It might have something to do with my group being part of the playtesting team, but I still have quite a crush on Dark Legacies (2004). Gritty D&D, with steampowered warmachines, megacities riddled with disease, disturbing hard magic and a version of taint/dark side points.

Very atmospheric, but probably too much like Warhammer, and with awesome art by Adrian Smith.

Both the Dark Legacies: Players Guide and the Campaign Guide is highly recommended. If for nothing else, then for WFRP-inspiration.

Quote from: daniel_ream;555931I think that the only way I could be convinced to run or play a 3.5 rules campaign any more would be Arcana Evolved.  I loved the setting so much when it went out of print I had the PDF printed on glossy colour paper and professionally hardbound.  It's a coffee table book now.

Awesome! AE is a gorgeous book. AE on glossy paper... pictures, please!

QuoteI think that the only way I could be convinced to run or play a 3.5 rules campaign any more would be Arcana Evolved. I loved the setting so much when it went out of print I had the PDF printed on glossy colour paper and professionally hardbound. It's a coffee table book now.

That would be something to see. Given that FantasyCraft isn't eligible to be in the conversation Arcana Evolved was my favorite OGL game by far.

Quote from: Piestrio;555907What's so shitty about it?

On its own merits, assuming you have no prior investment in Gamma World.

D20 6th edition of Gamma World was very much an attempt to take the gonzo out of the game. I may not approve, but I could respect that. And to be perfectly honest when first came out Gamma World wasn't really seen as cookie, gonzo style game, that sort of came later especially with the 4th edition from 1992. For many players back then Gamma World was deadly serious - armed bunnies notwithstanding.

No, the problem with Gamma World D20 is that is was so boring. It just pages and pages of padding spread over six books or so with so little that really grabbed you and said made you say "cool!". The GM Guide (which isn't actually all that bad) is mostly an essay by Greg Stoltze which might as well been written for another game because it barely refers to Gamma World at all.  And this was compounded by the book design. Everything was gray, the paper was gray, the print dense and gray and illustrations gray.

Still, for someone who like D20 Modern and wants to run a, dare I say it, more serious version of Gamma World I'm sure it works fine. Or you could just get D20 Apocalypse.

Still for the real train wreck you have to look at the 5th "Alternity" edition. The system might have even been okay, I don't know, but what they did to the Gamma World setting in that edition was pure butchery.

Quote from: Soylent Green;556195D20 6th edition of Gamma World was very much an attempt to take the gonzo out of the game. I may not approve, but I could respect that. And to be perfectly honest when first came out Gamma World wasn't really seen as cookie, gonzo style game, that sort of came later especially with the 4th edition from 1992. For many players back then Gamma World was deadly serious - armed bunnies notwithstanding.

No, the problem with Gamma World D20 is that is was so boring. It just pages and pages of padding spread over six books or so with so little that really grabbed you and said made you say "cool!". The GM Guide (which isn't actually all that bad) is mostly an essay by Greg Stoltze which might as well been written for another game because it barely refers to Gamma World at all.  And this was compounded by the book design. Everything was gray, the paper was gray, the print dense and gray and illustrations gray.

Still, for someone who like D20 Modern and wants to run a, dare I say it, more serious version of Gamma World I'm sure it works fine. Or you could just get D20 Apocalypse.

Still for the real train wreck you have to look at the 5th "Alternity" edition. The system might have even been okay, I don't know, but what they did to the Gamma World setting in that edition was pure butchery.

If you are interested in a game that has the feel of the original Gamma World but can still do gritty AND is currently being supported, check out The Mutant Epoch.

Quote from: thedungeondelver;555132I rather liked the d20 Star Wars games (v1 and v2).
The rest, not so much.

I always wanted to run a generic SF game with this. The Alien Anthology is just so darn cool. But I would want to break out of the Star Wars canon.

Y'know, I don't really get the love for d20 CoC. I'm still stuck on the glaring omission of anything related to vehicles.

Quote from: Black Vulmea;556342Y'know, I don't really get the love for d20 CoC. I'm still stuck on the glaring omission of anything related to vehicles.

 I'd never actually play the game, mind you. It's all about the GM advice at the end by John Tyne.

Late to the party, it seems. There was a ton of material released that was very good, but you definitely had to sift through the chaff to find it. In no particular order:

Ptolus - Malhavoc Press (a monster that I will one day run a campaign for, damnit!)

Wilderlands of High Fantasy - Necromancer Games/Judges Guild (the boxed set and City State guide inspired me to re-explore the hex-crawling game format; I was less impressed with the player's guide, and I don't own Caverns of Thracia - should I? What about the other 3.x remakes from from Goodman?)

Various 1st Edition Feel Modules - Necromancer Games (some highlights being City of Brass, Vault of Larin Karr, Lost City of Barakus, etc. Don't own Tomb of Absythor, though I hear it's great)

The Ultimate Toolbox - AEG (although I'm not sure when this updated version was released...)

