What are some of your favorite RPG systems?

[Nervaqus987]

Exactly what the title asks, what are some of the rpg systems that you love?

Not necessarily the ones attached to a particular setting, although they could be if you felt that it just nailed a particular part of the setting mechanically.

Basically, the ones where you find yourself going "Yeah, I can totally represent that with this system" or you find a new game and/or setting and one of your first impulses is to start converting.


For me my first love system wise is one called Unisystem, in particular I prefer the Classic version over the Cinematic. It's a really easy system to learn and in play, it gets its work done quickly and easily and then fades into the background. It's also one of the systems I've personally found easiest to homebrew for, which considering I'm more of a fluff over crunch guy says a lot.

It also provides one of my favorite nanotech systems. Not particularly sure why, but I just adore it.

That said, there is some silliness in the system and some questionable points of design and/or balance. Telekinesis can get some pretty odd results, ordinary handguns can keep up damage wise with things like throwing fireballs and lightening bolts, and some more stuff I can't remember off the top of my head.

A new system that I've recently sunk my teeth into and come to love is Hero System(6th). Funny thing about this one, I don't much care for the system as a whole and still have some trouble fully grokking how damage works, but I can ignore all of that for the power creation system.

I just don't know what to say about it other than I actually find it a hell of a lot of fun to play with and seeing just what powers I can put together. Answer? A whole hell of a lot.

 

[Master of Squirrel-fu]

I like Mutants and Masterminds. The system is flexible and made so that nearly any kind of power or can be built in it. The system is made to discourage munchkining with the use of Complications that don't get you extra stats but rather award Hero Points in a campaign where they become plot relevant to allow extra leeway in dealing with unfavorable circumstances. What I enjoy best about it is that it's a great system for doing crossovers because you can for the most part stat out two characters from wildly different settings and toss them both into a campaign and watch the fireworks.

 

[Plotvitalnpc]

I've played GURPS 3e, Exalted 2.5e, Maid RPG, and am playing Magical Burst.
I like the latter two.
I want to play Golden Sky Stories.
My softcover copy speaks to me.

 

[Tea]

I'd have to say at first blush, D&D 2nd edition and GURPS third. Then maybe D&D 3.5/Pathfinder or any D20 really. Although I do have a soft spot for White Wolf's system in old World of Darkness.

 

[Plotvitalnpc]

I'd have to say at first blush, D&D 2nd edition and GURPS third. Then maybe D&D 3.5/Pathfinder or any D20 really. Although I do have a soft spot for White Wolf's system in old World of Darkness.

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Out of interest, you played Gurps Fourth?
I only ever played third, so I can't compare them.

 

[Valette-Serafina]

D&D 5th. It's smooth and simple.

Ex2 is a bloody mess, but I still love it. It takes effort and invested players to make it work, but when it does...

I'm somewhat soured on Pathfinder for the sheer note-keeping needed, but it's still a good system.

Fantasy Flight's Star Wars systems. (Edge of Empire, Age of Rebellion, Force and Destiny.)

 

[Jiven]

I like Exalted 2.5, I love using LOTS of Dices.

 

[thebrute7]

I really like D&D 3.5 on the whole, but I hate having to slap players upside the head when they try to powergame.

"No, you dipshit, I'm not going to let you break the system over your knee. Yes, I know it's in the rules, but I'm the GM and I told you no. We're playing a fucking roleplaying campaign, not a dungeon crawl. If you want to play RaW and slaughter enemies hand over fist go find another GM."

"And no, god no, you can't play a fucking Psionic. Because fuck Psionics, that's why." My rage against Psionics is (mostly) baseless, but I can't help it. Every player I've ever had who played a Psionic pissed me the fuck off, so I don't allow it anymore.

 

[Nekraa]

I have fond memories of Eon (Swedish rpg), though I'm not sure if the rules are that good. But it was one of the first RPGs I played with.

 

[tehelgee]

"And no, god no, you can't play a fucking Psionic. Because fuck Psionics, that's why." My rage against Psionics is (mostly) baseless, but I can't help it. Every player I've ever had who played a Psionic pissed me the fuck off, so I don't allow it anymore.

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: (

 

[Trilonias]

Deadlands. Maybe it's because of the cards used in the system. Or the setting. I like others, but most were already mentioned, thus Deadlands. I think Savage Worlds uses the same system as well.

 

[Tea]

Out of interest, you played Gurps Fourth?
I only ever played third, so I can't compare them.

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Unfortunately no. So I don't have any idea ether, but I've heard good things.

