Alternate RPG system recommendations sought for Eberron campaign

[blargney the second]

I'd like to hear your recommendations for an RPG system to use in an upcoming Eberron game I'll be running. In particular, the characteristics I'm looking for are:

1) Tightly themed PCs whose range of abilities doesn't diversify significantly over the course of the campaign.
2) Less death-centric than D&D - I want PCs and NPCs to survive.
3) PCs that have the ability to keep adventuring all day long. Abilities usable as many times as they need, and fairly quick recovery times.
4) Fast-paced, straightforward, and exciting combat. No effects that require 5 minutes to resolve.

What are your thoughts?
-blarg

 

[Glyfair]

I've been considering running an Eberron series using a variant of the Heroquest system. That seems to fit your needs.

My second choice (given the group I want to encourage to play in the world) is Melanda, Land of Mystery. However, that's more of a local system and the designers are two of the players I'd like to get to play. Still, it meets your criteria as well (except for the abilities, which you'd have to design, but that's par for the course in the Melanda games I've played in).

 

[Kesh]

True20 would fit well, and makes for easy conversion.

 

[Stormborn]

I know that one poster on these boards (Jurgen maybe?) is using GURPS for Eberron, which would work for you as far as characer advancement goes. You might consider somethign like Savage Worlds as another option. On the other hand, making some specific adjustments to d20 could also work for you, such as:

- Use the genric classes found in Unearthed Arcana and do away with multiclassing and prestige classes.

- IHs reserve HP system...basically given the characters a pool equal to their HP, with down time these points replace HP making the characters self healing and quicker to recover. Allow "Story Points" that a character can use during combat to stabalize or be "mostly dead."

- Remove any "Uses Per Day" to abilities. Let spent spell slots regenerate at about an hour per level - if you cast a 1st level magic missile you will have it back an hour later.

- Simplify combat by eliminating AoO, or just get rid of the battle mat all together for anything other than orientation. Let the characters describe what they want to do in combat. You as GM decides if they can attempt it and what penalities or opposed rolls might be in place to do so.

Just remember that whatever goes for the PCs should go for the NPCs/opponents as well and that should keep things level. The CR/EL system will quickly unravel, but in game experiance will help you adjust.

 

[Crothian]

I think cinimatic Unisystem that Buffy and Angel RPGs use by Eden would work really well.

 

[ruleslawyer]

Iron Heroes, for the following reasons:

1) PC archetypes are pretty tightly themed, since IH classes are all essentially specific warrior variants. The availability of cool high-level abilities means that PCs are unlikely to extensively multiclass, and so abilities will stay prettty focused.

2) Defense bonuses, armor DR, good saves, and reserve points mean much more survivable PCs. IH-ers can't necessarily dish it out as well as D&D characters, but they can stay in fights longer.

3) All IH abilities (except for reserve points and the magic system, which you should toss anyway; use Green Ronin's True Sorcery or something similar instead) are per-encounter rather than per-day.

4) Contrary to popular opinion, IH combat is actually pretty straightforward to resolve. The AoO rules (both for actions and movement) are *much* simpler than in core D&D, and while IH does feature lots of extra combat stuff like challenges, stunts, and tokens, those things are all options and all player-driven. Moreover, they essentially parallel Eberron's action point mechanics, which IMHO are indispensable to playing in that setting, so you'd want something like this anyway.

Especially if you use some of hong's hacks (which clear up some of the wonkier class abilities), the available range of effects in IH has simple resolution mechanics. No D&D-style spellcasting, magic items, or PrCs means far fewer weird conditions and effects.

Finally, IH is cross-compatible with D&D, which means that you can still run all the monsters, NPCs, etc. straight out of Eberron sourcebooks and adventures without having to do, say, a True20 or GURPS conversion.

 

[Treebore]

"I'd like to hear your recommendations for an RPG system to use in an upcoming Eberron game I'll be running. In particular, the characteristics I'm looking for are:

1) Tightly themed PCs whose range of abilities doesn't diversify significantly over the course of the campaign. Castles and Crusades
2) Less death-centric than D&D - I want PCs and NPCs to survive. Dungeon Masters job.
3) PCs that have the ability to keep adventuring all day long. Abilities usable as many times as they need, and fairly quick recovery times. Castles and Crusades with DM House Rules shortening recovery times
4) Fast-paced, straightforward, and exciting combat. No effects that require 5 minutes to resolve. Castles and Crusades, period.

