"This book is so cool! Too bad I'll never use it..."

[Hyooz]

I've started to get the feeling that there's lots of RPG books out there that, for one reason or another, very rarely see play even though the subject matter is enjoyable. Maybe the content is designed for characters of a level so high as to be impractical, or maybe it's just so esoteric an entire campaign would need to be based around it and no GM wants to go to the trouble to really make it worth it.

For me, one such book is Scion: God. Now, I love the Scion setting and system. Huge fan of the whole 'godlings' thing, but I just can't see running a game that either A) goes long enough to REACH god level or B) just starting a game from God level. You'd really need to run a game that goes for years to build up to that level, and once you hit demigod, the powers that be basically start making it their mission to make sure you never get there. You'd need to really focus the whole story around ascending to that level to get there, as far as I can tell, and starting from there just seems like a real mess.

So, aside from a few Knacks here and there, God just sits on my shelf most of the time. Which really is a shame.

[ArcturusV]

One thing for me is that I sprung quite a bit for the PD RPG books, least the last version they came out with. And no one ever wants to play it. Even people that like Table Top games, and like Star Trek, generally balk at playing it. Been wanting to play it for a while, or run it.

It is kinda poorly written however. I mean nothing is ungodly broken poorly written. Just formatting style "poorly written" like they skimped on proofing. To the point where some class entries it's hard to piece things together because the Level Chart and the Ability Descriptions don't match up.

[Lord Raziere]

oh lets see…..

Nobilis
Anima Beyond Fantasy
Ars Magica
Talislanta

….y'know what? most of the books I have. there is more than that.

[navar100]

I have lots of 3E books I bought knowing I'll never use them, and this was before 4E was even considered. They were a good read.

[ArcturusV]

Actually got to play a few Anima: Beyond Fantasy games. Kinda fun until you get the guy with loaded 10s who rolls 100 8 times in a row everytime he's asked to roll...

[TypoNinja]

I feel like the Stronghold Builders Guidebook fits the bill pretty much perfectly. I loved the idea of it, but using it in practice is another story, worse still graphing out your own custom stronghold is about 100 times more of a pain in the ass than I first imagined when I picked it up so long ago.

It's still useful for certain things, we've taken advantage of the rules for wondrous architecture in several games, and some of the items have come in handy (lyre of building in particular is very handy in seagoing games), however not once have we ever sat down and built us a fortress.

[ghost_warlock]

Hyperconscious and Untapped Potential. The only guy around here other than me who'll run 3.5 says he won't allow psionics because they were broken in 2e.

[Balmas]

For me, this has to be Fireborn. It's an awesome concept with simple play, a well developed world. Imagine Shadowrun crossed with D&D. Magic, due to certain incidents, has begun to slowly return to a gritty london, and you have recently discovered the truth of your past life as a dragon. So, either traipse around London fighting evil magical beings or relive your past draconic glory.

Only problem? No one's ever heard of it.

[Chilingsworth]

For me, this has to be Fireborn. It's an awesome concept with simple play, a well developed world. Imagine Shadowrun crossed with D&D. Magic, due to certain incidents, has begun to slowly return to a gritty london, and you have recently discovered the truth of your past life as a dragon. So, either traipse around London fighting evil magical beings or relive your past draconic glory.

Only problem? No one's ever heard of it.

That does sound fun.

For me, the best example would probably be Ghostwalk. It's an interesting setting, but it came out not long before the switch to 3.5 and has seen no support since.

[Grinner]

I've pretty much given up on actually playing most of the games I buy. In fact, the only reason I buy them is to read the setting material.

Favorites include:

• Unknown Armies
• Nobilis
• Anything (old) World of Darkness
• Monsters and Other Childish Things

[Mono Vertigo]

JAGS Wonderland.
The setting is amazing, but JAGS' rules scare me by their complexity. The best I can do is run C:tL and insert elements of the former into the latter.

[Geostationary]

I am proud to say that I get use out of my Nobilis books (both of them!).