 

[Plotvitalnpc]

Looking at Exalted for a minute, I really wish I'd gotten to play an Autocthonian game.

I'm fucking in love with the aesthetics and worldbuilding of Kyeudo's Masters of the Industrial Elements.
But alchemicals are basically last priority in 3e's bookline, because they're entirely optional, and the planned update of the homebrew can't rightly happen if the setting for it isn't actually out yet.

 

[horngeek]

Uh... let's see... I like Exalted for the setting more than the system (although 3e may well make it on this list)... Dresden Files RPG (and anything using the FATE system, but DFRPG in specific because Dresden Files), uh... I'm liking what I'm seeing of Five Across the Heart, even though that's unfinished.

I like Pathfinder (and it wins out over D&D anything for the simple fact that I can get every part of the system on PDF and I can do it legally).

 

[Walkir]

I dislike DnD and derived systems because they get the whole 1 and 20 nat crit success / fail thing wrong and all the US based memes fail that way.

 

[Guile]

I played DnD for the better part of a decade, and liked it well enough, but I've been moving away from complex rulesets for some time now.

I enjoy Bliss Stage for the 'anchor' concept and that it basically uses the buddy system. You play a pilot, and you play someone else's anchor - a childhood friend, a love interest, someone keeping them grounded when they're out of a giant robot.

Maid RPG is good, brainless fun and it's rules showcase this. I'm not sure I like how you basically roll on charts to create your entire character, though.

FATE is pretty neat, where you choose one of five or so character traits and boost those with FATE points when needed. It's also cool how it incentivizes the players to roleplay and have complications arise organically for their character, which tends to net them a FATE point. It feels more like the player and GM are working together to create a story rather than the player trying to 'beat' the GM, that way. Although I wouldn't say I've got a 100% handle on it. I've only played one game.

Likewise a kickstarter game I got called Nova Praxis, something like that? Looks very cool, sci-fi style, haven't really delved into it yet.

 

[Bre Karn]

I kinda like Wushu.

Exalted as a system? Psha, nope. Love the universe and aesthetics, but the system? Goddamn nope, I can't take it anymore. E appears to be a bit more ergonomical and fun, but I'm thinking about recycling the whole lot into a custom system.

 

[Lydia]

I like the dark eye, mostly because the rules are in my native language and I like the magic system even if it's a litle complex.

 

[pepperjack]

Deadlands and Maid RPG are spoken for, so I'll bring up one I haven't seen mentioned.

I may be alone in this, but I like the HERO system (5th edition), most widely known dressed up as Champions. It's a workable superhero system - which is remarkable all by itself - but I'm also oddly fond of using it as a basis for low-fantasy games. It has the best integration of lethal and non-lethal combat into a single ruleset that I've seen, and it folds in fatigue practically for free. If you want heavy armor and weapons to be tiring while turning the warrior hardy enough to use them into a veritable walking tank, HERO is the way to go.

Your mileage will probably vary. I enjoy memorizing reasonably complex systems and then telling my players not to worry about the rules...

 

[Nervaqus987]

Deadlands and Maid RPG are spoken for, so I'll bring up one I haven't seen mentioned.

I may be alone in this, but I like the HERO system (5th edition), most widely known dressed up as Champions. It's a workable superhero system - which is remarkable all by itself - but I'm also oddly fond of using it as a basis for low-fantasy games. It has the best integration of lethal and non-lethal combat into a single ruleset that I've seen, and it folds in fatigue practically for free. If you want heavy armor and weapons to be tiring while turning the warrior hardy enough to use them into a veritable walking tank, HERO is the way to go.

Your mileage will probably vary. I enjoy memorizing reasonably complex systems and then telling my players not to worry about the rules...

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Well, I mentioned Hero System(6th) in the OP....

I think they're supposed to be largely the same aside from a handful of differences.

 

[pepperjack]

Well, I mentioned Hero System(6th) in the OP....

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Well, I didn't see it mentioned, so...

Kidding. Sorry. I admit I skimmed a bit.

Still, I had something new to say about it, so at least my post wasn't a total rehash.

 

[Master of Squirrel-fu]

Deadlands and Maid RPG are spoken for, so I'll bring up one I haven't seen mentioned.

I may be alone in this, but I like the HERO system (5th edition), most widely known dressed up as Champions. It's a workable superhero system - which is remarkable all by itself - but I'm also oddly fond of using it as a basis for low-fantasy games. It has the best integration of lethal and non-lethal combat into a single ruleset that I've seen, and it folds in fatigue practically for free. If you want heavy armor and weapons to be tiring while turning the warrior hardy enough to use them into a veritable walking tank, HERO is the way to go.

