5E burnout - looking for a summer RPG

[pemerton]

The title says it all!

Like to try something different to GM for the summer, generally familiar with the ‘top’ offerings in the different flavours but nothing really grabbing my attention.

• break from swords & sorcery / fantasy would be great . Spies , espionage , sci-fi , etc
• rules light , good for online play - ToM or perhaps Zoom whiteboard or Owlbear Rodeo.
• low cost or free quick start rules would be great or low cost buy in
• thought about Delta Green, but 2 of my players are in law enforcement and are looking for fun, not crazy / disturbing game...
• don‘t ‘get’ Fate, but willing to read it again. Played a bit of Savage Worlds and liked it but perhaps too much to learn / teach group.
• checked out Achtung! Cthulhu (2d20 / Morphidius one), looks fun but would need to learn rules did quick skim. Think SW one might be easier to play as know my way around system already but $

You can get the 4-page PDF of Cthulhu Dark here.

So it's not fantasy, it's rules light and easily played online, it's free, and it's Cthulhu (which you seem to be interested in).

 

[HawaiiSteveO]

3. Paranoia by Mongoose Games. $30 for the starter set. A bit less rules light, but certainly lighter than 5e. Good for both one shots and campaign play. I never use battlemats when I run it, but you could.

Now this would be a change of pace … I played waay back probably 25+ years ago - still remember Yellow Clearance Black Box Blues wonder if I can get player buy in . I’d forgotten it was still around, I should immediately report to the food vats!

 

[Aldarc]

How these threads go: "I know the perfect game for your needs! You should try [insert my pet game here]!"

The title says it all!

Like to try something different to GM for the summer, generally familiar with the ‘top’ offerings in the different flavours but nothing really grabbing my attention.

• break from swords & sorcery / fantasy would be great . Spies , espionage , sci-fi , etc
• rules light , good for online play - ToM or perhaps Zoom whiteboard or Owlbear Rodeo.
• low cost or free quick start rules would be great or low cost buy in
• thought about Delta Green, but 2 of my players are in law enforcement and are looking for fun, not crazy / disturbing game...
• don‘t ‘get’ Fate, but willing to read it again. Played a bit of Savage Worlds and liked it but perhaps too much to learn / teach group.
• checked out Achtung! Cthulhu (2d20 / Morphidius one), looks fun but would need to learn rules did quick skim. Think SW one might be easier to play as know my way around system already but $

-intrigued by Alien RPG seems very different and fun for one shots / different vibe but likely too crunchy as well

• Nights Black Agents sounds amazing, but again too much to just get going and $$
• Blades in the Dark - skimmed it but have no clue how to play it. Sounds like a lot of work
• Esper Genesis / Starfinder …. No

Any suggestions appreciated !

Sci-Fi with Free/Low-Cost Quickstarts:

• Starforged (Shawn Tomkin)
• Worlds Without Number (Kevin Crawford)
• Coriolis: The Third Horizon (Fria Ligan)
• Index Card RPG (Runehammer Games)
• Numenera / Cypher System (Monte Cook Games)

These games lean a bit more rules medium, though I would say lighter than either D&D 5e or Savage Worlds (apart from Numenera, which is about equivalent).

 

[hawkeyefan]

How these threads go: "I know the perfect game for your needs! You should try [insert my pet game here]!"

That is exactly what I did! But I was honest about it!

(Also I think Spire and the other games suggested met the criteria, but yeah, I’m a total mark for suggesting Spire!)

 

[Aldarc]

That is exactly what I did! But I was honest about it!

(Also I think Spire and the other games suggested met the criteria, but yeah, I’m a total mark for suggesting Spire!)

IMO, it's natural that people will recommend what they know and like. I'm trying to broaden my scope, in part, so that I don't fall in the habit of recommending pet systems over and over again; instead, I want to better address the needs of the petitioner. (It's a work in progress.) I personally feel a bit silly recommending ICRPG a lot lately - it's not really one of my pet systems - but there have been a number of threads where it meets the basic criteria presented by the petitioner. In this case, sci-fi/generic games with free quick starts.

 

[Fenris-77]

Hmm. In terms of great systems with free quickstarts Mythras should be in the discussion.

 

[pemerton]

Hmm. In terms of great systems with free quickstarts Mythras should be in the discussion.

But doesn't if fail the "not fantasy" criterion?

 

[Fenris-77]

But doesn't if fail the "not fantasy" criterion?

You can use it to run a bunch of different historical things too. That aside it does come close to failing, obviously, but it's also an excellent game with a free starter so I thought I'd throw it on the pile. They just released a Supers game too.

 

[pemerton]

it's also an excellent game

It's a RuneQuest variant, isn't it? (That's not to belittle it, just to check I'm thinking of the right thing.)

 

[Fenris-77]

It's a RuneQuest variant, isn't it? (That's not to belittle it, just to check I'm thinking of the right thing.)

Yup, at least that's the DNA. It's still very much a BRP game, but they've tweaked and added some stuff. They've used that to core to do all sorts of different things. Their website is worth checking out.