PDA

View Full Version : Favorite Elements from Other Tabletops?



Wystrell
2009-03-07, 05:30 PM
This forum is D&D-heavy, but I know many of you have played other tabletop RPG systems. I've taken a peek at other systems, but never enough to understand the fun bits.

So, my question: what is your favorite element or game mechanic from a non-D&D game?

Dogmantra
2009-03-07, 05:56 PM
I really like Risus in general. My favourite mechanic has to be... the lot of it (it boils down to roll xdy, depending on the cliche). It's simple and fun, and I really like that in a game. Of course, it's nowhere near as rigid as D&D, and that can be bad at times.

Swooper
2009-03-07, 06:56 PM
Probably the wager mechanic from Houses of the Blooded (http://www.housesoftheblooded.net/).

Basically, the task resolution in HotB is about rolling a pool of d6es, trying to roll 10 or higher (except in opposed rolls, then you're trying to trying to roll higher than the other guy). Before the roll, you may subtract any number of dice from the pool to gain increased benefits of succeeding (in opposed rolls wagers are made secretly). So if you gather up eight dice (8d6) for a task, you can decide to roll only four of them (because 8d6 easily beats 10) and gain four wagers if you make it. More risk, more benefit. If you roll lower than the other guy on an opposed roll but still beat 10, you get half your wagers.

Tsotha-lanti
2009-03-07, 07:08 PM
The hit location combat from RuneQuest.

The "one contest fits all" system of HeroQuest, and the incredible story focus, and the amazingly Gloranthan way magic works.

The armor DR and Parry/Dodge Defense system of Conan d20, and the entire magic system.

Every single thing about The Riddle of Steel. Most especially the combat (easily the best in any game; more detailed and realistic and faithful to Medieval or Renaissance martial arts than any other game, but still faster than that of D&D, Rolemaster, and so on), the magic, and the mass battle system.

The mass battle system, inspiration and fear mechanics, and mook wounding mechanics of The Lord of the Rings RPG.

The entire combat system of Twilight 2013. It's for modern unit-sized combat what TROS is for old close combat martial arts: perfection.

Friv
2009-03-07, 07:55 PM
Stunts, from Exalted. The ability to get benefits from sticking a neat narrative description into my attack is awesome.

(For those who've never played Exalted, it basically works as follows: Whenever you do anything, if you can describe it in a way that is interesting, you get a small bonus to your roll. If it's really interesting, bigger bonus. You can also recover some of your Essence [local power pool] if the roll succeeds.)

Swooper
2009-03-07, 08:34 PM
Stunts, from Exalted. The ability to get benefits from sticking a neat narrative description into my attack is awesome.
Ooh, I love this one too. :smallsmile:

Tyrrell
2009-03-07, 09:10 PM
I also love the stunt mechanic in Exalted.

My favorite mechanic is the advancement system in Ars Magica. Characters get experience points s from practice, study, instruction, and exposure. Adventure experience is a part of the game but it isn't generally better than reading a good book (albeit you do get confidence points from adventures and they are a bigger deal). Characters learn spells by researching them in the laboratory rather than having them pop at a certain level or when they apply their xp. to them.

For a game about wizards (it wouldn't work for all genres) this throws everything into place. The sense of verisimilitude is increased dramatically and characters end up driving themselves out into the path of adventure to accomplish their own goals rather than to gain xp. Stories stretch out into to years of character planning and scheming and researching in order to accomplish their goals. Characters in the game feel as if they've really earned their power more so than in other systems.

Kantolin
2009-03-07, 09:46 PM
Another for Stunts.

A catch is that my groups tend to be very descriptive about their attacks in any system, so stunts can on occasion just mean that a tired person at one in the morning is doggedly throwing out random descriptions until the DM gives him the bonus dice.

Still, stunts are really neat.

Starscream
2009-03-08, 12:01 AM
I second (third, fourth or fifth, whatever) Stunts, they are sweet.

I have always liked the superpowers system from Mutants & Masterminds. Best way superpowers have ever been implemented in a gaming system, IMO.

I have always like the way GURPS handles skills. Takes a bit of getting used to but it works very well.

I haven't played New WoD, so I don't know if this has changed, but when I used to play old WoD I always liked the way you could regain willpower simply by embodying your character's "nature" with your actions. It gave people a nice, concrete motivation to roleplay.

