Quote from: Zachary The FirstI think they did a wonderful job with HARP.  I think after about 9th-10th level, there are some problems with power curve, but by and large, it's great.

HARP is a good, solid variation, streamlining, and updating of the RM system.

Well droog's post pretty much summed up some of the reason  - not necessarily the examples he gave (however Pendragon is one of the games that is very much part of the list of games on my list ) - why some games have fired up my imagination.

I notice some folks have said that D&D 3e brought them back into the fold. A few questions. Has this got to do with the fact that the rules are more streamlined etc? That 3e got you interested in the fantasy genre again? That the D20 rules allowed you to explore other genres besides fantasy with a rules systems that suited your taste ? Other games/systems out there just didn't do anything for you gaming wise?

My current group, only played d20 before I came into the picture. Before that they only played the various editions of the D&D game. However when d20 came out, they begun exploring other genres using the system. Although they really enjoy the campaigns I have run using the various other systems (and now they appreciate what other systems have to offer), I realize that they without d20 at least this group would not be so interested in other genres besides fantasy.

Regards,
David R

Quote from: David RI notice some folks have said that D&D 3e brought them back into the fold. A few questions. Has this got to do with the fact that the rules are more streamlined etc? That 3e got you interested in the fantasy genre again? That the D20 rules allowed you to explore other genres besides fantasy with a rules systems that suited your taste ? Other games/systems out there just didn't do anything for you gaming wise?

I've never really had a problem with other genres... or other systems for that matter. Traveller (and SF in general) and Hero were always big loves for me. I started drifting away form D&D under second edition, because it was so scattered, inconsistent, and inflexible. Player's Option brought in some flexibility, but it was still tough to work with. I eventually houseruled and started using other systems like hero (but the whole Cybergames BS kept me at arms distance from Hero as well) and Fudge.

But after 3e came out, I sampled it. I thought some of the changes were a bit extreme, so I was hesitant at first. And then I got the 3e MM... and that made all the difference. I really appreciated that they made monsters as craftable and complete as PC races. As I mentioned in another thread, before that, I had used humanoid races like drow that could take class levels because I appreciate the ability to make classed opponents.

But after I immersed myself in it and got used to the changes that scared me at first, I really took a shine to the system as a whole. I like feats and the feat/skill split (proficiencies never quite seemed to work right in 2e). I like the self consistant system (d20+mods >= DC for everything.) It was to me all that was good about D&D, minus all that was bad.

That's what got me. The D20 liscence was what kept me there. I love the level of support that the game offers from third party resources. Almost anything I could imagine that I want support for, someone had done it. If they hadn't, the system was a breeze to write new material for.

Fantasy has always been a good genre for me... but I've never been very happy with substitutes for D&D for fantasy.

Quote from: David RI notice some folks have said that D&D 3e brought them back into the fold. A few questions. Has this got to do with the fact that the rules are more streamlined etc? That 3e got you interested in the fantasy genre again? That the D20 rules allowed you to explore other genres besides fantasy with a rules systems that suited your taste ? Other games/systems out there just didn't do anything for you gaming wise?

Well, until a few years ago, I was almost completely uninterested in any kind of gaming other than fantasy.  I don't know why - the other genres just weren't interesting to me.  I bought some, like GURPS and Call of Cthulhu, but never played them.

I gave up on AD&D 2nd edition because after playing with it for a while, I realized it more or less sucked.  My friends and I played Mythus for a year or two as a replacement, but eventually became really disenchanted with the mechanical complexity.  The game more or less imploded.  One of my first Gen Cons, though, I picked up a pamphlet for a sweet-looking game called Earthdawn.

This was my groups's system of choice for a few years, until we went our separate ways and moved to different towns.  I ran a game or two of ED and played in some crappy games like an Amber abomination, and then basically gave up.  This more-or-less dry spell lasted all through college and a into my grad school years.

In grad school, I joined a group called Belegarth and started doing medieval-style fighting.  I just didn't feel a void for RPGs - although my friends and I had some interest, nothing really kicked us in the ass to get something started.

