Best system poll... take two

[milotha]

I don't think that there is a BEST system for all types of games. I think it really depends on several things.
1) The type of feel/setting that you want your game to have.
2) Do you want a rules lite to a rules heavy game.
3) Do you want a preprogrammed setting or a generic system.
4) How RPG experienced are your players, and what do they want.
5) What would make the game most FUN!
6) Campaign or one-shot.
7) Do you enjoy mechanics or do you enjoy story or do you enjoy a mix.
8) How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie pop?
9) etc.

That's why I picked Other.

Note: I'm surprised that there wasn't an option for 1ed and 2ed on there.

 

[Psion]

I think that there are many theoretical points of debate. But for the most part, I think it is a trade-off. Some systems don't lend themselves to some playstyles and genres, others do.

That said, I put d20 because regardless of a number of fine theoretical points, it plays well, and it has the advantage of ease of finding groups.

 

[Calico_Jack73]

Personally I voted Fuzion... like d20 it uses a skill+dice roll vs difficulty system for skills. The combat system is realistic in that it is deadly and makes combat something that characters should avoid when possible. It is also expandable because it can fit pretty much any setting. I believe it was originally developed for Cyberpunk & Mekton but then it was realized that the mechanics fit any situation. I've seen a Record of Lodoss War campaign supplement out on the net for it (though it was taken off for Copyright infringment). You can also download the Fuzion rules for free so that your players can learn the rules without having to make an investment in any books until after they've decided if they like the game. It's only downfall as I remember is that your stats are pretty much fixed to what they were when you rolled up the character though that may have been fixed since when I first picked up Cyberpunk.

 

[kengar]

I voted other. While I've played most of the above systems, I haven't played them all. For me, Savage Worlds is the best game system I've played in over 20 years of RPG-ing. It beats d20 without breaking a sweat. It beats GURPS, BRP, WHFRP, 1e, 2e & Basic D&D as well.

IMO, of course

 

[TheAuldGrump]

Hmmm, I would say that you are biasing your poll by the venue you are running it in - oddly enough a D20 website will have a high concentration of D20 players.... If you ran this same poll on the Steve Jackson site or the White Wolf forums you would recieve completely different answers, not unbiased, merely with a different bias.

For me (in order of preference):
Basic Role Play (Chaosium) Organic experience system
Storyteller (White Wolf) Very easy to run and play
Ars Magica (Atlas) Just because the magic sysem is so darned awesome!
D20 (WoTC) Because it is so widely accepted

But D20 is what I play most.

The Auld Grump

 

[Henry]

...Which one gives you the freedom to make whatever character you like and is most easily adaptable to new rules. Which ones cover the widest range of possible situations.

By definition, the winners will be either GURPS or d20, and my money's on d20, specifically because it's not a rules system, not the same way in which any of the other offerings are.

If you want to limit d20 to ONLY those things under the d20 Trademark License, then the money's on GURPS. But if you settle on all OGL items using all or part of all Open Game Content out there, then "d20" is going to win that definition, because the only rule to follow is:

d20 + MODS vs. Target Number. All other rules are just molding and shaping, not intrinsic to the frame.

I could make a classless, levelless skill-based game using d20 + MODS vs. Target Number, and it would be OGL. I've often considered doing this exact thing to make a Shadowrun Clone game for publication, because I and a lot of other people love the shadowrun setting but hate the d6 dice pool mechanic; to do so would likely venture so close to FASA's license that I'd have to put my money where my mouth is to defend it, and I'm not ready to do that.

 

[Calico_Jack73]

Hmmm, I would say that you are biasing your poll by the venue you are running it in - oddly enough a D20 website will have a high concentration of D20 players.... If you ran this same poll on the Steve Jackson site or the White Wolf forums you would recieve completely different answers, not unbiased, merely with a different bias.

Notice what I said in my first post... I know very well which one will win the poll.

I've got a feeling that since this is primarily a d20 site that I know which will win but please be honest.

 

[BiggusGeekus]

Chosium is good. I'm a gearhead enough to like GURPS. My love of d20 know no limit.

But I voted for Fuzion. I liked how the designers looked at real firefiights and realized the obvious: most bullets miss.

 

[tjoneslo]

My question would be best for what? Each of these systems has a definitive play style which appeals to different people. I'd select GURPS, Storyteller, BESM (which is missing), HERO (which is missing) and D20 as "best" systems. But for different reasons.

 

[Arnwyn]

Boo! Badly designed poll - it should be multiple choice. Since it's not, I can't vote.

IMO and IME, d20 is the best system for the fantasy/medieval-type genre. Fuzion is the best system for the futuristic/sci-fi genre.