A Connoisseur's RPG List?

[Mr. Mask]

If there was a list of RPGs a connoisseur, expert, or RPG enthusiast must play, what games would be on it? Classics like DnD are give ins if they haven't been tried already. You'll also have your GURPS and Burning Wheel, most likely. But there'll be a lot more obscure, interesting RPGs that are easily overlooked, which may be critical for getting a broad view of tabletop RPGs.

What RPGs do you feel would be on this list, and why? I might actually construct a list in the OP, if this gets interest.

[2D8HP]

(King Arthur) Pendragon by Greg Stafford

[the OOD]

Dungeons The Dragoning - awesomeness beyond the bounds of sanity and reason. all the books are free online, and are a pleasure to read. this is also the system I like use when introducing someone to RPGs. seriously, give it a read.
expendables style mash-up of Exalted, WH40k, ME, Spelljammer, star trek, world of darkness, d&d, and much more, set in a planescape-based cosmology, with one of the best rulesets I have had the honor to behold.

I was all set to make fun of it, but everything I've read so far makes WotC look like a bunch of incompetent ten year olds publishing an RPG by contrast.
a few links:
tvtropes: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/TabletopGame/DungeonsTheDragoning
GiantitP from when the game was released: http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?193525-Dungeons-The-Dragoning
download: http://lawfulnice.blogspot.com/






Dead Stars - Universal Decay - is an incredibly internaly consistent, mechanics-heavy options-rich d20 RPG. this game is everything that 3.5's mechanics wish they could be.

[Tyrrell]

Pendragon does get a lot of love

Call of Cthuhlu is another one that the people who talk about such things seem to like

My favorite game Ars Magica is well loved and it is its own unique thing for five editions it should be on the list.

But those three are all well known enough that the "If other people know about it then I can't be cool for liking it" thing doesn't kick in.

White wolf's mid 1990's Streetfighter game is one that is rare and has a knowingly ironic but still game mechanics stuffy appeal.

FFG's Grimm is I think respected and rare

Riddle of Steel

(I realize that none of these are truly obscure but the truly obscure can't really ever be classics)

[JustIgnoreMe]

Empire of the Petal Throne (or Tekumel).

Nobilis (2nd Edition for preference).

Bunnies & Burrows (original, but GURPS version is acceptable).

Tales of Gargenthir.

Continuum (and, if you can find it, the sister-game, Narcisist).

Puppetland (any edition).

Valley of Eternity, the one where you play tragic noble outcast penguins defending your people from the evils of the Glacier.

Maelstrom (early British rpg written by a teenager and produced by Puffin, an imprint of a major book publisher).

SLA Industries.

[Firest Kathon]

Das Schwarze Auge (The Dark Eye) is widely known in Germany (and I guess also in other German-speaking areas).

[nedz]

Paranoia - needs no comment

Runequest - I should have played this more

WHRP - Gritty and much better than it's more famous cousin

[grimsly]

Simply for interesting mechanics, Fate, FFG Star Wars and original Deadlands deserve a look. For the discerning connoisseur, may I suggest Nights of the Crusade?

[Grinner]

Unknown Armies 3rd Edition has some neat stuff going for it in the character creation rules.

Edit: Seconding Nobilis. Second edition has better fluff, I think, but third edition has better mechanics.

[RazorChain]

Cyberpunk 2020: for that gritty dystopian future

Shadowrun: Cyberpunks fantasy brother

WoD: Vampire, Werewolf, Mage; if you've played one you've played them all!

Toon: just for a zany laughs

Fighting Fantasy with the Titan world book

TWERPS: because sometimes less is more

Traveller: For some of that space fun!

Rolemaster: because checking tables is FUN!

[Fungi]

A Wanderer's Romance is a rather interesting and elegant (and free) wuxia system. It seems appropriate as it is kind of artistic and esoteric.

[kyoryu]

Apocalypse World

The Fantasy Trip

[Knaight]

Microscope - There's a fair few story games that warrant particular attention, but this one likely deserves it the most.

Shock: Social Science Fiction - It's a bit obscure, but it's well known in the circles it's from, and it is very good at achieving its rather odd design goals.

ORE - Which ORE game isn't super important, but the ORE engine should probably make an appearance.

Fate - I'm actually not a fan of Fate, but it's big enough that it should probably make any list that even pretends to be thorough.

[Mutazoia]

Just a few of my favorite things (excluding a few already mentioned)


Star Wars D6
Top Secret S.I.
DC Heroes
Amber Diceless
Teenagers From Outer Space
Twilight 2000
Star Frontiers
TSR's Marvel Superheroes

[Lacco]

Oh, this is the first time someone beat me in saying: Riddle of Steel.

Why? To know how a good combat system should look like :smallbiggrin: and for the small diamonds of ideas you find over there.

Toon. For all the crazy ideas.

