Looking for new gaming system

[mudbunny]

I am considering buying a new system.

I currently have D&D 3.5, and will more than likely be buying 4.0 when it comes out. However, I would also like to pick up a new game system that I would be able to play on-line, via play-by-post.

Any suggestions??

[psychoticbarber]

Why not try Fudge? Simple system, you can use it do whatever you like, it's fairly intuitive, and best of all: It's free.

[Grum]

You should pick up Harnmaster by Columbia Games. IMHO, it is one of the best systems ever made. It is the system that I presently play. It is medieval fantasy with a very realistic flavor. I recommend it to anyone that is looking for something outside the blandness of the d20 universe.

If that doesn't suit your needs, and you need something with a little more fantasy then try Warhammer Fantasy RP.

[Ashtar]

or Risus, just try the solo adventures for an idea of how the system works.

Risus and Fudge are good systems to try out for fun. Also, why not go crazy on pokéthulhu ?

There is also BESM (Big Eyes Small Mouth) which is based on the Tri-Stat DX engine (available for free), a system that works quite well for simulating anime.

And finally, Ars Magica, a system for playing magus in early 13th century mythical europe. With a very comprehensive magic system that allows both "named spells" (à la fireball or grasping hand) and instantaneous invocations (I want to make bubbles appear in the air). I am quite a fan of Ars, but my players are more DnDish.

Silouhette from DP9 is also a great RPG system, that is adaptable to anything from cavemen to hyper-sci-fi mecha combat. I've even used it to play Anime style college scenario using social attacks (Can Etsuko-san cause a nosebleed when foreign student Oliver walks into the wrong side of the hot baths?). The worlds they offer are Heavy Gear, a mecha à la Votoms world and Jovian Chronicles which is Gundam inspired. Again, I love the system!

[Kurald Galain]

Is there any reason why you can't play D&D on-line or via play-by-post? Lots of people do.

What are you looking for in a system? Simplicity? Rules? Fantasy? Scifi? Western?

[mudbunny]

Hmm, good point.

Like I mentioned, I already have D&D and am playing in PbP, but I would like something a bit more different from that.

I wouldn't mind something sci-fi'ish.

Some systems I have been thinking of:

World of Darkness
ShadowRun

There are also some other, heavy sci-fi systems out there that I know of only by name, like Traveler or Rifts.

I wouldn't mind something that isn't quite as complex as TableRolemaster. The rules should be fairly crunchy, but with some decent Fluff as well.

[Morty]

Warhammer Fantasy RPG is a solid dark fantasy system. I don't think if it's played via PbP often, though.

[MrNexx]

There are also some other, heavy sci-fi systems out there that I know of only by name, like Traveler or Rifts.

I wouldn't mind something that isn't quite as complex as TableRolemaster. The rules should be fairly crunchy, but with some decent Fluff as well.

If you want a good mix of fairly crunchy, decent fluff, and are looking at heavy Sci-fi, Rifts is a good option. Palladium's been producing for 26 years now, and all of their stuff (except for a couple things bought from other people) is compatible with each other. Their prices are low (compared to other gaming companies), but their printing quality is high, and while some of the mid-field of worldbooks are kinda munchkiny, the recent releases have really brought back the core of the game.

Plus, they have a kickin' fantasy game (fully compatible with Rifts), and a sourcebook series specifically made up of non-canon things made up by fans that's about to enter it's tenth year.

[Pauwel]

I recommen Shadowrun and Ars Magica, but those have been mentioned, so yeah.

Besides those, Mutants and Masterminds is a fantastic system; it's meant for superhero games, but it can be used perfectly well for fantasy too (and Star Wars-ish sci-fi, I guess).

[Yakk]

http://www.gregstolze.com/reign/index.html
Interesting dice mechanic, fantasy, based around influencing the world via organizations.

http://epicrpg.com/
A nicely gritty fantasy roleplaying game and world.

http://www.rpg.net/news+reviews/reviews/rev_6989.html
Noblis. Reality is under siege, and you are manning the wall. You are the appointed guardian of an aspect of reality. You could be Swords, or Dice, or Blue, or Fire, or Feathers, or Innocent Until Proven Guilty, or Love. If you fall, so does that aspect of reality.

http://www.arcdream.com/wildtalents/
A gritty superhero game. This is the "2nd edition" (the first one had different rules, and was set during a super-powered WWI) in practice if not in name.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aberran...-playing_game)
Another super-powered RPG. In 1998, super humans appeared. What the hell is going on? Less gritty.

http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/12/12558.phtml
Spirit of the Century. Pulp adventure (the genre that Indiana Jones/Crimson Skies/Tomb Raider/etc was based on). Uses the Fate engine.