Knaight
2009-03-08, 12:20 AM
Word scales, and negative-positive dice methods(anything that can roll 0, a negative, or a positive. Its all over the place, sometimes you have a negative die and a positive die, sometimes you get stuff more along the lines of rolling multiple dice that have negative sides). They just work so well together, and it makes everything so easy to adjudicate, plus having skills be the average a character does, rather than the minimum, or sub minimum, works well.

Satyr
2009-03-08, 06:37 AM
I haven't yet seen any game with an overall construction as streamlined and elegant as Gurps. The combination of a very sound and simple basic mechanism with basic logic and an incredible amount versatility in the field of complexety is unmatched - there is no other game that handles the balancing act between comprehensability and complexity that well. The only problem of Gurps is, that the sheer amount of options and freedom can and will overwhelm inexperienced players with options and possibilities, if you don't have a good gamemaster who act as a guidance through the game.
particulary great is the way, supernatural powers are implemented in the game and the number of options and builds which derrive from the toolbox you have at hand.

Apart from the Glory of Gurps, I found the madness-meter from Unknown Armies quite impressive. Instead of a system for insanity which works exactly like hitpoints, and which has absolutely nothing to do with how a human mind looks like or works, Unkown Armies always offer two ways your psyche could develop in different areas - you could both become hardened to a pecific sensation of the being, or you can become more stressed in ot - in the case of violence for instance, a more and more hardened character becomes callous and feels little to no regret when using violence, while a more stressed person in the same fiel may become edgy and jumps into a defensive posture whenever someone touches them. It is a very fine and character-driven model of psychological developments and decline, which reflects on the events in the character's life.
The other aspects of Unknown Armies - both rulewise and backgroundwise - are also very stimulating and interesting, but as it is somehow the David Lynch Version of Roleplaying Games, it is not for everyone.

wadledo
2009-03-08, 08:10 AM
I second the powers system from MnM.
Once you read the book a few times, it can do anything.
Even that, with a little work.

Theodoric
2009-03-08, 09:04 AM
WFRP's career system's rather good.

Kami2awa
2009-03-08, 09:24 AM
Another for Stunts.

A catch is that my groups tend to be very descriptive about their attacks in any system, so stunts can on occasion just mean that a tired person at one in the morning is doggedly throwing out random descriptions until the DM gives him the bonus dice.

Still, stunts are really neat.

Yes, and they make situations where bonuses are needed, such as Boss fights, really really awesome.

Tyrrell
2009-03-08, 10:24 AM
Spiritual traits in Riddle of Steel. A character has a set of things such as rivalry with the dukes son, loyalty to the imperial guard and so forth. Firt of all characters get bonuses when they take actions to further their traits, second acting in accordance with your spiritual traits is the only way to gain xp in the system. This rule makes being mechanics focused the same thing as being role playing focused it leads to extraordinary games (at least the one time I played it.)

Another one from Ars Magica. The magic system includes both both formulaic and spontaneous magic. There are many systems like Mage the Ascension where characters make up all of their spells on the fly and many like Shadowrun where characters only know a selected number of spells. In Ars Magica characters can make up spells on the fly but these spells are only a fraction as strong as something that they've learned. It allows the glorious fun of making precisely the correct spell for the moment but keeps the power of this ability in check.

Lamech
2009-03-08, 10:49 AM
I've played Rolemaster some and I like the way they do damage... Every attack one rolls the die, and adds and subtracts the right modifiers and looks at a chart for damage. This does some hit point damage (which is fairly worthless), and usally a "crit" from A-E. Then you roll the crit on the correct critical chart, and see all the fun stuff. This can range from a few more hp, to bleeding out hits (which is basically leathal unless healed), to a injury (which gives a penalty until healed), to dying in X number of rounds, to instant death. It also gives out a short little discription to every hit.

I really liked it because it adds a sense of realism, gives premade descriptions of battle, and makes the healer role really important. (Instant death is really free xp if a healer is close by, if not... err...) Although its advisable to have all the sundery charts on a comp.

Artanis
2009-03-08, 11:45 AM
I like the anima concept from Exalted. Even without the associated powers, just the very idea that you can perform so many Awesome things in such a short amount of time that you are engulfed by a pillar of pure flaming sunlight (or whatever is appropriate to the exalt type) is...well, Awesome :smallcool:

I find Heavy Gear's health/damage system to be downright ingenious. It manages to be the most realistic system I've run into (not that I've run into that many, but still) while being surprisingly simple to use. Everything else in its dice system is a bitch and a half to use, but the way damage is handled is really, really cool.

ericgrau
2009-03-08, 12:17 PM
This forum is D&D-heavy, but I know many of you have played other tabletop RPG systems. I've taken a peek at other systems, but never enough to understand the fun bits.