A Magical Medieval Society: Western Europe - Expeditious Retreat Press (not D20, strictly speaking, but of that era and still one of the best books for an RPG I've ever owned)

CoC D20 - WotC (although the awesome GM section clouds my judgement)

Ravenloft D20 - Arthaus/White Wolf (awesome line, even though I've found 3.x is a poorer fit for a Ravenloft style game)

Iron Kingdoms - Privateer Press (I picked up the miniature games later, but it was the RPG setting that I fell for, right from the first 3 modules that started the company; I've never liked any other iteration of "steampunk")

Various Penumbra Modules - Atlas Games (some highlights being 3 Days to Kill, In the Belly of the Beast, The Ebon Mirror, and En Route)

I was never interested in non-fantasy D20 (CoC being the exception, bought on whim), as I always felt I had other systems that handled other genres much better than D20. One of the downsides of the D20 boom was that it was so prolific it started to push other options out of the market, which annoyed me to no end.

Quote from: Black Vulmea;556342Y'know, I don't really get the love for d20 CoC. I'm still stuck on the glaring omission of anything related to vehicles.

I've never understood why anyone would play any edition of CoC. The smartest course of action in that universe is to remain blissfully ignorant and never be a player character. Because player characters either go insane or die horribly. Fun city.

Quote from: Bobloblah;556379Late to the party, it seems. There was a ton of material released that was very good, but you definitely had to sift through the chaff to find it. In no particular order:

Ptolus - Malhavoc Press (a monster that I will one day run a campaign for, damnit!)

Wilderlands of High Fantasy - Necromancer Games/Judges Guild (the boxed set and City State guide inspired me to re-explore the hex-crawling game format; I was less impressed with the player's guide, and I don't own Caverns of Thracia - should I? What about the other 3.x remakes from from Goodman?)

Various 1st Edition Feel Modules - Necromancer Games (some highlights being City of Brass, Vault of Larin Karr, Lost City of Barakus, etc. Don't own Tomb of Absythor, though I hear it's great)

The Ultimate Toolbox - AEG (although I'm not sure when this updated version was released...)

A Magical Medieval Society: Western Europe - Expeditious Retreat Press (not D20, strictly speaking, but of that era and still one of the best books for an RPG I've ever owned)

CoC D20 - WotC (although the awesome GM section clouds my judgement)

Ravenloft D20 - Arthaus/White Wolf (awesome line, even though I've found 3.x is a poorer fit for a Ravenloft style game)

Iron Kingdoms - Privateer Press (I picked up the miniature games later, but it was the RPG setting that I fell for, right from the first 3 modules that started the company; I've never liked any other iteration of "steampunk")

Various Penumbra Modules - Atlas Games (some highlights being 3 Days to Kill, In the Belly of the Beast, The Ebon Mirror, and En Route)

I was never interested in non-fantasy D20 (CoC being the exception, bought on whim), as I always felt I had other systems that handled other genres much better than D20. One of the downsides of the D20 boom was that it was so prolific it started to push other options out of the market, which annoyed me to no end.

Ultimate Tool box is useful for idea crafting. Iron Kingdoms wasn't great mechanically but flavor wise... Well let's just say I bought all the books just for the flavor.

I don't know if these were mentioned but: Dragonmech (another steam punkish game. Rules needs LOT of tweaking but the general ideas are interesting enough)

I'm a bit grey on the name but Relics and Rituals.  (I'm beginning to see that a lot of the books I liked were best used for cherry picking ideas).

Slayer's guide to "X". (Fun reads, interesting ideas.)

Quote from: Tetsubo;556484I've never understood why anyone would play any edition of CoC. The smartest course of action in that universe is to remain blissfully ignorant and never be a player character. Because player characters either go insane or die horribly. Fun city.

Like the safest course in D&D is not going down the dungeon?

Quote from: DKChannelBoredom;556494Like the safest course in D&D is not going down the dungeon?

Ding, ding!!! We have a winner:D

Quote from: Bobloblah;556379A Magical Medieval Society: Western Europe - Expeditious Retreat Press (not D20, strictly speaking, but of that era and still one of the best books for an RPG I've ever owned)

AAAAaaaarrrrgh...as a former classics and medieval history student I couldn't stand this book.  That's just me being a pedantic wanker, I know, but watching them try to shoehorn D&D's gonzo magic system's assumptions into a historical setting made me cringe.

(FWIW: No, I don't think I could have done it better, because I don't think it can be done, period.  They get credit for trying, though.)

Quote from: daniel_ream;556554...but watching them try to shoehorn D&D's gonzo magic system's assumptions into a historical setting made me cringe.

(FWIW: No, I don't think I could have done it better, because I don't think it can be done, period.  They get credit for trying, though.)

For me, that was the point: it probably can't be done better.