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  1. innerdude

    Best universal rpg system?

    I'm on the fence about PbtA being "universal." But I do think the transferability of the overall mindset of playing PbtA, regardless of differences in focus/playbooks, is quite strong. I just started playing Starforged (the sci Fi spinoff of Ironsworn). And it's remarkable how much of Ironsworn...
  2. innerdude

    Best universal rpg system?

    I've played Savage Worlds (lots and lots), GURPS (a small bit) and Fate (a tiny bit). Savage Worlds is an excellent system, as long as you prefer its particular brand of "pulp" action style/feel. It's biggest weakness is that after 10-15 sessions of a campaign, it can become difficult to scale...
  3. innerdude

    What's your favorite dice system?

    @Aldarc 's linked Twitter thread from Shawn Tompkin hits the nail on the head. The dice mechanic for Ironsworn (and Starforged, which I just started playing) gives a greater variety/range of results, while allowing for more flexibility in how bonuses get added to rolls, while also being...
  4. innerdude

    What game Could "Be" D&D, Culturally?

    This is a pretty good point. It's entirely reasonable to suppose that if Adkison had decided not to pick up D&D, someone, somewhere out in the corporate world would have seriously considered it. Maybe it's Hasbro. Maybe it's another media company. My best guess, if WotC doesn't pick it up, the...
  5. innerdude

    What game Could "Be" D&D, Culturally?

    So I'm actually going to revise my thoughts on this after re-reading @Reynard 's OP again. I never really fully addressed the main point he was trying to make around the near-death of TSR / D&D in the late 1990s -- what would alternate history look like, where D&D exists from 1974 to 1997, but...
  6. innerdude

    What do you think about Powered by the Apocalypse games?

    Fronts are broad-scale, lightly-defined pieces of GM "prep material" that will inform some of the fictional setting / constraints. They're not meant to be heavy metaplots, or rigorously defined components of the setting, but they are meant to provide a backdrop for some of the conflicts the...
  7. innerdude

    What do you think about Powered by the Apocalypse games?

    I've yet to play my first FitD game (hurry up, Court of Blades Kickstarter!), but my experience with Ironsworn was similar. One of the reasons I found Ironsworn easier to grasp was the additional structural layers it adds to the PbtA "core"--- the vow mechanic, momentum, assets, a slightly more...
  8. innerdude

    What do you think about Powered by the Apocalypse games?

    No, nothing specific in any rules I've seen (re: number of players). But from both my Dungeon World and Ironsworn active play experiences, 1 GM + 4 players was better than 5 players. Several Ironsworn sessions only had 3 players, and the experience didn't suffer, and in many ways was more...
  9. innerdude

    What do you think about Powered by the Apocalypse games?

    One final note --- As a rule, PbtA favors smaller groups than other systems. A GM with 2-3 players is very much supported, and possibly even preferred. 4 players is do-able; 5 players would stretch the ability to account for the various character agendas. I personally wouldn't want to GM a...
  10. innerdude

    What do you think about Powered by the Apocalypse games?

    The real "Ah hah!", lightbulb moment for me with Ironsworn was the realization that I had to radically revise how much of each scene/scenario, in the moment of play, had to remain open-ended. You have to stay in the moment, while allowing yourself the ability/freedom to revise certain details...
  11. innerdude

    What do you think about Powered by the Apocalypse games?

    So I'm sympathetic to this view, as it's not entirely unfounded on an observational level. I think what's missing from the perspective, though, is that the perception of an "intrusion" is actually something of a shortcut for more "procedural" play. If you think about it in D&D terms, when a...
  12. innerdude

    What do you think about Powered by the Apocalypse games?

    One more note about PbtA generally --- While most permutations generally have aspects of character advancement / XP / "leveling up", it's really not the focus of the system. The point of PbtA is to see what your characters do --- what do they accomplish? What sacrifices did they have to make to...
  13. innerdude

    What do you think about Powered by the Apocalypse games?

    I can speak to the two systems I've tried. Dungeon World was . . . okay. Not great, but okay. The biggest problem it has is that it doesn't give you enough real, solid examples of how to really handle the way it's supposed to work. I also found the D&D trappings to distract from the intent of...
  14. innerdude

    How would you hack a VtM lookalike without going anywhere near the storyteller system?

    Appreciate the answer, but unfortunately it's a "Thanks, but no thanks" kind of a thing. I've looked at it in the past. No interest in D20, and it still hews a bit too close to White Wolf's tone and art direction for my liking.
  15. innerdude

    How would you hack a VtM lookalike without going anywhere near the storyteller system?

    Urban Shadows looks like a beauty. PbtA, and Magpie knows what they're doing with the ruleset (Masks is awesome). Great recommendation. Dresden is Fate. Per OP, no interest in Fate.
  16. innerdude

    How would you hack a VtM lookalike without going anywhere near the storyteller system?

    I've mentioned a few times on this board that I've never had an affinity for the White Wolf / Storyteller systems. Even though I was a teenager in the '90s, for whatever reason the general zeitgeist of Vampire: the Masquerade passed me by. I've tried looking through some of the more recent...
  17. innerdude

    What Aspects of Older Games Have Aged Well? (+)

    See, this is an odd one . . . because there's only 2 pre-2005 rules I have in hard copy. I keep MechWarrior for the lore of pre-Clan Successor States, and the only reason I have Star Wars d6 2nd ed. is because my wife found it at a thrift store for a $1.50. Just last week I dumped what...
  18. IMG_20220319_153341_933.jpg

    IMG_20220319_153341_933.jpg

  19. innerdude

    Experiences Streaming TTRPG's - the Good, the Bad, and the Weird

    Spent a lot of time around there as a kid. Capitola Beach was a little slice of heaven.
  20. innerdude

    Experiences Streaming TTRPG's - the Good, the Bad, and the Weird

    @BookTenTiger --- University of California - Santa Cruz
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