So, my question: what is your favorite element or game mechanic from a non-D&D game?

I love the casting system from heroquest. Others board games are similar for that matter. It's essentially like having 9 spells per day all at the highest level, each one is completely different. And there are 4 elements, out of which you pick 3 and give one to the elf. So the wizard doesn't quite have everything and the elf still has some decent casting. Heroquest is fun to both play and DM, but unfortunately getting an old box is insanely expensive now and mine's missing.

Talisman is fun, but mostly for its simplicity. It essentially gives you a deck of random encounters/treasure/etc. on a 3-ring monopoly-type board. So I guess that deck is the "favorite element". First person to make his way to the center ring and fight his way to the end... maybe wins. Or draws the wrong card and falls into the abyss. Sucks to be him!

Hal
2009-03-08, 02:10 PM
I like when you land on Chance, and sometimes the card can be good OR it can be bad. That shoe just doesn't know what's coming next!

Wait, did you mean RPGs?

Oh, in that case, I really like the dice system for Savage Worlds. Instead of getting a dozen different bonuses or penalties to any given roll, you just use a different sized die for how good you are, with fixed values for success. Really strong? Roll a d12 and you have a decent shot of kicking in the door. Kinda dumb? Then you and your d4 probably won't get to hack into the computer.

The exploding dice mechanic can also lead to some crazy circumstances. I watched a BBEG fight end before it began because a player kicked the BBEG in the nuts and had something like a quadruple crit. It was insane. In fact, you might even say it was "nuts."

RebelRogue
2009-03-08, 02:21 PM
Oh, in that case, I really like the dice system for Savage Worlds. Instead of getting a dozen different bonuses or penalties to any given roll, you just use a different sized die for how good you are, with fixed values for success. Really strong? Roll a d12 and you have a decent shot of kicking in the door. Kinda dumb? Then you and your d4 probably won't get to hack into the computer.
I've only played Savage Worlds once, but it was a fun experience. I really liked the card drawing initiative system as an alternative to the usual dice rolling.

BRC
2009-03-08, 02:23 PM
Failure to mention perversity points (Points recieved for making the game more fun and used to boost rolls) from Paranoia is TREASON Citizen.

Saintjebus
2009-03-08, 02:40 PM
I must chime in for GURPS. I've only gotten to play it once, but the "free-form" style was very much fun. It felt a whole lot more like I was the character, rather than controlling the character.

ericgrau
2009-03-08, 04:17 PM
Failure to mention perversity points (Points recieved for making the game more fun and used to boost rolls) from Paranoia is TREASON Citizen.

Grenade lands in hallway. The door at the end of the hallway is locked. Enemies are coming from the other way. I have no perversity points left. In another rpg you'd munchkin a way to stop the grenade or assume you could survive the damage. In Paranoia everything is lethal and your lack of ability is scary. Instead...

It's my turn. I check both exits and DM explains above. We're stuck. So I say "fetal position." I get perversity points. Another PC tries to save us by vaporizing the grenade with a plasma gun (what?!?). Everyone throws in perversity points, I include the ones I just got, and it actually works.

potatocubed
2009-03-09, 05:56 AM
I also love stunts from Exalted.

I can't believe that no-one's mentioned Aspects from FATE yet. Not only are they one of the most elegant mechanics I've seen in ages, they can be bolted on to pretty much any other game with only a little work.

Oh, and Beliefs and Instincts from Burning Whatever. Make life difficult for yourself, gain fate points. Spend fate points to win at something else. Simple and prone to cause much drama.

V Ooh, I forgot the mass battle system from L5R/7th Sea! (Much the same in both games.) Another great mechanic that you can easily bolt on to the game of your choice.

bosssmiley
2009-03-09, 06:19 AM
WFRP - most things about it
Ars Magica - magic system
Savage Worlds - delicious brain-light pulp cheese
Pendragon - Passions, dynasties, solo minigames, etc.
Cyberpunk 2020 - the simplicity of the core mechanic
BRP - It gave us CoC, Runequest, Elric, etc. It is love.
L5R - the auction iaijutsu system, the mass combat system, the game fiction(!), etc.