Cut to the premiere of D&D3.  We had some marketing folks contact my fighting club since we were the closest thing to a gaming club at Illinois State University.  We got some free products from them, a lot of marketing paraphanelia (the D&D-branded bottle openers were fucking sweet), and I looked over the basic rules.

I was impressed enough that I went out and got the D&D3 PHB and DMG that same night and immediately started a campaign for my friends - who also caught the bug.  I ended up running a ridiculously huge game with like a dozen players.  Still, we had a good time, appreciated how gorgeous the system was, and I've been gaming more or less continually since.

So yeah, I don't think I'd be gaming now without D&D.

-O

Quote from: David R... I notice some folks have said that D&D 3e brought them back into the fold. A few questions. Has this got to do with the fact that the rules are more streamlined etc? That 3e got you interested in the fantasy genre again? That the D20 rules allowed you to explore other genres besides fantasy with a rules systems that suited your taste ? Other games/systems out there just didn't do anything for you gaming wise? ...

I've never had a problem with other genres or systems (e.g. played Traveller, Star Frontiers, Gamma World, Call of Cthulhu, GURPS, Top Secret, etc. back in the day), although I've always preferred fantasy.

What initially appealed to me about 3e was the fact that it seemed to take what I liked about MERP/RM 2e and integrated it into D&D.  In fact, my first reaction upon looking at the 3e PHB was: 'They've made a MERP-AD&D hybrid!'

It was fortunate timing, more than anything else.  I wanted to run a game, I knew a few people who were interested, and 3e just happened to be released.  If 3e hadn't been released, I probably would have used MERP or RC D&D instead.

Ironically, after having DMed two year-long campaigns for 3e, I now know that I decisively prefer the earlier Rules Cyclopedia (Basic/Expert) version of D&D, at least as a DM.  All the 'kludge' involved with 3e, especially once the PCs gain higher levels, grates on my nerves (the 'core mechanic' is straightforward, obviously, but all the modifiers that start applying to things gets rather unwieldy).  

Nonetheless, I like some of the 'd20' games (or 'OGL' games) that have since been produced, like Conan, C&C, and True20.

Quote from: Caesar SlaadFantasy has always been a good genre for me... but I've never been very happy with substitutes for D&D for fantasy.

Interesting, I hear this a lot. For many gamers I think, fantasy is D&D - not saying that this is what you meant - and in my current group at least, whenever I  used to suggest a fantasy campaign, the assumption was that I intended to run D&D or d20.

Regards,
David R

Quote from: David RInteresting, I hear this a lot. For many gamers I think, fantasy is D&D - not saying that this is what you meant - and in my current group at least, whenever I  used to suggest a fantasy campaign, the assumption was that I intended to run D&D or d20.

Well, just to be clear, I have played other fantasy RPGs - Stormbringer, Fantasy Hero, Elric, Pendragon, Warhammer FRP, a couple homebrews, Ars Magica, Arcanum. And owned more that I never played. They were all nice for a change of pace, but for a nice craftable creative outlet, D&D was more my thing. I crafted my homebrew world in D&D, and though Fantasy Hero picked up some slack when AD&D 2e faltered, it was where it was born and would return.

My interest has waxed and waned.  Girls stopped me from RPing for a while, then drugs...but I always got my head out of my ass and returned to gaming.  I think the two were mutually exculsive.

I've always associated a regular game with a good time in my life, so I guess that's kept me in RPGs.

What got me back in when the fire waned?  A lot of things, the new World of Darkness games (Vampire: the Requiem especially) gained me two friends, one really good one, and a new group (so I had two for a while...).

C&C got me back into fantasy games, but on my terms, which is cool.  It also has me gaming regularly this semester.

The Forge got me thinking about RPGs in a certain way...but I've pretty much abandoned that to just accepting games as games.  I'll play/run anything now.

All in all, gaming ROCKS!

Revived or maintained interest in gaming?

