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ZamielVanWeber
2017-09-25, 04:01 PM
I am in the habit of acquiring various RPG systems and my friend offered to get me one as a gift, so I was wondering if people had suggestions. I need the system to be available in book form, not strictly as a PDF. Thank you!

DataNinja
2017-09-25, 05:33 PM
Disclaimer: I have never actually played it with a group, so I can't actually attest to any of that, but - even if you don't play it - Alternity is a pretty nifty system. It's got some really cool setting books, too - my particular favorite is Star*Drive.

Edit: It is long out of print, though, so you'd need to pick it up secondhand.

JAL_1138
2017-09-25, 07:12 PM
Which ones do you already have? A list would help people avoid filling the thread with systems you've already got.

Knaight
2017-09-25, 07:29 PM
If I had to make just one suggestion, it would be Warbirds. It's essentially a pulp game about flying aces in the Carribean, except for the Carribean is a bunch of flying islands around the eye of a gas giant. The mechanics are solid and non-intrusive, the setting is actually really good and surprisingly capable of covering a wide variety of games, and the "Go Gonzo" chapter is a beauty to behold.

ZamielVanWeber
2017-09-25, 08:27 PM
Which ones do you already have? A list would help people avoid filling the thread with systems you've already got.

Fair enough. Just running down my not 3.5 DND or WW shelf:
Shadowrun
All Flesh Must Be Eaten
Deliria
Rifts
In Nomine
Unknown Armies
Deadlands
L5R
Nephilim
Continuum
Call of Cthulhu
Mekton Zeta
GURPS 4th Ed
D20 Modern/Future
Dark Heresy
Black Crusade
Eclipse Phase
Mouseguard

JNAProductions
2017-09-25, 08:41 PM
Engine Heart? Engine Heart.

ZamielVanWeber
2017-09-25, 08:48 PM
Engine Heart sounds amazing. I love robots and playing as robots.

JNAProductions
2017-09-25, 08:51 PM
Engine Heart sounds amazing. I love robots and playing as robots.

It's free too! We should play a game on these forums!

ZamielVanWeber
2017-09-25, 09:00 PM
It's free too! We should play a game on these forums!
I will need to find a PDF and a hard copy for later.
I added Mouseguard. I forgot I just bought it.

Fri
2017-09-25, 09:06 PM
Ryuutama?

Ryuutama!

Also, before anyone mention it, not sure if this is that obscure, but Chuubo: Marvelous Wish Granting Engine

JAL_1138
2017-09-25, 09:17 PM
Thanks for posting the list!

Savage Worlds is definitely one to check out, if the Deadlands version you're using isn't already the SW version. They have a Rifts conversion among other things, and are the main system for Deadlands now (if you're using the older version of Deadlands; also SW is sort of derived from the old version of Deadlands), and it supports a ton of genres and settings from fantasy to noir to sci-fi. The core rules are enough to homebrew something with as well, and easily moddable into just about anything. Also, fairly inexpensive.

Numenera is another interesting one, if just for the setting if nothing else. From a read-through it's a little wonky mechanically (because Monte Cook, but at least no god-wizards), but the setting is pretty cool.

ZamielVanWeber
2017-09-25, 09:25 PM
I have the first edition of Deadlands. Got a lucky break at a local comics shop. Any suggestions that are good for mecha or robots?

Fri
2017-09-25, 09:50 PM
I know the best anime-based mecha game that's quite obscure. By that I mean, it's obvious that the author actually enjoyed mecha series and know about it, and not just watched evangelion or TTGL and declared that he knows all about mecha.

The system is quite interesting as well. It's basically meant to be played as episodic game, where each session is an episode in tv series. It's both rather rules light but combat heavy, if that makes sense.

I think one of the reason why it's so obscure is the super generic title :smallbiggrin:

It's titled Chris Perrin's Mecha (or actually just mecha, I put Chris Perrin's there so you COULD actually search for it).

JAL_1138
2017-09-25, 09:59 PM
I have the first edition of Deadlands. Got a lucky break at a local comics shop. Any suggestions that are good for mecha or robots?

Savage Worlds would be easy to homebrew it for and I think there are mecha rules in the Science Fiction supplement for it. (And of course Rifts has Glitterboys).


Battletech has an RPG in addition to the wargames, called either MechWarrior, Classic Battletech RPG, or A Time of War, depending on edition and who was publishing at the time. I've never played any of those, nor have I played the wargame or read the books, so I dunno if it's good, bad, or ugly.

ZamielVanWeber
2017-09-25, 10:23 PM
My friend just got me the new Palladium Robotech RPG as a house warming gift. The collection grows! Is Fate any good? I found a new edition cheap at the local shop but being encouraged to buy new dice for it made me feel meh.

Fri
2017-09-25, 11:17 PM
It's good, there's a reason it's the "default" rules light game now (though there's also the tiredness on how it's recommended for anything, similar to how everyone default to DnD for fantasy game, but it's not either game's fault).

Also, you can get the book for free. It's "pay what you want." for the digital version. You could get it, see if you like it, and buy it if you like it.

You can play it with a four normal d6, it's not like FFG star wars where the weird dice is really inherent on the system. Fudge dice is just normal d6 with two face as 0, two face as +1, and two face as -1 Just designate which two faces are 0, 1, and -1 (if you don't want to actually mark your dice) and you're good.

ZamielVanWeber
2017-09-25, 11:38 PM
The PDF is cool to know TY. I will check out my local store again for it. Does anyone know anything about Remnants?