Raum
2009-03-09, 05:58 PM
Shadowrun: (mostly 2nd ed) The evocative archtypes in a classless system, the ability for mages to choose how much power they want to dump into each spell and, consequently, how much of a headache it will give them, a unified core mechanic, and the edge of your seat tension of rolling exploding dice to hit high target numbers.
WFRP: The magic and insanity rules, playing a semi-comedic and semi-horrific game of trying to survive, and the career system (you get to play a Ratcatcher!).
Classic Unisystem: The wide range of potential abilities which are (mostly) grounded in real world myth.
Savage Worlds: The fast combat, easy character building, and easily customizable rules. Oh, and the very fast combat! :)

Falling Out
2009-03-09, 07:50 PM
I would really like to find a good Strategy RPG, or a way to integrate strategic elements into dnd or some RPG system. I've tried Complete Warrior (dnd) style battles but have yet to find a good balance.

Likewise, I once ran an extended Warhammer campaign integrating RPG aspects to leveling/rank/equipment but it took WAY to long to be practical.

Anyone know a good SRPG system?

kjones
2009-03-09, 07:59 PM
I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Aspects from Fudge. Easy character creation, easy role-playing opportunities.

Bonecrusher Doc
2009-03-09, 08:43 PM
I would really like to find a good Strategy RPG, or a way to integrate strategic elements into dnd or some RPG system. I've tried Complete Warrior (dnd) style battles but have yet to find a good balance.
Anyone know a good SRPG system?

Have you looked at Heroes of Battle (http://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Fantasy-Roleplaying-Supplement/dp/078693686X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1236649171&sr=1-1)? (3.5) Basically, it shows how to integrate individual PC's into an epic battle setting with things like victory points. If you're looking more for your players controlling armies rather than individual characters, it might not be what you're looking for.

D Knight
2009-03-09, 08:52 PM
i and my friends enjoy the simplicty of Warhammer DH. it makes D&D look like the up tight miltiary type. but they stil need to com out with more support books.

Hat-Trick
2009-03-09, 09:37 PM
No one said anything for HEROES, yet? I swear, sometimes I think I'm the only one who plays it. Anyway, HEROES system, you can do whatever you want to do, no having to get a feat to even think about using a maneuver, you just choose to do it, and if you build the character right, you got a better chance to success. THAT, and damage is worth something. You cause 3 Body (HP) to the mook's arm, he ain't using it. Three to the head? Roll a strength roll to decapitate. Of course hitting certain areas is kind of hard, but it's more realistic that way.

Raum
2009-03-09, 09:43 PM
I would really like to find a good Strategy RPG, or a way to integrate strategic elements into dnd or some RPG system. I've tried Complete Warrior (dnd) style battles but have yet to find a good balance.D&D does have a significant element of strategy - if you want to include it. Simply put, building your character as you level is the strategic part of the game.

But I wonder, did you mean 'tactics' instead of 'strategy'? If so, some is still in D&D but it's diluted by rules abstraction and dependent on GMs for implementation. For a more streamlined RPG with tactical options I'd recommend looking at Savage Worlds. However, while Savage Worlds is potentially* more tactical than D&D it's generally less strategic.

*Games are what the players make of them. Almost any game with conflict can be made tactical if that's how the players want to play.

Bonecrusher Doc
2009-03-09, 10:08 PM
Hat-Trick - could you post a link about HEROES for us? My google-fu doesn't seem to be adequate to find out more about it, or else I'm missing what's right under my nose.

Tsotha-lanti
2009-03-10, 03:00 AM
I would really like to find a good Strategy RPG, or a way to integrate strategic elements into dnd or some RPG system. I've tried Complete Warrior (dnd) style battles but have yet to find a good balance.

Likewise, I once ran an extended Warhammer campaign integrating RPG aspects to leveling/rank/equipment but it took WAY to long to be practical.

Anyone know a good SRPG system?

Legend of Five Rings and The Riddle of Steel have good mass combat systems that work for them. Mongoose have a d20 mass combat system used in Conan and Slaine that lets you just convert D&D stats into unit stats and use them straight off - it's pretty excellent, and much more strategic/tactical, since you actually follow each unit as a counter, units can be flanked or attacked from behind, etc. Find it here (www.mongoosepublishing.com/pdf/conanmasscombat.pdf), for instance. It should be totally useable with D&D.

horseboy
2009-03-10, 03:33 AM
I love building characters in Rolemaster. The amount of detail you can put into things is just amazing.
I love how EVERYTHING in Earthdawn is a plot hook. No, really EVERYTHING. It makes running without rails crazy easy. Barsaive is a sweet setting, too.
I love the mechanics for Shadowrn (again 2nd edition). Well, aside rigging and decking. How a skilled gunman can kill you in one shot without it taking a whole lot of page flipping to do it.
I enjoy Rifts' setting. I tend to use it with Shadowrun mechanics.
I love rolling up Traveler characters. Heck rolling up the character was more fun for me than playing. The setting was fun in the day, but with it's out dated technology it makes it a pain to deal with now a days.

