I take the positive spin on the word darling. When I think of darlings, I think games that get far more attention, and spur more love, enthusiasm, debate and discussion around here than they do on other rpg pages.
So I would say Amber (got it's own forum and had the creator hanging out here!) and Traveller (far more love here, than on other rpg forums I read/drop by).

The different kinds of D&D is more debatable I think as they tend to create a lot of love AND hate, on the rpgsite as well as on other sites.

I would also second Atomic Highway as a new darling. The AH threads have pretty much dried up over on rpg.net, but it's obvious that a lot of people around here (myself included) cares greatly for the game and even more important, plays it. F*ck just reading and talking about it; a true darling should be run and played!

I take offense at the term "darling" for theRPGsite. We should instead use the term "dahlingk" as if the word darling were spoken by a tsarina with a very thick and bad accent.

Quote from: jeff37923;432147I take offense at the term "darling" for theRPGsite. We should instead use the term "dahlingk" as if the word darling were spoken by a tsarina with a very thick and bad accent.

Rpgsite Daleks?

Here's my list of what I perceive as theRPGsite's perennial favorites:

D&D (every edition other than D&D 4e and AD&D 2e, and even those have their stalwart defenders here)
Gamma World (every pre-d20 edition)
Twilight: 2000
Traveller (mostly Classic and Mongoose)
Call of Cthulhu
Palladium games (the exact games vary from poster to poster, but TMNT, Robotech and Rifts all see plenty of love here)
Pendragon
Runequest (mostly RQ2, RQ3 and MRQ2)
Rolemaster

I definitely do not think that Savage Worlds gets a lot of love here. Some posters (like me) love it, but some of the old guard actively dislike it (for whatever reason).

I usually reserve the word "RPGnet darling" for the short-lived sensations that generate a lot of buzz on The Big Purple, only to die a few weeks to months later. I've never seen this sort of raving around here, possibly because (unlike RPGnet) most people here seem to belonmg to regular, stable, active gaming groups.

Quote from: KrakaJak;432123This place also seems to favor the One True Way as following:

Sandbox

Non-Progressive - Maybe Traditional is a better word, but certain Traditional games are shunned for being 'out there''Swiney''Things Koltar Doesn't Understand' etc. ex. White-Wolf, D&D 4e, WHFRP 3e,

Non-Experimental - i.e. 'Art-games' 'Story-Games' ie.e the often pretentious, heavily themed, choice limited games are right out. The Mod/Owner doesn't even consider them worthy of discussion as RPG's

(As a board-politik side note, I don't think the experimental indie games are RPGs either, but worthy of discussion as such. The sites policy and the RPGPundit remind me of Humpty Dumpty in Alice in Wonderland...arg sidetracked!)

Originals - No clones allowed

Surreal/Absurd - I.E. Erol Otus, Gamma World, Palladium,


Yeah, those are the games I think of when I visit this place...

I feel this is a fairly accurate representation of theRPGsite's "average" opinion.

Quote from: Pseudoephedrine;432113Eoris,

This is the proper example of an rpg.net darling. This game got more press/hype/discussioon before it got released (though probably due to the nature of its release) than it has since. That's why the darling phenomenon is so ridiculous.

Exalted is a little different because the focus there is on the metaplot and thus discussion has turned into a soap opera. It's no less a darling though not a fad (ie a flash in the pan).

Quote from: Benoist;432106The first obvious contender would be Amber, but it's dead as soon as the name's mentioned, because I know for sure a number of RPG Site users don't connect with it that much, like myself, or OHT if I'm not mistaken. So no, not Amber.

I love Zelazny's books, but can't get behind diceless games.

I'd like to hear what Pundit's definition/view of an RPGsite Darling is.

When it comes to defining what makes an rpg.net darling, I think Pseudoephedrine and Ghost Whistler have picked out the essentials:

The perennial favourites suggested for every hack and the subject of proposed high concept games that never get run by anyone. (Best. Game. Evar.)

