Help me find my next game!! (taking a break from 5E)

[HawaiiSteveO]

Just finished up running Curse of Strahd and had a blast.

Taking a break from the DM chair for a season, some other guys in group have stepped up to run some 5E adventures. I'm really looking forward to just running my PC and not everything!

That being said, I'd still like to GM every now and then. Thinking it might be practical (and fun) to still have something to play when everyone can't make it, etc.

That being said, here's my wish list:

- nothing fantasy, want to try something different. Ok with science fiction, spy / military, horror, etc.
- rules light! Easy to play, not a lot of new stuff for players (or me) to learn.
- no expensive rule books / supplements to buy. I don't mind buying 1 core book but players shouldn't need to buy anything. PDF's, SRD for rules all great.
-short one shot type adventures ideal, no long adventures. short 2-3 hour adventures are awesome.
-did I mention cheap?
-ideal for smaller groups, 2-3 PCs max
-prefer nothing set in 1920's etc...

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Mutant Future springs to mind. It's a post-apocalyptic Gamma World-ish RPG with rules based on Labyrinth Lord. Its OSR origins should make the rules familiar to most, and easy to pick up.

 

[HawaiiSteveO]

I'd also like to know a little about the generic rulesets. Played GURPS ages ago, definitely not what I am looking for.
Not at all familiar with Savage Worlds, FUDGE, Fate, etc . . . I think I looked at free Savage World download and it seemed pretty crunchy.

 

[bleezy]

It sounds like Stars without Number would be perfect for you. Completely free, very rules light, science fiction setting. I'm a huge fan and would recommend you pick it up (the free version has more than enough content).

 

[Morrus]

Is there one of those flowcharts you can follow to find a game system? I'm sure I've seen one for RPGs before.

 

[DeltaEcho]

Covert Ops, or either Witchcraft (it's free) or All flesh must be eaten, both run on unisystem one of the best rules lite systems out there.

 

[amerigoV]

Savage Worlds!

It can run many genres out of the box (including fantasy, if you ever want to). Its $10 for the core book and well supported system (they have a good number of settings as well).

Website: www.peginc.com

 

[DeltaEcho]

Ya know being Halloween you could find a PDF copy of ghostbusters...

Free.

 

[manduck]

My group just tried a pick-up game called That Night Out. It's a $7 pdf and you play with a deck of cards instead of dice. Good for a night of horror fun and super easy to learn. The basic concept is you and your friends are out at a bar one night, hanging out. Suddenly you become aware that something evil has come to kill you. Only you and your friends can see it, no one else. You have 9 hours until dawn and have to survive until then. Every hour, a new threat comes along and you have to survive it. To make matters worse, you're trapped in a one block radius from where you are. So no running away. You can try to hide. You can try to stop the evil threat. You can try to outlast it.

Out group had so much fun playing it. We honestly can't wait to play it again. It takes a lot of inspiration from some modern and classic horror tropes. It provides plenty of monsters and threats or encourages you to come up with your own. It's a great Halloween game for a change of pace.

 

[innerdude]

Savage Worlds!

It can run many genres out of the box (including fantasy, if you ever want to). Its $10 for the core book and well supported system (they have a good number of settings as well).

Website: www.peginc.com

+1 to Savage Worlds.

To the OP: Savage Worlds is far from crunchy. The core rulebook (for all of $10, as mentioned by [MENTION=26651]amerigoV[/MENTION]) is 161 pages long, of which maybe 100 are related to actual player rules. I've taught Savage Worlds to players that had never played a pen-and-paper RPG in their lives, and by the end of their first session had a generally good grasp of the basic rules.

It's sooooooo easy to improvise as a GM, runs great even with only 2-3 players, and works perfectly for all of the genres in your OP.