Most influential RPG

[Staffan]

CoC

I'd go with RuneQuest over Call of Cthulhu. Call might have had more staying power, but the BRP system originates in RuneQuest.

I think RuneQuest was also the first game to have mechanical weight given to in-game social constructs, primarily Cults. Characters were expected to be members of a cult dedicated to one god, and different cults had access to different Battle Magic and Rune Magic, and wanted you to do different stuff and emphasize different skills. And if you were strong and dedicated enough, you could become a Rune Lord which was a significant power upgrade.

But I am always happy to say that Ryan Dancey is one of the most important figures in the ttrpg space, which feels to me to be a weirdly minority position. I think the 3E SRD and the OGL may be one of the most important inflection points in the history of the industry -- moreso than probably 99% of the games mentioned in this thread.

Ryan Dancey is one of few figures who had a major influence on the overall TTRPG world without themselves primarily being a designer (I'm not sure, but I think the only game design credit he has is Hero Builder's Guidebook, which was basically an early D&D 3.0 book about how to realize certain character concepts using that system). In most cases, you start with a game designer who then starts a company because that's how they can get their game created and sold, and if they happen to be good at the business side that's a (rare) bonus.

Did the personality traits, Virtues and Vices, such as merciful/cruel, proud/pious, valorous/cowardly, etc., etc. have any influence on other games? It's the earliest game I can think of where players rolled to determine how their character might react to a situation.

I've definitely seen similar mechanics in other games, though rarely expressed as opposed pairs. Ars Magica had both "regular" personality traits which you could use to determine behavior, and Passions you could use to get mechanical benefits when acting in accordance with them (the latter required taking the appropriate Virtue though). GURPS had lots of disadvantages that were personality traits, which usually required a Will check to act against them (4e changed that to a fixed value instead).

 

[Staffan]

Feng Shui - I think that Feng Shui really kind of fired the starting gun for lot of modern design, and particularly for RPGs that tried to use rules built specifically to emulate genre/tone, rather than rules bolted on to existing systems, which usually attempted solely to evoke specific genre tropes, without actually attempting to emulate the genre in a wider sense (the latter was common with GURPS supplements, for example). I think it's a weaker pick than DotV though.

I think that goes back further than Feng Shui. The first game I encountered that really tried to emulate a particular genre was James Bond 007. You had detailed rules for car chases and seduction (through multiple stages), as well as details like being more attractive costing fewer character points, because (a) attractive secret agents were in-genre and (b) high attractiveness also translated to higher Fame, meaning you'd be more easily recognized.

Going back further you have things like Pendragon (at least I think that's older than Bond, but I can't be hedgehogged to check), but that's more of a set of Arthurian mechanics bolted onto a BRP-based system rather than built ground-up.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

I think that goes back further than Feng Shui. The first game I encountered that really tried to emulate a particular genre was James Bond 007. You had detailed rules for car chases and seduction (through multiple stages), as well as details like being more attractive costing fewer character points, because (a) attractive secret agents were in-genre and (b) high attractiveness also translated to higher Fame, meaning you'd be more easily recognized.

Going back further you have things like Pendragon (at least I think that's older than Bond, but I can't be hedgehogged to check), but that's more of a set of Arthurian mechanics bolted onto a BRP-based system rather than built ground-up.

I guess the difference with James Bond was that whilst it did definitely try some ideas re genre simulation, it was somewhat inexplicably uninfluential (it was also less popular than one might expect, I suspect perhaps because it worked best with a DM and 1-2 players in an era when that was less common), hence Feng Shui being the influential one despite being later! JB definitely deserves to be remembered as trying that though. Sometimes the first time isn't the time that really gets people to notice.

 

[Staffan]

I guess the difference with James Bond was that whilst it did definitely try some ideas re genre simulation, it was somewhat inexplicably uninfluential (it was also less popular than one might expect, I suspect perhaps because it worked best with a DM and 1-2 players in an era when that was less common), hence Feng Shui being the influential one despite being later! JB definitely deserves to be remembered as trying that though. Sometimes the first time isn't the time that really gets people to notice.

I think it was at least partially a rights issue. I don't know if the RPG only had rights to the books and not the movies, but they clearly did not have rights to movie stills and the like so instead they relied on line art illustrations. And if there is one game that should definitely have maximized glitz, it's Bond.

 

[billd91]

I think it was at least partially a rights issue. I don't know if the RPG only had rights to the books and not the movies, but they clearly did not have rights to movie stills and the like so instead they relied on line art illustrations. And if there is one game that should definitely have maximized glitz, it's Bond.

My guess is that had a lot more to do with budget than rights. Some of the line art, particularly the image of Bond holding off a man wielding a 4-tined hook, are direct renderings of movie images (in this case a fight scene from On Her Majesty's Secret Service). The James Bond 007 game spent a bit more lavishly on the adventure packs which had cool papers and props.
Plus I don't think there were a ton of games investing in substantial glitz in 1983. West End Games would make use of a lot of stills for its Star Wars game, but that wasn't until 1987 and most of those were still in black and white, no doubt because of the expense of printing a lot more in color.

 

[aramis erak]

@aramis erak
Good call with Heroquest. For us with parents that were caught up in the Satanic Panic, it was a great affordable alternative ($20!).

Funny enough, same reason I played Palladium games too...

Palladium was a constant target of the Anchorage ultra-right for the burnpiles.

 

[carmachu]

I feel like either Shadowrun or Cyberpunk needs to be added to the list.

 

[bedir than]

Synnibar belongs on the list because it taught many what not to do

 

[dbolack]

Synnibar belongs on the list because it taught many what not to do

By that logic, so did Draempark

 

[bedir than]

By that logic, so did Draempark

Dream Park had a solid reception

Dream Park: The Roleplaying Game - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Synnibar, which I had fun playtesting 2nd edition with Raven, is a clarion warning against bloat, overwrought, bizarre superhero/sci-fi that still wanted fantasy while its author constantly showed up at conventions insisting he'd be bigger than Gygax.

Unlike Dream Park it's always part of the worst games ever conversation. And it's old.