Which Game Would YOU Choose for Wil Wheaton's Tabletop RPG Spinoff?

[dd.stevenson]

As probably everyone here knows, Wil Wheaton's Tabletop show was recently funded on Indigogo. The one million dollar goal, which was reached, was the creation of an RPG spinoff of about 20 episodes of 40 minutes each. (If you're not familiar with Tabletop, check it out here.)

However, Wil has said he's not interested in dealing with Hasboro to the extent of premising the entire show on their IP. He's also indicated he's not a huge fan of Pathfinder on account of the system is too fiddly. (Both sentiments I can sympathize with.)

So: what SYSTEM would you choose for this show to tackle? What system would be the most exciting to watch in this format? He's blogged about Savage Worlds before, but I've seen/heard enough SW play that I'm skeptical it'd be a good choice for a 20-show series. (IME, the progression is not terribly gripping from the viewer's standpoint.)

Which GENRE would have the most appeal? I *think* he's going to go with some kind of fantasy game, but I don't know for a fact that even this much has been established.

For that matter, what STYLE of campaign? Story-driven, like a Paizo AP? Emergent story based, like Apocalypse World? Mission-based like Shadowrun? Saga-driven like Rogue Trader? I've seen compelling content made with all these styles, and probably others too that have slipped my mind.

It's easy enough to answer these questions in terms of my own preferences, but gauging the mass appeal of these options is a great deal more difficult. I'm interested in hearing what everyone else thinks!

 

[trappedslider]

I could see GRUPS as a possible candidate due to it's nature of not being tied to any one genre.

 

[Hyper-Man]

I could see GRUPS as a possible candidate due to it's nature of not being tied to any one genre.

I think that you are referring to GURPS.

The HERO System / Champions could work for the same reasons.

I think either one would be a longshot though.

 

[trappedslider]

I think that you are referring to GURPS.

I always mess up when typing it out

 

[Campbell]

I think given the fact that we're dealing with a show here something like Apocalypse World or one of its variants would be a good choice. There is minimal setup, it's readily translatable to folks who haven't played an RPG before, and there are few artifacts of play to track.

 

[dd.stevenson]

I think given the fact that we're dealing with a show here something like Apocalypse World or one of its variants would be a good choice. There is minimal setup, it's readily translatable to folks who haven't played an RPG before, and there are few artifacts of play to track.

Apocalypse World makes for awesome spectator experience, no doubt. But I question its ability to sustain a 20-episode campaign.

 

[LostSoul]

Apocalypse World makes for awesome spectator experience, no doubt. But I question its ability to sustain a 20-episode campaign.

Each episode is only 40 minutes long so there probably won't be 20 sessions of play. I don't know how much editing they plan to do so it's hard to say how many sessions they'll be aiming for.

 

[Lindeloef]

In this video:
[video=youtube_share;j8kbnL5Ws9E]http://youtu.be/j8kbnL5Ws9E?t=4m9s[/video]

it sounds to me that there may be a custom/new RPG System for the show. ("putting a system for the show together")

EDIT: the important info starts around the 4min mark

 

[MatthewJHanson]

He's blogged about Savage Worlds before, but I've seen/heard enough SW play that I'm skeptical it'd be a good choice for a 20-show series. (IME, the progression is not terribly gripping from the viewer's standpoint.)

Apocalypse World makes for awesome spectator experience, no doubt. But I question its ability to sustain a 20-episode campaign.

I the ability of a game to sustain a 20-episode campaign has more to do with the people playing it than the system, unless its something designed for a one-shot like Fiasco or Dread.

I think the system will probably be some rules light so they can spend more time focused on character and stories and less on combat and math. It will probably also have a PG rating, so likely not Apocalypse World.

I'm guessing that it will be a published system of some sort, thought it might be stripped down.

Personally, I'd enjoy seeing Savage Worlds, since I'm enjoying that a lot right now.

 

[Agamon]

Easy, Edge of the Empire. The Fiasco episode shows how a game built on narrative and played by a group of actors and writers makes for great viewing. I'm sure Wil already has a relationship with Fantasy Flight seeing as he's played a number of their board games on the show. They just need the SW overlords to sign off on it (though the same situation was required for Dragon Age and it was done).