has there ever been a proper guide to different RPG systems?

[EvilElitest]

Well as can be seen in some of my recent threads, i've been considering a new RPG system. The problem is that i'm mostly going by word of mouth and wikipedia reviews, which is a rather hindered way to get information. So i wondered, is there a proper "guide" to the different games/genres of Table Top RPGs out there, like a book taht can explain to you the background, details, and advantages/disadvantages of varying editions. if there isn't, would anybody be interested in seeing something like that, like a book that briefly covers the basics of a wide range of RPG games?
from
EE

[Krrth]

Not as far as I know. You best bet is to hit the gaming stores, and ask for a demo. Either that, or hit some of the PbP games here and try them out.

[EvilElitest]

there isn't any site/book that just covers the most predominate games and briefly explains them then?
from
EE

[Krrth]

Most likely not. There's just way too many. Just looking at the gaming shelf in my computer room I see 14 different systems.

[EvilElitest]

hmmm, would you be interested if there was such a book? I know i would, just to give me some info on games i've never heard of before
from
EE

[Krrth]

Quite frankly, yes I would. I've found some real gems by accident. Ones that are either out of print, or for some reason never really caught on. For example, in fantasy, Chivalry and Sorcery was actually kind of fun. It's been out of print for almost 20 years, however.

[charl]

Well, if you are looking for the "perfect" gaming experience, what is stopping you from making your own system tailored to your specific needs?
I've done it dozens of times. It's not hard. There are lots of advantages to this, apart from you getting exactly what you want you can also make changes or come up with rules for new situations on the fly. Not that anything is really stopping you from doing that with an existing system...

[EvilElitest]

yeah, i think that would be great. I mean i'm looking at wikipedia and there are about 150 games there, but they tell so little taht i don't know anything about them.
from
EE

[EvilElitest]

Well, if you are looking for the "perfect" gaming experience, what is stopping you from making your own system tailored to your specific needs?
I've done it dozens of times. It's not hard. There are lots of advantages to this, apart from you getting exactly what you want you can also make changes or come up with rules for new situations on the fly. Not that anything is really stopping you from doing that with an existing system...

I've already played the systems i have, and i want to try something new, expand, see new things. But because everything is so damn expensive, i have to be absurdly careful making a choice and i don't want to regret it when i do it
from
EE

[charl]

I've already played the systems i have, and i want to try something new, expand, see new things. But because everything is so damn expensive, i have to be absurdly careful making a choice and i don't want to regret it when i do it
from
EE

Making things yourself is free, apart from the cost of papers and pencils, or electricity for computers. ;)

Let your creativity flow. Don't like difficulty classes? Then make it so you roll below a set value to succeed. Skill levels getting old? Make the skills binary (like in the Warhammer Fantasy RPG), either you can do something or you can't. Tired of hitpoints? Make up some other system, using different types of "wounds" like KULT. Dice annoying you? Use a deck of poker cards, or tarot even.

That's just scratching the surface of what you could possibly do.

[Thinker]

I've already played the systems i have, and i want to try something new, expand, see new things. But because everything is so damn expensive, i have to be absurdly careful making a choice and i don't want to regret it when i do it
from
EE

I've always been a fan of try before you buy. I'm sure there are some websites out there that can give you "previews".

[EvilElitest]

Making things yourself is free, apart from the cost of papers and pencils, or electricity for computers. ;)

Let your creativity flow. Don't like difficulty classes? Then make it so you roll below a set value to succeed. Skill levels getting old? Make the skills binary (like in the Warhammer Fantasy RPG), either you can do something or you can't. Tired of hitpoints? Make up some other system, using different types of "wounds" like KULT. Dice annoying you? Use a deck of poker cards, or tarot even.

That's just scratching the surface of what you could possibly do.

yeah i know about all that, but the thing is i like to play actual system and see how they work out. For example, i never played Kult, i don't know how it works. I think it would be great if i could read a review explaining it, or playing it, but looking up each and every system is tedious. I think a single document would be amazing

Would anybody else like that?
from
EE

[charl]

KULT is out-of-print. The latest edition used a system that was very much like the one used by Call of Cthulhu (not the d20 crap, the real stuff) or by the Swedish RPG Mutant (only the latest edition, the older ones used different systems I think, but that's a moot point since I pretty much can assume you don't read Swedish). I know the system has a name, but I can't recall it right now.

EDIT: Basic. It's called basic.

[xPANCAKEx]

just play FATAL - its clearly the best thing out there

[EvilElitest]

interesting

The thing is, i wish there was some niffty book where you could go and just look this stuff up and find out basic details you know what i mean?
from
EE
edit
FATAL, he Shreeded Mouse of RPGs

[Prometheus]

There isn't a guide, however there is a service which answers any question you could have about an obscure RPG or will recommend one that fits the descriptions of what you are looking for. What is this service? The boards!

[charl]

Of course that would be pretty nifty, but it would probably be difficult due to copyrights, and the sheer number of roleplaying games out there. You would also have to look at different countries and regions. Anglophone RPGs go in one direction while Asian ones go in another and European countries are a mess of different preferences in roleplaying, some quite unique.

After looking at different systems you tend to get the hang of how things work anyway. There's a tendency for systems to follow the same basic paths, and there seems to be a set number of paths available on the market, with the occasional innovative product that usually isn't that good anyway.

[EvilElitest]

honestly through, it would be much more convent than just searching through a series of reviews/word of mouth claims. I mean, you could just look through it and find a game you never heard of that you'd be interested in playing. I know I'd buy a book like that, or visit a website like taht
from
EE

[Zeta Kai]

A published comparative guide would be nice. Why do you start writing one EE? I'm sure that you'd do a great job (assuming that you ever learned to capitalize words properly ).

