Need help picking a system for my campaign!

[Aus_Snow]

I'll second the above suggestion (i.e., True20 Adventure Roleplaying + True20 Companion.)

You can also convert d20 stuff over to it fairly easily, which I've found to be handy at times.

But whether that possible convenience would be useful to you or not, it's a great (fun, flexible, fast) system for a whole range of genres. I recommend at least giving it a look (perhaps starting here.)

 

[Turanil]

Yet another suggestion for True20 . If you have a enough money for this endeavor, not only the Core book, Monster book, and Companion, but I also strongly suggest Darwin World's True20 Survivor Handbook, for post-apocalyptic settings.

 

[Thanee]

I would recommend Savage Worlds, which works well for a number of genres and is really fast-paced and easy, and has the right level of heroic (also has something akin to action points). Maybe even get the Deadlands Setting Book, to get a touch of western in, and because it's an absolutely great setting as well.

It would also be worth a shot to look at the Serenity RPG. Not sure how it handles Mystics, though, as they are not very common in the setting.

If you are most comfortable with d20-based games, though, True20, as suggested, makes sense.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Xeriar]

I used BESM for one game, but although it worked well, my players got stuck on the Anime influence, which was rather irritating.

In the end I've decided to start my own system for my own settings

 

[GlassJaw]

Grim Tales would be great for this type of campaign.

 

[Gothmog]

Savage Worlds is exactly what you're looking for. Its designed for cinematic pulp era style play, that doesn't get bogged down in rules, and character creation allows for the flexibility of GURPS or HERO, but without the massive amount of bookeeping. SW also has Bennies, which are like Action Points- they can help you boost a roll, avoid damage, or give your hero a second wind. Initiative and combat are fast-paced and based of a standard deck of playing cards- I've run combats with over 70 participants with SW which were quick and simple- something D20, GURPS, and HERO cannot do. The mechanics for magic, psionics, super-tech, or any kind of FX you want to include are exactly the same- just how you describe them differs. Powers are renamed things like Bolt, Blast, Heal, etc- you can describe a Bolt from a psionicist as a wave of force, or from a mystic as a ray of energy. There are no classes, so any character can pick up any skill or edge (basically similar to feats), but characters that focus on certain types of complimentary abilities tend to be more competent than jack-of-all-trades. Plus SW is VERY well supported- Pinnacle releases PDFs every month, and has already released Sci-fi toolkits, Fantasy toolkits, Pulp-era toolkits, Horror toolkits, etc.

Their website is: www.peginc.com

Give SW a shot, you won't be disappointed.

 

[Sketchpad]

HERO is a very flexible system, and the newest incarnation of it (FUZION) is compatible with Mekton Zeta, which has, IMO, the best vehicle/mecha/android construction system out there.

Actually the newest version is 5th edition Hero, which would work well and has a very helful community. If you go this route, I'd recommend getting 5th Ed Hero, Star Hero, The Ultimate Vehicle and the Spacer's Toolkit ... tons of info there. For a take on several media characters using Hero, I'd highly recommend Mike Surbrook's Site.

Another system possibility is d6, which uses the old Star Wars mechanics. There's actually a sourcebook out for d6 Space called Fires of Amatsumara which can be bought right here at ENWorld.

Savage Worlds could be a good ffit as well ... they have some great toolkits for various genres available ni PDF.

Hope this helps ...

 

[shadow]

OK, I've heard a lot of good things about True 20. I'll definitely have to check it out. However, do the True 20 core rules support things such as cybernetics, bio-engineering, innate powers, and curses? To give you an example of what I'm talking about, I'll explain a little about some of the NPCs of my campaign. Many of the NPCs that I have developed are unique in some way - maybe it's a mystical power, maybe access to advanced technology, but they have some unique trait that sets them apart from "mundane" characters. Of course, to be fair PCs should have access to this stuff to, although there might be a penalty attached.

