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Your Favorite Tabletop Role-Playing Games

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27 Apr 2017 10:07 #247343 by SuperflyPete
Fiasco.... OMG. What a game.

One of the best "gaming moments" ever was the reveal when my racist Colonel Sanders knockoff turned out to be a Brooklyn mobster. OMG. What a night. I don't think I've laughed that hard since.
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27 Apr 2017 10:16 #247345 by Jackwraith
Gamma World, 3rd Ed. with the 2d10 percent-based system that they borrowed from Marvel Heroes. I loved 1st and 2nd Eds and played campaigns in both of them, but 3rd Ed. was where they really hit it out of the park. I also loved 4th Ed and adapted a lot of my 3rd Ed stuff to keep playing the latest version, but 3rd Ed. was where it really worked for me and I played a campaign that last a few years in that version, including "finishing" the storyline begun with Alpha Factor all the way to my own Omega Base. I loved Gamma World.

TORG. The system was clunky, the card mechanics were never really complete, and the possibilities(!) of the world(s) made it difficult for both players and DM to really shape a campaign, but I loved the expansiveness of it and cannibalized a few ideas for...

3 games that I created; one based initially on the DC comic, Amethyst, and arching into a multiverse; another based loosely on Amber, but involving demonic royal houses and races and some elements from my Gemworld game; and a third based in a multi-dimensional city like Cynosure with two dozen player races and fully-fleshed mechanics that we attempted to get published in the mid-90s. I still have all of my notes and designs from all three of them. The Gemworld one ran for six or seven years; the demon one for a couple; and the multi-city one for about a year.

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27 Apr 2017 11:22 #247357 by Shellhead

Jackwraith wrote: Gamma World, 3rd Ed. with the 2d10 percent-based system that they borrowed from Marvel Heroes. I loved 1st and 2nd Eds and played campaigns in both of them, but 3rd Ed. was where they really hit it out of the park. I also loved 4th Ed and adapted a lot of my 3rd Ed stuff to keep playing the latest version, but 3rd Ed. was where it really worked for me and I played a campaign that last a few years in that version, including "finishing" the storyline begun with Alpha Factor all the way to my own Omega Base. I loved Gamma World.

TORG. The system was clunky, the card mechanics were never really complete, and the possibilities(!) of the world(s) made it difficult for both players and DM to really shape a campaign, but I loved the expansiveness of it and cannibalized a few ideas for...

3 games that I created; one based initially on the DC comic, Amethyst, and arching into a multiverse; another based loosely on Amber, but involving demonic royal houses and races and some elements from my Gemworld game; and a third based in a multi-dimensional city like Cynosure with two dozen player races and fully-fleshed mechanics that we attempted to get published in the mid-90s. I still have all of my notes and designs from all three of them. The Gemworld one ran for six or seven years; the demon one for a couple; and the multi-city one for about a year.


That's funny that you used TORG to run an Amber game, because TORG was originally intended to be an Amber game. West End had the license to do an Amber rpg and board game, but the deal fell through. Their prototype board game was reportedly fun but had too many pieces to be profitable at a time when most boardgames cost $20 or less.

Did you ever see Nexus the Infinite City? That looked like an unlicensed Cynosure rpg, and eventually the same system was used for the Feng Shui rpg.

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27 Apr 2017 11:35 #247358 by Jackwraith
I didn't use TORG for that. The demonworld game that was based on Amber (basically, the players were a sprawling family descended from one father with multiple mothers of varying demon races, competing with each other for power) was my own creation. I incorporated some element of TORG into the Gemworld game, though. Didn't know that about West End's attempt into Amber, though.

I have vague memories of Nexus being on the shelf at the local game store, but never played it.

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27 Apr 2017 13:21 - 27 Apr 2017 13:23 #247365 by Colorcrayons
1) AD&D 1st and 2nd editions. Especially 2nd. That was a mainstay for a decade of vigorous gameplay and by the end, was just brilliant. Greyhawk forever.

2) Talislanta
This was a unique and very nicely realized RPG. Famous for not having any elves. Thought this was mostly used as source material for other fantasy RPGs, the system was not bad for its second end.

3) Gamma world.
When you're a 17 year old kid, sometimes you want to play post apocalyptic RPGs where the most coveted item recovered from booty was an old Bert and Ernie button. The fight over ownership of that object was epic.

