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Why do people who've obviously never even read a game feel compelled to comment on it? One of the great mysteries of EN World, I guess. Since I actually have played Traveller, a little reality check: the rules part of creating character takes maybe 15 minutes on average, and the most complicated...

One that I picked up relatively recently and am coming to really like is The Riddle of Steel. Very interesting system. Damage is tracked via wounds, which have various negative effects on your character. Another one that I like is HeroQuest, though I'm not that thrilled with the Glorantha...

I've used the prestige class versions of the Paladin, Ranger, and Bard, like 'em all. I've also used the arcane domains as a replacement for wizard specialization, and that worked out decently. And armour as DR, though my version is taken from sources other than UA (Ken Hood's grim 'n' gritty HP...

Wikipedia article on the Humanzee (or Chuman): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humanzee I dunno if I'd use something like that in a game, though. On the one hand, it's actually kind of pedestrian - if I've got secret military labs splicing human DNA with wolves or great cats (i.e. the Moreaus...

I played in a scenario called "The Call of Cth-U-LOO" at a convention many years ago. It actually turned out really well (by Paranoia and CoC standards, at least). My nomination is 2300 AD and Rifts. Bit of a clash in styles, there.

Traveller, IIRC, detailed genetically engineered dolphins as a playable species in one of the Solomani Rim supplements. Or maybe it was a Travellers' Aid Society article.

Nah, just sensible. While they're conservative by nature, they're honest enough to understand that both farming and the natural resource sectors depend very strongly on government involvement, and vote accordingly. You're not as likely to see western Canadians get frothing mad over government...

Sure, but this happens in modern times because our ability to produce food far exceeds the demand in first world nations, and in poorer (and hungrier) areas there isn't enough wealth to make it profitable to sell food to them. Quasi-medieval economies are unlikely to have those characteristics...

That's a rather silly objection. Irrigation also benefits weeds at least as much as crops, and is also susceptible to droughts and plagues. Despite that, irrigation still allows a huge increase in productivity, because nobody just irrigates the land and says "OK, work's done". Similarly, Plant...

Well, here's the problem: there are actually two major problems with D&D economics. The first is that it doesn't act much like medieval economics, which some folks would like it to do - there's too much cash and not enough barter, too much economic mobility and not enough economic dependence...

Historical fantasy, and the price is right: http://www.geocities.com/zozergames/warlord1.html Warlords of Alexander, using Chaosium's Basic Role-Playing system. Pretty decent for free.

Combat is mostly what people mean, and it does move very quickly. This is because it's usually possible for an even fight to end on any attack, depending on hero point expenditures and the whim of the dice. I suspect combat-heavy sessions are the majority, at least among gamers new to superhero...

(snip) Like others, I'd go with the Arcana Unearthed/Evolved approach, since Monte's already done all the necessary work. Gods are at best remote, different magic traditions use the same basic spell list, healing is not exclusively the province of any caster, and the big effects like raising...

On the mechanics side, I tend to have a standard award for a successful session, pretty much regardless of what went down that session. On the gameplay side, I've never been a fan of the carrot-and-stick approach to enforcing a particular style of gameplay; if the players aren't interested in...

From the sounds of it, "Ladyhawke" would be an example of a Blue Rose-type film. That seem like a fair comparison? And FWIW, Ladyhawke is my favourite fantasy movie made by somebody not named Peter Jackson. I kinda wish GR had gone with separate books for mechanics and setting, so they could...

Legally, no. D&D is a trademarked brand name that applies only to a specific set of products. From a marketing standpoint, OTOH, they certainly are - both C&C and Hackmaster are aimed specifically at D&D players, either present or past. This distinguishes them from a game like Blue Rose, which...

Nightscale is really hard for a 4th-level party if she uses a few tactics, so I'd be inclined to just play her as-is. Against 7 players, the good guys should prevail, but it wouldn't be too surprising to see a couple of deaths (or at least near-deaths).

There was (and possibly still is, I'm out of the loop) a set of tactical miniatures rules called "Flintloque" that featured a Napoleonic setting, with British orcs taking on French elves. It was pretty much directly inspired by the Sharpe series. Don't know if the rules are any good, but at...

The whole series actually takes 'em to 20th or so. I'd probably buy such a hardback if it was updated for 3.5, although there's a few dangling plotlines that I'd like to see removed, and at least one whole module that could stand to be replaced (the underground one, Deep Horizon or something...

I don't think Star Wars was even the first licensed RPG, let alone the first attempt to model fiction. I believe the first editions of Marvel Superheroes and DC Heroes both predated the Star Wars RPG by several years, and I'm pretty sure the Thieves' World multigame supplement did, too. Of...