Gaming Club in need of ideas

[GoblinGilmartin]

I just recently started a gaming club at my high school that focuses on pen and paper RPG's. So far, all we've played is D&D 3.5. Any suggestions for other popular games that I could introduce?

[LordBlades]

I know firsthand that Star Wars: Saga edition and Dark Heresy are pretty good games (IMHO of course).

Also, heard a lot of good stuff about Savage Worlds.

[Trekkin]

Deadlands Classic, and Shadowrun. Both are hilariously fun with a high school group.

[Admiral Squish]

white wolf is always a good place to go, particularly the WoD setting. Though, exalted might be fun if you guys have some anime fans in your ranks.

Oh, and we can't forget paranoia.

[bokodasu]

FUDGE is great for introducing people to the RPG concept - quick to learn, easy to play, not a lot of reading to do, and it's free. (We had it down to a five-minute rules explanation, no handouts, and had new players up and running in 15 minutes.)

[Serpentine]

My Boy loved Deadlands. I haven't played it, but he thinks it was brilliant. It's a wild west roleplaying game.

[monkeysammich]

High School Gaming Club needs more PARANOIA

[Shenanigans]

I know firsthand that Star Wars: Saga edition and Dark Heresy are pretty good games (IMHO of course).

I'll second both of these.

SWSE might be a decent choice as you are somewhat familiar with the system from 3.5 and I'll assume that as gamers you are familiar with the Star Wars universe.

DH is a lot of fun and a nice system, but the one hitch is that at least a bit of familiarity with the 40K universe is advisable.

For a quick pickup and stunningly easy character generation, try Ninjaburger.

[Lord Loss]

Seconding White Wolf's WOD stuff, and Dread. I'm giving Dread a try today, but I've heard amazing things about it.

[Volos]

I can't believe that no one has said it so far, but Pathfinder is an amazing system. Especially if you've played and enjoyed D&D 3.5, it is a simple transition to make. They have simplified many mechanics and made the game smoother overall. Not to mention it comes with a campaign setting that you can run in or adventure paths to play if you don't have the time to create a custom adventure.

[woodenbandman]

The World of Darkness game is really simple for plug and play scenarios, such as zombie apocalypses. And it's really easy to remove the inherent emo-ness from the system (or embrace it if you wanna).

[Kallisti]

The Fate system, especially Spirit of the Century. Pretty easy to learn, very easy to create characters, wicked fun.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

My top two recommendations would be World of Darkness, which is just a great solid system for any sort of action, and Spirit of the Century, which is lesser-known but a great look into a totally different style of gaming.

In fact, I'd recommend that alongside the more traditional RPGs, you look into trying lesser-known games like FATE/Spirit of the Century, Savage Worlds, Mouse Guard, and Risus, just to flesh out the RPG experience. It's good to see what they've got to offer.

I also hear that Fiasco is a very innovative game, though you may need to adjust the playsets for content, depending on how cautious the higher-ups are about the shenanagins that go on at Gaming Club. It's also a very different game than most classic RPGs.

[stabbitty death]

dresden files RPG is good if you read the novels

[GoblinGilmartin]

Thanks guys, after doing some reasearch and taking into account what you have said, i've built up a pretty fair list:

Faery's Tale Deluxe
Spaceship Zero
Dungeons of Doom
Todd Gamble's Cartographica
Ork! The Roleplaying Game
After The Bomb
Beyond the Supernatural
Rifts
Heroes Unlimited
Macross II
The Mechanoid Invasion
Ninjas and Superspies
Robotech
Splicers
Vampire: The Masquerade
Werewolf: The Apocalypse
Mage: The Ascension
Street Fighter: The Storytelling Game
Wraith: The Oblivion
Changeling: The Dreaming
Kindred of the East
Hunter: The Reckoning
Trinity
Exalted
Mummy: The Resurrection
Demon: The Fallen
Orpheus
shadowrun
Dark Heresy
Star Wars: Saga edition
Deadlands Classic
Exalted
FUDGE
PARANOIA
Pathfinder
Spirit of the Century

any recomendations?

[Salanmander]

I would recommend Exalted. It has a supercool world and setting, and even though I'm not a huge fan of the system for long campaigns, it's fairly simple and a lot of fun to run short things with.

Some advantages:
Epic setting. You can take on the gods and win.
Fairly simple mechanics that involve rolling boatloads of d10s. Everyone loves d10s.
Mechanics that encourage doing ridiculous things, like shooting people while backflipping in midair.

Some disadvantages:
The mechanics can get silly. Exalted vs. Exalted combat sometimes turns into "perfect dodge until one of you runs out of motes". It's also not super well balanced (see also "the caster class makes better fighters than the fighter class")

[Analytica]

Any/every WoD game (nWoD/oWoD), including but not limited to Vampire: the Requiem (the new version), Mage: the Ascension (yes, the old version), regular core-book only new World of Darkness and so forth are easy to get into, easy to run, and fun, if you want very flexible, creative game sessions where combats run quickly.

If you can find it, and want some semi-controversial occult horror, KULT is a very special game. I am told Unknown Armies is vaguely reminiscient of it.

Call of Cthulhu is nice and cozy if you like Lovecraft, and can get scary if you have a sufficiently imaginative GM.

[GoblinGilmartin]

Does anyone know which book the Storyteller system is outlined in? not the Storytelling system, the Storyteller system from white wolf

[Lycan 01]

Savage Worlds and Paranoia are very simple, perfect for newbies and casual gamers. Ergo, I'd heavily suggest them for a high school gaming group.

[Vaynor]

Mutants and Masterminds is pretty good, in my opinion. Pretty simple system, plus, who doesn't love superheroes?

[GoblinGilmartin]

Thank you for all your help, but after a bit of research, I've decided to go with Street Fighter: The Storytelling Game

If i need help picking out the next game, I know where to look.

[The Big Dice]

Mutants and Masterminds is pretty good, in my opinion. Pretty simple system, plus, who doesn't love superheroes?

I'd drink to that. And to Paranoia as well.

Back when I was in a high school gaming club (when we had to walk uphill to the classroom, both ways. In the snow even in summer) we played a mix of AD&D, Paranoia, Call of Cthulhu, Pendragon (which was run by the teacher who started the club) and the occasional Marvel Superheroes game.

The thing they all had in common, and that I'd suggest instead of mentioning a long list of things to try, is that the game is suitable for one shot stories, or short adventures. Time can be limited, as in we used to play at lunchtime, so we'd be lucky to get 30 mins of play in, so ease of play combined with short, focused adventures was our main priority.

[GoblinGilmartin]

btw... how does the movement system work in he storytelling game system

[Sipex]

I'm going to tote D&D 4th edition. I have no idea what your gaming preferences are so I would recommend seeing if anyone has the materials for it first so you can try a test session to determine if you like it.

If you can get a hold of the D&D 4th Edition Starter set that would be optimal for testing the game out.