Raine_Sage
2017-09-25, 11:47 PM
I have no idea if this is still in print but Wield! is a game where you play AS the magic item. Ever wanted to be the one ring? Well now you can! You get some disposable adventurers to puppet about to try and fulfill your magic item agenda either subtly or not so subtly.

meschlum
2017-09-26, 02:22 AM
Mecha-wise, you might look at Jovian Chronicles.

I'm fond of Reve, the Dream Onieros - the core conceit is that everything, including the characters, is being dreamed by dragons. So as you travel, you come closer to your archetype - the version of yourself that the dragons have dreamed about before (and will later). Magic works by getting closer to the dragon's awareness, with risks, since waking them up means they're not dreaming anymore... The consequences of previous awakenings are that rifts exist between dreams, allowing travel between worlds with different contents and genres. Neat magic, resolution, and advancement systems, clunky early RPG mechanics.

Pyle1105
2017-09-26, 03:05 AM
i think a good idea moviesonline.ac

Mutazoia
2017-09-26, 03:23 AM
Teenagers from Outer Space
Star Frontiers
Aliens RPG (based on the movie)
Deadlands
Ironclaw
Albedo
Ringworld
Dune
Iron Heroes


Just a few off the top of me 'ed

Pugwampy
2017-09-26, 03:25 AM
I think you would love to play Dragonstrike .

ZamielVanWeber
2017-09-26, 04:41 AM
I think you would love to play Dragonstrike .

Any particular reason?

Anonymouswizard
2017-09-26, 05:17 AM
Also, you can get the book for free. It's "pay what you want." for the digital version. You could get it, see if you like it, and buy it if you like it.

You can play it with a four normal d6, it's not like FFG star wars where the weird dice is really inherent on the system. Fudge dice is just normal d6 with two face as 0, two face as +1, and two face as -1 Just designate which two faces are 0, 1, and -1 (if you don't want to actually mark your dice) and you're good.

Yeah, my general rule with Fate stuff is 'get the pdf for free, read it, then buy the physical version if I like it).

Yeah, Fudge/Fate dice are just (d3-2)s. The official ones are fairly good quality, but there's no reason to get them and you don't need a chart if you don't. I think the best recommendation for marking ds I've seen were to make four and five +s, two and three -s, and one and six blanks.

ZamielVanWeber
2017-09-26, 06:29 AM
Going through the Fate PDF now and feeling ambivalent. What little I saw of Chuubo's made me quite excited though, once I can afford. Going over those mecha suggestions. I grew up on mecha anime and I think that love has never waned.

tensai_oni
2017-09-26, 07:22 AM
Don't Rest Your Head - if you like supernatural horror, this system is great at simulating a slow but inevitable descent into desperation and madness.

Also makes for a good Madoka RPG with minimal houseruling.

If you like giant robots, I second (Chris Perrin's) Mecha.

ZamielVanWeber
2017-09-26, 08:19 AM
Don't Rest Your Head - if you like supernatural horror, this system is great at simulating a slow but inevitable descent into desperation and madness.

I remember reading about this. Thanks for the reminder. Also I picked up Chuubo's on my Kindle App. A lot uglier than be book but a lot cheaper too. Very different RPG system I must say.

Max_Killjoy
2017-09-26, 08:41 AM
Planet Mercenary.


https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/howardtayler/the-planet-mercenary-role-playing-game/description (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/howardtayler/the-planet-mercenary-role-playing-game/description)
https://planet-mercenary-rpg.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders (https://planet-mercenary-rpg.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders)
http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?525411-The-Planet-Mercenary-RPG-quot-Schlock-Mercenary-The-Roleplaying-Game-quot (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?525411-The-Planet-Mercenary-RPG-quot-Schlock-Mercenary-The-Roleplaying-Game-quot)
https://www.reddit.com/r/PlanetMercenaryRPG/ (https://www.reddit.com/r/PlanetMercenaryRPG/)
http://www.schlockmercenary.com/ (http://www.schlockmercenary.com/)
http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/209884/Planet-Mercenary-RPG (http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/209884/Planet-Mercenary-RPG)

Knaight
2017-09-26, 09:35 AM
I have the first edition of Deadlands. Got a lucky break at a local comics shop. Any suggestions that are good for mecha or robots?

Aside from Engine Hearts, there's always Remnants and Mecha Aces.

ZamielVanWeber
2017-09-26, 09:51 AM
With Remnants and Warbirds mentioned can anyone give me a quick spiel on the Rapidfire System? The pitch for it reminds me eerily of what Framewerk called itself and that makes me nervous.

Knaight
2017-09-26, 11:16 AM
With Remnants and Warbirds mentioned can anyone give me a quick spiel on the Rapidfire System? The pitch for it reminds me eerily of what Framewerk called itself and that makes me nervous.

It's a straightforward roll and add system using 1d6+X, with some opposed rolls. Framewerk meanwhile has a weird and unnecessarily convoluted core system, while also having the albatross that is Cthulhutech around its neck.

ZamielVanWeber
2017-09-26, 11:18 AM
Cool, thank you.