Jerthanis
2009-03-10, 04:38 AM
I like the exchange of tokens for slight narrative control by players in games like FATE and Serenity.

I like exchange of character resources for increased temporary versatility, such as the Psionic classes in Anima or Hero Points in Mutants and Masterminds.

I like tangible, immediate reward for putting effort into your descriptions and making the game more fun, which really is present in too many systems to name, but includes Exalted's stunt system at the very least.

I like any game that lacks purely objective moral systems and instead suggests avenues to define your character's personality through other means, such as Motivation, Nature, Allegiances and so on.

Satyr
2009-03-10, 05:30 AM
I would really like to find a good Strategy RPG, or a way to integrate strategic elements into dnd or some RPG system. I've tried Complete Warrior (dnd) style battles but have yet to find a good balance.

Recently, Gurps Mass Combat rules were published on e23. They work well with the standard Gurps rules (which are among the roleplaying rules anyway) and the Mass Combat Rules are up to the high standars of the basic game.


I love how EVERYTHING in Earthdawn is a plot hook. No, really EVERYTHING. It makes running without rails crazy easy. Barsaive is a sweet setting, too.

Earthdawn also deserves a praise for including a level and class based system into the background without handwaving it or limiting it to the metalevel while still making sense. Earthdawn characters 'know' to which class and even level they belong, and it is still plausible within the world's background.

Person_Man
2009-03-10, 11:12 AM
My favorite element from any RPG is consensus magic from Mage the Ascension. Everyone has the capacity to bend reality. But to the degree that your magic breaks with the perceptions of everyday people, it generates Paradox. Paradox accumulates and eventually destroys you. So each player has a huge amount of power and leeway on how they use it, but they have to do it within the bounds of what people think is normal. This leads to phenomenal roleplaying, from the simple (I use my Entropy ability to make his gun jam - he hasn't been taking care of it, and now his sloppiness is catching up with him) to the utterly fantastic (I hire a camera crew to follow me around, so that people think I'm just filming a movie when I throw lightning blots from my hands).

Wystrell
2009-03-19, 01:39 AM
Thanks, everyone! Now I have plenty to mess with. :smallbiggrin:

I checked out the wiki for Mage: The Ascension, and Person Man, I think you do a better job of explaining consensus magic than they do. At least, you gave better examples (the wiki in general just needs some love). I didn't get into much depth with it (because of wiki issues, as stated), but it looks like a fun system.

Risus looked like a good beer-and-pretzels game, like I think they mentioned on the page. Plenty simple, room for improvising. Although what made me even happier was that it led me to Pokethulu - what a perfect mix. Other than the obvious awesome pretense, does anyone have experience with this game?

Riddle of Steel really blew me away. Amazing narrative-driven system, finally a place where optimizing is impossible (from the looks of it). Going to the website and forum was kinda spooky - it's all ghosted. Thanks, though!

The games I've seen so far look like they use one of two methods to attack a foe - roll to-hit, then damage, or roll a bunch of dSomethings, which sort of does both at once. What other attack/damage mechanics are out there, if any?

Tsotha-lanti
2009-03-19, 02:46 AM
Riddle of Steel really blew me away. Amazing narrative-driven system, finally a place where optimizing is impossible (from the looks of it). Going to the website and forum was kinda spooky - it's all ghosted. Thanks, though!

Yeah, apparently the publishers just faded away a few years ago, leaving a bunch of pre-orders for the never-completed Sorcery and the Fey hanging. The curse of small publishers, I guess. The game's still pretty much the best I've come across.

TROS seques nicely into your next question; in TROS, you roll to hit, and your success determines the damage - you add the level of success to a base damage. This sort of solution is found in a lot of games, although many involve additional rolling (offensive, defensive, or both; the attacker may roll a number of dice determined by the attack success and base damage, or the defender may roll a number of dice determined by toughness and armor, or both). Whether a bunch of dXs is used varies, and isn't that relevant; the point is that you roll, get a level of success, and add it to a base damage value.

