System Reviews Needed!

[Starsinger]

So my group is looking for that mythical perfect system which will leave us all satisfied and happy. We haven't found it yet, but that's where you people come in! Tell me about the systems you've played! But don't just tell me the good parts, I want to hear the bad parts too. Now this thread is for the purpose of being informative, so please, if you disagree with someone's review of a particular system do so in a polite manner. With that said.. Let the reviewing begin!

[Sstoopidtallkid]

I always, always, have to say Adventure Quest (http://www.aquest.com/AQJAERNdownload.htm). It's really well balanced, the magic system is good, the setting is new and lends itself to adventures and the d6 is far less random than D&D. You can't play it as Hack&Slash and have it stay balanced, social and skill-based encounters are important, and I'd recommend boosting the starting eeps, but I have had nothing but good experiences with that system.

[Tsotha-lanti]

It would help if you specified a genre.


I figure I can skip D&D 1st edition, AD&D 2nd edition, D&D 3.0 and 3.5... so I'll start with some old favorites:

RuneQuest 3E (the one you'd find in the Deluxe Box)

Solid game, but it's ironically no good for the setting - Glorantha. You need a ton of house rules - a ton were published in Fanzines, and even more are still available online. Sandy's Sorcery, additional shamanic rules, HeroQuesting rules, and so on.

By default, combat is somewhat tactical and quite lethal - gritty is the word, I guess - although you can stretch the system pretty far before it starts breaking. The feel of Glorantha is something like "mythic versimilitude." It embraces contradiction and paradox - all myths are true, including the ones that are directly contradictory. I seriously doubt there's any setting that's spawned anywhere near the amount of semi-scholarly debate and "research" into setting mythology and history.

Mechanically, characters aren't defined by who they are (class, race, etc.), but by what they do - skills which only increase when you use them or train in them. The only restrictions to what you can learn are "in-character" restrictions - a theistic priest can't become a sorcerous mage, unless they follow traditions that combine the two. Everyone uses magic - the farmer in the field, the watchman on his beat, the soldier preparing for battle, and the screaming hordes of humanoid monsters that hurtle themselves at you.

It's a great system, but it takes a lot of work to "really" get into.

Mongoose RuneQuest

SRD available online for free, check the Mongoose website. It's free - you can't lose!

It's the old RuneQuest system, but updated. Combat isn't quite as lethal and can therefore take longer. There's a lot of cool innovations and additions, magic systems were reworked (and are now better), the basic resolution system was improved (finally, a proper mechanic for handling opposed 1d100 rolls). Be aware, though, that if you just get the original printing rulebooks, a lot of core resolution mechanics were changed (for the better) by errata.

The awesome thing is that the game incorporates a ton of concepts from the more popular houserule sets. It's therefore much easier and less intensive to get into - all the cool houserules are already in the books!

The setting is still the awesome Glorantha, although in a different age.

HeroQuest, née Hero Wars

This is the system for Glorantha. With a single resolution mechanic for everything (fighting with swords is mechanically identical to debate or a contest of magical might; they're extended contests where you bid Action Points and lose or gain them depending on your success), the focus is solidly on storytelling, which is so endlessly appropriate for a setting where myths are power. If you can spin the tale, you can do the deed.


Then there's cyberpunk games - a love affair for the ages!

Cyberpunk 2020

The old mainstay. The mechanics are simple and fast, but they're also crude. (What's the skill check and difficulty for throwing hand grenades? Don't expect the rules to tell you!) This puts the focus on the coolness of the setting and the characters, though I seriously recommend the supplement Listen Up, You Primitive Screwheads! to fix some glaring holes in the combat system. (Using only the basic rules, all characters can make themselves invulnerable to all but the most outrageous of weapons right off the bat, without even looking conspicuous.) The other big weakness is the class system - while the game is ostensibly skill-based, each class has a unique special ability, and only one of them is any good at all. The netrunning system is abysmal, too.

