Best GAMES AROUND! (NOT D20/4e, White Wolf or Cthulhu)

[Ghostwind]

I will echo recommendations for:

- Savage Worlds and the various plot points books such as Deadlands Reloaded, Weird Wars II, Sundered Skies, Slipstream, and Day After Ragnarok
- Eclipse Phase
- Hollow Earth Expedition (very pulp-esque)
- Dread
- Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space

 

[Glyfair]

Games I've played that I wish I could be playing right now:

James Bond - The RPG that best captured the genre it was emulating. I have played in many great campaigns, and ran a series of games a several Origins that had the same players come back year after year for the game.

Heroquest/Hero Wars - It needs the right players, but for drama oriented game, it is very strong. Plus, the Glorantha campaign world is one of my favorite and RQ just feel short of my game style.

There have been campaigns that I have played that were awesome, but they were mostly great because of the group and less because of the system. I just wish I had a favorite Pulp system, but I never really found one that was perfect. Until then, Justice, Inc. is it for me.

 

[Treebore]

As making up a character was a mini-game in itself (and the PC could end up dead during chargen!) making up characters for the fun of it often happened IMX.

However, lots of traveller was actually played too - I've not come across the "made up lots of characters but never played it" vibe before.

Cheers

Maybe only the part about the "mini game" inside of Traveller, ie character creation is all that stuck in his memory?

If not, let me break the pattern right now, in the last 12 months I have ran two Traveller Games. Each lasting at least 6 sessions.

Granted, I have not run or played Traveller nearly as much as I would like to have over the last 20 or so years, but played and ran it I have.

 

[Krensky]

Systems that I like that haven't been mentioned:

Mekton Z. Probably the best system for mecha heavy anime style games. It also provides rules for stating gear up for Cyberpunk 2020, one of the source books provides a future for Cyberpunk (Starblade Battalion), and it's the basis for building custom boomers and hardsuits in the excellent Bubblegum Crisis RPG books.

Blue Planet. Dripping (pun not intended) with flavor and a great hard(ish) scifi style. The world reminds me of something Pournell or Niven, or Cheryth might write.

 

[Plane Sailing]

Games I've played that I consider great:

Dread - I've participated in this twice, brilliant for horror 1-shots (at least with the right GM)

Runequest 2 - brilliant for anything (the most recent Basic Role Playing extends the essential RQ rules for fantasy, sci-fi, superhero stuff)

Dogs in the Vineyard - I've participated in this once and it was great (may need the right GM)

Space Opera - big, clunky and yet was the basis for the most successful and fun sci-fi campaign I ever ran. Go figure, eh?

Games that I've read and look interesting

Heroquest - I like the extra-freeform character generation, and the way that abilities, skills and relationships can all be used in resolving challenges. Didn't like the overcomplicated magic system, but without that still seemed great.

 

[rogueattorney]

Star Frontiers (free), original or re-booted.

Tunnels & Trolls (not free, but very cool), prefer the 5.5 edition, not that edition really matters much.

EDIT: Two more, both free in the same rules-lite, not-so-serious vein:

Encounter Critical

Mutant Future

 

[Wightbred]

3:16 is definitely worth a look. I didn't get it from the site, but once I saw the book I was hooked.

 

[Garmorn]

If you like a realistic feeling, low magic system with out levels checkout Harn Master. Takes a like time to get use to but there is no super characters and it the feel of actually playing a medieval character.

 

[Treebore]

If you like a realistic feeling, low magic system with out levels checkout Harn Master. Takes a like time to get use to but there is no super characters and it the feel of actually playing a medieval character.

Plus Harn materials are pretty much the best in the industry. Definitely for me at least. I love using Harn materials as my resources. Especially Lythia.com

 

[WheresMyD20]

Paranoia - 2nd Edition, West End Games

I've run Paranoia for a couple of different game groups and it's always a blast. I run it as a complete slapstick sci-fi farce. Players in my game get unlimited clones, so the game ends up feeling a bit like Toon - Death has no meaning, so players try all sorts of over-the-top stuff and the point of it all is to come up with the most outrageous ideas and make each other laugh.