I guess HeroQuest (originally Hero Wars) is another example of the same basic system, sort of; contestants bid points, make opposed dice rolls, and the results determine who loses (and possibly gains) what amount of points. Injury is just a special effect of combat contests (which are mechanically identical to all other contests), where being reduced to 0 or negative-X points means you take a such-and-such penalty until healed (and, of course, are unable to act; although you can usually take a final action, which may of course end up putting you even further in negatives).

The Lord of the Rings RPG theoretically has the basic "roll to hit, roll damage" system, but against mooks - or rather, almost any NPCs whose importance to the story isn't on the level of Saruman to LotR - you don't track damage: instead, most opponents can suffer 1, 2, or 3 "hits." A higher level of success on your attack roll counts as more hits. Since the game otherwise uses a synthesis of hit points and WoD -style wound tracks, this is pretty dang useful; combat would be unmanageably slow (like, almost as slow as Rolemaster *shudder*) if you forced your PCs to actually beat the troll into the Dead level of the track, especially as trolls, being big, have extra Healthy levels. And for most of the fight, the troll would just stand there swinging and missing and taking damage because of the wound penalties it already has. The simple "1-2-3 hits" system smooths out combat in multiple ways, and allows you to focus on story but still use combat as part of it.

I liiike.

I also love the mass combat system (a bit similar to TROS, I guess, if more tactical and less abstract) and the combat usefulness of the Inspire skill in LotR - just make sure to demand that your players actually shout battle cries, promises of vengeance, and all that "ruin and a red dawn!" stuff to get the bonuses.

Sebastian
2009-03-19, 05:11 AM
Hat-Trick - could you post a link about HEROES for us? My google-fu doesn't seem to be adequate to find out more about it, or else I'm missing what's right under my nose.

I think he means HERO System http://www.herogames.com/home.htm.

I don't know if it count as another system but I love the magic item creation system of D&D 2nd edition. I think it is the best one of all those I've seen.

The already mentioned aspects of fate/SotC. I like how in it an aspect is never 100% good or bad and is always better if it is designed that way.

I like very much JAGS settings (13 colonies, have-not, Wonderland - expecially wonderland and the others). The magic system in Wonderland is one of the most interesting I've ever seen.

The stunts system in Marvel faserip, you can't have a good super RPGs without the option to improvise new powers on the fly or trying to use your powers in new and interesting ways, Yes, M&M have hero points but I think what he miss is the "trying" part. When you use a hero point you always succed, I like that in FASERIP when you improvise there is a chance to mess up things.

Incidentally, aside from D&D 2nd edition all the mentioned systems are freely available on the net. And legally too, AFAIK.

Dhavaer
2009-03-19, 05:17 AM
Hero points from Mutants & Masterminds and the damage system from Inquisitor.

Thane of Fife
2009-03-19, 06:27 AM
I rather like the Flashback rules from The Sun Never Sets (http://www.1km1kt.net/rpg/the-sun-never-sets).

Basically, your character can, at any time (so long as he isn't completely out of points), call a Flashback. He then remembers back to a previous moment of this life from out of game, or even a moment from another life (all characters have been magically reincarnated, probably many times). There may be a bit of play during the flashback, during which time other players can 'break in', and afterwords, the player gets extra dice for whatever he's doing.

It's a lovely way to make deep conspiracies and plots on the fly.

Kiero
2009-03-19, 07:43 AM
Given that the last time I played an actual D&D system (though not setting, I recently ran a Wushu/Spelljammer PbP game) was in 1996, everything I play is non-D&D.

For one-shots Wushu Open Reloaded (http://www.story-games.at/wushu/open_reloaded.pdf) is king. I've had a lot of success with pickup one-shots, going from nothing to a game in half an hour (there's a handy method, which works for any system here (http://wiki.saberpunk.net/Wushu/WushuPick-UpGames)).

FATE/SotC's Aspects are a brilliant way of giving players a lever to say what they want to happen in-game, and give the GM a means to make things happen to them too. They're player-defined and are ideally doubled-edged - they can be invoked to help the player, and compelled to hinder them. You can see the (free) SRD here (http://www.crackmonkey.org/~nick/loyhargil/fate3/fate3.html). I also quite like the basic system, where competent people are competent, and not-so-competent people aren't. None of this "5% chance of success, always" nonsense.

The Shadow of Yesterday has a similar type of mechanic in the Key. They are goals/drives the player picks, and they get XP by following the tenets of them. Or by creating a means of resolving them.