Airk
2017-09-26, 11:54 AM
The list is endless. (And wouldn't even include a lot of the games people have put in here. I didn't like Engine Heart at all.) All of these are available on DTRPG:

Beat to Quarters - Roleplaying in the British Navy of the Napoleonic age.
Epyllion - My Little Dragon, Friendship is Magic, powered by the Apocalypse Engine.
Forthright Open Roleplay - A "generic system" with an interesting new take on modeling characters (Combat, social and professional specializations.)
Golden Sky Stories - Feel good RPG about Japanese animal spirits helping people in a small town.
InSpectres - Ghostbusters meets The Office by way of a 'roll for narrative control' system.
MASHed - Play members of a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital in the Korean war. PbtA.
Masks - Phenomenal take on young superheroes where your 'attributes' are your mental picture of yourself (Are you a Savior or a Danger?). PbtA.
Motobushido - The Motorcycle-Samurai RPG. 'nuff said.
Puppetland - A more-or-less statless RPG about puppets in a nightmare puppet kingdom. Creepy as heck.
Ryuutama - Pastoral fantasy journeys with everyday folks. Sometimes summarized as "Hayao Miyazaki's Oregon Trail"
Tenra Bansho Zero - Over the top Japanese-style shonen action with drama and karma.
The Warren - Watership Down, powered by the Apocalypse.
World of Dew - "Chanbara" movie styled RP in Tokugawa Japan.

ZamielVanWeber
2017-09-26, 12:04 PM
As a reminder I am really looking for things I can get in physical book form, not PDF form. I am a bibliophile and in addition to wanting cool and different RPGs, also want a bookshelf full of cool and different RPGS.

BWR
2017-09-26, 12:17 PM
Since the thread has a ton of not so obscure stuff:

Nobilis - the edition I have (2nd, I believe) is almost coffee-table book sized and worth the price for the flavor text alone, never mind the awesome game.

The Dying Earth - roleplay in Jack Vance's most famous creation

Engel - The German version if you can find it, the English version with a crappy d20 port is probably easier. Its bestiary, "Creatures of the Dreamseed" is the best monster manual I have come across, and that's from someone who refuses to acknowledge anything as superior to the old BECMI Creature Catalog.

Kult - it's what World of Darkness wanted to be but didn't have the testicles/ovaries for

The Everlasting - WoD 2.0, with extra races, because the world wasn't crowded enough already

Tribe 8 - demonic invasions in a post-apocalyptic world, while fighting against religious masters.

And for the very obscure:

Dreamtime - aboriginal Australian roleplaying. A thin little wafer of a booklet with almost nothing in it, but it's the only RPG book on that particular subject I've come across

ImNotTrevor
2017-09-26, 12:52 PM
apocalypse world has a physical book, as does Dungeon World.

Blades in the Dark is boatloads of fun. Play as a gang of scoundrels in a city that hates you. Run heists, commit murder, run drugs, smuggle artifacts, oppose the natural order. Very fun!

rooster707
2017-09-26, 12:54 PM
Seconding Masks. Not sure how obscure it is, since it seems to be getting pretty popular here (I liked it before it was cool, dammit! :smalltongue:). Still a ton of fun, though, and super easy to learn.

Airk
2017-09-26, 02:16 PM
As a reminder I am really looking for things I can get in physical book form, not PDF form. I am a bibliophile and in addition to wanting cool and different RPGs, also want a bookshelf full of cool and different RPGS.

As a reminder, all of those except for Forthright are available in physical book form if you are prepared to type "<game name> rpg" into google. :) I have most of them in physical copy myself.

ZamielVanWeber
2017-09-26, 02:51 PM
As a reminder, all of those except for Forthright are available in physical book form if you are prepared to type "<game name> rpg" into google. :) I have most of them in physical copy myself.

I used the links you provided and DTRPG did not have books. Mah b and thanks for the suggestions.

Lord Torath
2017-09-26, 03:01 PM
As a reminder I am really looking for things I can get in physical book form, not PDF form. I am a bibliophile and in addition to wanting cool and different RPGs, also want a bookshelf full of cool and different RPGS.Is the bibliophile willing to make his/her/their own books? See the stickied threads under The Workshop subforum at Dragonsfoot (http://www.dragonsfoot.org/forums/). DIY Guide to Binding PDFs (http://www.dragonsfoot.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=36713) and DIY Guide to making a Hardback Rule Book (http://www.dragonsfoot.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=27992) :smallsmile:

Airk
2017-09-26, 03:04 PM
I used the links you provided and DTRPG did not have books. Mah b and thanks for the suggestions.

Now I'm just confused because I didn't provide any links.

DTRPG is usually the place I go to try stuff out. I'd rather spend $10 on a PDF than $40 on a book if I don't know if I'm going to like the game. Once I like it, I buy books.

ZamielVanWeber
2017-09-26, 03:17 PM
Now I'm just confused because I didn't provide any links.

DTRPG is usually the place I go to try stuff out. I'd rather spend $10 on a PDF than $40 on a book if I don't know if I'm going to like the game. Once I like it, I buy books.

You can tell Zamiel has slept 20 minutes in the last 24 hours. I looked up a selection of those system on DTRPG and they specifically did not have it. I got lucky and found Chuubo's on kindle for 9.99$ so I can look at it more deeply before committing to the 45$ book.

Max_Killjoy
2017-09-26, 04:29 PM
Engine Heart? Engine Heart.


Engine Heart sounds amazing. I love robots and playing as robots.

It looks interesting, I've downloaded it for further study.

Psikerlord
2017-09-26, 07:47 PM
*Sheepishly glances at own signature block*

2D8HP
2017-09-26, 08:13 PM
Basic Roleplaying by Chaosium (https://www.chaosium.com/basic-roleplaying/) is a huge family of games that grew from RuneQuest, one of the games that's already been mentioned in this thread is:

Ringworld.

the most divergent BRP based game (and my favorite) is:

Pendragon.

