What is, in your opinion, the single WORST RPG ever made, and why is it so bad?
Scott Christian
Hero
Not to be that guy, but I have honestly found all the systems we've played to be appropriate for one person in our group, or for all of us at that given point in time of our TTRPG lives.
That said, if you are going to push, I would say the Borderlands TTRPG that we recently played was not a very well tested system. Fight mechanics were loopy and didn't make a lot of sense, skills were almost unbearably limited in description, and the intro adventure was poorly designed.
If I must choose a second (and I am happy to because I just remembered!) the effing Witcher RPG. I know people love the world. And I do too. I know the 300 person line I waited in to get the book at GenCon had a mad-fandom. But the system seems like it was designed by a 12-year old that was told to write a system that didn't include boobies - even though they really wanted to have boobies! It is not good. By any way shape and form - it is not good.
That said, if you are going to push, I would say the Borderlands TTRPG that we recently played was not a very well tested system. Fight mechanics were loopy and didn't make a lot of sense, skills were almost unbearably limited in description, and the intro adventure was poorly designed.
If I must choose a second (and I am happy to because I just remembered!) the effing Witcher RPG. I know people love the world. And I do too. I know the 300 person line I waited in to get the book at GenCon had a mad-fandom. But the system seems like it was designed by a 12-year old that was told to write a system that didn't include boobies - even though they really wanted to have boobies! It is not good. By any way shape and form - it is not good.
dragoner
KosmicRPG.com
I have to say I have never seen the two rpg's mentioned in the op, in the wild. Mostly internet legend, not really have any desire to find them though either.
I recently bought OSE, I find the inclusion of both thaco and ascending ac to be somewhat off putting, esp as it is in the same table.
I recently bought OSE, I find the inclusion of both thaco and ascending ac to be somewhat off putting, esp as it is in the same table.
Snarf Zagyg
Notorious Liquefactionist
I have a choice.
Cyborg Commando. The game itself is, perhaps, not the most terrible game ever. But it is bad. Most of the choices made in the game are, at best, baffling- for example, IIRC, the rulebook spends countless pages detailing population statistics (and also how to generate them), and include maps of all the Cyborg Commando bases, but doesn't actually tell you anything about Cyborg Commando bases. There are so many rules and formulas and conversions ... most of which I can't imagine using in actual gameplay, and the character creation rules (and skills) which have both a basic and advanced component are just ... bad (unless you really need to have obstetrics and gynecology as a skill, which, I mean, points for realism I guess ... but I'm not sure why you'd need to include two different skill levels for ... domestic arts?).
But the reason it was so bad is that it was the first TTRPG from Gary Gygax after his ouster from TSR. At that time, many people still believed that he had a singular vision, and looked forward to the game. The game made it clear that he was no longer a driving force in the industry as he was in the '70s and early '80s, and (perhaps) showed just how valuable the other contributors at TSR were to the game we had been playing.
Cyborg Commando. The game itself is, perhaps, not the most terrible game ever. But it is bad. Most of the choices made in the game are, at best, baffling- for example, IIRC, the rulebook spends countless pages detailing population statistics (and also how to generate them), and include maps of all the Cyborg Commando bases, but doesn't actually tell you anything about Cyborg Commando bases. There are so many rules and formulas and conversions ... most of which I can't imagine using in actual gameplay, and the character creation rules (and skills) which have both a basic and advanced component are just ... bad (unless you really need to have obstetrics and gynecology as a skill, which, I mean, points for realism I guess ... but I'm not sure why you'd need to include two different skill levels for ... domestic arts?).
But the reason it was so bad is that it was the first TTRPG from Gary Gygax after his ouster from TSR. At that time, many people still believed that he had a singular vision, and looked forward to the game. The game made it clear that he was no longer a driving force in the industry as he was in the '70s and early '80s, and (perhaps) showed just how valuable the other contributors at TSR were to the game we had been playing.
the Jester
Legend
Synnibar. Oh God. I haven't had the... pleasure? no, experience... of actually playing it, but I have read through part of a pdf of the rules. It is... it's... I guess I would say that it is unique.
not-so-newguy
I'm the Straw Man in your argument
I've never played it, but I regret buying this weighty tome:
One of the players in our group wanted to try DMing for the first time and chose Dark Souls. Being the most experienced with RPGs in the group, I said I would back him up and try to help with understanding rules. Well, the book was so widely panned by reviewers that we never bothered to crack open the book.
All thar being said; if you have a positive experience with this RPG, please share.
One of the players in our group wanted to try DMing for the first time and chose Dark Souls. Being the most experienced with RPGs in the group, I said I would back him up and try to help with understanding rules. Well, the book was so widely panned by reviewers that we never bothered to crack open the book.
All thar being said; if you have a positive experience with this RPG, please share.
Sacrosanct
Legend
The creator of Synnibar's actions certainly hasn't helped at all.
As a general rule, I'm very wary of single rpg books that have puhing 500 pages of rules and how all those rules are what makes the game great...
Same. I got that book after talking with Ginny Loveday to support her, and then the reviews started coming in....
hgjertsen
Explorer
I'm realizing now that I wasn't even courteous enough to start off the thread with a few examples of my own, my bad!
My first vote goes to Things From The Flood rpg, might work for other people and the setting is very cool but it's just not the type of system I'd ever be interested in actually playing or GMing for.
Second vote goes to Lamentations of the Flame Princess. It's puerile, sadistically violent, and incredibly outdated, but hey, at least it's simple!
My first vote goes to Things From The Flood rpg, might work for other people and the setting is very cool but it's just not the type of system I'd ever be interested in actually playing or GMing for.
Second vote goes to Lamentations of the Flame Princess. It's puerile, sadistically violent, and incredibly outdated, but hey, at least it's simple!
Shadowrun, and it's such a disappointment that it's bad. Now, the world of Shadowrun itself is awesome. It's a really interesting blend of fantasy and cyberpunk with a rich history. The world itself is really just plain great. The game, however, is always a horrible train wreck. It has overly complicated mechanics with modifiers and adjustments for every little thing. There is a completely different system for whatever you want to do. Fighting, magic, hacking into the Matrix or whatever are all different and needlessly complex. Not only that but the different systems silo people into doing their own thing during a game. If someone is going into the Matrix to do some hacking, the rest of the group had better find something else to do for the next three hours because they won't be playing. There have been several editions of Shadowrun over the years and they never get any better, just worse in different ways.
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