75% of the mechanics out and the game would probably play alright. Or steal the lore and setting info and just use a better system.

Quote from: Pen on January 20, 2023, 05:59:48 PM
Do your players ever feel like combat is boring?

We've never really had that problem.  The lethality of B/X actually helps to make things more exciting and nerve-wracking for us.   

QuoteHow do you handle traveling. I like the journey being a large part of the adventure.

Our games mainly focus on dungeon crawls.  Traveling isn't a huge part of our games, but we still try to incorporate the B/X wilderness rules on occasion.  But its just not the focus for us.

If your wife and kids are big JRRT fans, then run One Ring.

OSE is good if you want to play OSR D&D.

Don't know Genesys.

Also, ask them what genre / game type they are interested in playing because there's 1001 free RPGs on DriveThruRPG that cater to a multitude of tastes.

Here's my fave free RPG: MAZES & MINOTAURS (Greek mythic RPG)
http://mazesandminotaurs.free.fr/

Here's my 2nd fave free RPG: EXEMPLARS & EIDOLONS
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/144651/Exemplars--Eidolons

Here's my not-OSR kinda-GURPS-ish fave free RPG: WARRIOR, ROGUE & MAGE
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/82643/Warrior-Rogue--Mage

M&M and WRM both have a huge stack of free supplements too.

Quote from: Crusader X on January 20, 2023, 05:04:10 PM

Quote from: Pen on January 20, 2023, 03:53:26 PM
Old School Essentials
Pros: simple and elegant rule set.
Cons: lethality and they might get bored with combat encounters.

I currently play OSE.  I'm the DM, and there are 3 players.  I let each player run 2 PCs, for an adventuring party of 6.  This has worked very well for us, as a party of 6 PCs will be much stronger than a party of 3.  And if a PC dies, the sting is lessened a bit because the player already has another character to run.

The lethality is still there, but the odds aren't so overwhelming.

I am a fan of players running 2 PC's; especially, if there are only one or two players.