Greybird
Explorer
I need some help. I need a new RPG for one of my groups, and I'm not sure which of the modern systems best fits them. Here's the deal:
I run two groups. One is a mixed group. One player is a typical modern 3e/Pathfinder player. He's done lots of games and is up for anything. The second is a 'classic' D&D player who did most of his gaming before Dungeons and Dragons even had editions. We're talking brown pamphlet D&D here. The other two are my kids, 12 and 14. We've been playing D&D 5e together for well over a year, and we've had a blast with it. We're all getting a little burned out, though, and I think a change of pace is called for. Age appropriate content is not an issue. I use content in film, TV, and games to teach my kids rather than hiding it from them.
Here is where things get hard.
Games driven mostly by player narrative and role playing will not work for this group. My eldest is extremely quiet and introverted. He has a great imagination and lots of ideas (and a genius-level intellect), but he keeps to himself enough that games like that would leave him uncomfortable and unable to participate. One of my other players - the one who started RPGs at a time when actual role-playing hadn't been conceived of yet - has trouble with it as well. The roleplaying he knows and loves ran more like a game of Munchkin.
At the same time, I'm a single dad and time is hard to come by. We play once a month for four to five hours. That means two things: First, in-depth, complex story lines are too hard to keep track of. Having players remember a bunch of hints and clues after a month is a nightmare for narrative and kills the flow. Second, rules-heavy games and games that require tons of prep and hours to achieve anything wouldn't work well. Getting three or four fights a session in means that a small dungeon can take three or four months.
Since most games fall into one of those two categories - either rules-heavy simulations or narrative driven role playing. I'm having trouble coming up with anything that would fit. Fate and Apocalypse World games seem too narrative driven. D&D 3+/Pathfinder are too much work for the amount of time we have. 5e, as I said, has been good, but the burnout is strong with this one.
So, what I need is a rules-light to rules-medium game that is fairly fast-paced (to keep the kids' attention), but not driven mostly be player narrative and roleplay, and that has quick, easy prep, as it is taking everything I have to keep things running already. If there is an option that isn't fantasy, that would be a plus, too.
I run two groups. One is a mixed group. One player is a typical modern 3e/Pathfinder player. He's done lots of games and is up for anything. The second is a 'classic' D&D player who did most of his gaming before Dungeons and Dragons even had editions. We're talking brown pamphlet D&D here. The other two are my kids, 12 and 14. We've been playing D&D 5e together for well over a year, and we've had a blast with it. We're all getting a little burned out, though, and I think a change of pace is called for. Age appropriate content is not an issue. I use content in film, TV, and games to teach my kids rather than hiding it from them.
Here is where things get hard.
Games driven mostly by player narrative and role playing will not work for this group. My eldest is extremely quiet and introverted. He has a great imagination and lots of ideas (and a genius-level intellect), but he keeps to himself enough that games like that would leave him uncomfortable and unable to participate. One of my other players - the one who started RPGs at a time when actual role-playing hadn't been conceived of yet - has trouble with it as well. The roleplaying he knows and loves ran more like a game of Munchkin.
At the same time, I'm a single dad and time is hard to come by. We play once a month for four to five hours. That means two things: First, in-depth, complex story lines are too hard to keep track of. Having players remember a bunch of hints and clues after a month is a nightmare for narrative and kills the flow. Second, rules-heavy games and games that require tons of prep and hours to achieve anything wouldn't work well. Getting three or four fights a session in means that a small dungeon can take three or four months.
Since most games fall into one of those two categories - either rules-heavy simulations or narrative driven role playing. I'm having trouble coming up with anything that would fit. Fate and Apocalypse World games seem too narrative driven. D&D 3+/Pathfinder are too much work for the amount of time we have. 5e, as I said, has been good, but the burnout is strong with this one.
So, what I need is a rules-light to rules-medium game that is fairly fast-paced (to keep the kids' attention), but not driven mostly be player narrative and roleplay, and that has quick, easy prep, as it is taking everything I have to keep things running already. If there is an option that isn't fantasy, that would be a plus, too.
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). You can run various genres with ease, so a low transition curve from one game to another. It has enough crunch to satisfy without being too indie.
