A Change of Pace...

[Retreater]

Alien with the Space Marines book might check all the boxes.

Blade Runner might as well.

I'm concerned about the darker themes inherent in those systems (since half the group are youngish teens). Also, I'm assuming there's not much action if they copy the feel of the movies.

Maybe just try a D&D-lite system like the old school clones or even 4e. It would be easier for kids to pick up and basically know how to play.

Dungeon Crawl Classics. Our group went through the same thing and made the switch. It’s been a lot of fun. It’s the antidote to 5e burnout imo.

I'm afraid my D&D burnout would also apply to OSR type systems. Especially since a lot of my exhaustion comes from not having good DM tools to balance encounters and challenge the players fairly. I had a TPK with them a few months ago that really shook them up. So something like OSE or DCC, where character death is taken for granted, may not be a good fit.

What kind of gamers are they? Do they like action and combat? Do they like acting like their characters?

What sort of stuff are they interested in outside of playing TTRPGs? That might help find something they're interested in.

I have a gamut of interests at the table. The teen boys are interested in science and technology. The girls are into music and anime. I have to acknowledge I know absolutely nothing about anime (even though I've tried to watch it for over a decade), and I wouldn't feel comfortable at all trying to run an anime-inspired game like Avatar. I don't think I can get close to replicating the genre.
They aren't into roleplaying much. They like battle, making progress in the adventure, etc. When I think of the sessions they most enjoyed, it was killing dinosaurs on the Isle of Dread.

I ran a Last Parsec campaign, which is Savage Worlds, and we had great fun. It was specifically the Eris Beta V campaign we played. It was written for Deluxe, but converting to SWADE is trivial. You would also want the ‘old’ sci-fi companion but that is just a few dollars in PDF and is, again, easily converted. The new sci-fi companion won’t be out for a little while longer yet.

The campaign was great, a mix of investigation, exploration and action. One of the best sci-fi games we have played in a long time.

My wife is recommending Savage Rifts, which I think is a little on the crunchy side for what this group can handle. I also have Deadlands: Lost Colony for a space western. It would be cool to use something that I already have - since I've already purchased these big, expensive boxed sets with all the nice components.

So maybe one of the Savage Sci-Fi games? Or Vast Grimm (Mork Borg in space)?

 

[billd91]

Some of the rarest RPG genres I’ve been able to play in are westerns and supers games, so, to me, they’d be a good change of pace. They might get a kick playing in your version of the MCU or DCU, or something more Kick Ass/Scott Pilgrim scaled. And if they’ve played anything like Red Dead Redemption, a straight or even Weird Western game might work.

Mutants and Masterminds is also a good option for supers or any other big action games (like various types of anime) and without ablating hit points.

Looking at current pop culture, Stranger Things was pretty big. You could run a game analogous to that, perhaps even using watered down CoC critters or Savage Worlds. Or you could get any one of a number of smaller games, like Monster of the Week.

Kids on Bikes would also fit this genre.

And there’s always Paranoia!

Paranoia is always an excellent choice for kids who aren't particularly serious.

 

[DevL]

What an excellent timing for the Traveller Humble Bundle! Scum and Villainy is another sci-fi alternative.

If playing knights would be of interest, give the Pendragon Starterkit a spin.

Fantasy-wise, Dragonbane would very likely be easy enough for the group to pick up. Or Forbidden Lands if you want something a bit darker.

I’ve recently acquired Fantasy AGE 2E, and I like what I see a lot! Same goea for Blades in the Dark if you want to take a break from fantasy.

Lastly, WOIN is a solid alternative regardless of setting.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

As I was discussing in another thread, I am majorly burned out on 5e. I can handle PF2 because it handles the "heavy lifting" that 5e doesn't (which contributes to my burn out on that system.)
My group has 1-2 sessions left in its 5e campaign. Most players are teenagers with little gaming experience who barely know 5e. No one else wants to DM.
So ... where next?
I have the complexity of PF2 ... with basically the same feel as D&D.
I have Savage Pathfinder ... again with basically the same feel as D&D.
I have Call of Cthulhu ... but the themes are uncomfortable for younger players, who also like to joke around and kill stuff.
I have mountains of Free League stuff, but again, I don't see something like Twilight 2000 being a good fit.
My wife suggested I find a sci-fi game, but for the life of me, I can't think of anything that would have decent pacing and action that could hold their attention. (Starfinder would probably be too complex, not to mention I kinda hate the 3.x/PF1 chassis and it's a dying system after today's announcement.)
Anyone care to brainstorm with me?

