What do you want from your Fantasy Roleplaying Game

[Najo]

I like to hear what the ideal fantasy roleplaying game would be like for you. Is it the current official version of D&D? Is it 3.5? Is it a variant like Pathfinder or Castles and Crusades? Would you rather it be an all new system?

In the poll answer as close to the choice for you.

In the thread please share what you want out of a game system and why?

 

[RFisher]

I searched for it for many, many years. I no longer believe it exists. Variety is good.

(Yet, I think a part of me is still trying to find the perfect game, even though I don’t believe it exists. u_u)

 

[Wraith101]

My perfect fantasy rpg is flexible. I want something that works for diplomatic intrigue campaigns, but also for those random monster encounters that just seem to crop up in every campaign (usually becuase I need time to think about the last rp scene).

I used to think this worked for dnd 3.0 but I was fooling myself. True20 didn't work, neither does Exalted or any of the WoD games.

I think a blend of 4th ed with more focus on diplomacy and out of combat class features would do the trick!

 

[Scholar & Brutalman]

Fun.

 

[Najo]

@RFisher - what qualities would the perfect FRPG need?

@Wraith101 - How would you change the diplomacy and intrigue elements of 4e to improve it?

 

[Hjorimir]

Right now, 4e is pretty much exactly what I'm looking for. That said, I'd love it is somebody would come up with a new system (with high production levels) that didn't feel like d20 at all.

The hobby could use some new ideas. What I certainly don't want, though, is a system that involves a ton of work for the GM; 3.x died for me as a DM because of that one fact...WAY too much crunch work, which left little time for good campaign development.

 

[Particle_Man]

Of all the ones I have so far played, I would go back to Iron Heroes in a heartbeat.

 

[Fallen Seraph]

Hmm... Of the strickly fantasy games I have played 4e is the best.

Probably the ultimate fantasy-system for me would be a combination of the Storytelling System and the way Combat and some of the high-action moments are handled in 4e.

Essentially it would have the nice middle-ground depth of system that Storytelling has for things like your character stats and stuff like investigation, diplomacy, etc. But things where you want more cinematic and fast-paced flair something akin to 4e would be nice.

With the tools for the DM/Storyteller being based around 4e.

As far as setting, etc. it would be a loose game with a wide-variety of ways of tweaking it from low-magic to high, low-tech to high-tech.

This would be my ultimate fantasy system.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

4e fulfills my current fantasy needs perfectly. Main points is the ease of DM'ing especially the way that encounters can be setup.
I like the always on magic and really like rituals, magic is now a plot device not a plot breaker.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

4E is closer to what I wanted than 3E, interestingly, but then, it would have been eight years or so ago, too.

However, I'd like something designed from the get-go to not feature magic items, not become automatically epic after X levels, and to feature rather more "out-of-combat" stuff. I also think the D20 is a little too random for my taste, and maybe something 3d6-based or 2d10 based would be more pleasing. Very particularly I'd like to see wealth not be a factor in character power - I guess I want something that's more swords & sorcery-like, where the protagonists regularly go from rags to riches and back again, and where they're no less capable whilst poor.

What I basically would like would no doubt get called a "fantasy heartbreaker" by the hurr-durr brigade, because to them, every FRPG that doesn't somehow pre-date Earthdawn is (hell, ED was the victim of some similar accusations). That said, if WotC sensible-izes the GSL, it's possible such a game could be created.