Cthulhu Dark. To really know the dread.

And if you want to be extremely obscure, Genesis Excogitatus :smallbiggrin:. It's one of the most unbalanced, full of strange and crazy ideas, but it's lots of fun to play. And it's free. But it's only in Czech language :smallbiggrin:

I also add my votes to Twilight 2000, for the post-apocalypse feelings, Shadowrun and Fate for the quick&easy and still crunchy feeling.

[CharonsHelper]

For an interesting world (the OOC mechanics are okay - though the combat is WAY too swingy) read over Cthulhutech. If the GM is willing to put in some work it can make for an interesting investigation style game.

Just don't have more than 1-2 fights as the combat is clunky and one unlucky round and you're bleeding out on the ground. (This wouldn't be so bad, but the system THINKS that it has a solid combat system.)

[Mutazoia]

For an interesting world (the OOC mechanics are okay - though the combat is WAY too swingy) read over Cthulhutech. If the GM is willing to put in some work it can make for an interesting investigation style game.

Just don't have more than 1-2 fights as the combat is clunky and one unlucky round and you're bleeding out on the ground. (This wouldn't be so bad, but the system THINKS that it has a solid combat system.)

If Cthulhutech is anything like Call of Cthulhu, combat is the LAST thing you want to engage in anyway.

[Democratus]

Fading Suns: Claw of the Conciliator meets Dune, with a little 40k thrown in for good measure.

[CharonsHelper]

If Cthulhutech is anything like Call of Cthulhu, combat is the LAST thing you want to engage in anyway.

Not really - it's set up so that it seems an appealing option. Heck; you can pilot mecha to fight the outsider abominations. Interesting fluff for them. Poor mechanics.

[Knaight]

If Cthulhutech is anything like Call of Cthulhu, combat is the LAST thing you want to engage in anyway.

It's not anything like Call of Cthulhu, not even slightly. It's also a mess with some stuff that is less eldritch horror and more just screwed up, and I would advise against putting it on the list.

[CharonsHelper]

It's not anything like Call of Cthulhu, not even slightly. It's also a mess with some stuff that is less eldritch horror and more just screwed up, and I would advise against putting it on the list.

I'm totally with you that it's something of a mess. I suggested it because it's interesting - not because it's good.

I feel the same way about some books & TV shows which I didn't really enjoy per say, but they were interesting. It comes at things from an interesting angle, and some of the fluff is cool, but I wouldn't want to play it again either.

[Amphetryon]

Tales of the Floating Vagabond
Burning Wheel's cousin, Mouseguard

[Florian]

What RPGs do you feel would be on this list, and why? I might actually construct a list in the OP, if this gets interest.

You fail to say that the rules of the RPG have a meaningful impact on what happens in-game and how this can alter the flow and feeling of the game itself, making one rethink what the game itself is about and what player agency means.

I think everyone should have experienced the following games and have the personal horizon broadened by that experience:
- Ars Magicka
- Pendragon
- Legend of Five Rings
- Riddle of Steel
- Lady Blackbird
- Ryuutama

[kyoryu]

I'd also recommend Amber Diceless, as it gives you an idea of how much can be accomplished simply by fictional positioning.

[Florian]

Das Schwarze Auge (The Dark Eye) is widely known in Germany (and I guess also in other German-speaking areas).

Seriously? The difference between playing DSA and experiencing some waterboarding is only marginally different. Why do you propose this?

[Max_Killjoy]

I know it's not "high concept" the way some of these games are, but I think that anyone who wants to get serious about the design side of gaming should be familiar with HERO both for what it does right and what it gets wrong.

[veti]

I know it's not "high concept" the way some of these games are, but I think that anyone who wants to get serious about the design side of gaming should be familiar with HERO both for what it does right and what it gets wrong.

Yep, I was just about to mention Champions, on a "look, this is how you do point buy, anything less is half-... baked" basis.

Also Toon.

But the only one I think is absolutely essential grounding for everyone - is Munchkin (http://www.worldofmunchkin.com/game/).

[JellyPooga]

The One Ring - For sheer elegance of play and accurate portrayal of one of the most iconic modern fantasy settings, this has to rate highly on any connoisseurs list.

Earthdawn (any edition) - Despite having truly arcane rules (in every sense of the word), this belongs up there for having such a beautifully crafted world.

Cyberpunk 2020 - It ain't the rules that make this game, it's all about the cool :smallcool:

[Knaight]

Yep, I was just about to mention Champions, on a "look, this is how you do point buy, anything less is half-... baked" basis.

I wouldn't say that anything else is half baked, so much as Champions is what it looks like when your design goals aim for a very thorough, very abstract powers based system, and noticeably don't include getting character creation speed to anything like a reasonable level. HERO belongs on this list for sure, but there are plenty of other point buy games that do point buy just as well, but for different design goals.