Best single volume RPG?

[buzz]

Spirit of the Century gets my top nods. One of the best RPGs currently in print, IMO, and useful for way more than just pulp. FATE (its engine) is just ridiculously adaptable.

I want to give Spycraft 2.0 mad props in the d20 arena, but I've only read it, not actually played it.

I'd also have to mention Dogs in the Vineyard and Burning Empires.

 

[Plane Sailing]

technically, Bushido is in two booklets. I know, I have them both.

Was it? Gosh, it's a long time since I got it out, I'll have to go and check!

 

[Plane Sailing]

What is the difference between Runequest 2nd Ed and Mongoose's Runequest?

<my bias>
RQ2 is brilliant and RQ mongoose isn't?
</my bias>

I felt that MRQ added unnecessary complexity while losing some of the charm of the old mechanics which were doing their job really well.

 

[GrimGent]

Hmm. Nobilis and Ars Magica have been mentioned already... Well, there's always The Sailor Moon Role-Playing Game and Resource Book, published by Guardians of Order back in '98: this charming little RPG covers the first two seasons of the show, runs on an uncomplicated early version of Tri-Stat d6 and contains just about everything that you could ask for in a game about the magical girl genre, including a chart for generating random monsters-of-the-week.

 

[HellHound]

The Rules Cyclopedia is the hands down best RPG book ever published.

EVER.

EH-VOR.

Meh. I don't like how they nerfed the thief in BECM / Cyclopedia when compared to B/X

 

[Nightchilde-2]

WORLD OF SYNNIBAR! Or maybe F.A.T.A.L.

Okay..not really...

Savage Worlds and D&D Rules Cyclopedia would get my vote.

 

[Psion]

WORLD OF SYNNIBAR! Or maybe F.A.T.A.L.

 

[TarionzCousin]

Oddly, one game with a single rulebook that seems to fall into that category but doesn't (at least for me) is Over The Edge -- yes, the setting is Al Amarja, but the core rules are so simple, so transparent that you can adapt them to a host of settings. I have used OTE for the base setting, for superheroes, pulp adventures, Cthulhu-esque, fantasy, and about six-eight variants on the above. This probably earns my "one volume" spot. It is also the game that I have used to introduce more non-gamers to gaming than any other books, which strikes me as a selling point.

Ars Magica would probably also fall in this category, either 4th or 5th edition -- different takes on the same base theme. While all the supplements are certainly nice, the core rules are all that you need for a good game; I have also worked up variant games (not using Mythic Europe as a base) from this material to rather surprising ends.

I enjoyed both Over the Edge and Ars Magica. I don't think I would rank either of them at number one though. That said, I don't know what I would. :\

Spycraft 2.0 can be found used for a mere $50. What makes it so good?

 

[Psion]

Spycraft 2.0 can be found used for a mere $50. What makes it so good?

Used for $50? It originally sold for $40.

And there's a second printing slated to come out in October from Mongoose. It'll also be $40, but unlike the original (which was a great price for a color book that size), the second printing will be black-and-white.

As for what makes it great, I could say a lot (and did... see my review here), but to boil it down: it's a deep, robust volume... 496 pages, light on frills... that is very thoroughly thought-through and self consistent. A few salient features include:

• Dramatic Conflicts - The popular spycraft chase system is refined and expanded to cover a variety of non-combat conflicts. Hacking, interrogation, manhunts, seductions, infiltration, and brainwashing, as well as the original chase system, all fall under the dramatic conflict system.
• Campaign Qualities - Spycraft recognizes that modern action has a variety of genres and feels. To this end, the game includes a variety of campaign qualities, which are plug-in rules that can be used to change the way the game plays. Want something grittier? What certain sorts of actions to be preferable (e.g., noncombat, melee combat, diplomacy, etc)? Just pick the right combo of qualities, and off you go!
• Streamlined NPCs - Spycraft is still a very detailed system, but as with most D20 variants, using the full blown chargen system for all NPCs is a pain. The Spycraft NPCsystem lets you use a simplified notation to create NPCs, and then the end result scales to different levels.

 

[TarionzCousin]

As for what makes it great, I could say a lot (and did... see my review here)

Molto Grazie!