'Tis a pretty straight forward question; what elf games do you like that don't use the D&D mechanics (and that includes generic/universal systems, so yes, Tenbones, Savage Worlds counts)
My groups have had fun with The One Ring, Runequest/Stormbringer hacks, and Rolemaster. Artesia too, come to think of it.
Dragonlance 5th Age - the SAGA system is quite different from D&D, while still feeling familiar in a number of ways.
Stormbringer.
WEG Star Wars is my favorite rpg. Pretty much proves that a system designed properly can help promote a certain style of play appropriate for the game world.
I really loved Warhammer Fantasy. Not sure if it was the first or second edition but I ran it for a large group and enjoyed it.
For a different flavor of Fantasy BESM, if Anime Fantasy is your thing.
Fantasy Hero, although it also suffers from the same malady of the system, lengthy character creation.
For a more grounded fantasy, Runequest and Dragon Quest. I like the subject matter of DQ better, but RQ is a much cleaner system (no matter which version you use). I don't mind GURPS, either, though it's not usually my first choice.
For a more superhero type of fantasy, Fantasy Hero.
I'd run Burning Wheel again with the right group and some of the alternate magic systems, but it works better with fewer players than I normally have at the table. Ditto Torchbearer.
Though my favorite right at the moment is my own system. ;D
Dragon Warriors, Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (1E or 2E), Chaosium's flavor of Stormbringer, Cthulhu Dark Ages, V:tM Dark Ages.
Edit: almost forgot Rolemaster (Arms Law / Claw Law / Spell Law)
Chaosium 2nd ed Classic Runequest / pre-4e Stormbringer / Age of Shadow monograph / BRP Classic Fantasy monograph; 1e Warhammer Fantasy.
You can see that beyond the D&D biome I like the RQ/BRP engine.
I ran a ton of RQ 3 back in the day. It changed how I view gaming. I also like HarnMaster for more down to earth fantasy.
I'm very fond of Dragonbane. I ran it once at a con and really enjoyed how the system works. The book art is also beautiful, which certainly helps.
Rolemaster Standard System
D6 is my favorite system to play or run.
My favorite dedicated fantasy game is Barbarians of Lemuria. Or rather Legends of Steel BOL edition. That or Dungeonslayers.
Rolemaster 1e/2e
Combat was deadly, crit tables were a ton of fun and I loved the roll-high percentile system.
MERP. I was already a Tolkien fan so I was predisposed to like it, I guess. But of the many non-D&D games I've tried in 40 years of gaming, it was the only one I stuck with. So it's an easy choice for me.
Quote from: I on April 08, 2023, 04:19:26 PM
Stormbringer.
Hellz yeah, I roll with Elric!, the 4th edition of the game, I think. For human-centric, pulp sword-and-sorcery gaming I use my own publication USR Sword & Sorcery.
Eh, call me a victim, but GURPS was the other system we went with when not saddled with D&D. And yes, we did "Fantasy," at some point and my Minotaur Monk was fucking awesome.
Hackmaster. Hackmaster all day long.
Quote from: Joey2k on April 08, 2023, 07:13:05 PM
My favorite dedicated fantasy game is Barbarians of Lemuria. Or rather Legends of Steel BOL edition.
Yep, Barbarians of Lemuria as well. I have run some fun games of BOL and have some great memories from running that game.
My favorite game of all time is DragonLance Fifth Age SAGA System. Besides that one and D&D itself: Castle Falkenstein.
Quote from: zer0th on April 09, 2023, 10:02:56 AM
My favorite game of all time is DragonLance Fifth Age SAGA System. Besides that one and D&D itself: Castle Falkenstein.
I have heard of this but I don't know anything about it. Can you give me a little information about this game?
Quote from: I on April 08, 2023, 04:19:26 PM
Stormbringer.
Is that the one with the random chargen? I always liked that. Although I had a friend who wouldn't play it because if you couldn't be Melnibonean, it didn't matter.
We love DwD Studios Bare Bones Fantasy! It is a lot fun. We love the moral and personality systems.
