There are four settings that have captured my imagination in recent months, only three of which are rpgs. Interestingly enough, none of them are D&D. Below I break down what appeals to me and why I’m willing to branch out after all these years.
Android: Netrunner
This card game from Fantasy Flight Games grabbed my attention when I was looking for a substitution for Magic the Gathering. I love MtG, but because of my wife’s job, I can’t play competitively or participate in any special events. Since the game was originally designed by Richard Garfield and revamped when FFG picked up the license, I thought it would satisfy that itch I had with Magic.
Boy does it! The game plays like a dream, and the mesh of mechanics and storyline is very elegant. So much so, that the Game Master in me started thinking of ways to incorporate the setting into my rpg games. It is very reminiscent of Shadowrun, but without the post-apocalyptic magical twist. The setting has powerful corporations shaping world events, androids, cyber-criminals, and a well-developed vision of the internet. It evokes a feeling of the movies Bladerunner and Gattaca, as well as real life events of computer hacking and information leaking.
Unfortunately, it would take A LOT of work for me to adapt the setting to a d20 gaming format, and it’s not an rpg in and of itself. Fortunately, it looks like Deus Ex Machina has done the work for me via their NeuroSpasta setting. I don’t like their self-contained city setting, but I do like their mechanics, and the time and attention that went into modifying D&D 4E to fit a futuristic setting. I think merging the two would make for a very satisfying gaming experience.
Numenera
When it came to D&D and d20, Monte Cook could do no wrong in my eyes. If you’ve read my other articles, you know how many of his products I use in my games. His name drew me to look at Numenera, and the setting (and fantastic art) has me hooked.
Set in the far, far future, Numenera blurs the lines between fantasy and science fiction, taking a post-apocalyptic world and hurtling it so far into the future that it feels completely fresh and new. There are hints of Thundarr the Barbarian and John Carter, but also classic fantasy. The mix of “magic” and technology is something that’s always appealed to me.
The only reservation I have with Numenera is the game system itself. I haven’t seen the final product, so I can’t totally write it off, but the system is definitely stepping outside my comfort zone. My games are a story I want to tell; they don’t always turn out the way I thought they would, thanks to the actions of the players, but the main beats are my creation. There’s been a proliferation of games where the players are given the power to change the story, and that scares me as an old-school D&D player. I really need to read the system and play it before I can truly say whether it’s for me or not. But either way, I LOVE the setting.
Shadowrun 5E
My first introduction to the Shadowrun setting was through the novels. The mix of fantasy and science fiction really appealed to me, as did a familiar setting. Much grittier than Android: Netrunner, the focus in Shadowrun seems to be more on the criminal element than corporate society. I could actually see a mesh of Netrunner, NeuroSpasta, and Shadowrun creating a fully-fleshed world where you could get just as in depth in the corporate world as you could the fringes of society or the Astral Plane or the Matrix.
I’ve played previous editions of Shadowrun once or twice, but the sheer chore of creating a character coupled with the massive piles of dice needed for each roll put me off. I’m hoping the new edition will ameliorate that somewhat. I’m sure the system hasn’t been drastically changed, so I’m still expecting piles of dice, but I’m hoping character creation is streamlined. I’m willing to keep an open mind, because I love the setting and want to recreate the feelings I had reading the novels.
Star Wars: Edge of the Empire
Another game from Fantasy Flight Games, Edge of the Empire has me more excited about Star Wars than I have been in a long, long time. Star Wars has always felt like fantasy with some science fiction elements blended in, rather than the other way around, like Shadowrun. I was totally in love with Star Wars Saga Edition and bummed when Wizards of the Coast lost the license.
I’ve seen a lot of people complaining that jedis and a detailed treatment of the Force won’t be available for another couple years, but that’s actually something that appeals to me. One of the faults of the two Star Wars editions that WotC put out was how force users overpowered the more “mundane” classes. Don’t get me wrong – I love jedis, and I love the Force. But those two things do not make up the sum total of the Star Wars universe.
