Tie between RuneQuest 2 and DragonQuest: we quickly realized there was more than dungeoncrawling with these two games, and then spent a decade plus combining them and houseruling with all kinds of add-ons. But these were the core of all our campaigns/settings: everything from Sanctuary to Fantasy Earth to Mystara using that combo. Still love both games too.

If allowed to list the second "click" it would be Talislanta, hands down: True 20 and C&C before either was a mote in anyone's eye. I've often wanted to combine Tal 1e with the Bard Games Atlantean setting (i.e., ditch the Arcanum rules, which are as unholy as Tal is holy). 

Quote from: rhialto on February 09, 2022, 07:00:42 AM
Tie between RuneQuest 2 and DragonQuest: we quickly realized there was more than dungeoncrawling with these two games, and then spent a decade plus combining them and houseruling with all kinds of add-ons. But these were the core of all our campaigns/settings: everything from Sanctuary to Fantasy Earth to Mystara using that combo. Still love both games too.

Another DQ fan!  Rarer than cockatrice teeth.  Welcome.

I tried Tunnels & Trolls and Traveller early on, but I'd say neither of them "clicked" for me. With Traveller, I loved reading the rules and background, but I couldn't get a handle on how to run adventures. With T&T, it was too close to D&D, and I couldn't figure out how to make things different. (It just seemed more dull because it was simpler.)

I think the first new system that really clicked was Champions. It had a clearly different model for how play went, but it made sense, and there were a lot of options to play with.

Quote from: Steven Mitchell on February 09, 2022, 01:10:00 PM

Quote from: rhialto on February 09, 2022, 07:00:42 AM
Tie between RuneQuest 2 and DragonQuest: we quickly realized there was more than dungeoncrawling with these two games, and then spent a decade plus combining them and houseruling with all kinds of add-ons. But these were the core of all our campaigns/settings: everything from Sanctuary to Fantasy Earth to Mystara using that combo. Still love both games too.

Another DQ fan!  Rarer than cockatrice teeth.  Welcome.

I liked eating at DQ back when I was a teen, but the food wasn't really all that good.

I was used to wargames so provided I was interested in the setting or genre getting the idea behind something like Traveller wasn't a stretch for me. However first time I went AHA! for a system was with Champions 2e.

I liked the idea of point buy, and the inherent flexibility of the system. The fact it had skills, advantages, and disadvantages as well as powers. However when I heard that Fantasy Hero was coming out, I was all over that the system and it became my main system for the next two years until GURPS 2e came along.

Quote from: rhialto on February 09, 2022, 07:00:42 AM
Tie between RuneQuest 2 and DragonQuest: we quickly realized there was more than dungeoncrawling with these two games, and then spent a decade plus combining them and houseruling with all kinds of add-ons. But these were the core of all our campaigns/settings: everything from Sanctuary to Fantasy Earth to Mystara using that combo. Still love both games too.

I had hopes for Dragonquest but the implementation proved clunky. By the time 2e came out  I planted my flag with Fantasy Hero.

Runequest should have been a system I used but I wasn't keen on the whole bronze age nature of it all. Mind you I was prepared to ignore Glorantha and all that in favor of what I was doing. But weapons and armor being bronze age tech was a non-starter. So I thought.

Then a couple of years later Runequest 3 came out and how the equipment was represented wasn't changed much at all. Plus I learned by then that bronze was basically as good (or better) than iron but way more expensive. And also as good as an average steel weapons (but not the best quality alloys).

So I had realized that in the early 80s, I would just said everything was iron or average steel and moved on adapting the system for my purposes.

Quote from: Steven Mitchell on February 09, 2022, 01:10:00 PM

Quote from: rhialto on February 09, 2022, 07:00:42 AM
Tie between RuneQuest 2 and DragonQuest: we quickly realized there was more than dungeoncrawling with these two games, and then spent a decade plus combining them and houseruling with all kinds of add-ons. But these were the core of all our campaigns/settings: everything from Sanctuary to Fantasy Earth to Mystara using that combo. Still love both games too.

Another DQ fan!  Rarer than cockatrice teeth.  Welcome.

Nah, we're around it just doesn't come up much.