Quote from: Tod13 on April 09, 2023, 07:12:39 PM
Quote from: I on April 08, 2023, 04:19:26 PM
Stormbringer.
Is that the one with the random chargen? I always liked that. Although I had a friend who wouldn't play it because if you couldn't be Melnibonean, it didn't matter.
I can only speak for 1st-3rd editions, but random chargen was only an option. It was a fun way to play, but you didn't have to.
Quote from: Baron on April 09, 2023, 07:14:40 PM
Quote from: Tod13 on April 09, 2023, 07:12:39 PM
Quote from: I on April 08, 2023, 04:19:26 PM
Stormbringer.
Is that the one with the random chargen? I always liked that. Although I had a friend who wouldn't play it because if you couldn't be Melnibonean, it didn't matter.
I can only speak for 1st-3rd editions, but random chargen was only an option. It was a fun way to play, but you didn't have to.
Thanks!
What about Runequest? I played it a long time ago but I do not remember much about it.
RuneQuest, specifically Mongoose Publishing's RuneQuest II version. It's the only fantasy Rpg I want to run anymore.
Avalon Hill's RuneQuest (RuneQuest III) is an old nostalgic favorite but I haven't run it in a few decades.
Quote from: GhostNinja on April 09, 2023, 06:12:28 PM
Can you give me a little information about this game?
The DragonLance Fifth Age Boxed Set came at a time old school DragonLance fans would rather never happened: when Weis & Hickman were "excused" from TSR/WotC and another team was put at the helm of development of DragonLance, and they took that world to a direction hated by a lot of people. It was my first contact with DragonLance, so I don't hate on it for being an interloper in my cozy DragonLance.
The game system is very light-weight and it is player-facing, that is, all the checks are made by the player. It uses cards instead of dice.
It is a custom deck of cards with 9 suits, one with ten cards (the suit of dragons) and the rest with nine cards. Each of the 9-cards suits is associated with one of the eight abilities of player characters: Agility, Dexterity, Endurance, Strength, Reason, Perception, Spirit, and Presence. Each of these abilities have a score and a code. The score (1 to 10) is your potential and the code (A to D and X) is your skill in doing things related to that ability. The code defines things like how many schools of sorcery you know and what arms and armor you can use.
Character generation is done by the player drawing twelve cards. Each card has a value, a suit, a color, and two personality traits. And the player uses these cards' features to fill in the character sheet.
PCs have a hand of cards that he uses in checks. But this hand of cards is also his "hitpoints". When he uses a card in a check, he can get a replacement from the deck. But when he is damaged, he needs to discard cards and they are only replaced by healing (either magical or natural).
There are no classes in the basic game, but supplements introduced Roles that give your character something very mildly similar. The equivalent of levels would be the number of Quests your PC has, which determine the size of your hand of cards (and thus your "hitpoints").
NPCs has a simplified set of abilities, folding pairs of abilities into one: Coordination (Agility and Dexterity), Physique (Endurance and Strength), Intellect (Reason and Perception), and Essence (Spirit and Presence). Monsters stat blocks are super simple, generally six numbers (the folded abilities plus attack and defense) and a special ability. Since all the checks are made by the players, the NPCs stats are used as penalties in player's actions. Even when a monster attacks, the mechanic is the player checking if his PC successfully defends the attack.
The basic mechanic is playing a card from your hand as an action or reaction and adding the card value to the relevant ability score. Other modifiers (such as a weapon attack ratting) can also be added or subtracted. The result is compared to an Action Difficulty set by the GM. But you can also get a trump. If the card you are playing is of the suit associated with the relevant ability, you flip a card from the deck and add the value to the result, and you keep doing it if you keep getting cards of the trump suit.
Magic in the game doesn't use pre-made spells. A sorcerer or a mystic create their spells on-the-fly using small tables, from which you pick things like the effect, range, duration. You add up the cost of the spell from these tables and the cost (in spell points) is also the difficulty of casting it.
The game puts emphasis in building scenes (encounters) in a structured way and all published adventures use that style of scenes, with outcomes taking you to different scenes, like a "choose your own adventure" book. In this way, adventures are structured around events more than locations. But you can (and I did) play location-based adventures too.
