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It's Not D&D - My Experiences
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<blockquote data-quote="Dustin Cooper" data-source="post: 8951006" data-attributes="member: 6922447"><p>I guess I'll talk about ones I've tried out:</p><p></p><p><strong>Ryuutama</strong></p><p>Extent of Experience: Ran a campaign for a while. Probably the first time I felt like I was finally getting the hang of GMing.</p><p>Status: Had a great time. The idea behind this is that the players are a bunch of regular people going on a journey, and while there is a combat system, it's a pretty simple one, and travelling in harsh terrain without the right equipment can be deadlier than the monsters. It's more of a game where you all talk about your journey through the mountains at the small, cozy tavern you found on the other side, maybe dealing with a nearby monster that's attacking the sheep than it is a heroic quest or dungeon crawl. Also, the way the players decide details about the next destination helped me out a lot as a GM that often gets writers block.</p><p>Verdict: Would absolutely play or run again.</p><p></p><p><strong>Golden Sky Stories</strong></p><p>Extent of Experience: Ran a few one shots.</p><p>Status: I rather enjoy this diceless, combat free game where your magic is literally powered by friendship. You play as magical animal children doing low stakes, slice of life things in an idealized Japanese town. It's the closest RPG equivalent to something like My Neighbor Totoro. Probably the least D&D like RPG I've ever played.</p><p>Verdict: I wouldn't run a campaign in this, but I don't feel like it's a game designed to do that. I'll almost certainly run more one shots or a few connected episodes, and I'd like to be a player at some point.</p><p></p><p><strong>Retail Magic</strong></p><p>Extent of Experience: I've run this multiple times</p><p>Status: A comedy game that takes the Maid engine and reskins it so that the players are working retail at a shop in a D&D style fantasy setting.</p><p>Verdict: This is another that really isn't a campaign game, but it's fantastic for one shots. It's the kind of game for a party or if you want a one night wacky break from your regular game. I'm absolutely doing this again.</p><p></p><p><strong>Bubblegum Crisis</strong></p><p>Extent of Experience: Ran a one shot for a streaming group that showcases janky video games.</p><p>Status: It's a functional game based on the Fuzion engine, though oddly really doesn't seem to want to let you play as the super hero style characters the franchise is about. Like the only instructions for building a hardsuit are one small box on the last page, and the included adventure assumes the players are just playing as some guys with guns. It kind of feels like they designed the engine for a more standard, grounded game, then shoved BGC stuff into it.</p><p>Verdict: I ended up letting the players make Knight Sabers level characters with hardsuits, and the result was rocket tag where anyone who got hit got launched across the room from knockback. I had fun, but I feel like it was largely despite the system. If someone else I knew wanted to run this, I'd give it a shot as a player, but I have no intention of running it again or actively seeking out a game.</p><p></p><p><strong>Dungeon World</strong></p><p>Extent of Experience: Played a few session and ran a few sessions</p><p>Status: This was my first experience with a PbtA game, and it's possible that I and those who I played it with didn't really get the underlying system well enough, but I don't feel like a traditional D&D dungeon crawl lends itself to PbtA mechanics. Functional, but that's it.</p><p>Verdict: Wouldn't play again.</p><p></p><p><strong>Fellowship</strong></p><p>Extent of Experience: Played a couple games from an early test packet.</p><p>Status: This more narrative and world building focused game actually seemed to fit the PbtA system a lot better than something like Dungeon World.</p><p>Verdict: Really want to play this again.</p><p></p><p><strong>City of Mist</strong></p><p>Extent of Experience: Played through two adventures.</p><p>Status: A loosely PbtA game about magical people in modern fantasy noir mysteries. There's a lot more to character building than a standard PbtA game, and I feel like in general, this fixes most of my issues with PbtA stuff.</p><p>Verdict: I really like this game, and while I'm not sure I'm the right person to run it, I hope I get to play more.</p><p></p><p><strong>Legend of the Five Rings</strong> (not sure which edition)</p><p>Extent of Experience: Played a short campaign.</p><p>Status: On one hand, I like the risk/reward mechanics, and the deadliness of sword fights felt right. On the other, this feels like a Japan written by some white guys who watched some samurai movies and knew about some stereotypes, not something that's actually researched. And while I've heard that those behind it state that it's not intended to be Japan and that this fictional culture is an amalgamation of several from east Asia, but I don't see that in the text, to the point where I'm suspicious that that's a post hoc defense against criticism rather than something they tried to do.</p><p>Verdict: Wouldn't play again.</p><p></p><p><strong>Gamma World</strong> 7th Edition</p><p>Extent of Experience: Played in a one shot.</p><p>Status: It was a wacky good time, and as a fan of D&D 4e, the mechanics worked for me just fine.</p><p>Verdict: Would love to play again.</p><p></p><p><strong>Lasers and Feelings</strong> and <strong><strong>SPEEDING BULLETS!</strong></strong></p><p>Extent of Experience: Played a one shot of the former and a two parter of the latter</p><p>Status: These worked well enough for something quick and fun. For those who don't know, the former is a one page sci-fi RPG where your only stats are Lasers and Feelings, while the latter is a hack of that to turn it into a Shadow the Hedgehog RPG where your only stats are <em>FAST!