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There is Stara Szkoła which is very much combat-focussed sim; but the same publisher Codex Integrum also do settings based on the medieval baltic, guides to historical weapons, and so on. They're very sim-orientated, although Stara Szkola also aims to be very light and fast. That said, as far...

I wasn't that jazzed about Pioneer; but looking at the preview and what we know so far, I think that it is a strong contender for a version of contemporary simulationist as a style. By that, I mean rather than trying to tie 'contemporary' to some ultimately arbitrary time period, 'contemporary'...

I'll add Dicey Tales to the list. It's Barbarians of Lemuria adapted to pulp, and it does it excellently.

Some Mongoose releases are strongly sim too. The World Builder's Handbook, in particular, packs an absurd amount of contemporary astrophysics into a gaming supplement. I think it's also a clear example of one sort of situation where simulation does require complexity. If you want your sci-fi...

I think the fashion metaphor works fairly well here. If you are designing a game today, you have a whole bunch of history you can learn from that simply wasn't available to someone in 1985. At the same time though, and even if you're really good, the game that you design almost certainly won't...

I think this thread has led me to the conclusion that the engineering metaphor ('mechanics') is fundamentally misleading when trying to understand the ways that RPG systems change over time. I don't think analogies with self-serious high arts such as literature are any better. I think a better...

I loved AW, but have reached the point where I consider 'PbtA' branding to be a warning flag on a new game. It's a bit melancholy really. I also consider 'OSR' a warning despite being nostalgic for old D&D, avoid 'NSR' games despite liking the Black Hack, and expect nothing but disappointment...

I think this is exactly right. There's a reason why Traveller is the first system Ron Edwards mentioned in the intro to Sorcerer, and why a bunch of Trav fans were so enthusiastic about FATE that they made Diaspora. The core game lends itself extremely well to loosely structured narrative play...

Maybe it's a hint: the game won't be D&D or Daggerheart: they're going to run it with Tom Molday's (1983) system:p

The best modern Sword & Sorcery magazines: Tales From the Magicians Skull: the most polished, with great art and the most established authors. Also the most gaming-adjacent, with a section on converting creatures to DCC in every issue. New Edge: works as the hub of new sword & sorcery as a...

Clark Ashton Smith: Xeethra The Vaults of Yoh-Vombis For mega-short, his prose poems are brilliant too. You could base a campaign around some single pages: The Image of Bronze and the Image of Iron The Flower Devil

For me, Traveller is the ultimate sandbox game, so I'm glad to see the thread has already gone there! I think the key is that Marc Miller took something in OD&D and ran with it more systematically than anyone else: Traveller just consists of modular procedures that work at different levels...

No, you're right. Mongoose have bought the rights to Traveller, 2300AD, Twilight: 2000 and Dark Conspiracy. They're continuing the T:2000 license to Free League though.

Free League would do it prettier, but I'd much rather see it using the Traveller system. For me, GDW should have made that their house system back in the day anyway. (I'd also still rather T:2000 was done in Trav, although I don't think Mongoose would have produced as good a package away from...

As a kid, GDW did this best for me, and they managed it with minimal art: just by opening a sense of possibilities with the text and setting: the Traveller black box, Space 1889, and (perhaps weirdly) the 1st edition of Twilight: 2000. They were really good at creating a provocative, wide open...

Yeah, that's a fair point, although the putting the OP that way was probably bound to lead to the 90 pages of debate. In the interests of what you were perhaps actually looking for, do check out Old Moon 8 that I mentioned before. It has, for instance, a really touching emotional piece about...

I must have forgotten that: it's a long thread! Sorry.

No, that response was, I thought, a really good. It marshaled good evidence instead of just saying 'relevant' in a vague undefined way. Obviously, I disagree with Clint_L there; but he properly engaged with the question.

So 'relevant' just means 'cool with the kids' in a vague undefined way? By the way, your total disinterest in evidence is showing again

You mean like Conan comics (at the highest peak since the 70's) and games (Monolith) or a bustling literary scene - actually money-making, albeit modestly so, and startlingly innovative in places (check out the newest Old Moon, for example). Have you engaged with that or do you throw out...