I hope this rambling answer is somewhat understandable.
I used the game to run the published adventures (not all of them), a DragonLance campaign of my own creation, and my own homebrew world. I just love how it doesn't get in the way of action. The eight abilities are granular and well-defined enough for me to judge anything the players want to try, without having a long list of skills.
(And since ShadowDark invented a bunch of things like simplified distances, the DL SAGA System totally didn't use Personal, Melee, Near missile, Far missile, and Artillery to measure distances in 1996. ;-P)
Quote from: K Peterson on April 09, 2023, 08:05:52 PM
RuneQuest, specifically Mongoose Publishing's RuneQuest II version. It's the only fantasy Rpg I want to run anymore.
Avalon Hill's RuneQuest (RuneQuest III) is an old nostalgic favorite but I haven't run it in a few decades.
I ran the original Runequest and had a goodtime with it. So you suggest the mongoose Runquest II version over the original edition?
Quote from: GhostNinja on April 09, 2023, 08:15:46 PM
Quote from: K Peterson on April 09, 2023, 08:05:52 PM
RuneQuest, specifically Mongoose Publishing's RuneQuest II version. It's the only fantasy Rpg I want to run anymore.
Avalon Hill's RuneQuest (RuneQuest III) is an old nostalgic favorite but I haven't run it in a few decades.
I ran the original Runequest and had a goodtime with it. So you suggest the mongoose Runquest II version over the original edition?
I can only speak to my own preferences. I am not a Gloranthaphile and come from an angle of using RuneQuest as more of a generic frp engine.
MRQII is out of print so I honeslty wouldn't recommend tracking it down. But its general game mechanics live on in an rpg called Mythras. So if you're looking for something in that vein, that's what I'd recommend checking out.
EDIT: I should have recalled that Mongoose's Legend Rpg is a more direct descendant. And I think it's still only $1 on DTRPG. Check that one out if you're interested.
I tried a lot of exotical systems in the years, D&D not even top 10. My first game was Das Schwarze Auge, so probably d20 didn't left any imprinting to me.
Best fantasy games so far, not in order:
BLOODLUST (french): control both an hero and a sentient weapon with divergent goals. Sessions are very funny and play on their own.
WARES BLADE (japanese): I purchased an original box paying it *too much*. The rules doesn't shine, the setting is incredibly fascinating. Medieval fantasy with archeological mecha, and everything fit very well without going "anime". The d20 version kill the mood.
CADWALLON (french): Urban adventures. Highly detailed world, great emphasis on interactions. Very european, grey-toned, elegant.
ARIANRHOD (japanese) high fantasy adventures. My players are all MMORPG-gen people, so they like the overlap of concepts.
RYUUTAMA (japanese), relaxed, light-toned fantasy game about a journey. I own a spanish copy, but it look it was translated to any language.
Quote from: K Peterson on April 09, 2023, 08:24:26 PM
MRQII is out of print so I honeslty wouldn't recommend tracking it down. But its general game mechanics live on in an rpg called Mythras. So if you're looking for something in that vein, that's what I'd recommend checking out.
EDIT: I should have recalled that Mongoose's Legend Rpg is a more direct descendant. And I think it's still only $1 on DTRPG. Check that one out if you're interested.
Thank you for the information.
Quote from: migo on April 08, 2023, 04:09:39 PM
Dragonlance 5th Age - the SAGA system is quite different from D&D, while still feeling familiar in a number of ways.
While I'm not a fan of the Fifth Age changes, I still maintain that the SAGA system was the best way to model epic fantasy tales in play ever made. Love that system, which I could get my hands on the cards as my boxed set was lost ages ago.
Shadow of the Demon Lord, hands down.
Quote from: Dropbear on April 10, 2023, 09:42:15 AM
Shadow of the Demon Lord, hands down.
Looked at it. Played it once. Was way over complicated for me.
Everyone has their own tastes though.
Quote from: GhostNinja on April 10, 2023, 10:15:15 AM
Quote from: Dropbear on April 10, 2023, 09:42:15 AM
Shadow of the Demon Lord, hands down.