Some other non BRP games I'm found of are:

Castle Falkenstein,

Space 1889,

and

Empire of the Petal Throne

Friv
2017-09-26, 08:23 PM
Other people already touched on Chuubo's, so I'll go the other route - do you like heists?

Do you like quick and easy one-shots?

Go and check out One Last Job (http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/126913/One-Last-Job). It's a one-shot system in which character creation happens over the course of play, as you put together a gang of professionals out to do the titualar one last job.

*EDIT* Wait, no, it only exists as a PDF, rather than in printed form. Curses.

Airk
2017-09-27, 08:41 AM
You can tell Zamiel has slept 20 minutes in the last 24 hours. I looked up a selection of those system on DTRPG and they specifically did not have it. I got lucky and found Chuubo's on kindle for 9.99$ so I can look at it more deeply before committing to the 45$ book.

wait what? didn't have it AT ALL? All of those titles were rummaged up by my looking at my DTRPG library, and as far as I know, they're all still available via that route. In fact, I just checked, and every single one of them comes up by typing its name into the search bar?

Or did you mean "Didn't have physical books?" but if that's your complaint, why are you happy about getting Chuubo's in eBook?

If you want most of this stuff in Real Physical Book form, usually your best bet is IndiePressRevolution (http://www.indiepressrevolution.com) because you're not gonna find these on Amazon, most likely.

Magic Myrmidon
2017-09-27, 12:42 PM
There's Microscope and Kingdom, both from the same writer. I guess some people categorize them more as "story games" than RPGs, though.

My wife played a game called Desolation. It's a fantasy post apocalypse game. I don't think the group was enamored with the rules, but they liked the setting.

My personal favorite (or at least it used to be) is Legend from Rule of Cool. No physical book for that one though.

Knaight
2017-09-27, 01:26 PM
There's Microscope and Kingdom, both from the same writer. I guess some people categorize them more as "story games" than RPGs, though.

I'd call them RPGs, and while I haven't played Kingdom I can say that Microscope is a personal favorite. It's also relatively cheap in hard copy.

UrielAwakened
2017-09-27, 01:27 PM
I think just suggesting RPG systems without knowing what you want them to do is kinda futile.

What exactly are you looking for? Something different from D&D? Something that does what D&D does but differently and in some ways better? Something narrative driven, combat driven, or character driven?

Airk
2017-09-27, 01:29 PM
I'd call them RPGs, and while I haven't played Kingdom I can say that Microscope is a personal favorite. It's also relatively cheap in hard copy.

Also Follow by the same developer. (Ben Robbins)

ZamielVanWeber
2017-09-27, 03:09 PM
I think just suggesting RPG systems without knowing what you want them to do is kinda futile.
1) Play them. 2) Put them on my bookshelf. That is it. Less well known ones look better than more well known ones.


What exactly are you looking for? Something different from D&D? Something that does what D&D does but differently and in some ways better? Something narrative driven, combat driven, or character driven?
All of it. I am not picky here.

2D8HP
2017-09-27, 05:25 PM
FGU made a bunch "back in the day", some are:

Aftermath,

Bushido,

Chivalry & Sorcery,

and

Flashing Blades.

ZamielVanWeber
2017-09-27, 05:51 PM
FGU has quite a catalog. I will need to investigate.

2D8HP
2017-09-27, 06:32 PM
FGU has quite a catalog. I will need to investigate.


Yes they did/do. Even though it was printed in the '80's I was still able to get Flashing Blades, and a cool adventure for it last year.


If I had to make just one suggestion, it would be Warbirds...


A second for this, Warbirds really does have a strange and exciting setting.


Besides the old games that I mentioned previously (get Pendragon now!), speaking of games that I bought more recently, rules alone don't interest me enough to buy a RPG, what gets me to open my wallet is usually adventures, and, settings. .
What first got me hooked on RPG's was:
100 years ago the sorcerer Zenopus built a tower on the low hills overlooking Portown. The tower was close to the sea cliffs west of the town and, appropriately, next door to the graveyard.
Rumor has it that the magician made extensive cellars and tunnels underneath the tower. The town is located on the ruins of a much older city of doubtful history and Zenopus was said to excavate in his cellars in search of ancient treasures.

Fifty years ago, on a cold wintry night, the wizard's tower was suddenly engulfed in green flame. Several of his human servants escaped the holocaust, saying their rnaster had been destroyed by some powerful force he had unleashed in the depths of the tower.
Needless to say the tower stood vacant fora while afterthis, but then the neighbors and the night watchmen comploined that ghostly blue lights appeared in the windows at night, that ghastly screams could be heard emanating from the tower ot all hours, and goblin figures could be seen dancina on the tower roof in the moonlight. Finally the authorities had a catapult rolled through the streets of the town and the tower was battered to rubble. This stopped the hauntings but the townsfolk continue to shun the ruins. The entrance to the old dungeons can be easily located as a flight of broad stone steps leading down into darkness, but the few adventurous souls who hove descended into crypts below the ruin have either reported only empty stone corridors or have failed to return at all.
Other magic-users have moved into the town but the site of the old tower remains abandoned.
Whispered tales are told of fabulous treasure and unspeakable monsters in the underground passages below the hilltop, and the story tellers are always careful to point out that the reputed dungeons lie in close proximity to the foundations of the older, pre-human city, to the graveyard, and to the sea.
Portown is a small but busy city 'linking the caravan routes from the south to the merchscant ships that dare the pirate-infested waters of the Northern Sea. Humans and non-humans from all over the globe meet here.
At he Green Dragon Inn, the players of the game gather their characters for an assault on the fabulous passages beneath the ruined Wizard's tower.

