Looking for a (good) point based fantasy RPG

[half-dragon dragon]

Well, the title pretty much says it all. Are there any good point based fantasy RPGs out there? Just to be clear, by point based I mean games like M&M, HERO, GURPS and their ilk.

I should also mention a few things to save y'all some effort. I already own M&M and HERO, and while I know these can be used for fantasy style games, I'm just hoping there might be a game out there is designed with the fantasy genre as the main goal.

Some other things that would be plusses for me if the game had them would be a combat system that required little to no grid/mini support. More or less the combat could be 'theater of the mind' as much as possible. The other thing would be that while character creation would be point based and flexible, there would still be a whole passel of premade baddies for the GM to use.

So is there anything out there like that? Thanks in advance for any leads.

 

[pemerton]

HARP is quasi-points buy (it integrates its points into a class/level system, but like Rolemaster the classes are extremely flexible, and unlike Rolemaster multi-classing is handled painlessly).

It has fantasy as its main goal. Combat does not require minis or grids. There are not a passel of premade baddies, but there are some. The quickstart rules are available for free online.

HeroWars/Quest is quasi-points buy. It has no classes or levels, and character build is based around keywords, with every player getting a certain number of keywords at various levels of ability. Fantasy is its main goal. Combat is extremely theatre of the mind. There are not a passel of premade baddies in the core books. It is written to be run in Glorantha (the Runequest world) but I think could pretty easily be adapted to another setting.

The Dying Earth is a setting-specific points-buy fantasy game. Combat is theatre of the mind but not the main focus of the game. It has a few monsters statted up in the core book.

 

[Thirsty]

I'd like to second HARP as an interesting system. It has a real kitset feel to it with a variety of different optional rules that seemslessly integrate into the main system.

Fancy your combats more deadly, try Hack and Slash, want them a bit more survivable, try Martial Law etc.

One thing that pemerton forgot to mention is that the xp system in HARP is not dependent on combat. Rather, xp is awarded for the completion of goals (and the various stages in between - kind of `sub-goals'), so parties are not penalised for negotiating rather than beating anything and everything in sight.

 

[pemerton]

One thing that pemerton forgot to mention is that the xp system in HARP is not dependent on combat. Rather, xp is awarded for the completion of goals (and the various stages in between - kind of `sub-goals'), so parties are not penalised for negotiating rather than beating anything and everything in sight.

HeroWars also uses a roughly goal-based reward system.

The Dying Earth is a bit more light-hearted in its reward system - each player is given a certain number of "taglines" for the session (actual examples of Vancian dialogue, or made-up staff in the Vancian style), and earns character build points for the aplomb with which a tagline is delivered in the course of play.

 

[half-dragon dragon]

cool thanks folks, I'll have to look into this HARP.

I forgot to mention that I'm not necessarily looking for a combat centric game, but I was asking for a 'theater of the mind' type combat system because I'd like a game where you didn't need to roll out the battle mat and minis when combat came up.

Also its not a big deal if the game has no attached setting, and implied one, or even an explicit one. I can work with any of those.

 

[Aus_Snow]

M&M.

More to the point, Green Ronin Online Store: Warriors & Warlocks. There's a design journal up already, at Mutants & Masterminds Headquarters -- MutantsAndMasterminds.com - I'm just about to check that out myself, as I didn't know about it (the DJ) until now.

*sigh* So long to wait. . .

 

[Psion]

AFAIAC, if you must use point based in fantasy, FANTASY HERO with HERO 5e is the way to go. With it, you have the ability to craft whatever exotic abilities or magic system you want.

 

[sjmiller]

For my money, GURPS is a great fantasy RPG. I used the 3rd Edition for years as my fantasy campaign. I understand that using the 4th Edition is even better. If you add the GURPS Dungeon Fantasy pdfs you are all set to play.

 

[Mallus]

More to the point, Green Ronin Online Store: Warriors & Warlocks. There's a design journal up already, at Mutants & Masterminds Headquarters -- MutantsAndMasterminds.com - I'm just about to check that out myself, as I didn't know about it (the DJ) until now.

I'm a little shocked by the amount of pure, visceral want I have for this product.

 

[buzz]

For the heck of it, I will mention Burning Wheel. It's really a lifepath system, though said system does give you various pools of points you use to buy stats, traits, gear, spells, etc. Oh, and there's no battlemat.

Many folks (me included) consider it the greatest FRPG written in the last ten years.