Looked at it. Played it once. Was way over complicated for me.
Everyone has their own tastes though.
This was also my experience. I liked the career and advancement system, but the game overall just didn't click for me or my players.
Quote from: deganawida on April 10, 2023, 09:15:21 AM
Quote from: migo on April 08, 2023, 04:09:39 PM
Dragonlance 5th Age - the SAGA system is quite different from D&D, while still feeling familiar in a number of ways.
While I'm not a fan of the Fifth Age changes, I still maintain that the SAGA system was the best way to model epic fantasy tales in play ever made. Love that system, which I could get my hands on the cards as my boxed set was lost ages ago.
Wasn't there also a Star Wars game that used the Saga system?
Quote from: Tasty_Wind on April 10, 2023, 03:06:06 PM
Quote from: deganawida on April 10, 2023, 09:15:21 AM
Quote from: migo on April 08, 2023, 04:09:39 PM
Dragonlance 5th Age - the SAGA system is quite different from D&D, while still feeling familiar in a number of ways.
While I'm not a fan of the Fifth Age changes, I still maintain that the SAGA system was the best way to model epic fantasy tales in play ever made. Love that system, which I could get my hands on the cards as my boxed set was lost ages ago.
Wasn't there also a Star Wars game that used the Saga system?
I don't believe it was all-caps SAGA, just called Saga, and didn't use the SAGA system. There was a Marvel superheroes version of Saga, though.
Time to be a bit of an odd ball...Palladium Fantasy.
Quote from: Tasty_Wind on April 10, 2023, 03:04:53 PM
This was also my experience. I liked the career and advancement system, but the game overall just didn't click for me or my players.
Yep. I used to be ok with complicated systems when I had more time (Like Hero System, the mother of overcomplicated systems) but these days I like fast and fun games
Quote from: zer0th on April 09, 2023, 08:10:42 PM
The DragonLance Fifth Age Boxed Set came at a time old school DragonLance fans would rather never happened: when Weis & Hickman were "excused" from TSR/WotC and another team was put at the helm of development of DragonLance, and they took that world to a direction hated by a lot of people. It was my first contact with DragonLance, so I don't hate on it for being an interloper in my cozy DragonLance.
A little more detail: Weis & Hickman had left TSR years ago, but were asked in the mid-90s to do one last
Chronicles book. They came up with the Chaos War concept, and wanted to expand it to a trilogy or more of novels and game supplements. TSR stuck with 'we contracted for one book, and that's what we want', so they gave us
Dragons of Summer Flame. Due to the preorders on that book, the Dragonlance boosters on TSR's staff (including Harold Johnson, who is often ignored but arguably deserves 'co-creator of DL' credit as much as anyone short of the Hickmans) got permission to relaunch Dragonlance as a game. However, TSR imposed several limits on them: It couldn't be AD&D-based (original design, I'm told, would have looked a lot like the Lankhmar set released a month or two before DL:5A), it had to be card-based, and it had to be set after
Dragons of Summer Flame.
I was a fan of the Dragonlance novels in the last 80s/early 90s, but by the time they started on the Meetings Sextet, I felt the flavor had gone out of Krynn and stopped keeping up. I came back with the release of
The Second Generation and
Dragons of Summer Flame, but after reading the latter, my initial reaction was "OK, they're going to close up shop." DRAGON Magazine and online posts by design team member Steve Miller (whom I was following for his work on Ravenloft) got me interested, and I kept up with the promotional material and eagerly adopted the game at launch. I've used it for several short campaigns ... but never in Krynn. I have run Ravenloft, Dragon Quest (Warrior), and Final Fantasy-based games with it, though.
Quote from: Armchair Gamer on April 10, 2023, 04:18:41 PM
[...] eagerly adopted the game at launch. I've used it for several short campaigns ... but never in Krynn. I have run Ravenloft [...] with it, though.
That is so cool that you ran Ravenloft using the SAGA System. Did you make a Fear, Horror, and Madness subsystem for you game? It was one of the things I loved in
Domains of Dread, until I played it more extensively and had to refer back to the 18 pages of rules all the time.