Morty
2009-03-19, 10:26 AM
I've never managed to play much except D&D, but I do like Tzeentch's Curse and associaded magic-related nastiness from 2nd edition WFRPG. Same goes for Insanity Points. The Critical Hits system also makes the combat more deadly and gritty, but also slows it down, so I'm not sure if I should put it here.

Tsotha-lanti
2009-03-19, 10:49 AM
I've never managed to play much except D&D, but I do like Tzeentch's Curse and associaded magic-related nastiness from 2nd edition WFRPG. Same goes for Insanity Points. The Critical Hits system also makes the combat more deadly and gritty, but also slows it down, so I'm not sure if I should put it here.

Compared to most other table-based damage systems, WFRP's is pretty smooth and slick (only two rolls on the attacker's part; to-hit also determines location, and if you critted you roll for the result). Tzeentch's Curse is just great: it singlehandedly "balances" magic, in that even if you decide to play a wizard, you'll be swinging a sword until you have no other option than to use magic, because you're so afraid of what might happen. And that is awesome.

On a similar note, I love the LotR RPG's magic system too. The spell-combining, spell-singing, runes, words of power, the compounded casting fatigue... it's wonderful. Magic is way more powerful than swords, and pretty darn cool all over, but there's limits.

Morty
2009-03-19, 10:56 AM
Compared to most other table-based damage systems, WFRP's is pretty smooth and slick (only two rolls on the attacker's part; to-hit also determines location, and if you critted you roll for the result). Tzeentch's Curse is just great: it singlehandedly "balances" magic, in that even if you decide to play a wizard, you'll be swinging a sword until you have no other option than to use magic, because you're so afraid of what might happen. And that is awesome.


Tzeentch's Curse gets even better with Realms of Socrery sourcebook, which includes an expanded table of its effects. Then again, an experienced GM could easily make up effects of similiar seriousness to others on the same level that aren't listed at all. I'm not really sure about the Critical Hits, but checking the tables for the effects of the crits has always seemed a bit tedious to me.

Tsotha-lanti
2009-03-19, 11:11 AM
I'm not really sure about the Critical Hits, but checking the tables for the effects of the crits has always seemed a bit tedious to me.

Yeah, it is, as a rule, a bad way to do things: requiring tables for really common things will always slow down the game. (It's why Rolemaster combat is unplayably slow, in my opinion. That, and the fact that even when my PCs have OBs in the 150s and above and keep scoring E criticals, there's too few deadly/disabling results to actually take out their enemies, and most are KO'd by hit point loss...)

However, this problem is easily solved with cheat sheets / GM screens. These days I copy all important, useful, or commonly-used tables into spreadsheets to print out and use in play, so I don't need to flip through the book. Making copies for the players is easy, too.

Wystrell
2009-03-20, 12:51 AM
I like when you land on Chance, and sometimes the card can be good OR it can be bad. That shoe just doesn't know what's coming next!

Wait, did you mean RPGs?
Thank you! I was waiting for someone to pick up on that. :smallbiggrin:

Also, has anyone looked at Play Unsafe? The description (and many of the reviews) made me want to go buy it, just wondering if any of you have read it/your thoughts.

NeoVid
2009-03-20, 01:47 AM
In Feng Shui, you can have The Man With No Name and the Terminator fighting alongside the heroes of Crouching Tiger against armies of supernatural creatures from the 1st century AD who were made into magically enhanced cyborgs in 2056. And that would be the start of the first session.

Feng Shui also says that to really be in the spirit of the game, every attack should be a stunt.


I don't know if this has changed, but when I used to play old WoD I always liked the way you could regain willpower simply by embodying your character's "nature" with your actions. It gave people a nice, concrete motivation to roleplay.

Still there, with the addition that you can get back all your WP at once- on occasion- by fulfilling your good motivations, or get one at a time whenever you can by indulging your bad side.

Kiero
2009-03-20, 06:34 AM
In Feng Shui, you can have The Man With No Name and the Terminator fighting alongside the heroes of Crouching Tiger against armies of supernatural creatures from the 1st century AD who were made into magically enhanced cyborgs in 2056. And that would be the start of the first session.

Feng Shui also says that to really be in the spirit of the game, every attack should be a stunt.

To be honest, I find Feng Shui is not only showing it's age, but it's inherent contradictions nowadays. On the one hand Laws' narrative expounds things like "the map is not your friend" and other leanings towards handwaving things, and yet the rules (taken from Nexus: the Infinite City) keep trying to pin things down and over-complicate matters.

