help me find a system please

[clockwork warrior]

i have been lurking here for a long time, reading a lot of threads and such. anyways, im looking for a system for a high fantasy game i have been planning for quite a long time.

im usually a 3.5 dnd player, with a few other rpgs under my belt, but as i image my campaign in my head dnd just doesn't fit the bill. i have never had a problem with it before, but i just dont think a class/level system will work for me.

a friend of mine got me to look into heroes 6th ed, which i really like *but* as any one who knows anything about it, its complicated. im sure if you play it for a while it gets easier, but i dont want to deal with that learning curve.

from reading these forums i have also looked at mutants and masterminds 3rd, and it seems good except that i dont get the impression that it handles lower powered fantasy very well.

if anyone can give some advice, recommend systems or maybe tell me more about fantasy mutants that would help.

for reference, i want a point buy game because i dont like the idea of having to wait x levels just for the one little ability you want your character to have. and i want characters to be a mix of martial and magical

[Engine]

Savage Worlds from Pinnacle: it's point buy, it's skill based, you could mix abilities as you prefer and it's really simple.

Here (http://www.peginc.com/downloads.html) you could find the test rules.

[clockwork warrior]

after taking a look i like the feel of savage world. the only thing keeping me from jumping all over it is the magic system, not sure how i feel about that...

[Xefas]

Take a look at Burning Wheel (http://www.burningwheel.org/). They have the core of the system for free on their site, here (http://www.burningwheel.org/pdf/BWG_Preview.zip). The core itself is a pretty awesome game. However, if you're intrigued, buying the actual core book will get you even more awesomeness.

The definitive "There will never be another supplement or edition because this is the absolute best with no bugs, annoyances, or imbalances that it is possible for this system to be" edition, entitled "Burning Wheel Gold" is coming out soon (I believe pre-orders have already started). So, a good time to get into it.

[Talakeal]

The definitive "There will never be another supplement or edition because this is the absolute best with no bugs, annoyances, or imbalances that it is possible for this system to be" edition, entitled "Burning Wheel Gold" is coming out soon (I believe pre-orders have already started). So, a good time to get into it.

Isn't that what Gygax said about the first ed DMG?

[Xefas]

Isn't that what Gygax said about the first ed DMG?
Maybe. But, Luke Crane has yet to let me down.

[mathemagician]

I am extremely excited for Burning Wheel Gold (BWG)...

It's also an RPG that's pretty easy on the wallet.... BWG's retail for the hardcover, 600 page book of everything you need to play is only $25. As posted, the basic rules are free. It's really a delightful system that you should check out :)

It is currently in pre-order phase right now, it will be released in August.

[Totally Guy]

I love Burning Wheel and can't wait to get my hands on Burning Wheel Gold but I must ask, what is the image you have in mind for your campaign that D&D doesn't do?

Is it genre? Is it emphasis on doing things that don't work well in D&D? Is it the nature of zero to hero advancement?

Without these kinds of clues we're just shooting in the dark.

[clockwork warrior]

i want a game where the players can come up with a character idea, and build it themselves, not have to take a class and twist it up to make a thing close to the idea that is almost what they want.

case in point: i was chatting with my friend


me: i would like to play a game as a caster, a sorcerer. one who focuses on lightning

friend: why?

me: cause i like lightning, i think it would be fun to play

friend: true. so you want the lightningbolt spell and stuff right?

me: heck yeah

friend: well that works. what level is the game your playing in?

me: dunno, i think its just gonna start at 1

friend: so... no lightning bolt for you... for a long time

me: *flipping through spells* i dont want this stuff, just electric death

friend: well, if you take feat x and class variation y you can do that.

me: thats wasting all of my options, just cause i want my spells to kill with a zap?

friend:... basicly. ask to homebrew something.

me: i have nothing against homebrewing, but at a certain point you have to ask yourself why your still playing a game that you have to edit to the point that its hardly itself?

friend: then find a new game?

[Knaight]

Depending on what you want for the character concepts, a few games might work. Most notably:

GURPS: This can accommodate pretty much anything, from the mundane people of any era, to the outright magical. It is similar to HERO, but far simpler.

Burning Wheel: This is limited to low fantasy, with limited magic, but within those conditions one can make whatever one wants, and the game will work beautifully.

Fudge: A free and fairly simple game, that requires some home brew by nature, but is extremely easy to make stuff for. That said, the same is needed of HERO, and Fudge is practically rules free in comparison.

Anima Prime: A game made for Shonen anime, that nonetheless does high fantasy extremely well. Like Fudge, this is free.

[Xefas]

Burning Wheel: This is limited to low fantasy, with limited magic, but within those conditions one can make whatever one wants, and the game will work beautifully.

Most notable, making a spellcaster that shoots lightning right out of character creation is trivially easy and obvious to make. You just take lifepaths with the Sorcery skill (like, say, Sorcerer), and then make some White spells with an Impetus to Destroy.

Edit: And when I say "make" the spells, there is an in-game system, I don't mean "homebrew".

[kyoryu]

GURPS: This can accommodate pretty much anything, from the mundane people of any era, to the outright magical. It is similar to HERO, but far simpler.


GURPS does low-powered fantasy *very* well. It's one of the system's stronger points. (Which makes sense, as it developed from Man to Man).

[dariathalon]

If you do decide to look at GURPS more closely, I would recommend building character abilities as powers instead of going with their more traditional spell-casting system. Since it sounds like you are more concerned with characters having exactly the powers they want without having to jump through a lot of hoops, powers are an easier way to accomplish this.

[Kiero]

Fudge: A free and fairly simple game, that requires some home brew by nature, but is extremely easy to make stuff for. That said, the same is needed of HERO, and Fudge is practically rules free in comparison.


Uh, aren't the free versions of Fudge little better than a collection of tools from which you could build your own game, rather than an actual, complete game in its own right?

[Knaight]

Uh, aren't the free versions of Fudge little better than a collection of tools from which you could build your own game, rather than an actual, complete game in its own right?

Kind of. Its the IKEA of RPGs, the pieces are there and you can fit them together in different ways, or make new ones and use them instead. Its more work than just buying made furniture, but by no means is it anywhere close to making every part and attaching them. Pick or make an attribute list. Pick or make a skill list. Pick or make a character generation system. Pick or make subsystems as needed. Done, and you could have avoided making anything this entire time. HERO is the same way, and it takes much longer to do anything of note.