The fads (I've seen the preview! Is it out yet? Have anyone got it? I've got it!) which tie into the consumerist love that pervades rpg.net – which the global recession seems not to have dented at all.

The discussion of metaplot – Ghost Whistler's soap opera analogy – is another defining trait of the darlings that stick around.

Here, while we can get excited about certain games (and sometimes get into abusive arguments in the process) the excitement never gets to the fever pitch you see on rpg.net – I suspect because many of us are too old and cynical.

Which is why I think many rpg.netters will see us as cranky old farts who are too set in their ways to try something new.

But I do get the idea that most people here play regularly. Pundit's taunt that hardly anyone who posts on rpg.net actually plays is obviously an exaggeration – but you do sometimes wonder how they fit in regular gaming sessions with all the time they seem to spend online theorising, and all the hopping from one new bright and shiny product to another.

As DKChannelBoredom says, games should be run and played. Discussion is useful to improve your game, to help someone else with their game, and to raise points you hadn't considered. Good games can arise from collaborative setting discussions on a forum. It's all good fun - but unless it ends at the table and actually playing, then maybe it's just word wank?

Mind you, if the rpg.netters are enjoying their chatter about games they rarely play, why should I bother? If they enjoy it, good luck to them. (And I too, like many here I suspect, have loads of half written notes about games I will never get to run.) In one way I admire their enthusiasm.

Rather more addressing the original question (than my previous rambling post above) I reckon our darlings are obviously, D&D and Traveller. But those two are such a given, do they actually deserve the darling tag?

I agree with DKChannelBoredom that Atomic Highway might be a new darling of the forum, if only because I'm a frothing fanboy and consider it the - Best. Game. Evar. Well...not really, but it is bloody good!

I'd also nominate Two-Fisted Tales, which has given me hours of gaming pleasure (and Pundit loves it, so it's a shoe-in for darling status).

I nominate Starblazer Adventures.

Quote from: Benoist;432106Mongoose RuneQuest? Randall didn't seem to like the results, there are probably others.

While Choasium RQII is still my favorite, I like Mongoose RQ. My comment on MRQII was simply based on my decision to pay $11 for the PDF. I don't think there was enough "great stuff" in the book to really justify breaking my $10 maximum price for for a PDF rule (especially without a printer friendly copy) . It's certainly much better than MRQI, however.

I think I'd be insulted if my RPGs were called Darlings.

Except Tough Justice which is semi serious, educational and much higher concept than you would expect from such a insultingly simple system.

I'll have to agree with a few others who have listed Call of Cthulu. It seems to be on just about everybody's favorites list. Or, at the very least, as many times as it comes up in discussions, I don't think I've seen anyone express downright hatred of it.

Quote from: Pseudoephedrine;432115Yes, definitely. Poison'd, Carcosa, really almost anything involving transgressive sexuality gets a very negative response here.

I would take that as a good sign, that we are on the whole gamers that represent the societal norm.

RPGPundit

Quote from: Pseudoephedrine;432115Yes, definitely. Poison'd, Carcosa, really almost anything involving transgressive sexuality gets a very negative response here.

Transgressive sexuality...Carcosa...Please, tell me more!

-Hans

Quote from: One Horse Town;432158I love Zelazny's books, but can't get behind diceless games.

Yeah, that's the diceless thing that rubs me the wrong way as well. Not that I actively go "Heresy!" or whatnot, but that just leaves me cold. Doesn't make me want to even try it.

Quote from: RandallS;432181While Choasium RQII is still my favorite, I like Mongoose RQ. My comment on MRQII was simply based on my decision to pay $11 for the PDF. I don't think there was enough "great stuff" in the book to really justify breaking my $10 maximum price for for a PDF rule (especially without a printer friendly copy) . It's certainly much better than MRQI, however.

Ah. So I DID misunderstand. Apologies.

Is there any regular on the RPG Site who doesn't like MRQ2?