Quote from: zer0th on April 10, 2023, 08:12:10 PM
That is so cool that you ran Ravenloft using the SAGA System. Did you make a Fear, Horror, and Madness subsystem for you game? It was one of the things I loved in Domains of Dread, until I played it more extensively and had to refer back to the 18 pages of rules all the time.
I only got a couple of playtest sessions in, but I just treated them as Essence (Spirit) actions with difficulty to be set by the grade of the threat/horror, and used the standard results for failure. My use predated
Domains of Dread, so I was using the simpler approach from the Black/Red boxes.
For more information on SAGA in Ravenloft, see DRAGON #240, #264, and the Kargatane's
Book of Souls netbook.
Quote from: Malaky on April 10, 2023, 03:51:48 PM
Time to be a bit of an odd ball...Palladium Fantasy.
You're not weird (that's my job, hence the username).
I second this. Palladium Fantasy. I just love the strike-parry-dodge system over D&D Armor Class and skyrocketing hitpoints. In Palladium your strike, parry, and dodge bonuses are what get better over time. Your hitpoints and armor don't (ok, hitpoints do technically go up, but it's a shallow increase).
I also recommend the 1st edition. It's just easier, with the caveat that it's not as compatible with the other games they make. In fact, I like to think of Palladium Fantasy 1E as the introduction set of rules before modern and sci-fi rules start to creep into the system and start adding inconsistencies or unclear rules that modern Palladium is known for.
I tried playing Runequest, and the world just did not click for me. The DM was a huge fan of it (and a good DM who was also a game designer with his own company) but I just wasn't interested in the setting at all.
Better Left Buried is my current favorite. Light rules and pulls no punches. Characters are not Big Damn Heroes and really are just kinda crazy for going where they aren't meant to go. And if they aren't crazy when they start, there is a good chance they will be afterwards. It encourages troop play where players have a pool of PCs they can pick from for any given venture while others are left back to heal up and recover their sanity.
Anima Prime is an older cinematic anime RPG with a pretty light system. A good alternative to BESM if you find that one a little too complex. Fairly flexible character creation and some good kit for making Final Fantasy-like abilities and weapons/spells.
Despite the usual hate for it, I find Dungeon World works fine. It's easy to get a game up and running with little prep. Unfortunately, if it's your first ever Powered by the Apocalypse game, the core book isn't the best at getting the ideas across. If you do have experience though you'll catch on just fine.
For Coin & Blood, as someone else mentioned, is closer to traditional OSR (in rules and setting) but it embraces a "grimdark" tone. PCs are all mercs, sell swords, etc seeking money and/or revenge.
Syma checks a lot of my favorite boxes. PCs are more traditional classes but the setting is closer to something like Elden Ring. Environments are harsh. The world is feudal, unequal, and unfair. There are demonic influence is everywhere and magic is uncommon, terrifying, and powerful. Violence is often the answer. The rules are fairly light and it uses a scaling die system where the better you are the larger die type you roll giving you a better chance of success.
Ryuutama was also previously mentioned. I've run it a few times and it's been great fun each time but it is not your typical fantasy game. It is very much a slice of life fantasy game, where the adventure of the journey is more the focus than dungeon crawling or murder hoboing for profit.
Quote from: Wasteland Sniper on April 11, 2023, 09:34:43 AM
I tried playing Runequest, and the world just did not click for me. The DM was a huge fan of it (and a good DM who was also a game designer with his own company) but I just wasn't interested in the setting at all.
I played Rune quest early in my gaming and while I have a good memory of it, who knows whether I was running it correctly or I was just having fun with the people I was gaming with and that's the memory I have.
Barbarians of Lemuria Mythic Editon.
Quote from: Batjon on April 11, 2023, 02:23:06 PM
Barbarians of Lemuria Mythic Editon.
Agreed. Now if we could just your game going.....
Hopefully soon :)
Quote from: Armchair Gamer on April 11, 2023, 08:49:27 AM
For more information on SAGA in Ravenloft, see DRAGON #240, #264, and the Kargatane's Book of Souls netbook.
Thank you very much for the references.