As for stuff I'll probably have difficulty ever running:
WTF
Don't Rest Your Head
Magical Burst
The Extraordinary Adventures of Baron Munchhausen
They Became Flesh
Unknown Armies
and probably more!

I just need to find a group strange and/or crazy enough...

[Grinner]

I am proud to say that I get use out of my Nobilis books (both of them!).

May I play in your group?

Also, if I could figure out how it works, I might be interested in a PbP or IRC game of WTF.

[Erik Vale]

The Robotech series. Very interested in collecting them all, if just because Mecha.

[ArcturusV]

Ah, Robotech. Good times, good times. Wish I still had the books.

[Urpriest]

I am proud to say that I get use out of my Nobilis books (both of them!).

As for stuff I'll probably have difficulty ever running:
WTF
Don't Rest Your Head
Magical Burst
The Extraordinary Adventures of Baron Munchhausen
They Became Flesh
Unknown Armies
and probably more!

I just need to find a group strange and/or crazy enough...

Baron Munchhausen is limited enough in scope to work pretty well as a party game, you might get better results introducing it to folks who are less into RPGs in general.

The others, yeah, tricky to run outside of weird one-shots.

[NotScaryBats]

It seems like a lot of people cherry pick the feats / prc / one spell from a book and discard the rest. Maybe that's if you dl it and don't actually pay though...?

[Jerthanis]

Star Children.

You play as a group of David Bowies, saving the world from a 1984 style dystopia through the power of rock and roll.

Too bad it's so awesome, every possible game would pale in comparison afterwards, so none dare try running it.

[Hyooz]

A lot of setting-specific stuff goes underused for me too. Even whole worlds.

Like the Game of Thrones RPG. It'd be interesting to run, but you need a group of people familiar enough with the material to work within the tone and scope, but not SO familiar that I can't run a game within the time of the books and not have them correcting me at every turn.

[Kaun]

every battle tech book i buy. I know it is never getting played, because i look at it and go... wow i would love to play that but could never be bothered running it.

[Geostationary]

May I play in your group?

Also, if I could figure out how it works, I might be interested in a PbP or IRC game of WTF.

Alas! My group is IRL, so that would be difficult. On the other hand, I've found some forum postings about WTF that explain the rules more simply than WTF does, such that I actually get what's going on/what they do. I can share if you and/or others are interested, as I'm determined to find someone(s) crazy enough to try it.

As for Baron Munchhausen, I know a guy that I may be able to get in on it. Just need to get him drunk/at a party with friends...

And, to continue contributing to the thread, The Whispering Vault (AN ELDRITCH HORROR IS YOU!).

[Grinner]

Alas! My group is IRL, so that would be difficult.

I figured as much.

On the other hand, I've found some forum postings about WTF that explain the rules more simply than WTF does, such that I actually get what's going on/what they do. I can share if you and/or others are interested, as I'm determined to find someone(s) crazy enough to try it.

Excellent! Send them my way, and let me know when you start recruiting.

[mistformsquirrl]

Battletech and my OWOD Mage books have both primarily been dust collectors for me, despite loving both immensely. I tried to run OWOD Mage once, but I was too new as a storyteller to really make it sing like it deserved.

[Jack of Spades]

Burning Wheel.. Recently bought books 1-5 for a deal and then realized I would probably never get together a group to play it.
I have all of the 3.5 books electronically, but I don't really enjoy playing or know anyone who plays D&D.
Come to think of it, I never did get around to running that Serenity game...
All the random free and indie RPG's I hunt down compulsively. I have a few dozen at this point.

It doesn't help that I recently stopped playing with the group I've done most of my gaming with, and the group that I've found to replace them isn't willing or able to run a serious game. Not that I mind playing silly games, I just can't write/DM silly games and therefore don't get to choose the system.

[TypoNinja]

every battle tech book i buy. I know it is never getting played, because i look at it and go... wow i would love to play that but could never be bothered running it.

I'm actually going to a Battletech game tomorrow, we've merged in the MechWarrior system and its going great.