The sequel, Cyberpunk 203X, is absolutely terrible. Don't bother. It doesn't fix or improve any of the old rules - in fact, most of them are copied directly from the old book. The changes are mostly bad - character abilities are now firmly defined by their choice of class- er, I mean phyle- er, I mean NeoTribe or whatever. The setting is a pathetic attempt to mimic neo- or postcyberpunk like Stephenson (but in diametric opposition to the novel Diamond Age, CPunk 203X doesn't even remotely consider how real nanotech would change the world).

Other games...

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay

The gritty fantasy RPG. The world is deadly, the people are filthy and small-minded, the priests are fanatical or corrupt, the nobles are tyrannical, and the monsters are grotesque.

The resolution system is simple and quick; combat notoriously involves Critical tables with messy results. The character creation is career-based; you follow a path from career to career (each career has several other "exit" careers), learning skills and improving your abilities.

Rolemaster

The clunkiest game. With complicated character generation and leveling, and endless tables for absolutely everything - especially combat. (If you're not content with separate tables for all weapon classes, with results modified by the weapon, the supplement on combat and weapons will give you a separate table for every single weapon.) Combat will take hours, partly because it's so damned hard to get a lethal critical hit!

Character classes determine how difficult (or "expensive") it is to raise various skills; they restrict and guide in about equal measure. A Fighter can learn magic, but it's a waste of points.

For an old MERPer, though, it's the only system for playing in Middle Earth. All the MERP supplements are 100% Rolemaster compatible, since MERP was basically a stripped-down version of RM.


I think that'll do for the moment. I've got some familiarity and experience with a few dozen systems, so I can probably crank out more reviews later.

[Kurald Galain]

This list wouldn't be complete without some flavor of White Wolf.

The good: easy character generation with support for just about any concept you can think of. Lots and lots of background with scheming factions and alternate history that explains who was "really" behind human developments. Most of their settings don't focus on combat; indeed, combat can be quite lethal.
The bad: while it's technically possible to combine vampire and werewolf and mage and everything else in one game, you really shouldn't. Old world of darkness doesn't mesh with the new edition; both have their fans and their flame wars.
The ugly: the recent marketing campaign. Please ignore that.


Then there's GURPS.
The good: It has a rule for everything. No, really, literally everything. You want to play a sentient flying car that fights genetically enhanced dinosaurs through telepathy? You're all set. Even if you're playing another system entirely, their setting and background books are highly recommended and contain lots and lots of useful material on, well, everything.
The bad: It has a rule for everything. That means gameplay (and in particular, character generation) can slow down to a crawl as you have to look things up. Obviously, combining dozens of sourcebooks in one setting is not very practical, but at least it's possible.


And let's not forget Paranoia.
The good: Everybody is happy. You get to be in the glorious service of The Computer as a troubleshooter, which is to say you find trouble and then shoot it, with a high-power laser beam or assorted R&D novelty weapons. And you get extra desserts, and voluntary mandatory bonus duty. Praise The Computer! The Computer Is Your Friend!
The bad: Failure to be happy is treason, which is punishable by summary execution. The city is under attack by commies, mutants, and secret societies, which all have to be shot. Did I mention that all the player characters are commies, mutants and/or secret society members? Why do you think the game is called Paranoia?
The ugly: Ignore the fifth edition, please. Anything before that or after that is fine.

[Rutee]

The good: easy character generation with support for just about any concept you can think of. Lots and lots of background with scheming factions and alternate history that explains who was "really" behind human developments. Most of their settings don't focus on combat; indeed, combat can be quite lethal.
I will point out that they have /mercifully/ scaled back on the background. That doesn't mean oWoD didn't have cool factions, but I suggest going back and scavenging what you like, if anything, then using that for the group, then using oWoD as printed. Especially since oWoD as printed would take forever to get through :smallyuk:

Traveller is pretty hilarious if you want a lethal game; you can die in character creation.

Mutants and Masterminds d20 is a superhero-themed game that's pretty awesome; It's set in d20, so if you all know and are used to that, it'll be easy to learn the rules themselves, and it's point-based and effects-based. Technically it works for multiple levels of power, but it doesn't do that hot with something that doesn't have high power in some way, IMO..

[Starsinger]

I figure I can skip D&D 1st edition, AD&D 2nd edition, D&D 3.0 and 3.5...