:biggrin:

None better for me, even after 40 years!

Yes 1970's D&D was a hodgepodge of "good enough rules now are better than a perfect rules later", that were put together on the fly. It's a mess, but I loved it because it had some great advantages:

1) It was fun.
2) I found other people who played it.
3) I memorized the rules back when I had a young and agile mind.

I still remember a lot of it (which I often remember instead of the game I'm actually trying to play).

Fortunately when I need to GM settings that D&D is inappropriate for I have an alternate truly multi-setting RPG rules system I made up in the 1980's based on a careful reading of the 1975 Greyhawk supplement for D&D, the 1978 Runequest rules, and the 1981 Call of Cthullu rules, which I now name "Gut check the RPG", and I will share with you:

1) GM describes a scene.
2) Player says an action that their PC attempts.
3) GM decides if the PC has no chance of success, no chance of failure, or a partial chance of success.
4) If a partial chance of success, GM makes up on the spot a percentage chance of success.
5) Player rolls D100 (two 0-9 twenty-siders back then).
6) If the player rolls under the made up number their PC succeeds in attempting the task, if over the PC fails.
7) GM narrates the immediate consequences until it's time to again ask, "what do you do".
8) Repeat.

It seemed to work.

Honestly, these days trying to learn rules other than character creation is a chore for me, and I mostly read RPG's for setting "fluff".
I may already own a RPG with a brilliant rules system that I would love, but I am unlikely to ever find out.

So what games have I bought lately, and why did I buy them?


1) 5e Dungeons & Dragons

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51Ykm93n8ML._SY400_.jpg

I've played some and bought a lot of different RPG's over the years, and I've yet to actually play any game as fun as D&D. Unlike the 1970's D&D rules I own many actual other people play 5e, and playing the game is more fun than just owning the game.
I was also told that 5e was "simpler than earlier editions".

2) Labyrinth Lord

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51%2BYxtd3-ML._SY400_.jpg

Those "earlier editions" that 5e DnD was "simpler than", must be very complex indeed! Compared to the '70's rules I knew, while 5e is more clearly written, and fun, I find it far from "simple".
When an opportunity came up to play "old school" D&D, I was thilled, until I found out that my D&D was too old! The game offered was bases on the 1981 Basic set, I had the 1977 Basic Set!
Since I never want to order "online", my FLGS was able to get this "clone" of the '81 rules. I need not have bothered, the differences between the '77 and '81rules (and the '94 rules that I later found at a used bookstore) were minor.

3) Flashing Blades

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wJLjWaoiX2M/TgD12-13JuI/AAAAAAAADSE/0jOGFuwA4t0/s320/flashingblades.jpg

I like the Three Musketeers!
And the adventures are great!

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51aaa7aGXzL._SY400_.jpg

:smile:


4) Lamentations of the Flame Princess
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51kriLxRPnL._SY400_.jpg

Very close to old D&D, I bought it to match the "Red and Pleasant Land" adventure.

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51OIcsgeAVL._SY400_.jpg

5) Dungeon World
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/5123qmHYT8L._AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65_.jpg

I had hoped to play a "D&D" like game with other people, but with simpler rules, so yes it was rules not setting for a change.

6) Numenera
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/515ctljZJ0L._SY400_.jpg

Cool far future "Dying Earth"-ish setting.

7) 7th Sea
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51S%2BIkGAMJL._SY400_.jpg

Frankly I'm intimidated by the rules, but what a setting it has!
Just wonderful.

8) FATE
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51oY2pE5aaL._SY400_.jpg

Just too many recommendations for me not to pick up!

8) Savage Worlds
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51Q7uvsHWVL._SY400_.jpg

So many cool setting books!


9) Blood Tide
https://cdn4.bigcommerce.com/s-9zhx02uo/products/1714/images/1484/CHA2033a__56866.1406850887.500.659.gif?c=2

Based on rules that I know, but with Pirates!


10) Warbirds
https://philgamer.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/115960.jpg?w=1312&h=1620

Weird, wacky, and wonderful!

ZamielVanWeber
2017-09-27, 07:23 PM
Is Blood Tide usable without access to the BRP core rules?

Edit: Apparently early editions of that book had serious editing issues. I need to see of they fixed that.

Eladrinblade
2017-09-27, 08:29 PM
I control+f'd "fantasycraft" and didn't get a result.

You should check it out.

ZamielVanWeber
2017-09-27, 08:40 PM
Does anyone know of an RPG similar to Deliria mechanically but with not the math issues?

TIPOT
2017-09-27, 09:17 PM
As a suggestion (it's not exactly obscure) but Burning Wheel has some of the nicest books I've ever seen.

kivzirrum
2017-09-28, 01:14 PM
I have no idea if this is still in print but Wield! is a game where you play AS the magic item. Ever wanted to be the one ring? Well now you can! You get some disposable adventurers to puppet about to try and fulfill your magic item agenda either subtly or not so subtly.

This sounds like a really interesting concept. Is it any good?

Knaight
2017-09-28, 01:54 PM
This sounds like a really interesting concept. Is it any good?

Wield! is solid, if you're good with very rules light.