Savage Worlds
HARP
Transhuman Space
Castles & Crusades

Quote from: David RFor many gamers I think, fantasy is D&D - not saying that this is what you meant - and in my current group at least, whenever I  used to suggest a fantasy campaign, the assumption was that I intended to run D&D or d20.

That's interesting, and does bear out somewhat in my experience.  I've met several people who primarily thought of fantasy as D&D, either as the game or the related novels.  In a handful of cases going so far that their only exposure to fantasy were the D&D game and a couple of game line novels.

Personally, I play D&D entirely for it to be D&D.  In other words, if I'm going to use 3e or the like, it's to play a game set in one of the connected settings.  I think it's a matter of D&D only really clicking for me within its own context.  If I had a personal idea for a fantasy game, I'm not at all likely to think about running it with any sort of D&D rules.  Perhaps with one or another of the d20 rules, as we've used Mutants & Masterminds to do a short fantasy campaign before.

Anyway, this has absolutely nothing to do with the topic, so I apologize for the digression.


As for things reviving my interest, I'd have to say that the late era TSR settings (Dark Sun; Planescape; Al-Qadim) brought me back into gaming in college after I'd quit playing somewhere in high school.

Since college, it's been less of a case of a game bringing me back into gaming, but rather something sparking my imagination enough to organize a game.  I'm not sure if the distinction is clear to anyone else, though.  I guess I'm saying that when I came back into gaming in college, I've never really "quit" playing, but rather just gone through periods where I didn't game for one reason or another.

Quote from: David RMy post in Balbinus's thread about "Five rpgs you must have" got me thinking. Over the years I have at times lost interest in RPGs. Unlike some, the folks I game with have never really been the cause of this.

The fire seemed to wane because I was uninspired. There have been certain games - more than the five I mentioned in the thread - that got me fired up about the whole hobby. These games not only inspired me in terms of their systems but also their settings, which in turn acted as a rough guide as to the possible direction of how my gaming evolved.

Has anyone ever been in a similar situation and if so what games brought you back in the fold ? (Just for the sake of completeness, d20 and the various games/settings it has spawned maintains my interest in D&D and also revived an interest in some of the older WoTC/TSR settings )

Regards,
David R

It was Golden Heroes/Squadron UK that got me started back running games.
The latest incarnation of Metamorphosis Alpha also tweaked my fancy. And a special mention goes to Hard Nova 2nd edition for interesting me in space opera after 25 years!

In approximate chronological order

oWoD
3rd ed D&D
BESM
nWoD
Year of the Zombie

3E got me out of a slump.  A general alienation with the state of the hobby in the mid to late 90's combined with being dumped by a girl with whom I shared a game group kinda left me outta sorts.  The new D&D came along at the right time to help me out of that funk.

I dropped out of gaming almost entirely for three or four years after high school.  I subscribed to mailing lists and read bulletin boards when I got my computer, but I wasn't really gaming at all.  The old RPG group was scattered to the winds, the new RPG group drifted apart due to scheduling conflicts, and no one would sit still to play through my Avalon Hill and SPI game collection.  I was pretty much focused on music at the time, trying to make something happen in that area (it never did).

When I finally decided to go back to school, I suddenly started thinking about gaming again.  One day, while in the local mall, I saw a game store (one of the old Game Keeper stores, a WotC entity?), walked in, and special ordered the first brand new Avalon Hill game I saw on their list: Hannibal: Rome vs. Carthage (how fortunate, considering the ridiculous prices it goes for now on eBay).

I fell in love with that game, and since it was comparatively "light," I was able to get a few of my old gaming buddies into it.  From there, we started thinking about RPGs again.  We started an AD&D campaign, then another, then tried a few different games (Adventure!, RM2, Star Frontiers, Gamma World, Stormbringer, CoC) before coming back around to AD&D.  The group scattered as groups are wont to do, but that didn't stop us.  Now we're playing Traveller online via videoconference, and I've found a local group to get my AD&D fix.

So for me, it was a wargame that brought me back to RPGs.

Quote from: KenHRNow we're playing Traveller online via videoconference

That's very interesting! What software do you use?  How is it working for you?