Your mileage will probably vary. I enjoy memorizing reasonably complex systems and then telling my players not to worry about the rules...

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Hmm, you have my interest. Can you tell me more? I like M&M, though I'm only really familiar with it because it was Open Source and free to access the rule books online.

 

[ZiPeppe]

GURPS is my favorite so far. Shooting people in the crotch with a sniper rifle has never been more fun.

 

[Walkir]

I like the dark eye, mostly because the rules are in my native language and I like the magic system even if it's a litle complex.

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TDE, which version? I really only joined with 2/3 and loved 4/4.1. 5 seems to be the first version I won't buy.

GURPS is my favorite so far. Shooting people in the crotch with a sniper rifle has never been more fun.

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Have tons of 3e and 4e books, but never played a single session... *sigh*

 

[Lydia]

TDE, which version? I really only joined with 2/3 and loved 4/4.1. 5 seems to be the first version I won't buy.

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I only played 4.1 and I didn't look at 5b, but if enough people already didn't chance from 3 to 4 there shouldn't be a problem with converting new Adventures to 4

 

[Walkir]

Adventures aren't a problem, the current campaign (the Wildermark sandbox - we play only once a month) is going on for years now.

 

[Ack]

Out of interest, you played Gurps Fourth?
I only ever played third, so I can't compare them.

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GURPS 4e is good. They take all the stuff from 3e and rationalise it so it all works together. I like it, a lot.

I've played: (deep breath)
Original D&D, Villains & Vigilantes, AD&D 2nd Ed, D&D 3.0, D&D 3.5, D&D 4e, d20 Modern, D20 Future, Mutants & Masterminds, Marvel Superheroes, DC Heroes, Paranoia, Cyberpunk 2020, Numenera, GURPS 3e, GURPS 4e, Dragon Age, Pathfinder, Vampire the Masquerade, Werewolf the Apocalypse, Mage the Ascension, Trinity, Aberrant, Palladium Heroes Unlimited, Palladium Fantasy, Warhammer Fantasy, Mekton Zeta ... and a few other superhero and fantasy (and zombie) RPGs that I can't remember the names of right now.

That's what 27 years of gaming will do for you.

Of those, I prefer GURPS 4e for gritty and (mostly) realistic modern, historical, sci-fi and superhero roleplaying. Pathfinder is good for high-fantasy roleplaying. I haven't had the chance to play D&D 5, but I've heard very good things about it, so I'm looking forward to that.

 

[ZiPeppe]

Have tons of 3e and 4e books, but never played a single session... *sigh*

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It can look a bit complicated at first, especially for the GM, but it's worth it. See if you can find/form a group.

 

[pepperjack]

Hmm, you have my interest. Can you tell me more? I like M&M, though I'm only really familiar with it because it was Open Source and free to access the rule books online.

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Well, what do you want to know? I've owned the game for years,, but I haven't gotten to play it as much as I would like.

I'm not familiar with Mutants and Masterminds, but from skimming a wiki, it looks like an unconventional take on a d20 system. HERO is not that.

HERO excels at being inclusive. Anything can be modeled, accurately, using its system of base powers adjusted by advantages and limitations.1​ The system also strives for balance, and in this is mostly successful. With such a powerful engine of possibility built into the system, the necessity for a certain degree of GM oversight and veto is inescapable. Still, decades of careful revision have ensured that the system handles this fairly well; it's usually obvious when the rules need to be bent to maintain campaign sanity, even to a less experienced GM.

These two things together are achieved through a robust point system. Once you're done building your Power (whether it's a superpower or a magic spell or a psionic ability or a piece of equipment that's integral to the character concept or what-have-you), you're left with a mechanical description of what the Power does and a point cost.2​ To the player, the point cost is how much he has to pay to buy the Power for his character.

To the GM, the point cost is an indicator of how powerful the ability is. In very general terms, any power that costs 61 points to buy should be roughly "as good as" any other power with the same cost. Since all of a character's capabilities are purchased with points - his attributes, his skills and powers, and in certain styles of campaigns even his equipment - the GM can rest assured that two characters purchased with the same number of points should be of roughly equivalent power.

Of course, that assumes the characters are built using the same general guidelines. Since each power has a point value, it's relatively easy for the GM to set limits and provide guidelines for his players. "No attack powers that cost more than 75 points, 50 points will be about standard, any less than 40 is too weak" "you should expect to spend between X and Y total points on your defenses unless you want to be felled by a small child with a thrown rock," and so on.


