1st choice: Advanced Melee, Advanced Wizard, and In the Labyrinth.

1st runner-up: Runequest Deluxe, or maybe Elric! plus a couple of "rules-ful" sourcebooks that I'd sneak in.

2nd runner-up: Talislanta 2e Handbook + Sorcerer's Guide + Naturalist's Guide...or maybe Tal 4e/5e, since either of those bricks should contain much the same material plus a good deal of the Cyclopedia as well.

When the new BRP comes out, it might supplant all three depending on solidity of the system and the amount of "stuff" it includes. Because Settembrini is right: the major value added in an RP text is the building blocks. (A)D&D has some neat building blocks in the core books, too, but the system isn't quite ideal for my tastes, and I'd rather have the building blocks spec'ed out in a system I like better.

Beverage: that Reed's ginger beer is good but a local store was selling some bottled Jamaican stuff that really hit the spot. Haven't seen it again, though.

I don't either. I just need to know- if anyone else is going to be there to play with, how many people? and how long are we up in space?

Let's say a year.

If nobody else will be there, I wouldn't bother bringing anything.

If 1 other guy is there I would bring The Miniatures Handbook, the Monster Manual and a gigantic trunk full of minis. Or perhaps counters if minis are prohibitive. With the Miniatures handbook I could stat anything into a DDM card, and just play skirmishes which are endlessly entertaining to me. And the Monster Manual gives me the base code I need to generate all kinds of monsters. Maybe I could just bring another monster book for fun. But yah. Minis.

If it's just 2 other guys, I would bring Mutants and Masterminds.

If I can find three or more players it will be D&D 3.5, and we'd play through a campaign.

Quote from: flyingmiceWhat's the fascination with these "desert island" things? I don't understand the attraction.

-clash

It's the same thing as the old "what would you do for a living if you had a million dollars" question. It's all about taking the time to think about what you really want.

Quote from: flyingmiceWhat's the fascination with these "desert island" things? I don't understand the attraction.

I find the "list three" or "list ten" versions interesting because I own a bajillion games and it helps clarify which ones I actually think are worth playing anytime soon.  As I explained in the opening paragraph, I came up with this idea based upon realizing my own #1 game seems to have changed.

I knew when I started this experiment that some people would try to work around the simple "pick one game" main directive, but I wasn't expecting so many "cheaters" so soon!

I'd pack Savage Worlds - it is good enough in only one book and versatile for all the more cinematic stuff.
Second choice: CP2020. A fine game in and of itself in only one rule book, and easy to tweak for more "realistic" generic campaigns.
As third one I'd take a print-out of Epos, a homebrew of a friend of me.

As beverage I'd choose some good old Austrian Stroh 80 - you won't get more mileage out of a single liquor

Quote from: Dr Rotwang!And, you know, really, I wouldn't NEED a rulebook for some stuff.

Yup, that's why I wouldn't pick Nobilis: I could run that from memory if necessary... So my choice would probably be Mage: The Ascension (2e).

Quote from: JamesVIt's the same thing as the old "what would you do for a living if you had a million dollars" question. It's all about taking the time to think about what you really want.

Sorry, I guess this isn't the game for me. The only thing in my life that isn't replacable or unneccessary is my family. If I was stripping down to the basics, games would be one of the first things to go. I can always make up one later with whatever's on hand if I want to.

-clash

Rifts.

Coz I get to spend half of eternity rewriting the rules, and the other half playing a dragon borg.

Quote from: Pierce InverarityRifts.

Coz I get to spend half of eternity rewriting the rules, and the other half playing a dragon borg.

Best of thread, right here.

I'd be fighting with myself over the RC (abandoning 7 year old project campaign setting) and Marvel (FASERIP) but the turning point would be the knowledge I could use Marvel as a half-assed universal system if needed.

Beverage.  Ketel One Vodka, a jar of olives, and a martini shaker.

Hero FRED. Not a big fan, though the core book will let me do nearly any genre, so long as I'm willing to put in the work. That will count for a lot in spaaaaaaaaaaaaaace!

[Note: Risus would be a close second.]

Copy a' Blue Rose 'cause the d20 rules are better in that one, and a copy of NWoD core.

Sue me, it's two books, but I'm still light on RPG-related mass based on the amount of space allocated for books.

I guess we're bringing drinks along, and since I'm worried about bang-fer-me-buck with this kind of thing, I guess I'll bring some really good vodka. (But I would of preferred to drink gin and tonics, coffee, or wine and beer.)

classic traveller, LBB boxed set.  books 1-3 would be all i need.

if cheating, add books 4-6.  i'll wing the mechwarrior hit locations & other combat add-ons.

beverage, either captain morgan spiced rum or bushmill's.  either wouldn't last too long, anyway

Thats easy : GURPS 4/e CHARACTERS and CAMPAIGNS....and a copy of GURPS:TRAVELLER.....and oh yeah , that gorgeous brunette who is a regular at the store and  has said she is in a GURPS campaign. She has beautiful blue eyes and.....


- Ed C.

One game only? Then Star Wars Saga Edition.
 
Three books, but one system only? Then I'd look over all the existing Star Wars supplements to find two I can use as toolkits.

Three books, more than one system allowed? Then Star Wars Saga, Mutants and Masterminds 2nd, and Savage Worlds Revised.

:ponder:  I wonder if I can get away with slipping a copy of Tunnels and Trolls into a shirt pocket?  Maybe if I forgo the beverage?