Why not regular Savage Worlds as a F&F like fantasy or a noir/pulp type game.

 

[dbm]

My wife is recommending Savage Rifts, which I think is a little on the crunchy side for what this group can handle. I also have Deadlands: Lost Colony for a space western. It would be cool to use something that I already have - since I've already purchased these big, expensive boxed sets with all the nice components.

Savage Rifts is on my list of games to run in the future, however I think the group would want to be comfortable with more ’regular’ Savage Worlds first. Rifts strikes me as being like drinking from a fire hose!

Lost Colony is a cool setting, and I am currently prepping the plot point campaign which comes in the box set. The world is Deadlands, so there is a darkness to it. But you don’t need to express that darkness as gore or any specific motif that your group would be uncomfortable with.

Certainly you could run it ’out of the box’ with just the set and the core rule book.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

So maybe one of the Savage Sci-Fi games? Or Vast Grimm (Mork Borg in space)?

I've found that the Borg family can be pretty freeing to play in and run. The chance that a character can get worse at things when they level up might take some adjustment, as would the higher lethality. I'm seriously considering Cy_Borg for my next campaign (which, admittedly, is far in the distance still).

 

[Retreater]

Why not regular Savage Worlds as a F&F like fantasy or a noir/pulp type game.

I get the feeling that Savage Worlds is just a toolkit - not really a system - without a Savage Setting attached.

 

[TheSword]

I get the feeling that Savage Worlds is just a toolkit - not really a system - without a Savage Setting attached.

I’m not going to recommend WFRP because we’ve discussed it before and I get the impression it’s just not for you.

What I would say is game system and adventure design don’t have to be the same. What system would enjoy DMing the most for this group? Forget the adventures just what system will be the right mix of simplicity and fun for you.

Then if the players like messing about and killing things I don’t think you can go wrong with the 1e Pathfinder campaigns, most of which are really strong. Kingmaker, Curse of the Crimson Throne, Skull and Shackles, Carrion Crown etc are cracking APs. Too much combat for my tastes now but perfect for the kind of fun bloody sessions they seem to be hankering after.

The characters, locations, descriptions and plots are all there to be used. So all you need to do is convert stats… it’s a lot easier converting from Pathfinder than it is converting to them, believe me.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

I get the feeling that Savage Worlds is just a toolkit - not really a system - without a Savage Setting attached.

Can't remember I only ever played a oneshot and it seemed standard fantasy. I am sure there is one. I thought their pulp era one was interesting.

 

[Thomas Shey]

As I was discussing in another thread, I am majorly burned out on 5e. I can handle PF2 because it handles the "heavy lifting" that 5e doesn't (which contributes to my burn out on that system.)
My group has 1-2 sessions left in its 5e campaign. Most players are teenagers with little gaming experience who barely know 5e. No one else wants to DM.
So ... where next?
I have the complexity of PF2 ... with basically the same feel as D&D.
I have Savage Pathfinder ... again with basically the same feel as D&D.
I have Call of Cthulhu ... but the themes are uncomfortable for younger players, who also like to joke around and kill stuff.
I have mountains of Free League stuff, but again, I don't see something like Twilight 2000 being a good fit.
My wife suggested I find a sci-fi game, but for the life of me, I can't think of anything that would have decent pacing and action that could hold their attention. (Starfinder would probably be too complex, not to mention I kinda hate the 3.x/PF1 chassis and it's a dying system after today's announcement.)
Anyone care to brainstorm with me?

How do you feel about post-apocalypse games? There's some good ones to be had with Savage Worlds.