The original movies featured only three Force users – Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, and the Emperor. Everyone else relied on skill, training, and ingenuity to get the job done. I think it’s a good thing to focus on the strengths and stories that non-Force users have in the beginning, reserving the most powerful elements for later on in a campaign. I liken it to the tiers of play for 4E – powers and abilities are balanced against each other to provide a satisfying play experience for everyone involved, so no one class dominates every scenario. Heroic play can be just as satisfying as paragon or epic, because there’s nothing outclassing the other elements of the game in those particular level groupings.
Now it certainly limits the types of campaigns a GM can run right out of the gate, but with such a wealth of back story and so many years of lore, no one can seriously expect any decent treatment to address everything in one fell swoop. I think it’s a smart step to focus on different sections of the campaign setting at a time, just as the Forgotten Realms and Greyhawk lines rolled out parts of their respective worlds a piece at a time. Fantasy Flight Games is starting at the fringes of the Star Wars mythology (literally) and plans to work their way inwards, toward the center of the Empire. Given a decent reception, hopefully we’ll then see them delve into the past and the future as well, giving us additional supplements that span the entire length of the Star Wars timeline.
I have some small reservations about the game system itself, given the “power to the players” mentioned here and there, but just as with Numenera, I’m willing to brave it just for the setting. As I grow older, I have come to the sad conclusion that D&D has just about run its course. While I like what I’ve seen with D&D Next, I’ll be the first to admit that there’s a slight feeling of déjà vu. I’ve played all the previous versions of the game, and Next is very derivative without adding anything new or innovative.
That seems to be the design goal for D&D Next – a D&D system that appeals to all players, regardless of edition. In this day and age, though, I don’t know that it’s enough to make it stand out from the new rpgs that are its competition. I want the fresh, the new, the interesting. I don’t want a rehash of the 30 years of gaming material I already have, especially when the mechanics seem to be duplicating the past as well.
That’s why I’m willing to try new things after all these years. My wife and I are going to the Three Rivers Game Convention this year for the first time (www.3congames.com), and I hope I’ll have an opportunity to try out some of these games that have seduced me from afar. In an ideal world, I’d already be trying them out at my friendly local game store…but I have no such thing in rural Tennessee. So I await my trip to Indiana, and scour the internet for information, and I hope and pray I can convince my gaming group to take the plunge with me…into the future!
What game settings are you excited about this year? What game systems? And what pros and cons can you give me for those I mentioned above?
Android: Netrunner
This card game from Fantasy Flight Games grabbed my attention when I was looking for a substitution for Magic the Gathering. I love MtG, but because of my wife’s job, I can’t play competitively or participate in any special events. Since the game was originally designed by Richard Garfield and revamped when FFG picked up the license, I thought it would satisfy that itch I had with Magic.
Boy does it! The game plays like a dream, and the mesh of mechanics and storyline is very elegant. So much so, that the Game Master in me started thinking of ways to incorporate the setting into my rpg games. It is very reminiscent of Shadowrun, but without the post-apocalyptic magical twist. The setting has powerful corporations shaping world events, androids, cyber-criminals, and a well-developed vision of the internet. It evokes a feeling of the movies Bladerunner and Gattaca, as well as real life events of computer hacking and information leaking.
Unfortunately, it would take A LOT of work for me to adapt the setting to a d20 gaming format, and it’s not an rpg in and of itself. Fortunately, it looks like Deus Ex Machina has done the work for me via their NeuroSpasta setting. I don’t like their self-contained city setting, but I do like their mechanics, and the time and attention that went into modifying D&D 4E to fit a futuristic setting. I think merging the two would make for a very satisfying gaming experience.
Numenera
When it came to D&D and d20, Monte Cook could do no wrong in my eyes. If you’ve read my other articles, you know how many of his products I use in my games. His name drew me to look at Numenera, and the setting (and fantastic art) has me hooked.
Set in the far, far future, Numenera blurs the lines between fantasy and science fiction, taking a post-apocalyptic world and hurtling it so far into the future that it feels completely fresh and new. There are hints of Thundarr the Barbarian and John Carter, but also classic fantasy. The mix of “magic” and technology is something that’s always appealed to me.
The only reservation I have with Numenera is the game system itself. I haven’t seen the final product, so I can’t totally write it off, but the system is definitely stepping outside my comfort zone. My games are a story I want to tell; they don’t always turn out the way I thought they would, thanks to the actions of the players, but the main beats are my creation. There’s been a proliferation of games where the players are given the power to change the story, and that scares me as an old-school D&D player. I really need to read the system and play it before I can truly say whether it’s for me or not. But either way, I LOVE the setting.