1337 b4k4
2017-09-29, 07:03 PM
I’ve mentioned it before but allow me to once again plug World Wide Wrestling (https://ndpdesign.com/online-store/wwwrpg-print). It’s a PbtA game so the mechanics aren’t exactly obscure, but what a game. You and your friends will channel your inner Vince McMahon as you build and run a wrestling company. You’ll put on matches, pick winners and losers, try to maintain kayfabe and manage egos and crowds. It’s a very narrow concept and game but it is incredibly well executed.

ZamielVanWeber
2017-09-29, 08:11 PM
I’ve mentioned it before but allow me to once again plug World Wide Wrestling (https://ndpdesign.com/online-store/wwwrpg-print). It’s a PbtA game so the mechanics aren’t exactly obscure, but what a game. You and your friends will channel your inner Vince McMahon as you build and run a wrestling company. You’ll put on matches, pick winners and losers, try to maintain kayfabe and manage egos and crowds. It’s a very narrow concept and game but it is incredibly well executed.

I know a friend who would LOVE this. I will be certainly adding this one to the easy gifts list.

1337 b4k4
2017-09-29, 11:21 PM
Another one you might enjoy, but it may depend on your definitions as to whether it’s an rpg or not, The Skeletons (http://www.drivethrurpg.com/m/product/177596). I can’t do it justice so let me just quote their own introduction:



Years fly by like dead leaves. Everything is darkness. Everything is silence. You stand vigilant before the sarcophagus without thought or breath-such is your compulsion. You do not remember your name and still you watch. The flesh has fallen off your bones and still you watch.

And then one day there is light and motion and you weigh your bearded axe and raise your shield, lusting for the fray, eager to measure your skill against these tomb-robbing children so full of blood. You’ll never be alive again, but in this moment-in the chaos between violation and destruction-you truly live, and you remember what you once were, and you taste the sun.

Anderlith
2017-09-30, 01:05 AM
Don't know if anyone has ever heard of it but I own a copy of Alpha-Omega a strange angel/demon cyber post-apocalypse game with really odd mechanics. Never played it more than one session. I dont know if it's that good

Knaight
2017-09-30, 01:28 AM
I had to double check that this was available in print, but Diana: Warrior Princess is glorious. To quote the authors for what the game is:

Imagine our world, seen by someone as remote from us as we are from the ancient Greeks, and with as many gaps in their knowledge. Imagine it converted into a TV series by a production company with the loving attention to historical accuracy we have come to expect from such series. Then imagine the RPG of that series...

Throw realism out of the window. Run adventures in which Eva Peron is Hitler's mistress, or JFK meets Queen Victoria. Zulu hordes swarm across Vietnam, the Spanish Inquisition stalk heretics in Manhattan, steam cars co-exist with ICBMs, Babbage engines, stealth bombers and sorcerers.

This is the world of Diana: Warrior Princess.

It's wonderful. The system side is pretty mediocre, but just reading this was the most fun I've ever had with reading an RPG, and there's some interesting scene structure stuff that transfers well when you strip out the rest of the system.

Vknight
2017-09-30, 03:12 AM
Wild Talents
Monsters and Other Childish Things
Iron Kingdoms
Atomic Robo under FATE

kivzirrum
2017-09-30, 07:19 AM
Wield! is solid, if you're good with very rules light.

Rules-light is not my preferred, but I still enjoy it, so I'll definitely have to check Wield out. :smallsmile: Especially since I think rules-light games would be the preference for most of my gaming companions, haha.

meschlum
2017-09-30, 11:00 AM
Rules-light is not my preferred, but I still enjoy it, so I'll definitely have to check Wield out. :smallsmile: Especially since I think rules-light games would be the preference for most of my gaming companions, haha.

A debatable recommendation, but qualifying for the Obscure and genre categories: Bloodlust has the players incarnate magic weapons which eventually take over their wielders. Or discard said wielders if a more interesting one turns up. As wielders experience new things, the weapons draw on the emotions and become more powerful - so there is a bit of a motivation to get rid of older, more jaded wielders...

The player 'life cycle' is supposed to go:

1) Play a wielder and use your awesome weapon as it grows more powerful
2) Eventually shift to playing from the weapon's perspective as you go for bigger goals and your wielder's skills matter less
3) Find a wielder you really like and merge with them, becoming a synthesis of the two.

Mechanics are early RPG, so highly crunchy, debatably balanced (although swapping wielders lets you experiment), and somewhat heavy on the random bits (weapon advancement is by d100 rolls to see what new powers you get).

Genre is sword and sorcery with low to no sorcery (besides weapons), heavy on the metal side. Weapons are scared of water and oceans, because once they're dropped in one they have eternity of not feeling anything to look forward to. Weapons want to maximize new sensations for their wielders, so a lot of fluff and motivation happens without clothes on.

Hellpyre
2017-09-30, 03:53 PM
I know it's not terribly obscurr, but I'm surprised I didn't see a mention of Paranoia in here yet. Friend Computer highly recommends it.

Cealocanth
2017-09-30, 06:45 PM
Paranoia
TOON
Gamma World
Pokemon Tabletop United

ZamielVanWeber
2017-09-30, 07:59 PM
I know it's not terribly obscurr, but I'm surprised I didn't see a mention of Paranoia in here yet. Friend Computer highly recommends it.

Friend computer gave me two 100 lbs wheels of limburger cheese in order to accomplish mission on acquiring Paranoia. Truly Friend Computer's wisdom has blessed us.