#1 - The Wanderer. The Wanderer is known as one of the most fearsome gunfighters on the planet. He goes from town to town acting as a bounty hunter and mercenary. In spite of his renown, an aura of mystery surrounds him; not even his true name is known. In reality, The Wanderer is several hundred years old, cursed by the "gift" of immortality. Centuries ago he was a renowned soldier known for his arrogance and audacity. When it came for him to die on the battlefield, rather than submitting to death, he challenged the Grim Reaper to a dual and won! However, in doing so he was cursed - he had to watch everyone he was close to die off while he barely aged. Moreover, he can never stay in one place for more than a few days because disaster seems to follow him; anytime he stays longer than a few days in one geographic location some disaster strikes - crops dies, freak accidents occur, storms come out of nowhere. After living for several centuries, The Wanderer is now looking for a way to finally die. However, it is said that the only way for him to truly die and end his curse is to be beaten by a superior opponent in a fair dual... (In GURPS he had the Unaging, Unkillable, and Ridiculous Luck advantages, but had the Divine Curse disadvantage.)

#2 April - April is a soft spoken, kind, and somewhat naive creature. At a distance she looks almost human. However her pointed ears, and tiger-like eyes, and claws give her away. She is the result of bio-engineering by a mad-scientist (got to love them in pulp-adventures) seeking to create the ultimate bio-weapon. After escaping her creator she has tried to blend in with human society with only limited success. Her inhuman features make people afraid of her. Also people with the knowledge that she was created by combining the DNA of the fiercest mutants have run her out of town on more than one occasion. She now acts as an adventurer trying to find her place in a world that rejects her. (In GURPS she has the Natural Weapons [claws] and Dark Vision advantages, with a -15 point Social Stigma).

You can see from the two sample NPCs, that a lot of my inspiration has come from comic books, anime, and good old pulp. The powers characters should have access to should be unique, not a fixed list of spells. Also most unique powers have some type of drawback or curse attached to them.

 

[buzz]

What you want is FATE.

You can get the v3 rules for free here: http://www.faterpg.com/dl/sotc-srd.html

FATE has already broken into your house, seduced your mother, stolen your car keys and is now grinding all other RPG systems under the wheels of said vehicle as it speeds off to Vegas for a wild weekend.

Seriously, I am FATE's bitch now. You owe it to yourself to take a look. All previous suggestions pale in comparison (no offense intended).

Anyway, as a long-time HERO player, I'd say that if you didn't like using GURPS, you'll dislike HERO, too. That, and it's way more fun for supers than it would be for your campaign.

 

[MoogleEmpMog]

Mutants and Masterminds or HERO would probably work better than Star Wars Saga or Savage Worlds.

HERO would give you the 100% flexibility you need to incorporate wildly different elements.

Mutants and Masterminds is *slightly* more limited but could handle both of the NPCs you're describing.

True20 could probably handle them, but it would require some major houseruling or porting of rules from other d20 games (which is somewhat more difficult with True20 than with most other d20 games).

Star Wars Saga could handle them provided you ported some rules, but it seems to hold up to porting *very* well - one of its biggest advantages over True20.

Savage Worlds could do it, but I doubt it could do so 'out of the box,' as it were.

Spirit of the Century is an excellent implementation of FATE that is designed to handle pulp. It would work very well, provided you don't mind/would like a more rules-lite system.

My choice for what you're describing:

HERO (provided you have enough time to stat things up; it's a decently fast system in play, but character creation takes a while)
Mutants and Masterminds (almost as flexible as HERO and much faster to set up)
Spirit of the Century (probably as flexible as the above and MUCH faster, but also a lighter game)
Star Wars Saga with various other d20 ports (pulpy and a great d20 implementation that holds up to ported rules better than True20)
Grim Tales (a d20 Modern derivative that is a bit more flexible and handles magic more how you seem to want it)
Savage Worlds (pulpy and a fast, tactical rulesset, but without as many rules in print to draw upon)
d20 Modern with Elements of Magic and various other d20 ports (now an obsolete rulesset IMO, but still usable with the right 3rd party tweaks - Elements of Magic being the most important for your purposes)
True20 with various other d20 ports (now an obsolete rulesset IMO, but still very light and fast - however, importing stuff is more difficult)