Buying an RPG for ESL classes - Please Help!

[buddhafrog]

Thanks again. I'm back after some research with an update. As I said, I'm DM'ing after a 25 year hiatus. I haven't so much as looked through any other rpg in my lifetime. Looking through the suggestions made me feel very uniformed about rpg's in general. Wow, I'm a novice. I've been researching the suggestions provided and some look somewhat simple and quite possible. However....

• I was surprised at how similar most of these looked to some edition of D&D - ability scores, hit die, armors, etc. I guess that should have been expeted for several reasons. However, I was sort of hoping for something even less like D&D mechanics (I didn't really reaslize this when I started this thread). That is why Fiasco initially sounded intriguing I suppose. Maybe there aren't many games out there like this. After looking through these, I think my hope will be to find a game that is not fantasy genre and as simple/different from D&D core mechanics as possible (but still a good game of course).
• heck, I think I need some sort of basic module to start. I didn't think I would, but after reading through parts of many of these links provided, I sort of got an overwhelming feeling of being lost. I know how to run a D&D adventure quite well off the top of my head - running 10+ games a week will do that for you. But where would I start with a sci-fi or post-apocalyptic game that would give the players motivation to act? Some of the links provided did have setting background info for different situations which unfortunately I think I need at first. If you have any module-type links that you could provide with your recommendation, that would be appreciated.

With that said, Mutant Futures and Savage World look possible. Traveler looked a little overwhelming to me - I think I need to give that more of a careful reading.

Do you have any basic story/module links you could provide that I could pick up are run for my first game?

 

[S'mon]

Mutant Future scenario design can work the same as D&D by default - instead of delving into dungeons to fight monsters and get magic items, the PCs delve into ruins to fight mutants and get technological artifacts. The game design takes its cues from Moldvay Basic and gives you everything you need to play. Of course you can do other plots, like defend the village 'Magnificent 7' style, anything you'd do in D&D works in Mutant Future.

Of course it it is thus quite like D&D.

 

[Shades of Green]

Tempora Mutantur has no ability scores, and is extremely easy to learn and use. I'm in the process of translating it into Hebrew, by the way, for local use here in Israel. Personally I've modified it to use ascending AC and to avoid having Armour influence skill rolls, which is very easy to do.

Traveller is much simpler than it looks - at its basis, just roll 2d6+modifiers; 8 or more is a success. Classic Traveller is quite simple (though its layout is quite outdated), and the character sheet - or even a world or a ship - is no more than a few lines of text. Mongoose Traveller is a bit more complex (though not THAT much), but has a modern layout.

Stars Without Number is another excellent option for rules-light sci-fi adventures. Though its basis is a hybrid of Traveller and D&D, it expands FAR beyond it, all while keeping the rules simple and the sub-systems excellent. It has a LOT of flavor and is right now my number one favorite sci-fi RPG.

 

[chaochou]

Have you thought about Dread?

No numbers or mechanics at all. Players make characters by answering a questionairre (which you as GM could write and therefore control the language) and all the mechanics are done with a Jenga tower - which students might enjoy.

It's usually seen as a one-shot with a horror theme, but it's not really horror - it's more about the tension in the story and the fragile state of the tower as things get more and more scary. With just an hour to play the GM can control the rate at which the blocks get pulled from the tower to pace the game.

Might be worth a look.

 

[Flatus Maximus]

Most (all?) kids love Star Wars, so how 'bout SWSE? It's not exactly rules-light, but it's not terrible either.

 

[buddhafrog]

Have you thought about Dread?

No numbers or mechanics at all. Players make characters by answering a questionairre (which you as GM could write and therefore control the language) and all the mechanics are done with a Jenga tower - which students might enjoy.

It's usually seen as a one-shot with a horror theme, but it's not really horror - it's more about the tension in the story and the fragile state of the tower as things get more and more scary. With just an hour to play the GM can control the rate at which the blocks get pulled from the tower to pace the game.

Might be worth a look.

Without knowing anything else, that sounds awesome. I've heard of Dread but not details. This will be my next research for sure.

Most (all?) kids love Star Wars, so how 'bout SWSE? It's not exactly rules-light, but it's not terrible either.

I thought about this. We even have several hundred Star Wars minis (by the way, this is how we started playing D&D - me buying Star Wars and then D&D minis for my son who loved to play with them... it got me thinking that I should play actual D&D with him. I bet this happened with many parents/children and worry that the cancellation of the mini line might prevent some folks from being re/introduced to D&D). I think I will try and find another very different RPG. If that doesn't work, we might go with Star Wars. True, very universal.

 

[chaochou]

Without knowing anything else, that sounds awesome. I've heard of Dread but not details. This will be my next research for sure.

The Impossible Dream - Dread

If you click on the link to 'free stuff' you'll find 4 Dread scenarios (complete with questionnaires for character creation) as well as the Quick Reference charts.

I bought the full book as a pdf for about 15 bucks and its a good read.

I think the strengths of the system for your purposes are a) it's all about the story, with no mechanics or meta-game jargon and b) while it's sort of horror-themed that could be a haunted house, a derilict spaceship or a teenage camping trip - so it's highly adaptable.

 

[triqui]

Thanks Umbran. We use 4e, so Gamma World is one of the options. I was thinking however that another system entirely might be better. Maybe not.

Unfortunately the Dresden books would probably be too difficult for almost all of my students. I wish I could do this!

Savage Worlds - I could use it with another genre, but unfortunately, I don't think I'd have a clue how to do so. I think I need a system that will walk me through the gameplay/setting/etc. Then after I have some experience, I could improvise a lot.

Never heard of World of Darkness - I will now google.

I'll vote for Dresden Files, but Savage Worlds system have good settings too. Deadlands (adventures in the Weird Wild West) can do the trick. It completelly change US history (so it really doesn't matter if they don't know it well, couse it's not the same). Has a ton of Wild West clichès, and have gunslingers and magic, which Stephen King showed in The Dark Tower that is just pure awesomesauce

 

[Achan hiArusa]

Does it have to be Western? How about a game focusing on their culture and history, but using English. The Korean three kingdoms period would be great using D&D or if you can find it Dragonfist or an oldie like Bushido. If you are a rule kit basher, you can use Demonhunter X from White Wolf and adapt it for Hunter the Vigil or just basic WoD. Also the game In a Wicked Age is great even if you only use it for story generation. If you want to do horror just do it in their background using CoC, Kult, WoD, Unknown Armies, or Don't Rest Your Head. One of the things one of my gaming groups (over)used was just taking themselves and then changing the world. It would easy to take themselves or characters from Modern Day Korea and pull back the Veil.

 

[haakon1]

Does it have to be Western?

This reminds me of the existence of "Oriental D&D". In the AD&D era, it was pretty much its own edition, transitional between AD&D and 2nd Edition in some ways. Good game.

There was also a 3.0 or 3.5 edition version, but it wasn't all that different mechanically from regular D&D.

And of course, both are out of print.

And they're more likely to annoy an Asian audience, unless they are teenagery snarky enough to appreciate the twisted humor of playing a Western-made game about Western cliches about Asia . . . probably not?