Don't let the fact that D&D is so popular discourage anyone. Like I said, the purpose of this thread is information, I'm just as interested in the systems flaws and strengths as I am people's feelings towards it.

[kc0bbq]

Over the Edge - Atlas Games

If you're into cynical creations where conspiracy theory is the defining reality, Jon Tweet 's pre D&D 3.0 creation is a nifty place. Al Amarja is a work of genius. The true genius, though, is the simple system. It's a bit gritty, guns are decidedly deadly, but really, in the actual game setting only (well, mostly only) the Peace have guns.

The system is a d6 system, you never really need more than a few dice, and you can do as much with an ability as you can justify. It rewards clever play and penalizes boring, nondescriptive actions.

I use this system as a catch-all for various game concepts. For example, I have used it for a 1930s pulp serial in the vein of Flash Gordon or Buck Rogers, but with more nazi conspiracy and robots. Within a few minutes of the first session character creation was done. We had, for example a savant mechanic, Mr. Enkidu - botanist from Gorilla City, a Texas ranger, and Doctor Voodoo - a doctor who was possessed by a bayou spirit. Oddly enough, I could have dropped the same party into Al Amarja and still had them fighting nazis on the moon at an old atlantean temple. The only difference would have been needing to change the League of Nations into the UN and moving up a few decades. Monique D'Aubainne (Historic Liberator and current Shepherdess of Al Amarja) didn't own the island until the 1940's.

Flaws, hmm. If you're using Al Amarja as a setting and the person running the game doesn't have a good grasp of the island and it's main factions, or at the very minimum a mind for weaving strange conspiracy theory into normalcy then it can get a little boring. Also, if your player's idea of handling a situation is "I hit it" and reaching for the dice it's not so much fun. On the other hand, if your players can separate meta-game knowledge and do things they know are stupid, like taking sboth Nightmare and Blue Shock at just the most entertaining moment, knowing full well he'll spontaneously combust and have to make a new character, you'll have the time of your life.


Amber Diceless RPG - Diceless by Design has the rights now, and the original author has cancer pretty bad :(. Looks like you can get a PDF version of the books for $12 here: http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=1447&it=1

There are two books for the system, the second is optional. It's designed to allow a game based on a fourth or later generation of children of Amber, the third generation being Corwin, Bleys, Lllewella, etc., from Zelazny's books. It's a system based on purely gestalt gameplay. Dice and other random number generation don't really reflect gameplay of a group of god creators, so there's a hierarchy based on stat auctions at character creation, but a lot of people just do basic point buy. The game can be adapted to other settings, but it really is at it's best in the world of the princes of Amber.

It's a useful system, and a great one if you're dealing with people who do well in gestalt or storytelling games.

The weakness is the level of quick thinking needed, and the fact that some people obsess about needing dice. Another issue, depending on how much the players like diplomacy, it can be tough to keep everyone going in a single direction without major, threat to reality level plots.


I'll say I don't like Traveller style games where your new character can die of old age in character creation.

[bosssmiley]

The perfect system? Ooooh, I could go on all night about this.
Quick takes:

WFRP - You are a ratcatcher. Life hates you. Then a Skaven slips warpstone in your nettle tea and you die. This was flawed wonderful. The 1st Edition (c. 1986) showed its wargaming roots way too clearly in places, but the rich, evocative material glossed that over into probably the single best low fantasy system. The second edition is even more scrumptiously lickable.

Cyberpunk 2020/Interlock System - this is the truth that 3.X flailed towards for 8 years. A simple, elegant, intuitive and infinitely modifiable core mechanic (Stat+Skill+mods+1d10 vs. Difficulty) that you can glom setting-specific material onto as much as you want. I've seen Interlock Appleseed, Interlock Aliens, Interlock Cthulhu, Interlock Steampunk, Interlock Supers and even a passable Interlock low fantasy setting in my time.

Basic Role Play - The chassis for Classic Runequest (still in use today in modified form for MongooseQuest), for Stormbringer/Elric, for Call of Cthulhu and for several other well-loved classics of the gaming world. It was what 1st Ed D&D dreamed of being, and what the Palladium house system strained to be.

One mad egg's view.