Lets flip the question of that other thread .

 Can anyone think of RPGs or works of ffiction that are easily made into RPG situations wherein average normal folks have adventures? Or even better game settings that seeme to celebrate the possible potential of Humans and humnanity?

Here are my candidates :
 SERENITY the RPG , the whole "Firefly" 'Verse appears to show average, decent folk just trying to survive , get along - and do the right thing. Granted River is the exception - but she'd likely rather be "NORMAL" if given half a chance.  Hell, even a slub like Jayne gets a chance to shine as a Hero.

GURPS:WORLD WAR II :  The ultimate setting for ordinary folks  to shine and be HEROEs if given the right situation, or rise above their limitations.

 Trying to think of more.....

- Ed C.

William H. Stoddard over on the SJG forums has said that he ran a whole RPG campaign set in the aftermatch of Ayn Rand's book Atlas Shrugged.
The players were trying to rebuild things and get the country back on its feet.

 Considering the source material - that fairly  "pro-Humanity".

- Ed C.

One word: Unknown Armies

...

Damn, that's two.

Anyway, point still stands. Definitely the most pro-humanity RPG I've found, and specifically so.

It's also one of my favorites. I just wish more people knew about it.

Quote from: KoltarCan anyone think of RPGs or works of ffiction that are easily made into RPG situations wherein average normal folks have adventures? Or even better game settings that seeme to celebrate the possible potential of Humans and humnanity?

- Ed C.

Traveller, to name the obvious.

Mekton (any version), would use the old trope of mecha anime where the Young Hero would be placed into a position where he chooses to embark on the Hero's Journey. The Young Hero would almost always be Joe Average, but would become a Hero as time went on and experience was gained. The best example of this is Mekton Zeta's Starblade Battalion campaign.

DnD 3.x, which is a meritocratic system at its heart. Not to mention the fact that Commoners can rise up to 20th level as NPCs (for amusement, create one and let your players have a go at him - it'll be a hoot!).

Original Gamma World and its close cousin Omega World, because a lot of the ancient artifacts can only be used by a pure strain human.

Twilight: 2000, was a game where most often (as I saw it) the players would try to rebuild civilization after it had been shitwrecked by WW3. Many became minor despots or warlords, but they also would bring back farming (if for nothing more than the ethanol) and protected their holdings.

2300AD and 2320AD, both versions are humanocentric and the history parts embrace what is both best and worst in human nature.

I'll probably think of a few more once I post this.

WFRP challenges normal, everyday folk with mere survival in the face of seemingly overwhelming odds. The only advantage they have are Fate and Fortune Points, which as a resource are painfully limited outside of allowing characters to escape death a couple of times during the campaign.

Quote from: jeff37923Traveller, to name the obvious.

 I almost posted that one - but everyone already knows I love that game setting.

- Ed C.

WFRP and stock D20 are fairly Human positive, even the demi-human player races are basically more a cultural shift then a huge departure from humans.  

Then we have Cthulhu.  Yes the end is fairly grim but the entire game is based around normal people surviving and occasionally triumphing against imaginable odds.

Quote from: kryystThen we have Cthulhu(...)the entire game is based around normal people surviving and occasionally triumphing against imaginable odds.

That's what I was going to say.

Tribe 8 - So human it hurts....

In Harms Way - Well it's historical, so it may not count .

Regards,
David R

Cyberpunk, if you play it right.

Quote from: KoltarOr even better game settings that seeme to celebrate the possible potential of Humans and humnanity?

Mage: The Ascension, in which everything in the universe revolves around the beliefs and convictions of the human species.

My game, of course.

Dark Conspiracy. It was related, system-wise, to Twilight:2000.

Quote from: GrimGentMage: The Ascension, in which everything in the universe revolves around the beliefs and convictions of the human species.

Yeah and IMO one of WW's most idealistic games and my favourite.

Regards,
David R

Hmm, well you can play other races in Tales of Gaea but I often run the "Pesants are all that they can be" adventures. I would say, of my games, Shades of Earth and Roma Imperious stand out the highest and most obvious. They are human-centric (you can't play any other race), you can play (and their are classes for) cooks, actors, musicians and a slew of non-standard adventurer types.

Not of the games I play, I like to think Battletech. Yeah, you heard me. I used to play Mechwarrior but gave up and used my own system. Based in 3025, you had a lot of interesting human on human wars, attempts to rise above the slaughter and, again, depending on play style, a serious hope for the future.

However, that could just be the way I run my game.

Bill