What the title suggests. The link below is what CRACKED.com thinks they are, but I've only heard of two of them.

https://www.cracked.com/article_33173_4-tabletop-rpgs-that-are-way-better-than-dd.html?fbclid=IwAR37r6hPMz-RLssG60m-xV2t43GzwSSJfLe-j8FB8PMKUSdQbonHnxtFS3o

So, name four RPGs that are better than Dungeons & Dragons and let us know why they are better.

First off, you're linking to Cracked and you should feel bad about that. They haven't been funny or insightful for years now.

Secondly, that list is hilariously stupid. Traveller games can be just as deranged as D&D games. I've never even HEARD of Brindlewood Bay (and it sounds more like a craptastic ripoff of Clue, to be honest). Mork Borg has been covered before, and it ranges from excessively woke to excessively nihilistic. And Gloomhaven sounds more like a boardgame than an RPG -- why is it even on the list?

Fuck, I think I lost brain cells parsing this article. Dammit, Jeff...

The important question is better at/for what?

For my "like" D&D but more what I want I nominate:
Hackmaster (5e) - second by second combat is really cool here, and shields are really good. Lots of neat tactical options that have very little to do with how much you've "leveled."

For my different kind of Fantasy:
Mythras is tempting, but I'll pick Fate of the Norns: Ragnarok (or Children of Eiru). Norse myth where you usually play dead heroes battling in the after-life, resolved with norse runes.

For my crew of a Spaceship:
Free Spacer (to be fair I haven't tried many besides Cortex stuff, but Free Spacer is very slick).

For my Superhero:
Simple Superheroes - I wrote it, I am biased.

Well, one of the four they listed, MB, basically is D&D, just an art-punky OSR version of it. Gloomhaven is not an RPG, although it can be a fun game. Traveller, at least the original, is great, but not better.

I can think of certain games that do different genres better, but that isn't the same as saying the game itself is better. I can think of games I like just as much, but not better. I am thinking of D&D in the expansive sense, here, not any particular edition. Nope, I've got nothing to list, despite having dozens of tabletop RPG's on my shelf.

4) Palladium Fantasy

3) WEG Star Wars

2) Mutants & Masterminds

1) Ruins & Realms (my own system, so personal bias may be a factor).

Quote from: jeff37923 on March 28, 2022, 10:57:38 AM
So, name four RPGs that are better than Dungeons & Dragons and let us know why they are better.

Any 4 rando games titles will do. They're better, because D&D.

Quote from: jeff37923 on March 28, 2022, 10:57:38 AM
What the title suggests. The link below is what CRACKED.com thinks they are, but I've only heard of two of them.

https://www.cracked.com/article_33173_4-tabletop-rpgs-that-are-way-better-than-dd.html?fbclid=IwAR37r6hPMz-RLssG60m-xV2t43GzwSSJfLe-j8FB8PMKUSdQbonHnxtFS3o

So, name four RPGs that are better than Dungeons & Dragons and let us know why they are better.

  Without reading the other posts...It seems the author of that article thinks board games are RPGs (I know the line is blurred, but sheesh...is this the state of game journalism now?) so I am not so sure their opinion should matter too much. 

   I have not played traveller, but have the box set.  4 games I think are better are GURPS,  Dungeon Crawl Classics, Savage Worlds,  and Warhammer 2nd edition.

1. OD&D
2. LotFP or Basic/BECMI
3. Into the Odd
4. Whitehack

4 Fruits Better then Tomatoes:

4: Apples
3: Bananas
2: Walnuts
1: Rasberries

On sheer whim, I'll toss out a few answers and why:

1. GURPS -- at being a universal roleplaying system that defaults to a simulationist baseline with more verisimilitude.

2. Barbarians of Lemuria -- at being boatloads easier to pick up and run with.

3. The Riddle of Steel -- at creating a simulationist approach to combat with a much more realistic feel.

4. RIFTS -- at being RIFTS.

None of these, however, are very good at replicating the feel of Dungeons & Dragons.

Any of them that has a good GM.

WEG D6 probably starwars but the open D6 stuff was also pretty great

GURPS (3rd preferred) easily and the 1st and 2nd books with their freaky full color covers scratch a nostalgia itch very powerfully So it has nerve jangle power with the old stuff and flexibility with the newer stuff

Mekton Z (interlock)

Savage Worlds even going back to it being the spine of Deadlands it's good stuff.

The licensed Chaosium stuff like the Stormbringer, CoC, and even ElfQuest.

4color/FASERIP stuff

Warhammer FRP 2nd ed.

Forbidden Lands

Mutant Century  clone-ish but wonderful

MERP



yeah, that's four! Good job me.


(And no I would not pick Gloomhaven or MorkBorg or even Travelle. I like Traveller and respect it though more for its past than present which feels forced to me like most latter day Star Trek..yah mule! yah! March mule! Keep moving mule! )

Quote from: Shrieking Banshee on March 28, 2022, 03:47:13 PM
4 Fruits Better then Tomatoes:

4: Apples
3: Bananas
2: Walnuts
1: Rasberries

I feel like we need a "BUT NOT ON SPAGHETTI PLS" clause to seal this deal otherwise I am on board mostly.

Quote from: palaeomerus on March 28, 2022, 06:09:14 PM

Quote from: Shrieking Banshee on March 28, 2022, 03:47:13 PM
4 Fruits Better then Tomatoes:

4: Apples
3: Bananas
2: Walnuts
1: Rasberries

I feel like we need a "BUT NOT ON SPAGHETTI PLS" clause to seal this deal otherwise I am on board mostly.

I think we can all agree they'd be great on pizza!

Ignoring the cool ones that are basically modifications of D&D (ACKS, Lion and Dragon, Hackmaster, etc.), I would go with

WEG Star Wars
Top Secret/SI
Harnmaster
Deadlands (1e or 2e)

with honorable mentions to Call of Cthulhu and Warhammer.

...although none of those actually mimic a D&D-style game.