Help Khan Buy a New RPG!: Credit Card Reopened Edition

[The Rose Dragon]

So, I have my credit card back after a long misunderstanding with the bank which was resolved at last. So, I decided to celebrate it (that, and getting money for my birthday) with getting some sweet-ass games. Of course, I have no idea what I should buy.

I am currently looking at:

1) Nobilis. Nobilis is highly praised, and I do love romantic fantasy. The only problem is that it is possibly too niche, and I'm not well with diceless systems.

2) Legend of the Five Rings 4th Edition. This would likely be my first choice, except for the ridiculous cost. However, you cannot really argue with Rokugan.

3) GURPS Space. On the one hand, GURPS books are known for their detailed approach to the subject matter, so I can probably use it for my own space setting as reference material. On the other hand, I find the clinical, cold writing style of GURPS books slightly jarring, and I'm not sure if I can read the whole book to find the juicy parts.

4) Diaspora. Like GURPS Space, it could help me with my space setting, but I'm also less likely to find someone to play it with.

5) Something else really sweet and cool. I am not very good at this last one, so I'm leaving this part up to you. You can ask me about my tastes, if you like.

An essential thing is that the book must be 1) legally available as a .pdf, and 2) must have a price tag other than 0 dollars. I can download free .pdfs anytime I want, but buying them is another deal. So, that automatically bars out all WotC material (which is a shame, because I'm really interested in Star Wars SAGA Edition).

Or I could get video games. I'm mostly looking for tabletop RPGs, but you can note video games you think are good and recent as well.

EDIT: OK, apparently I hadn't made this clear:

I will not buy hardcopies, no matter how reliable the source. The books need to be available as a .pdf, because I'm going to be buying that version.

[Xefas]

Unfortunately, Burning Wheel Revised isn't available in pdf format, but this pdf is only $15, and contains the answer to all of your hopes and dreams, so there's that.

[Ozreth]

L5R 4e book costs like $35 on Amazon new.

[DisgruntledDM]

amazon.com is your friend. L5R is worth every penny; hands down it is the nicest RPG book I've ever seen, and from what I've heard, the broken stuff from previous editions is fixed.

[The Rose Dragon]

L5R 4e book costs like $35 on Amazon new.

The problem is, of course, that it is also 35 dollars on RPGNow.com. That's kind of expensive for a game, and the last game I paid so much for was a massive disappointment. As a result, once bitten twice shy.

[Vknight]

Those unwilling to take risks forever shy feel not the lash but the cold.

In other words take the risk embrace this and give it a try

[Clepto]

I'm actually one session into an L5R 4th Edition campaign. The whole group, including the GM is new to the game (GM has played older versions). So far, it's awesome. I highly recommend it. Plus, I'm a huge fan of AEG, and the L5R CCG, so I paid full price for the book.

[Pentachoron]

Deadlands if you haven't encountered it before, the pdf appears to be $12 on RPGNow, I don't know what style you're into but it's a steampunk/wildwest/zombie game, hard to describe the system, it uses the full set of dice, also incorporates a deck of cards and poker chips. I've always found it extremely enjoyable.

*Edit* If that isn't something that sounds like your style, I'd throw my vote in for GURPS Space

[mabriss lethe]

I'm a huge fan of Hollow Earth Expedition. The PDF is $19.99 on their website.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

I don't know if it's been fixed, but I heard that the L5R PDF had some issues, like with being clunky and whatnot. That's one of the books that, if I were to buy it, I would get hardcover. So if you're looking to buy PDF only, I don't know that I'd advise it.

Mouse Guard is a really interesting system (Ah, looks like I was ninja'd on that one), I can't say that I've had a chance to play it, though. There's also a system called MECHA RPG (Heroic Journey Publishing) which is rules-lighter, action-based, and from the rulebook feels like it does a really good job of emulating mecha anime. World of Darkness is an old standby, but I can't say that there's a whole lot remarkable about it; it's a bit mainstream. Although I will add that Changeling: the Lost is a fascinating game that hits some really interesting spots. I really like it.