Hope that's a nice selection to look at. :)

[Monney Dhoo]

Some systems I have been thinking of:

World of Darkness
ShadowRun

I am a big fan of the new World of Darkness system, it is simple to understand, but its design is such that it can be easily applied to most situations. It uses a attribute + skill system, where simply you roll a number of dice equal to the dots you have in the attribute and the skill. You then have modifiers based upon the difficulty of the roll. The setting is a dark personal horror, where the world is like ours, but more degenerate, there are more gangs, who are more violent, etc.

The system also allows for different types of games where you play different types of supernatural creature, such as vampires or werewolves.With these the horror shifts to being about the differences between you and the normal humans and your monstrous nature.

ShadowRun is an absurdly complex system to play, with detailed rules for lots of situations. When I played it I found it to be too mathematically based for me to be interested in it. Though to be fair this was a one of game, were nobody (not even the GM) had played the system before. I can see after a few sessions the game flowing better when everybody is used to the system and know what the characters can do in each situation and the rolls required. Setting wise, with Shadowrun I find the forcing of the fantasy races in to the system to be a bit annoying, and I would be more interested in a straight cyberpunk game.

One good piece of advice, if you go Drive-Thru RPG they have a section for free pdfs and some of these are the basic rules for different systems. In there, there is a game called Witchcraft, which is a full PDF rulebook with a decent amount of detail and it is free.

[horseboy]

Well, for sci-fi, if you can find it, Twilight 2000 is loads of fun. You never really know your buddies until you've played a couple of T2K games with them McGuyvering their way through everything. It's almost archetype for the post-apocalypse role playing game. If you love Red Dawn, you'll love T2K.

For Cyber punk, well there's Cyberpunk. Granted I haven't played the newer edition(s). But the old stuff from the mid 90's was fun.

There's several Earthdawn games over at RPGHQ. ED is a solid game built around the concept of roleplaying a character. (As opposed to d20's rollplaying a character )

[Ashtar]

Oh, I second Cyberpunk, it's great!

As for Shadowrun, my memory is that the system is a bit clunky, but it's been a long time and I played an earlier edition.

How come no one has mentioned GURPS? It's good too, and there's hundreds of books out for it.

With a good DM and players into japanese culture, Legend of the 5 Rings is awesome.

[Jannex]

I'll throw in a third vote in favor of Cyberpunk 2020. I haven't seen the new stuff either, but the older edition is fantastic.

I can also highly recomment White Wolf. I vastly prefer the original World of Darkness to nWoD, but the latter is probably easier to find, as far as acquiring books. Exalted and Scion are also amazing, but you said you were looking in a more sci-fi direction.

[Lord Tataraus]

I can't resist...I fourth Cyberpunk 2020. Its one of my favorite systems. Too bad my players don't think the same...

[Gnorosch]

Well, generally you can play all games online as play-by-post. Furthermore, it would have been helpful if you actually mentioned what genre you would have liked...

Nonetheless, here are my suggestions:

The Shadow of Yesterday is pulpy romantic sword-and-sorcery at the end of one world and the beginning of the next.

Angel Roleplaying Game
This game is based on the TV show Angel and works very well for all kind of modern fantasy.

Hollow Earth Expedition is a pulp game playing in the 1930 - investigate the world inside the world, fight against dinosaurs riding nazis and evil people from Atlantis.

And last but not least, I would like to second Silouhette, which makes truly for a fine science fiction RPG.

[Yithian]

I highly recommend the new World of Darkness. It is a simple system that works very well. I also advocate the supernatural sub-games within the World of Darkness. So far there are 5, all of which are good. The five are Vampire, Werewolf, Mage, Promethean (think Frankenstein), and Changeling (interesting concept, just released, well made, balanced and just plain cool). All of them are very worthy games that I endorse very much.

Then there is Exalted (second ed.) - good game with cool characters. If pulp adventure and extraordinary, anime-ish feats that are sort of thing you're looking for, this is something to consider. I should note that the system is VERY crunchy, but surprisingly balanced.

Yithian

[Jannex]

I can't resist...I fourth Cyberpunk 2020. Its one of my favorite systems. Too bad my players don't think the same...

You could always run it as a pbp on the forums here... (Drop me a PM if you do? )

[mudbunny]

Thanks for all of the helpful suggestions. Please keep them coming. You have all provided me with a bunch of links to read and systems to get info on.

Thanks again!!

[Sundog]

I might suggest HERO System. It's a generic system similar to (but predating) GURPS, and like that product, comes as a central rule-book and a variety of "plug-in" sourcebooks for various genres. You'd probably be interested in Star Hero, and possibly the setting books Alien Wars and Terran Empire (same universe, different time periods).

HERO can be a bit daunting at first (the fifth edition, revised rulebook is HUGE) but everything works smoothly and every individual rule is quite simple - even the sheer NUMBER of rules, though large, is not unmanageable. Personally, I love the system.

[mudbunny]

I was taking a look at the World of Darkness stuff, as it seems to be, other than D&D and GURPS, one of the big players, and had a question.

How likely is it that a game of WoD will turn into an emo angst-fest??

[horseboy]

How likely is it that a game of WoD will turn into an emo angst-fest??