4) world of darkness.
The idea for the setting it trite nowadays, but if you've ever read through these books, you have to admit that they put much effort into them and were actually educational to some degree. The best sourcebook they ever made was the Sabbat. That was just right for those of us who saw the lost boys and knew vampires could be rather cool.

5) Earthdawn 1st ed.
Another compelling and fully fleshed out fantasy setting. Its hard to talk about this without going on for full length articles, but heavily underrated. I really enjoyed playing windlings. The character classes were a joy and the mechanics not bad. Supposedly it isbthe ancient past of the shadowrun setting, but I can forgive that sin.
Last edit: 27 Apr 2017 13:23 by Colorcrayons.
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27 Apr 2017 13:54 #247370 by metalface13

Shellhead wrote:

Jackwraith wrote: Gamma World, 3rd Ed. with the 2d10 percent-based system that they borrowed from Marvel Heroes. I loved 1st and 2nd Eds and played campaigns in both of them, but 3rd Ed. was where they really hit it out of the park. I also loved 4th Ed and adapted a lot of my 3rd Ed stuff to keep playing the latest version, but 3rd Ed. was where it really worked for me and I played a campaign that last a few years in that version, including "finishing" the storyline begun with Alpha Factor all the way to my own Omega Base. I loved Gamma World.

TORG. The system was clunky, the card mechanics were never really complete, and the possibilities(!) of the world(s) made it difficult for both players and DM to really shape a campaign, but I loved the expansiveness of it and cannibalized a few ideas for...

3 games that I created; one based initially on the DC comic, Amethyst, and arching into a multiverse; another based loosely on Amber, but involving demonic royal houses and races and some elements from my Gemworld game; and a third based in a multi-dimensional city like Cynosure with two dozen player races and fully-fleshed mechanics that we attempted to get published in the mid-90s. I still have all of my notes and designs from all three of them. The Gemworld one ran for six or seven years; the demon one for a couple; and the multi-city one for about a year.


That's funny that you used TORG to run an Amber game, because TORG was originally intended to be an Amber game. West End had the license to do an Amber rpg and board game, but the deal fell through. Their prototype board game was reportedly fun but had too many pieces to be profitable at a time when most boardgames cost $20 or less.

Did you ever see Nexus the Infinite City? That looked like an unlicensed Cynosure rpg, and eventually the same system was used for the Feng Shui rpg.


There was an officially licensed Amber game though, right? I remember seeing a copy of it shoved in some discount box at a comic store way back when I was in high school. I wish I had bought it, just for the additional Amber fluff if anything else.

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27 Apr 2017 15:04 #247377 by Shellhead
Amber Diceless is the only officially licensed Amber rpg. The core book is great, and focuses on the five Corwin books:



There was a second sourcebook that covers the Merlin books, along with some second-rate material regarding demons:



And a completed but unpublished sourcebook:

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27 Apr 2017 16:15 #247383 by metalface13
Yeah, they had the Amber one, wish I had picked it up, just because.

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28 Apr 2017 02:23 #247397 by Xerxes
1. Dragon Warriors - flat out the best and most atmospheric low fantasy rpg
2. Dream Park - enormous fun as you're role playing someone who is role playing
4 Classic Traveller - still gets an occasional outing, mainly supeceded by Dream Park
5. GURPS - has become a bit unwieldy to be fun
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28 Apr 2017 20:56 #247427 by Hex Sinister
Jeez, Charlie lists ten and I never heard of any of them heh.

1. AD&D - 3.5
My first love in gaming. Opener of many doors.

2. Call of C'thulhu
This was a big hit for us back in '87-'89. Probably the best campaign I was ever a part of. We were hooked like it was crack and would even start games at fucking midnight on a few occasions. None of us knew HPL before this so it was all new and refreshing. Nowadays it's like, "Oh, a Shoggoth". Back then it was WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT AAAAHG!

3. Villians and Vigilanties
Playing a superhero you made up for a new setting is fucking dope. Playing as Wolverine and The Hulk, not as dope. Those guys come with histories and baggage and the rest of the Marvel universe. Here, your guy can become a bloodstain and everythings cool. Maybe not the greatest system but we had a hell of a good time.

4. Elric
Also probably not a great system either but exploring the strange and perilous world was lots of fun. Mechanics take a back seat to the setting here.

5. Gamma World
I don't love any of the systems that I've played and haven't tried the ones Jack mentioned. But what isn't there to love about Gamma World?
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01 May 2017 08:50 - 01 May 2017 08:50 #247514 by charlest

Hex Sinister wrote: Jeez, Charlie lists ten and I never heard of any of them heh.