Quote from: Steven Mitchell on February 09, 2022, 01:10:00 PM

Quote from: rhialto on February 09, 2022, 07:00:42 AM
Tie between RuneQuest 2 and DragonQuest: we quickly realized there was more than dungeoncrawling with these two games, and then spent a decade plus combining them and houseruling with all kinds of add-ons. But these were the core of all our campaigns/settings: everything from Sanctuary to Fantasy Earth to Mystara using that combo. Still love both games too.

Another DQ fan!  Rarer than cockatrice teeth.  Welcome.

Thanks, it's a game which deserved better: had SPI not imploded...

Quote from: estar on February 09, 2022, 03:13:46 PM
I had hopes for Dragonquest but the implementation proved clunky.

How so? While baroque, the system is sensible.

Quote from: estar on February 09, 2022, 03:13:46 PM
Runequest should have been a system I used but I wasn't keen on the whole bronze age nature of it all. Mind you I was prepared to ignore Glorantha and all that in favor of what I was doing. But weapons and armor being bronze age tech was a non-starter. So I thought.

Then a couple of years later Runequest 3 came out and how the equipment was represented wasn't changed much at all. Plus I learned by then that bronze was basically as good (or better) than iron but way more expensive. And also as good as an average steel weapons (but not the best quality alloys).

So I had realized that in the early 80s, I would just said everything was iron or average steel and moved on adapting the system for my purposes.

Pretty much what we did: the system was the key, not the setting.

Quote from: rhialto on February 09, 2022, 09:54:09 PM

Quote from: estar on February 09, 2022, 03:13:46 PM
I had hopes for Dragonquest but the implementation proved clunky.

How so? While baroque, the system is sensible.

It's sensible, but way too unnecessarily baroque to the point that it makes it hard to bring players on board.  I've said for years that you could get 80 to 90% of the exact game in a fraction of the rules space by just standardizing a few thing.  Note, I'm not talking a single, unified formula for everything, just making it far more consistent.  I've taken a couple of stabs at it, but keep getting pulled into doing other things that don't exactly fit under the "streamlined DQ" umbrella such that I can justly say that's what I'm doing.

Anyway, I love it for the content and aesthetic, not the presentation of the mechanics.

Plus, not everyone loves a game where the party can win a fight in the wilderness but all die of diseases before they can get back to civilization, but that's a different issue.

On topic, DQ very much "clicked" for me.  But it was another borrowed set of rules that I didn't get to use very long then, and couldn't afford my own copy at the time (or rather, made some bad decisions when I should have bought it with the limited funds available).  So it didn't end up having the net effect it might have.

I'm interested in hearing more about Dragonquest. Can I see the rules for it anywhere?

Just google
Dragonquest Rules

Quote from: Steven Mitchell on February 09, 2022, 10:37:25 PM

Quote from: rhialto on February 09, 2022, 09:54:09 PM

Quote from: estar on February 09, 2022, 03:13:46 PM
I had hopes for Dragonquest but the implementation proved clunky.

How so? While baroque, the system is sensible.

It's sensible, but way too unnecessarily baroque to the point that it makes it hard to bring players on board.  I've said for years that you could get 80 to 90% of the exact game in a fraction of the rules space by just standardizing a few thing.  Note, I'm not talking a single, unified formula for everything, just making it far more consistent.  I've taken a couple of stabs at it, but keep getting pulled into doing other things that don't exactly fit under the "streamlined DQ" umbrella such that I can justly say that's what I'm doing.

I'd be interested in your attempts to smooth out the edges for consistency, as the new players problem is still a problem, and one I'm likely to face this year as our group continues to do our "let's try an old game" path.

Quote from: rhialto on February 10, 2022, 05:31:29 AM
I'd be interested in your attempts to smooth out the edges for consistency, as the new players problem is still a problem, and one I'm likely to face this year as our group continues to do our "let's try an old game" path.

Probably off-topic in this thread.  If you want to start a new one to talk about DQ, specific or general, I'm always up for that conversation.

This has been a good thread. I've really only played D&D due to time, money, and player interest. But I really like reading about other folks who have had experience with different systems.

I wish I could go back in time, with the money I have now mind you, and pick up those other books I saw on the shelf at Waldenbooks. Ah well.