As a note, I could not resist and picked up Diana: Warrior Princess and will run it tomorrow as a gift for the people who helped me move.

Knaight
2017-10-01, 01:10 AM
As a note, I could not resist and picked up Diana: Warrior Princess and will run it tomorrow as a gift for the people who helped me move.

Enjoying the bizarre wonders of that setting?

ZamielVanWeber
2017-10-01, 02:21 AM
Enjoying the bizarre wonders of that setting?

Yes, but I was also confronted with the fact that some of my friends weren't alive at the same time as Princess Diana.

Kapow
2017-10-01, 07:11 PM
When it comes to obscure, then I have to mention Capes!
It is an fast GM-less system with some interesting mechanics.
It's superheroes, but easily adaptable to other settings.
And they have actual books

http://www.museoffire.com/Games/index.html
http://www.museoffire.com/Games/order.html

Metahuman1
2017-10-02, 03:33 AM
When I was still pretty new to Table Tops, there was a con that they aren't even running anymore in my town. Annual thing for me. I loved that con and want it back desperately.






First or second year I was there, I played a little indie game that was being sold there by the creators, and bought the little rule book. I then lost it in a move.

The game was call Legendary Realms. It's tag line on the cover was "Trapped at a table, surrounded by Nerds, Low On Dice."


I was going through a weeboo phase, so I wound up rolling up this crazy elf amazon wearing a red leather trench coat and duel wielding chainsaws as weapons of choice.

ZamielVanWeber
2017-10-02, 03:40 AM
I found it on DriveThruRPG. The one reviewer hated it. Could you tell me more?

Metahuman1
2017-10-02, 08:41 AM
It's very much it's own animal mechanically, runs on blocks of 10's an is played completely with D10's if I recall right.


I remember having fun, we had a necromancer, a dude using heavy armor and a Gauss Rifle (like a hand held magnetic accelerator gun.) and one other mage of some type in the short little adventure we ran.

It was set up so that you could go straight fantasy with it, or straight modern, or mix and match to taste. Whole thing was VERY tongue in cheek.

Cealocanth
2017-10-02, 09:55 AM
If settings for some games are allowed on your list, I would recommend Low Life for how ridiculously bizarre it is. Take Gamma World and cut out everything that even remotely makes sense in that game, and you have this one.

Kurald Galain
2017-10-02, 10:49 AM
I know it's not terribly obscurr, but I'm surprised I didn't see a mention of Paranoia in here yet. Friend Computer highly recommends it.

Citizein! Be reminded that Paranoia is fun! You must enjoy Paranoia! Failure to enjoy Paranoia is punishable by summary execution. Have a nice daycycle!

Shadowflick
2017-10-02, 12:58 PM
Symbarum is pretty rad! The corruption system is neat and the leveling makes you feel like you actually gain things besides +1 to various things

ZamielVanWeber
2017-10-02, 08:50 PM
Symbarum is pretty rad! The corruption system is neat and the leveling makes you feel like you actually gain things besides +1 to various things

That looks a better grim dark RP I do admit.

Bruno Carvalho
2017-10-07, 09:59 AM
What about some The Riddle of Steel? It is quite hard to procure a physical copy nowadays, but it is a inspiring read. Also you get to see the system that inspired the fantastic Blade of the Iron Throne.

Also, if you're looking for FUN, you should look for Macho Woman with Guns, along with its supplements, Batwinged Bimbos From Hell and Renegade Nuns on Wheels .

Avonar
2017-10-08, 05:24 PM
13th Age.

It uses similar mechanics to D&D 4th edition but with a bunch of rules cut out to encourage players to get very creative. Key example - it uses no measurements of distances. You are either engaged, nearby or far away. It even has some class mechanics along the lines of: "Do something that the rules do not normally allow." The system is designed to play character-centric campaigns, with some really interesting monsters and lore as well as a pre-built but deliberately only vaguely filled out world.

ZamielVanWeber
2017-10-09, 01:24 AM
That is an interesting concept, 13th Age. How rules heavy is it ultimately? My 4th ed experience was long ago.

Vrock_Summoner
2017-10-09, 02:46 AM
A game that's disappointingly obscure in America despite being D&D levels of popular in Japan is Double Cross. It's in competition with Ars Magica as my favorite TTRPG of all time. And both games have both PDF and hard copy options for all their books, though Double Cross's PDFs are... Weirdly expensive, relative to how much cheaper PDFs usually are than hardcover books. But I can give it my personal recommendation as being both incredibly fun and engaging as well as one of if not the most well-balanced rules heavy RPGs on the market. Anime-style heroes getting superpowers from a virus that threatens to steal their humanity and can only be resisted through the power of emotional bonds? It's somehow simultaneously incredibly original and just cliched enough to hit a lot of deep emotional resonance.

Avonar
2017-10-09, 05:32 AM
That is an interesting concept, 13th Age. How rules heavy is it ultimately? My 4th ed experience was long ago.

It has the daily/per battle/at-will mechanics. Each class has its own definitely unique mechanics, with some like the rogue or the wizard allowing for extreme player creativity.

For rules heavy, as I said its light. You don't have skills, you have backgrounds you make up (noble, thief, former soldier etc.). If it makes sense that a background could apply to the situation, you get a bonus to the roll.