Quote from: GhostNinja on April 11, 2023, 02:30:07 PM
Quote from: Batjon on April 11, 2023, 02:23:06 PM
Barbarians of Lemuria Mythic Editon.
Agreed. Now if we could just your game going.....
Hopefully soon :)
I'd love to get an online campaign going. I also have the BoL game Dicey Tales for pulp action and would love to do something in the vein of Indiana Jones/The Mummy/Tomb Raider/Uncharted/King Solomon's Mines/Clive Cussler with it.
Maze Rats by Questing Beast was fun. The magic system is unique. The wizard's player rolls 2d6 and checks a chart to determine what the spell name is, then the player and the referee work out what the spell does. For example, a roll of "2" and "5", and the chart says "Ethereal Element + Ethereal Form", then the player picks out a description from each set. So "Harmony Blob", maybe. What does "Harmony Blob" do? Figure it out! Is the blob bigger than a breadbox? Is the harmony music or is it a feeing of camaraderie? Maybe the spell creates a small lump of magical material that can be put in someone's drink or food to make them react more favorably to the wizard. Maybe the blob is something one puts in one's ears to drown out dissonant sounds.
The spells are different every time, and no exact spell can be cast twice.
Quote from: Danger on April 08, 2023, 09:50:18 PM
Eh, call me a victim, but GURPS was the other system we went with when not saddled with D&D. And yes, we did "Fantasy," at some point and my Minotaur Monk was fucking awesome.
Still a good call, but for fantasy, I prefer GURPS's parent, The Fantasy Trip. Was very excited to see it come back in print with it's one rough edge (advancement) sanded down.
The slightly PCed main book was a mild disappointment, but I have the original for the few things cleaned.
Quote from: Malaky on April 10, 2023, 03:51:48 PM
Time to be a bit of an odd ball...Palladium Fantasy.
That's not too odd ball round these parts.
Quote from: Batjon on April 11, 2023, 07:57:17 PM
I'd love to get an online campaign going. I also have the BoL game Dicey Tales for pulp action and would love to do something in the vein of Indiana Jones/The Mummy/Tomb Raider/Uncharted/King Solomon's Mines/Clive Cussler with it.
I know. I am on your discord server waiting for people to get their act together so we can play.
I would love to play either one/all of the above.
Quote from: Wasteland Sniper on April 11, 2023, 09:34:43 AM
I tried playing Runequest, and the world just did not click for me. The DM was a huge fan of it (and a good DM who was also a game designer with his own company) but I just wasn't interested in the setting at all.
For me it was the opposite; I'm just not a fan of the BRP system, but Glorantha may honestly be my favorite ttrpg setting. Something about "high fantasy Bronze Age" just hits right.
I kinda hope, seeing as how Dragonbane has a lot of BRP/ RuneQuest DNA already, we'll eventually get a Glorantha source book for it.
Quote from: Tasty_Wind on April 12, 2023, 10:22:54 PM
Quote from: Wasteland Sniper on April 11, 2023, 09:34:43 AM
I tried playing Runequest, and the world just did not click for me. The DM was a huge fan of it (and a good DM who was also a game designer with his own company) but I just wasn't interested in the setting at all.
For me it was the opposite; I'm just not a fan of the BRP system, but Glorantha may honestly be my favorite ttrpg setting. Something about "high fantasy Bronze Age" just hits right.
I kinda hope, seeing as how Dragonbane has a lot of BRP/ RuneQuest DNA already, we'll eventually get a Glorantha source book for it.
Who knows if that will happen, but it would be cool. I recently picked up the massive Guide to Glorantha out of sheer curiosity about the setting. As expected, it's pretty interesting and different from most bog standard pseudo-Medieval Western European settings. I also flipped some other books to get the new Runequest core books & starter set. They look great, but the rules just aren't my thing. But I really like the Dragonbane rules. So maybe I'll run DB in Glorantha.
Quote from: Wasteland Sniper on April 08, 2023, 06:24:03 PM
I'm very fond of Dragonbane. I ran it once at a con and really enjoyed how the system works. The book art is also beautiful, which certainly helps.