Yes. Either an emo angst-fest or wonton, complete senseless violence.

[mudbunny]

Yes. Either an emo angst-fest or wonton, complete senseless violence.

Complete senseless violence is good. Emo angst-fest is bad. I hear enough about it from my high-school-teacher wife.

How about Rifts?? I have been looking at it, and it seems to offer quite a wide range of possibilities for play, from sci-fi to fantasy to horror. How is Rifts: Ultimate Edition?? It came out in 2005, according to the Palladium website/

[Jannex]

I was taking a look at the World of Darkness stuff, as it seems to be, other than D&D and GURPS, one of the big players, and had a question.

How likely is it that a game of WoD will turn into an emo angst-fest??

That all depends on the other players. You can angst it up in D&D, with a fiend-blooded drow bard who hates his heritage and cuts himself. World of Darkness isn't necessarily any more of an "emo angst-fest" than the next system, unless the players want it to be. I've played countless World of Darkness games that never turned into that sort of thing. As far as the original World of Darkness is concerned, Mage: the Ascension is especially good for avoiding angsty-whiny tendencies.

[horseboy]

Complete senseless violence is good. Emo angst-fest is bad. I hear enough about it from my high-school-teacher wife.

Yeah, I don't know what it was about WW, well yeah, it's written for the emo crowd. Course the game system is so loose that any munchkin worth his salt will have a field day. Mage and Changeling are the two least emo of the bunch, but mage is so broken, that well, just no.

How about Rifts?? I have been looking at it, and it seems to offer quite a wide range of possibilities for play, from sci-fi to fantasy to horror. How is Rifts: Ultimate Edition?? It came out in 2005, according to the Palladium website/

Rifts is good. I've done a couple of Rifts campaigns (though I usually use different mechanics). With Rifts, the GM has to set VERY strict guidelines about which characters are and aren't available for this game. Otherwise the principle story line gets drowned out pretty quick.

[mudbunny]

Yeah, I don't know what it was about WW, well yeah, it's written for the emo crowd. Course the game system is so loose that any munchkin worth his salt will have a field day. Mage and Changeling are the two least emo of the bunch, but mage is so broken, that well, just no.

Broken as in munckinable with little trouble??

Rifts is good. I've done a couple of Rifts campaigns (though I usually use different mechanics). With Rifts, the GM has to set VERY strict guidelines about which characters are and aren't available for this game. Otherwise the principle story line gets drowned out pretty quick.

One question I had for Rifts: It seems like it offers a very wide range of playstyles. Does it do them all well, or has the system spread itself so thin that it does all of them crappy.

Edit - I have also been looking at Cyberpunk 2020. On the home page (http://talsorian.safeshopper.com/8/cat8.htm?550) they have a listing for both Cyberpunk v3 and Cyberpunk 2020. Same game, just v3 is newer??

[Ralfarius]

How likely is it that a game of WoD will turn into an emo angst-fest??

For the core book, where you're a squishy human: Depends on the players
For Mage: Not too likely, you'll be too busy trying to explain why someone trying to whip a fireball down the street is bad for them.
For Werewolf: Hopefully not. This game is about tearing things apart (there's more to it, yes, but at its core its the most senselessly violent)
For Vampire: There's a decent chance. This is the one you would most likely want to stay away from if you don't want angst and melodrama.

[horseboy]

Broken as in munckinable with little trouble??

Imagine giving Logic Ninja a carte blanch magic system who's main restriction is "Don't make it too obvious."

One question I had for Rifts: It seems like it offers a very wide range of playstyles. Does it do them all well, or has the system spread itself so thin that it does all of them crappy.

I'd compare it favorably with Torg. If you take the main rulebook and which ever setting book you want it'll do good. The problem is that if you don't restrict the books it gets really muddled really quick. If, for example if your main theme is about how hard it is for humanity's survival and your characters are a dragon, True Atlantien, Psi cat (or whatever they're called in South America. Nexx, those Nermal looking little cats)and a Psi-hound, nobody is going to care about the humans.

[Jannex]

Yeah, I don't know what it was about WW, well yeah, it's written for the emo crowd. Course the game system is so loose that any munchkin worth his salt will have a field day. Mage and Changeling are the two least emo of the bunch, but mage is so broken, that well, just no.

In my experience, Mage is only "broken" if you've got a ST who's really lenient on the Paradox rules. And honestly, out of the original World of Darkness games, only Vampire was really "written to be emo" at all, and I seldom saw it actually played that way.

Changeling, of course, is just awesome.

[mudbunny]

In my experience, Mage is only "broken" if you've got a ST who's really lenient on the Paradox rules. And honestly, out of the original World of Darkness games, only Vampire was really "written to be emo" at all, and I seldom saw it actually played that way.

Changeling, of course, is just awesome.

So it can be emo if I let it get emo, and broken as long as I throw common sense out of the window and let my players fast-talk me...