</em> and <em>GUN!</em>. Both work well enough for a quick prep, super easy to get into game.</p><p>Verdict: Sure.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Dustin Cooper, post: 8951006, member: 6922447"] I guess I'll talk about ones I've tried out: [B]Ryuutama[/B] Extent of Experience: Ran a campaign for a while. Probably the first time I felt like I was finally getting the hang of GMing. Status: Had a great time. The idea behind this is that the players are a bunch of regular people going on a journey, and while there is a combat system, it's a pretty simple one, and travelling in harsh terrain without the right equipment can be deadlier than the monsters. It's more of a game where you all talk about your journey through the mountains at the small, cozy tavern you found on the other side, maybe dealing with a nearby monster that's attacking the sheep than it is a heroic quest or dungeon crawl. Also, the way the players decide details about the next destination helped me out a lot as a GM that often gets writers block. Verdict: Would absolutely play or run again. [B]Golden Sky Stories[/B] Extent of Experience: Ran a few one shots. Status: I rather enjoy this diceless, combat free game where your magic is literally powered by friendship. You play as magical animal children doing low stakes, slice of life things in an idealized Japanese town. It's the closest RPG equivalent to something like My Neighbor Totoro. Probably the least D&D like RPG I've ever played. Verdict: I wouldn't run a campaign in this, but I don't feel like it's a game designed to do that. I'll almost certainly run more one shots or a few connected episodes, and I'd like to be a player at some point. [B]Retail Magic[/B] Extent of Experience: I've run this multiple times Status: A comedy game that takes the Maid engine and reskins it so that the players are working retail at a shop in a D&D style fantasy setting. Verdict: This is another that really isn't a campaign game, but it's fantastic for one shots. It's the kind of game for a party or if you want a one night wacky break from your regular game. I'm absolutely doing this again. [B]Bubblegum Crisis[/B] Extent of Experience: Ran a one shot for a streaming group that showcases janky video games. Status: It's a functional game based on the Fuzion engine, though oddly really doesn't seem to want to let you play as the super hero style characters the franchise is about. Like the only instructions for building a hardsuit are one small box on the last page, and the included adventure assumes the players are just playing as some guys with guns. It kind of feels like they designed the engine for a more standard, grounded game, then shoved BGC stuff into it. Verdict: I ended up letting the players make Knight Sabers level characters with hardsuits, and the result was rocket tag where anyone who got hit got launched across the room from knockback. I had fun, but I feel like it was largely despite the system. If someone else I knew wanted to run this, I'd give it a shot as a player, but I have no intention of running it again or actively seeking out a game. [B]Dungeon World[/B] Extent of Experience: Played a few session and ran a few sessions Status: This was my first experience with a PbtA game, and it's possible that I and those who I played it with didn't really get the underlying system well enough, but I don't feel like a traditional D&D dungeon crawl lends itself to PbtA mechanics. Functional, but that's it. Verdict: Wouldn't play again. [B]Fellowship[/B] Extent of Experience: Played a couple games from an early test packet. Status: This more narrative and world building focused game actually seemed to fit the PbtA system a lot better than something like Dungeon World. Verdict: Really want to play this again. [B]City of Mist[/B] Extent of Experience: Played through two adventures. Status: A loosely PbtA game about magical people in modern fantasy noir mysteries. There's a lot more to character building than a standard PbtA game, and I feel like in general, this fixes most of my issues with PbtA stuff. Verdict: I really like this game, and while I'm not sure I'm the right person to run it, I hope I get to play more. [B]Legend of the Five Rings[/B] (not sure which edition) Extent of Experience: Played a short campaign. Status: On one hand, I like the risk/reward mechanics, and the deadliness of sword fights felt right. On the other, this feels like a Japan written by some white guys who watched some samurai movies and knew about some stereotypes, not something that's actually researched. And while I've heard that those behind it state that it's not intended to be Japan and that this fictional culture is an amalgamation of several from east Asia, but I don't see that in the text, to the point where I'm suspicious that that's a post hoc defense against criticism rather than something they tried to do. Verdict: Wouldn't play again. [B]Gamma World[/B] 7th Edition Extent of Experience: Played in a one shot. Status: It was a wacky good time, and as a fan of D&D 4e, the mechanics worked for me just fine. Verdict: Would love to play again. [B]Lasers and Feelings[/B] and [B][B]SPEEDING BULLETS![/B][/B] Extent of Experience: Played a one shot of the former and a two parter of the latter Status: These worked well enough for something quick and fun. For those who don't know, the former is a one page sci-fi RPG where your only stats are Lasers and Feelings, while the latter is a hack of that to turn it into a Shadow the Hedgehog RPG where your only stats are [I]FAST![/I] and [I]GUN![/I]. Both work well enough for a quick prep, super easy to get into game. Verdict: Sure. [/QUOTE]
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