What are your thoughts? Read the last line in my sig.
-blarg[/QUOTE]

 

[ValhallaGH]

1) Tightly themed PCs whose range of abilities doesn't diversify significantly over the course of the campaign.

Something not class/level based, probably. I have a lot of love for d20-based systems but the truth is that every time a character goes up in level they get access to all sorts of new goodies to make them more diverse.

2) Less death-centric than D&D - I want PCs and NPCs to survive.

SW-style wound vitality actually results in high rates of mook survival. Mook takes a couple points of wound damage, fails a save, falls unconcious and is (hopefully) not coup de graced by the pcs. Other options are True20 style toughness or just having a crap-ton of hp ala Iron heroes. Unfortunately I don't know of any classless systems that have high survival rates, besides Exalted and that's really only for PC survival; Exalted mooks die by the thousands.

3) PCs that have the ability to keep adventuring all day long. Abilities usable as many times as they need, and fairly quick recovery times.

True20 and Iron Heroes will both give you this.

4) Fast-paced, straightforward, and exciting combat. No effects that require 5 minutes to resolve.

Unfortunately this one is difficult. Exciting combats tend to also be complex combats because someone is doing something cool that requires some extra adjudication. On the other hand, combats that are quick tend to be dull.

Some conclusions:
I'm a big fan of Iron Heroes but it can be clunky at times, especially when everyone is just learning the system. Once you get a little practice in the only clunky mechanic becomes grappling, which is always akward in d20 games. As mentioned previously, it will also require the least amount of conversion outside of the PCs.

True20 is a fine system, and for me it works wonderfully for certain game types but while I like it a lot I would never use it with Eberron. It just wouldn't feel right to me and it's a good bit more restrictive than I desire, especially when it comes to skills.

You may want to take a look at Gun-Fu and try adapting it to your Eberron games. The mechanics are similar to those in True20, but adapted to make sessions more like a Chow Yun Fat movie. Their actions per round is interesting, even if you don't like anything else from the system. "A character may do as much in one round as can be described in a simple sentence, such as 'I jump over the machinery and come down, guns blazing, upon the five guys on the other side of it.'"

If you're willing to take a big leap, you may want to look at the Exalted system. Strip out the demi-god flavor and remove some of the more outlandish abilities and you might have something you'll enjoy playing. Also it will let you have hideously powerful opposition whenever you wish by using those rules that you've forbidden your PCs from using.

 

[arscott]

I'd like to hear your recommendations for an RPG system to use in an upcoming Eberron game I'll be running. In particular, the characteristics I'm looking for are:

1) Tightly themed PCs whose range of abilities doesn't diversify significantly over the course of the campaign.
2) Less death-centric than D&D - I want PCs and NPCs to survive.
3) PCs that have the ability to keep adventuring all day long. Abilities usable as many times as they need, and fairly quick recovery times.
4) Fast-paced, straightforward, and exciting combat. No effects that require 5 minutes to resolve.

What are your thoughts?
-blarg

If you're not tied to d20, what about 7th Sea. I don't entirely know what I'm talking about, as I've only played the game w/ pregenerated characters, but it seems like it fits a lot of your requirements.

1) I don't really know much about the character creation and advancement rules, so I'm afraid I don't know how well this one holds up.

2) I think it's pretty much impossible to die in 7th Sea, if you get taken out in combat, you're simply knocked out.

3) Everything I've dealt with has uses per scene, uses per session, or requires the expenditure of an Action Die (which are awarded on a per session basis)

4) Yes, Yes, and Yes. It's a rules light system. Once you get used to the rules, combat is a peice of cake.

The only problem I can think of is that some of the crunch (the magic system in particular) is setting specific. That and it's out of print.

 

[pogre]

Eberon strike me as kind of pulp fantasy and I think Savage Worlds would be a good fit.