Dragonbane is definitely my favourite, I have two Dragonbane campaigns running now and it plays beautifully. The other game I like a lot is Mini Six, which is a multi-genre system I used for a Primeval Thule campaign for most of 2020. I think in future I'll be using mostly Dragonbane for fantasy campaigns, Mini Six for most non fantasy pulp/cinematic campaigns, and 2014 5e D&D for (mega)dungeon-based fantasy campaigns. I think D&D is in its element with the megadungeon play it was designed for, and that still goes for 3e & 5e D&D.
Quote from: rgalex on April 11, 2023, 10:36:57 AM
Syma checks a lot of my favorite boxes. PCs are more traditional classes but the setting is closer to something like Elden Ring. Environments are harsh. The world is feudal, unequal, and unfair. There are demonic influence is everywhere and magic is uncommon, terrifying, and powerful. Violence is often the answer. The rules are fairly light and it uses a scaling die system where the better you are the larger die type you roll giving you a better chance of success.
I would not describe Elden Ring as a setting in which magic is uncommon (though it can be terrifying, and certainly is powerful). Even in Demon's Souls, which is the most grounded setting in any of the Fromsoft titles, I wouldn't exactly say that magic is rare. That said, this is super relevant to my interests, as I am an unapologetic fan of the way Souls games do their settings. I've actually been working on a souls-like homebrew setting for a few months now, which for lack of a better option, I've been stat-ing for Shadow of the Demon Lord.
It's a pity Syma that doesn't have a hard-copy option. I'm always reluctant to buy a game that's only available in pdf, partially just because I know I'll never be able to use it for live games, but also because not making a game available in hard copy always gives me the suspicion that the publisher has no faith or commitment in its longevity.
Quote from: ForgottenF on April 13, 2023, 08:06:16 PM
It's a pity Syma that doesn't have a hard-copy option. I'm always reluctant to buy a game that's only available in pdf, partially just because I know I'll never be able to use it for live games, but also because not making a game available in hard copy always gives me the suspicion that the publisher has no faith or commitment in its longevity.
To each their own, but for me a PDF is forever. If you decide to run the game you can share it (if the author abandons it) and you can always print it for use at the table. I don't care at all if the only release for a particular game is one core rulebook. What do I need more product for? I'm the DM, I can modify or expand rules, and I can write settings and adventures! ;D
Quote from: ForgottenF on April 13, 2023, 08:06:16 PM
Quote from: rgalex on April 11, 2023, 10:36:57 AM
Syma checks a lot of my favorite boxes. PCs are more traditional classes but the setting is closer to something like Elden Ring. Environments are harsh. The world is feudal, unequal, and unfair. There are demonic influence is everywhere and magic is uncommon, terrifying, and powerful. Violence is often the answer. The rules are fairly light and it uses a scaling die system where the better you are the larger die type you roll giving you a better chance of success.
I would not describe Elden Ring as a setting in which magic is uncommon (though it can be terrifying, and certainly is powerful). Even in Demon's Souls, which is the most grounded setting in any of the Fromsoft titles, I wouldn't exactly say that magic is rare. That said, this is super relevant to my interests, as I am an unapologetic fan of the way Souls games do their settings. I've actually been working on a souls-like homebrew setting for a few months now, which for lack of a better option, I've been stat-ing for Shadow of the Demon Lord.
It's a pity Syma that doesn't have a hard-copy option. I'm always reluctant to buy a game that's only available in pdf, partially just because I know I'll never be able to use it for live games, but also because not making a game available in hard copy always gives me the suspicion that the publisher has no faith or commitment in its longevity.
On the magic thing, that's fair. The Elden Ring comparison isn't an exact fit, but something more like 75% there.
As for the physical version, it's just not out yet. I backed it and have the pdf. As for the print version, the last update was on March 28th and the printer has the files and is slightly behind schedule. We were suppose to have the books by now but a KS that is on time is kinda rare these days.
Dark Heresy 1e
WFRP 2e (with a 1e setting)
Cartoon Action Hour
Dark Champions (Hero system)
Call Of Cthulhu
Those are all favourite for running. For playing, I can find fun in most games, with the right character and party.