Shadowrun 5E
My first introduction to the Shadowrun setting was through the novels. The mix of fantasy and science fiction really appealed to me, as did a familiar setting. Much grittier than Android: Netrunner, the focus in Shadowrun seems to be more on the criminal element than corporate society. I could actually see a mesh of Netrunner, NeuroSpasta, and Shadowrun creating a fully-fleshed world where you could get just as in depth in the corporate world as you could the fringes of society or the Astral Plane or the Matrix.
I’ve played previous editions of Shadowrun once or twice, but the sheer chore of creating a character coupled with the massive piles of dice needed for each roll put me off. I’m hoping the new edition will ameliorate that somewhat. I’m sure the system hasn’t been drastically changed, so I’m still expecting piles of dice, but I’m hoping character creation is streamlined. I’m willing to keep an open mind, because I love the setting and want to recreate the feelings I had reading the novels.
Star Wars: Edge of the Empire
Another game from Fantasy Flight Games, Edge of the Empire has me more excited about Star Wars than I have been in a long, long time. Star Wars has always felt like fantasy with some science fiction elements blended in, rather than the other way around, like Shadowrun. I was totally in love with Star Wars Saga Edition and bummed when Wizards of the Coast lost the license.
I’ve seen a lot of people complaining that jedis and a detailed treatment of the Force won’t be available for another couple years, but that’s actually something that appeals to me. One of the faults of the two Star Wars editions that WotC put out was how force users overpowered the more “mundane” classes. Don’t get me wrong – I love jedis, and I love the Force. But those two things do not make up the sum total of the Star Wars universe.
The original movies featured only three Force users – Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, and the Emperor. Everyone else relied on skill, training, and ingenuity to get the job done. I think it’s a good thing to focus on the strengths and stories that non-Force users have in the beginning, reserving the most powerful elements for later on in a campaign. I liken it to the tiers of play for 4E – powers and abilities are balanced against each other to provide a satisfying play experience for everyone involved, so no one class dominates every scenario. Heroic play can be just as satisfying as paragon or epic, because there’s nothing outclassing the other elements of the game in those particular level groupings.
Now it certainly limits the types of campaigns a GM can run right out of the gate, but with such a wealth of back story and so many years of lore, no one can seriously expect any decent treatment to address everything in one fell swoop. I think it’s a smart step to focus on different sections of the campaign setting at a time, just as the Forgotten Realms and Greyhawk lines rolled out parts of their respective worlds a piece at a time. Fantasy Flight Games is starting at the fringes of the Star Wars mythology (literally) and plans to work their way inwards, toward the center of the Empire. Given a decent reception, hopefully we’ll then see them delve into the past and the future as well, giving us additional supplements that span the entire length of the Star Wars timeline.
I have some small reservations about the game system itself, given the “power to the players” mentioned here and there, but just as with Numenera, I’m willing to brave it just for the setting. As I grow older, I have come to the sad conclusion that D&D has just about run its course. While I like what I’ve seen with D&D Next, I’ll be the first to admit that there’s a slight feeling of déjà vu. I’ve played all the previous versions of the game, and Next is very derivative without adding anything new or innovative.
That seems to be the design goal for D&D Next – a D&D system that appeals to all players, regardless of edition. In this day and age, though, I don’t know that it’s enough to make it stand out from the new rpgs that are its competition. I want the fresh, the new, the interesting. I don’t want a rehash of the 30 years of gaming material I already have, especially when the mechanics seem to be duplicating the past as well.
That’s why I’m willing to try new things after all these years. My wife and I are going to the Three Rivers Game Convention this year for the first time (www.3congames.com), and I hope I’ll have an opportunity to try out some of these games that have seduced me from afar. In an ideal world, I’d already be trying them out at my friendly local game store…but I have no such thing in rural Tennessee. So I await my trip to Indiana, and scour the internet for information, and I hope and pray I can convince my gaming group to take the plunge with me…into the future!
What game settings are you excited about this year? What game systems? And what pros and cons can you give me for those I mentioned above?