...I've realized that I've started rambling without even confirming which aspects of the system you were interested in. Good gosh, I even have footnotes. No seriously, here they are:

1 ​There is also a very satisfactory skill system for more mundane, general abilities, and quasi-optional Talents for things that ride the line (like eidetic memory, or the uncanny ability to always know the exact time) - though 5th edition makes a point of showing you how such things can be built as very cheap, highly modified, weak Powers.

2 ​Actually two point costs: the Real Cost, which is what it costs to buy the power after adjustments from Advantages and Limitations, and the Active Cost, which is what the power would cost if all the Advantages are included but before applying Limitations. The Real Cost is a good indicator of a Power's overall utility, but the Active Cost is what's usually used for questions of game balance and for in-game effects that need to know how "powerful" an ability is (e.g., a Dispel Magic effect would have a harder time dismissing a spell that had a higher Active Cost). That makes sense because the Active Cost is a good indicator of how effective an ability is under ideal circumstances.

 

[Master of Squirrel-fu]

Well, what do you want to know? I've owned the game for years,, but I haven't gotten to play it as much as I would like.

I'm not familiar with Mutants and Masterminds, but from skimming a wiki, it looks like an unconventional take on a d20 system. HERO is not that.

HERO excels at being inclusive. Anything can be modeled, accurately, using its system of base powers adjusted by advantages and limitations.1​ The system also strives for balance, and in this is mostly successful. With such a powerful engine of possibility built into the system, the necessity for a certain degree of GM oversight and veto is inescapable. Still, decades of careful revision have ensured that the system handles this fairly well; it's usually obvious when the rules need to be bent to maintain campaign sanity, even to a less experienced GM.

These two things together are achieved through a robust point system. Once you're done building your Power (whether it's a superpower or a magic spell or a psionic ability or a piece of equipment that's integral to the character concept or what-have-you), you're left with a mechanical description of what the Power does and a point cost.2​ To the player, the point cost is how much he has to pay to buy the Power for his character.

To the GM, the point cost is an indicator of how powerful the ability is. In very general terms, any power that costs 61 points to buy should be roughly "as good as" any other power with the same cost. Since all of a character's capabilities are purchased with points - his attributes, his skills and powers, and in certain styles of campaigns even his equipment - the GM can rest assured that two characters purchased with the same number of points should be of roughly equivalent power.

Of course, that assumes the characters are built using the same general guidelines. Since each power has a point value, it's relatively easy for the GM to set limits and provide guidelines for his players. "No attack powers that cost more than 75 points, 50 points will be about standard, any less than 40 is too weak" "you should expect to spend between X and Y total points on your defenses unless you want to be felled by a small child with a thrown rock," and so on.


...I've realized that I've started rambling without even confirming which aspects of the system you were interested in. Good gosh, I even have footnotes. No seriously, here they are:

1 ​There is also a very satisfactory skill system for more mundane, general abilities, and quasi-optional Talents for things that ride the line (like eidetic memory, or the uncanny ability to always know the exact time) - though 5th edition makes a point of showing you how such things can be built as very cheap, highly modified, weak Powers.

2 ​Actually two point costs: the Real Cost, which is what it costs to buy the power after adjustments from Advantages and Limitations, and the Active Cost, which is what the power would cost if all the Advantages are included but before applying Limitations. The Real Cost is a good indicator of a Power's overall utility, but the Active Cost is what's usually used for questions of game balance and for in-game effects that need to know how "powerful" an ability is (e.g., a Dispel Magic effect would have a harder time dismissing a spell that had a higher Active Cost). That makes sense because the Active Cost is a good indicator of how effective an ability is under ideal circumstances.

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Hmm, this sounds like a similar idea but different execution to MnM. The game engine was built to be flexible and work more in line with Narrative in mind rather than an RPG, meaning more input from the GM but greater freedom in actions and abilities. MnM was also built to be able to build almost anything in it, it works by buying ranks of an effect then assigning Extra, Flaws, and descriptors on it. So a laser pistol, a telekinetic blasted rock, and a gun would all be a Blast effect which is Damage effect with a "Ranged" extra. Relative strength of an ability is measured not in points but in Ranks and Power Level, Ranks determine the actual "Strength" of the effect while Power level is the Offense and Defense caps, Offense being the strength of an attack plus accuracy where Defense being the Kiting and Tanking value.

But I will look into this HEROes and see if there's anything that I might want to borrow for some homebrew on MnM or to try and make my own.