Quote from: Hackmaster on April 08, 2023, 07:21:45 PM
Rolemaster 1e/2e
Combat was deadly, crit tables were a ton of fun and I loved the roll-high percentile system.
Quote from: phydeaux on April 09, 2023, 08:50:49 AM
Hackmaster. Hackmaster all day long.
There's a joke here about "Hackmaster" being so self-effacing he won't name his namesake.
I am also a big fan of Hackmaster -- it keeps a lot of D&D isms. The classes, levels, etc. (More like "half levels - which I really like.)
But by god, the count up, threshold of pain checks, shield destruction saves, knockbacks and their special maneuvers just sing!
Quote from: Thondor on April 13, 2023, 11:20:34 PM
... But by god, the count up, threshold of pain checks, shield destruction saves, knockbacks and their special maneuvers just sing!
Hackmaster combat is pretty damn amazing.
Quote from: rgalex on April 13, 2023, 10:47:49 PM
Quote from: ForgottenF on April 13, 2023, 08:06:16 PM
Quote from: rgalex on April 11, 2023, 10:36:57 AM
Syma checks a lot of my favorite boxes. PCs are more traditional classes but the setting is closer to something like Elden Ring. Environments are harsh. The world is feudal, unequal, and unfair. There are demonic influence is everywhere and magic is uncommon, terrifying, and powerful. Violence is often the answer. The rules are fairly light and it uses a scaling die system where the better you are the larger die type you roll giving you a better chance of success.
I would not describe Elden Ring as a setting in which magic is uncommon (though it can be terrifying, and certainly is powerful). Even in Demon's Souls, which is the most grounded setting in any of the Fromsoft titles, I wouldn't exactly say that magic is rare. That said, this is super relevant to my interests, as I am an unapologetic fan of the way Souls games do their settings. I've actually been working on a souls-like homebrew setting for a few months now, which for lack of a better option, I've been stat-ing for Shadow of the Demon Lord.
It's a pity Syma that doesn't have a hard-copy option. I'm always reluctant to buy a game that's only available in pdf, partially just because I know I'll never be able to use it for live games, but also because not making a game available in hard copy always gives me the suspicion that the publisher has no faith or commitment in its longevity.
On the magic thing, that's fair. The Elden Ring comparison isn't an exact fit, but something more like 75% there.
As for the physical version, it's just not out yet. I backed it and have the pdf. As for the print version, the last update was on March 28th and the printer has the files and is slightly behind schedule. We were suppose to have the books by now but a KS that is on time is kinda rare these days.
Do you know if they've said if the physical will be available to non-backers? If so, I'd take my criticism back.
Quote from: ForgottenF on April 15, 2023, 04:30:39 PM
Do you know if they've said if the physical will be available to non-backers? If so, I'd take my criticism back.
I don't know what their long term plans are, but the KS page says
QuoteWe want to make our book, make some extra for cons and our webstore and then send it to you.
Warhammer 1e and 4e definitely.
Quote from: Wrath of God on April 19, 2023, 12:50:48 PM
Warhammer 1e and 4e definitely.
Had the first edition and I loved it. Great game. Biggest group I ever ran a game for, I ran Warhammer. For 12 players. Never will do that again but it was fun.
Wish I could find an online 1e WFRP group. Playing 1e was the most fun I've had in years!
Quote from: Wasteland Sniper on April 11, 2023, 09:34:43 AM
I tried playing Runequest, and the world just did not click for me. The DM was a huge fan of it (and a good DM who was also a game designer with his own company) but I just wasn't interested in the setting at all.
I played RQ2 but didn't like the bronze age so I ported it over to Hârn and made it so everyone didn't get magic. It worked really nicely. I shifted to Hârnmaster for awhile because it was Hârn and all, but found it crunchier than I like so I reverted back to my home-brew RQ2.
Quote from: Baron on April 19, 2023, 01:28:49 PM
Wish I could find an online 1e WFRP group. Playing 1e was the most fun I've had in years!
Agreed. Great game. The only game I have ever gotten rid of that I totally regret.