[EvilElitest]

A published comparative guide would be nice. Why do you start writing one EE? I'm sure that you'd do a great job (assuming that you ever learned to capitalize words properly ).

that actually would be an interesting project, through i'd have to buy a lot of books Oh and shut up
from
EE

[charl]

honestly through, it would be much more convent than just searching through a series of reviews/word of mouth claims. I mean, you could just look through it and find a game you never heard of that you'd be interested in playing. I know I'd buy a book like that, or visit a website like taht
from
EE

Well, we COULD make a thread here about just that thing. People making short reviews and describing different games they have tried in a few short non-copyright infringing sentences, and reserving the first few posts in the topic for summaries or links to specific posts.

[EvilElitest]

that could actually work, through the amount of people with books woudl be a little diffacult
from
EE

[Calinero]

There one was a great gathering of all the greatest gamers in the land. They compiled all the wisdom from the vastest reaches of the internet and word of mouth, and put it all into one master book of the greatest RPG games ever. However, they made a deadly mistake--FATAL was included in the book, perhaps as a joke. It's contamination swiftly spread, and the entire book was ruined. They were lucky to escape with their lives. So....no. There is no complete list.

[EvilElitest]

There one was a great gathering of all the greatest gamers in the land. They compiled all the wisdom from the vastest reaches of the internet and word of mouth, and put it all into one master book of the greatest RPG games ever. However, they made a deadly mistake--FATAL was included in the book, perhaps as a joke. It's contamination swiftly spread, and the entire book was ruined. They were lucky to escape with their lives. So....no. There is no complete list.

huh what is the reference too? FATAL corrupts from within
from
EE

[horseboy]

To my knowledge the best answer would be for you to throw out a question about a system you're interested in learning more about. Someone here has played it. Other options would probably be the Pugknowspro series, or the free sections on places like drivethrustuff There's usually some introductory modules and demo pdfs there for you to thumb through.

[kbk]

Okay, lets see what I've played all of these (and run most of these):

DnD (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 3.5, 4th):
You likely know about DnD. Most of my experience is 2nd with skills and powers on.

White wolf
(Original vampire, mage, werewolf, demon, mummy, changeling, hunter. New: Vampire, Mage)

Paranoia
While long term games in paranoia are unlikely, the game is just so much fun. Its an autocratic future world run by an intelligent computer. Questioning the computer is treason. Everyone is required to be happy. There are pills to assist. The Computer is perfect. Commie mutant traitors must be found out and destroyed! Everyone has 6 identical clones of themselves, and everyone is a commie mutant traitor of some sort. Questioning the computer is treason, the computer is perfect, and so everyone cloned is perfect.

The system relies on story, and its a basic roll a d20 and describe what you do. The more detail, the more bonuses.

Deadlands (original and Savage worlds).
Cards and dice are an awesome combination. I love deadlands. Western horror.

Call of Cthulu:
Great roleplaying system. Light on survability. Everyone goes insane eventually, and everyone is fragile. Great fun.

Shadowrun; rifts; Torg; Big Eyes, Small Mouth (BESM); and Obsidian have all also seen some playtime from me. There's got to be about a half dozen more that I can't remember.


Seriously, I recommend White Wolf, call of cthulu, and deadlands.


There just isn't much in the way of comprehensive reviews. Most cites I find are biased or focused on one system or another. There are not too many true cosmopolitan gamers, and its hard to find the ones that are. Your best bet is to try to play some demos in con or a gaming store. Get a friend to try out a product and just give it a shot. Be open, but critical. There is a lot of crap out there too.

[elliott20]

There just isn't much in the way of comprehensive reviews. Most cites I find are biased or focused on one system or another. There are not too many true cosmopolitan gamers, and its hard to find the ones that are. Your best bet is to try to play some demos in con or a gaming store. Get a friend to try out a product and just give it a shot. Be open, but critical. There is a lot of crap out there too.

a true cosmopolitan gamer would not have enough experience with a system to be a thorough judge a good deal of the time. I know about 3-4 people in my group who came close simply because they devote such a large amount of their time trying games and analyzing games. but even then, their knowledge is limited.

Having said that, my recommendation is to go story-games.com and ask people there for reviews, as the posters there, by virtue of a lot of them being aspiring indy game designers, spend a lot of their time trying out systems, both mainstream and indy. post what kind of things you're looking for and people can usually pull out some interesting advice. (though, highly unorthodox)

[The Rose Dragon]

I recommend Mutants & Masterminds.

Why?

Because it's the best superhero RPG in the world (it says so right on the cover) plus it is highly adaptable to nearly any situation.

[Kiero]

there isn't any site/book that just covers the most predominate games and briefly explains them then?
from
EE

There's the Game Index on RPGnet (currently at just under 9500 games). User-entered content, but tries to list most things. Also got the reviews attached to those games. Plus of course just posting there and asking about a game, which will tend to get you a broad(ish) range of responses about the good and bad.

Also there's John Kim's Encyclopaedia of games. Not bad as a starting point.

Also worth considering that there's tons of free stuff out there (of varying quality). John H Kim has a massive list of free stuff on his website.

[Tengu_temp]

Well, if you are looking for the "perfect" gaming experience, what is stopping you from making your own system tailored to your specific needs?
I've done it dozens of times. It's not hard. There are lots of advantages to this, apart from you getting exactly what you want you can also make changes or come up with rules for new situations on the fly. Not that anything is really stopping you from doing that with an existing system...

Note - making your own game might sound simple, but it actually requires a lot of effort and playtesting, or else you will end up with something that looks nice on paper, but is unplayable.