It's like music and film, they're not as cool if other people like 'em.

But seriously, I played AD&D, D&D 3.0/3.5, Star Wars, White Wolf, etc. for years and enjoyed them. My group found story RPGs around 2005 and never looked back. All of those games I listed produced the best experiences I've had with RPGs. If I was going back to RPGs today I can't imagine playing a different type of game. Shared narrative, player authorship, and conflict based on moral choices and consequences are where it's at.
Last edit: 01 May 2017 08:50 by charlest.
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02 May 2017 18:37 #247608 by Feelitmon
1. AD&D / Rolemaster / Dave Hargrave / Chivalry & Sorcery mash-up. This was easily the most fun I've had with roleplaying, although eventually the DM became a bit of a bastard. Played favorites, fudged rolls to at least a 10:1 crit:fumble ratio, got so attached to his NPCs that he had them outshine some PCs, etc. But until things got bad this was like the perfect storm of roleplaying. The DM was on disability and thus could create content all day, every day. We had about fifteen regular, college-aged players of his games (usually about half of whom were in any given session), and each of us had at least nine characters (three for each major area in the game world). The game calendar was kept religiously. PvP intrigue all over the place. Extremely high mortality rates. Warhammer mini rules used for mass combat. Just a huge, enjoyable mess. But the system, which was essentially AD&D with a bunch of other ideas bolted on for flavor, supported it all admirably. It was an interesting time in the 80s since everyone was still figuring out the hobby.

2. Champions is the game that I have probably spent the most time thinking about, creating content, engaging with other players and GMs online, and proof-reading. This is a wonderful points-based superhero game in the mold of V&V or GURPS Supers. What Champions does so well is to model the seemingly irreconcilable facts that a) superheroes wield destructive power that ought to result in massive loss of life and b) most comics don't actually kill off major characters very often. So one player wants to play a gun-toting super-patriot with no qualms about killing, another player wants to play an invulnerable brawler, and the third player wants to play a psionic character with completely normal physical characteristics? Champions has you covered, and quite elegantly. This was GURPS before GURPS, and it did it better, although the HERO system had mixed results when ported over to non-superhero settings, in my opinion.

3. Aftermath! is a Fantasy Games Unlimited post-apocalyptic game. Sort of like Twilight 2000 with far worse art but, in my opinion, a better and more flexible setting. Very crunchy rules, but they allowed for fantastic storytelling. This one was very fun to play but probably a bit of a bear to GM.

4. I just picked up Eclipse Phase a little while ago, and it's a fascinating read so far. I don't think my gaming crew will go for it--for science fiction we're probably more of a Star Wars group. But if you're interested in some Altered Carbon-meets-Blindsight by way of Ghost in the Shell then it's worth a look!
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02 May 2017 20:45 #247620 by bendgar
Does anyone have any experience with the older Runequest? I see no one has mentioned it and it had been on my radar for a while. I have heard good things about its simultaneous actions and treatment of damage and armor.

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02 May 2017 21:18 #247625 by Feelitmon

bendgar wrote: Does anyone have any experience with the older Runequest? I see no one has mentioned it and it had been on my radar for a while. I have heard good things about its simultaneous actions and treatment of damage and armor.

I did play it way back when it and Tunnels & Trolls were the early mainstream alternatives to AD&D. One of the things that it had going for it was a skills-focused percentile-dice-based system that got away from the "fighters do this, mages do that" approach. Armor was interesting because it didn't really make you harder to hit (easier, in fact, iirc) but it did soak damage, and hit locations were very important. Other systems like Harnmaster (which is amazing and brutal but probably only really suited to its low-magic, pseudo-14th Century setting) did that too, but as far as I know Runequest was one of the innovators there. I have no idea how well it's still supported, but I would bet dollars to donuts that there's an online community of fans devoted to keeping it alive.

Oh yeah! I do play King of Dragon Pass, which is a fantastic little mobile port of an old CRPG that is set in the Runequest world. That doesn't really count, but I will say that the Runequest world, Glorantha, is quite well fleshed out at this point. Not to Harn or Empire of the Petal Throne standards, but far better than most.
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02 May 2017 23:57 #247631 by bendgar
Thank you. I will also have to give KoDP another go. I bought it over a year ago and it immediately seemed way deeper than I wanted in a mobile game. I had no idea it was the same world as Runequest.

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