[Tyndmyr]

So, I have my credit card back after a long misunderstanding with the bank which was resolved at last. So, I decided to celebrate it (that, and getting money for my birthday) with getting some sweet-ass games. Of course, I have no idea what I should buy.

You should buy D10 7th Sea. Why?

1. It's available inexpensively by PDFs at Drive through RPG.

2. It's on sale atm. All of the books. $20 books for $7.

3. The setting is fantastic. Low magic, quasi-historical, terrific metaplot.

4. People actually play it. People are still running active games of it all over despite the books being out of print for the better part of a decade. I'm currently playing in a campaign of it with people I overheard talking about it at Denny's. Popularity is important if you want to actually use any system, no matter how good it is.

5. The mechanics are reasonably simple and solid. D10 roll and keep. Sure, there are optimization tactics in here as well. Meh. Coming from D&D, these will be rather a relief, as they're along the lines of "Im fairly hard to hit" instead of "behold, I am a god at level one.".

6. The compendium itself is free. You can get a small taste of it before plunking your cash down on it.


The only significant negatives are as follows:

1. They later made a D20 version of the game. It is terrible. It should never be played. The books for it have a dramatic lack of basic proofreading, editing, or playtesting. They should be lit on fire.

2. They were never terribly good at laying out books for rapid play. They tend to intersperse story and rules a lot. This is great for casual reading, but a bit awkward for looking things up rapidly. You get used to it after a bit, and this fades...but it's still something they could have done better.

[The Rose Dragon]

Deadlands if you haven't encountered it before, the pdf appears to be $12 on RPGNow, I don't know what style you're into but it's a steampunk/wildwest/zombie game, hard to describe the system, it uses the full set of dice, also incorporates a deck of cards and poker chips. I've always found it extremely enjoyable.

*Edit* If that isn't something that sounds like your style, I'd throw my vote in for GURPS Space

I love Westerns. I love post-apocalyptic settings as well. I even love a mixture of both, such as Fallout.

Deadlands, however, as a system, can die in a fire. Painfully and slowly. Regardless of its gambling-style gimmicks, it (and Savage Worlds that follows) is an unwieldy, horrible system. It is the single worst system I have ever read. The disappointment I mentioned earlier was a Savage Worlds book, and I will never ever pay money to Pinnacle again.

[Weimann]

I'd recommend Strands of Fate, a streamlining of the FATE system laid out in Spirit of the Century, the Dresden Files RPG and so on to allow application on other settings. The system is pretty narrative (as I gather FATE is), easy to read and grasp and great care has been taken to allow for modularity. Downsides include the lack of original setting (but then again, that's kind of the point) and some mechanics which are not quite as flexible as they could stand to have been. As for what setting to use, I personally found that the system lent itself aptly for Exalted analogues, with a few exceptions.

It's currently $9.99 on DrivethruRPG.

[FelixG]

IIRC all of the D6 collections (D6 space, fantasy ect) are free on RPGnow or Drive Thu RPG.

Could try those without spending a penny!

[Amphetryon]

Wu Xing: The Ninja Crusade may be right up your ally, and only $15. As an added bonus, there's an adventure - The Nobleman's Daughter - for the system at DriveThruRPG for free as I compose this reply.

[Jayabalard]

3) GURPS Space. On the one hand, GURPS books are known for their detailed approach to the subject matter, so I can probably use it for my own space setting as reference material. On the other hand, I find the clinical, cold writing style of GURPS books slightly jarring, and I'm not sure if I can read the whole book to find the juicy parts.

Along the same lines: Transhuman Space, which is a game that is based off of the GURPS rules (it comes with a modified version of GURPS lite). I haven't played it myself, but I've read quite a bit about it and it's been on my "play when we actually start up a new game" list for a while

[Tyndmyr]

On the video game topic, Fallout 3 is running about $20 now, and it's a fantastic game if you've not yet played it. New Vegas is basically more of the same. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that.