So you're done with D&D but still want to play D&Dish fantasy...

[cranberry]

Your description of the power creep reminds me of one of my favorite sayings: "Highlighting everything is the same as highlighting nothing."

When everyone is a superhero, no one is a superhero.

 

[Theory of Games]

When everyone is a superhero, no one is a superhero.

Actually, if everyone's a superhero, everyone's a superhero

 

[Jd Smith1]

What are the main things that make Hackmaster work for you?

Its everything D&D is not:

1. Limited spell lists (as compared to D&D), no 'spell for everything'
2. much more limited spellcasting resources, so spells are conserved for fire support in important combats.
3. armor absorbs (some) damage, but does not affect ability to hit
4. Combat is a contested roll between attacker and attacked;
5. damage explosions and Threshold of Pain mean that any weapon hit is potentially devastating to any PC.
6. Count-up combat tracking makes combat fast and keeps players involved, rather than just waiting for their turn to make one complex and one simple action.
7. Weapon options make it perfectly viable to run a lightly-armored knife fighter or a heavily-armored greatsword user, or a medium combatant.
8. No endless waterfall of splatbooks.
9. A good skill system
10. No inexplicable superhero feats or talents.
11. A good, dynamic healing system; taking a nap does not repair broken bones or recharge a spellcaster.
12. Very controlled power creep; even at 20th level, PCs are not demigods.
13. You can easily adapt OSR or even D&D adventures.

 

[AK81]

When you can, could you explain this a bit: how it's different, how it plays, etc?

Absolutely

I don't know how much you know about Pathfinder 1e, but it is basically DnD 3.5 or as many call it 3.75

So Skill Checks are pretty much the same. 1d20 + ability modifier + skill modifier.

But the difference comes in the level of control you have over choosing what you want your character to be good at.

In DnD 5e you get to choose from a small list of skills that you want to be proficient in. These skill choices comes from your class and background. When those are chosen at level one, you never get to decide how your skills developed from there. Your proficiency just go up at certain levels and those skills gets better.

In PF1 on the other hand, you get Skill Points to put into the skills of your choice. Different classes gives different amount of skill points. You also get skill points for your intelligence modifier. Each skill point put into a Skill gives is a +1. You can never have more Skill Ranks than your level.

There is also something called class skills. If a Skill Align with your class it's easier to train them. And you get an additional +3 to that skill if you put at least one skill point into it.

So short answer is more customization. And the possibility to develop your character as you see fit, over the character's lifespan.

 

[DEFCON 1]

Actually, if everyone's a superhero, everyone's a superhero

And it's why Champions, ICONS and Mutants & Masterminds succeed as RPGs.

 

[Voadam]

Don't like hp, level advancement, and classes?

Try Mutants and Masterminds from Green Ronin.

Normally for comic book style superheroes but has genre books like Warriors & Warlocks to emulate stuff like the old Conan comic books.

Instead of hit points it has a death save when injured and a death spiral injury track.

It has levels but those are more for the campaign level and establish the minimum and maximum power range of characters, most advancement is with point buy increase.

Powers and skills are by a point by system and not a class level one.

If you want a similar thing with a simplified but flexible three class system (warrior, adept, rogue) you can go with their True20 system. Powers are mostly feat based with classes giving you appropriate type bonus feats. There was even a romantic fantasy specific version of True20 for Blue Rose long before the current AGE fantasy system version.

 

[Voadam]

Like hp but not advancing hp by level? Dislike classes? Want advancement to be tied to usage in game? Want an active defense?

BRP Basic Roleplaying from Chaosium. Various flavors of Runequest, Elric!/Stormbringer, Pendragon, Call of Cthulhu, generic, etc.

Hp are based on stats and do not generally go up with usage.

No classes, stats and skills and powers are the main definers of characters.

Percentile skill system with advancement from successful use in game getting you a special roll at session's end with failure on this roll giving a small advancement on your percentile skill level.

A parry/dodge active roll system in combat that does go up with skill.

 

[dbm]

Dungeon’s and Dragons is kind of reaching the point of being a generic name for fantasy gaming. I see it that way, or perhaps more specifically as combat spelunking if I’m really focussed on the dungeon aspect.

There are an embarrassment of riches in the the fantasy RPG space, and some I enjoy have been mentioned already - Dragonbane, DaggerHeart and Shadow of the Weird Wizard. GURPS Dungeon Fantasy, too.

Another game I really enjoy in this space is Savage Worlds, and that could be just using the core book, or adding in the Fantasy Companion or even using Pathfinder for Savage Worlds for a very close analogue to have D&D type games feel.

Each of these options gives a different spin on the core fantasy RPG feeling. Savage Worlds would be my base choice since it is still my favourite system overall (and it has a pulp fantasy vibe). But if I want something more gritty I might go with GURPS Dungeon Fantasy or Dragonbane. If I want something a bit more baroque then Weird Wizard. DaggerHeart is the new option and I’m still fully working out how that fits into the picture.

 

[Theory of Games]

And it's why Champions, ICONS and Mutants & Masterminds succeed as RPGs.

And D&D, which IME is more about roleplaying superheroes than adventurers.

 

[kronovan]

...I'm mainly just curious how people would characterize the plentiful "D&D alternatives" that are out there now, many of which have stable fan bases - and specifically, how they might be characterized in reference to D&D...

I mainly just characterise them as TTRPGs that can give you a playing in a Fantasty world experience, similar to how D&D does. My gotos for alternatives are Dragon/Fantasy AGE, True20 and 13th Age. T20 and 13A both have a core d20 dice and T20 was derived from D&D 3e but still a very different TTRPG, while 13A shares some similiarities to D&D 4e. I'm playing in a Pathfinder 2e game and very much enjoying it, but I don't consider it as divergent from D&D as those other 3.

13th Age is my favorite of all I've listed and some popular 3rd party Fantasy settings (Midgard, Glorantha) have been officially adapted to it. In terms of D&D-like Fantasy or even existing D&D settings - if the effort is taken to create Icons (a core, narative play mechanic), IMO virtually any D&D setting could be playable with those rules.