EXP doesn't exist at all, you get to level up when the DM decides it appropriate. It's recommended you level up after 12-16 encounters, with the level cap being 10. Also, long rests/short rests aren't a thing. You get a full heal up with all abilities recharding every 3 or 4 battle, regardless of in game time. So you can only use daily abilities once every few battles no matter how infrequently you fight.

There is no movement speed to worry about. You can move to anywhere that would be considered nearby, the game is designed not to use any sort of grid.

In supplemental rules there are Stunts, which is basically a system for saying "technically the rules don't let you do this but make a roll and you can try".

All in all the system is built to allow more player freedom by not hampering them as much.

Knaight
2017-10-09, 05:52 AM
For rules heavy, as I said its light. You don't have skills, you have backgrounds you make up (noble, thief, former soldier etc.). If it makes sense that a background could apply to the situation, you get a bonus to the roll.

The skill system is a little minimalist, but the game isn't light. It's lighter than some of the heavier editions of D&D, but it's still well within the rules heavy range overall.

Cluedrew
2017-10-09, 10:46 AM
You can't really collect this one. I mean you could write all the rules on an index card and call it a day but that is about it. Anyways, it's Roll for Shoes (http://story-games.com/forums/discussion/comment/438050). It is not the best role-playing game out there, it only has 7 rules so it is not very flushed out. But it doesn't take long to learn or run and it is fun, with very organic character growth. I've enjoyed the games I've played with it and I also love it as an example of how rule lite rules lite can actually be.

Chromat
2017-10-09, 02:40 PM
HOL the roleplay (aka Human Occupied Landfill) more for reading than playing but still fun :)

Magic Myrmidon
2017-10-09, 04:00 PM
Also Follow by the same developer. (Ben Robbins)

Anyone happen to hear of any plans to put the PDF up on DriveThru RPG? I like to keep all of my RPG PDFs organized on that site, and I can't do that if I buy from his website.

ZamielVanWeber
2017-10-10, 10:03 PM
Pokethulhu is a weird find. Does it work remotely (although the reliance on d12s is cute).

Fri
2017-10-11, 06:33 AM
Pokethulhu is a weird find. Does it work remotely (although the reliance on d12s is cute).

I was in a campaign of it. It's fun.

Cluedrew
2017-10-11, 06:46 AM
Is Pokethulhu the thing it sounds like it is?

JBPuffin
2017-10-11, 06:58 AM
Is Pokethulhu the thing it sounds like it is?

Imagine you're the main characters of an anime in an alternate reality where Pokemon are Cthulhian horrors and everything else is modified to match. It also treats itself entirely seriously, as if there was an actual anime based on Pokethulhu and that was the Pokemon-esque anime that stole the hearts of millions. Definitely a strange game at every level, although I didn't think they had print copies...

Airk
2017-10-11, 08:35 AM
Anyone happen to hear of any plans to put the PDF up on DriveThru RPG? I like to keep all of my RPG PDFs organized on that site, and I can't do that if I buy from his website.

There doesn't seem to be any mention of it in the Kickstarter updates, and that's all the info I've got. It seems a little bit unlikely to me though, since the only game Ben has put on DTRPG is Microscope, so maybe he feels like they're not worth his effort since his games are so disconnected from the "Standard" RPG scene.

Max_Killjoy
2017-10-11, 08:44 AM
Pokethulhu is a weird find. Does it work remotely (although the reliance on d12s is cute).

Just picked up the free rules to see how it does stuff, and the consistent reference to the d12 as "The Dodecahedron" is actually one of those little elements that caries a big atmospheric effect.

Joe the Rat
2017-10-11, 02:36 PM
Pokethulhu is a weird find. Does it work remotely (although the reliance on d12s is cute).
I'm always a fan of games that put the ol' Dodecs to use. That they give them in-game relevance (you capture the Mons in Dodecahedrons) is rather cute.

In the realm of story games, Fiasco is a wonderful "party" game. If you enjoy Cohen Brothers movies, this is up your alley. Downside is that it doesn't look good on a shelf - too thin.

I'll pitch d20 variants all day.
Savage Kingdoms looks much like a 3.5 homebrew, but makes some clever adjustments, and operates entirely off of a twenty-sided die, which speeds up play with a math-savvy GM. The setting is fairly Howardesque.
Dungeon Crawl Classics moves in strange directions from the standard, but is very much in the ethos of the Old Ways. The bookwork is gorgeous. The Core book is a TOME - a real eye-grabber. The adventures look pulpy as hell alongside. Play is brutal old school - better for those black humor / Paranoia-esque days. Warning: requires more types of die than you knew existed.
If you have enough Fantasy Crap, Mutant Crawl Classics is a fully-compatible love letter to Gamma World and Metamorphosis Alpha.

Speaking of which, Metamorphosis Alpha. Old school hijinks on a generation ship gone far too long. There was a recent re-release.

In the humor column:
Tales from the Floating Vagabond - Callahan's Cross-Time Saloon With The Serial Numbers Filed Off, the RPG. A rabbi, a priest of Orm, and a cyborg mutant from Tau Ceti III walk into a bar...
West End Game's Ghostbusters - Uses their D6 system, takes out the risk of death, and encourages hijinks. I may have a soft spot.
Low Life: Like Numenera, only everything is a sticky rainbow-colored craphole. You can play a Twinkie Snack Cake.

Vknight
2017-10-13, 04:36 AM
Abandon All Hope is.... something else its a spaceship prison with a few different ideas for it. One of them is the spaceship broke space and is now floating/flying through hell and its well a interesting little game that includes the fact that cigs are your currency and many other things