The trick we've noticed is that it helps to have a backup GM. Having somebody to help with the paperwork aspects of combat (You walked +1, target moved 5 hexes +2, medium range +2, plus your gunnery of 3, need 8's to hit.) for not just the other players but the NPC mech's you have to manage lets you not have to juggle numbers in your head and instead focus on actually running the combat and story.

Typical combat now involves me (I'm not the GM, I'm the backup numbers guy) being told by either a PC or the GM what the mech's movement was and what its targets movement was, range and weapon, and me lobbing off to hit modifiers. Same thing when it comes to hit locations. The PC or GM attacking rolls his dice and says "X points of damage to his 6" and I supply "Right Torso". Or for missiles, I'll get told something like "9 on a 20 pack" And I'll tell him "16 hits" and then we move to to hit rolls.

You might find that getting yourself an accomplice/sidekick GM might make running the game enough less burdensome that you wouldn't mind the task.

[Madcrafter]

GURPS. My group would never have the patience to learn it though, especially since 3.5 is sitting over there on the shelf. It seems like a great system for pretty much anything. At least the books make for good source material, with their bibliographies and everything.

[ArcturusV]

Ah, BattleTech, good times. I too can't find groups for it either. Most of the guys who would be interested in BattleTech seem to have eventually taken the "I rather just play MechWarrior on PC" side of things. That and if you tell them you don't want to run Clans they get kinda upset. Everyone wants to be a Clanner anymore.

[Maugan Ra]

I'm actually going to a Battletech game tomorrow, we've merged in the MechWarrior system and its going great.

The trick we've noticed is that it helps to have a backup GM. Having somebody to help with the paperwork aspects of combat (You walked +1, target moved 5 hexes +2, medium range +2, plus your gunnery of 3, need 8's to hit.) for not just the other players but the NPC mech's you have to manage lets you not have to juggle numbers in your head and instead focus on actually running the combat and story.

Typical combat now involves me (I'm not the GM, I'm the backup numbers guy) being told by either a PC or the GM what the mech's movement was and what its targets movement was, range and weapon, and me lobbing off to hit modifiers. Same thing when it comes to hit locations. The PC or GM attacking rolls his dice and says "X points of damage to his 6" and I supply "Right Torso". Or for missiles, I'll get told something like "9 on a 20 pack" And I'll tell him "16 hits" and then we move to to hit rolls.

You might find that getting yourself an accomplice/sidekick GM might make running the game enough less burdensome that you wouldn't mind the task.

That's pretty much how my group ran our game, though we didn't have a dedicated backup guy so much as everyone working together to speed combat along. Was really rather fun - we played a mercenary company, which gradually became more and more like a legitimate military force (by the time we had our own planet in the Free Worlds League, being tasked equally with it's defense, we were pretty much made). And, of course, we ran through the Clan invasion from the point of view of the defenders, both in Mech fights and on an infantry scale.

I should note that I was at that wonderful stage of not actually knowing what the hell the Clans were when we reached that point, being somewhat new to the universe. So my character's puzzlement and growing fear of these unknown enemies as we tracked their path of destruction was entirely legitimate.

Our first encounter with a Clanner was when an Elemental, in full power armour, happened upon us while we were investigating a comms post that had gone silent. I ended up taking him on with a vibro-katana in an attempt to cover for my group's retreat, which is still hands down one of my favorite gaming moments of all time.

Anyway, for ceasing the slight derailing... I have the Shadowrun 4e books on my shelf which rarely, if ever, get used. Mostly because my IRL group is largely older than me, and this have the veterans contempt for this new-tangled setting and system.

[Acanous]

RIFTS.

The setting is unique, the world is a super-sandbox, and there's so many books for just the one world it's like Faerun but without the unkillable NPCs.
But it's % based and not D20, and what was party balance, again?
So nobody runs it.

[ArcturusV]

Not to mention the system allows for REALLY broken characters compared to the baseline guys presumed when writing adventures and NPCs for it. Like first level characters with 14 attacks per melee instead of the 2 they presume.