Personally, much as I love the setting (apart from 2056), I think other systems do it more justice that it's native one.

hewhosaysfish
2009-03-21, 09:27 AM
I've recently been reading a bunch of free RPGs from 1000 Monkeys* (because I really like learning new systems. If I had more money I'd be buying silly numbers of books) and I always find myself intrigued by systems with "non-standard" stats:

-Strength, Dexterity, Toughness, Intellect, Willpower, Perception? Yawn.

-Might, Coordination, Agility, Cleverness, Personality? Blah.

-Brawn, Endurance, Speed, Wits, Awareness? Next!

-Physical, Mental, Social, Magical? Meh.

-Ka, Ib, Ba, Sheut, Ren? (The Sun Never Sets) ZOMGWTF(BBQ)?!

-Freya, Thor, Wodin, Heimdall, Tyr? (Midgard)Awesome!

-Biotech, Cognitech, Nanotech, Metatech, Stringtech? (Sufficiently Advanced) Very cool.**



One other cool thing that leaps to mind are the Rune Gifts from Midgard and the way they let you regain Wyrd points - particularly some of the more perverse and self-destructive ones.
I mean, seriously, how can you read something like
You regain Wyrd equal to your total ranks in Uruz gifts whenever you use physical might to solve a problem that would have been better solved by other means" and
"You regain Wyrd equal to your total ranks in Ansuz gifts whenever you solve a problem through negotiation that would have been better solved by other means"
and not imagine the hilarity that ensues when you have two characters in the same party who are each heavily invested into one of these Rune Gifts? (Or a single character who is heavily ivested in both :smalleek:)


* www.1km1kt.net

**Strangely, it's still cool when you realise that it's "Physical, Mental, Techincal, Social, Combat" just with more setting-appropriate names... Possibly because it also captures the idea that these are not "inherent" natural qualities of the character but the product of future-tech upgrades and thay, yes, with a high enough Stringtech score you can indeed shoot laser beams out your eyes and lightning bolts out your ass :smallbiggrin:

Flickerdart
2009-03-21, 09:43 AM
Speaking of other systems...is there anything that's good for PbP out there? I've gotten so desperate that I'm about to complete my own system, but it'll still need a lot of work and if I have a baseline comparison, it would help a lot.

SurlySeraph
2009-03-22, 01:38 AM
The magic system from Monte Cook's World of Darkness.
You can actually customize what your spell does and calculate its cost, on the fly, and it's mostly balanced. In d20. It's the magic system that should have been in the DnD PHB.

UserClone
2009-03-22, 01:39 AM
Kiero, you might want to check out Wushu Skidoo (http://www.rpg.net/columns/list-column.phtml?colname=wushuskidoo) also.

Additionally, I LOVE Donjon! It's a load off the GM to be able to surrender certain details of the story to the players, and it's also great to have a mechanic that as a player, allows me to help take the story where I want it to. I search for a secret door. With 3 successes, I can tell you that it's in the north wall of the room, behind a tapestry, and the key is in the lock. The GM takes back over from there. Brilliant, and no exceptionally high roll is ever wasted again on "you're quite sure there are no secret doors." :smallannoyed:

Also, I like the initiative system as well.

Kiero
2009-03-22, 03:21 AM
Kiero, you might want to check out Wushu Skidoo (http://www.rpg.net/columns/list-column.phtml?colname=wushuskidoo) also.

Uh, you do know RPGnet is my native site, right? :smalltongue:

RebelRogue
2009-03-22, 07:20 AM
I rather like the Flashback rules from The Sun Never Sets (http://www.1km1kt.net/rpg/the-sun-never-sets).

Basically, your character can, at any time (so long as he isn't completely out of points), call a Flashback. He then remembers back to a previous moment of this life from out of game, or even a moment from another life (all characters have been magically reincarnated, probably many times). There may be a bit of play during the flashback, during which time other players can 'break in', and afterwords, the player gets extra dice for whatever he's doing.

It's a lovely way to make deep conspiracies and plots on the fly.
I've taken a look at this, and it looks like it could be pretty fun (if you're playing with players that aren't jerks, but that's true for any game). Has anybody around here ever tried running this? The mechanics seem simple, yet sound, at least at first glance.

UserClone
2009-03-22, 09:38 AM
Hm, you know I had downloaded that game for a reason, and now I remember why! That rule is friggin' sweet!

Irreverent Fool
2009-03-22, 10:31 AM
I like the hit location, damage, and system shock mechanics in Cyberpunk 2020 (2nd ed. I think). Even a shot to the arm has the potential to knock someone out of combat.