Does a game like this exist?

[Agamon]

I was meaning crunch, but I agree with the statement above and will surely check out Old School Hack. My players are used to 3rd edition´s (and Pathfinder´s) tons of crunch. When looking at a more rules light system crunch-wise they get the feeling that they can´t realize their character concepts with it. That´s why they hesitate to even try it out. I guess this basically boils down to the fact that they, at least most of them enjoy the character creation mini-game of these editions (and yes, min-maxing).

The problem is, rules-lite literally means crunch-lite. So a rules-lite game isn't rules-lite anymore if PC creation is crunch-heavy.

Of course, one of the reasons for rules-lite games is the ability for the players to make their PCs whatever they want without worrying if there's a page with a rule written about it somewhere. But that doesn't look like what your players are looking for.

 

[Philotomy Jurament]

I'm not sure such a beast exists. BRP might fit the bill, depending on your definition of "rules light." The basic rules are pretty straightforward and easy to grasp, and since it's skill-based, character customization is "built in."

 

[Stormonu]

Personally, I'd consider Savage Worlds rules-light with a fair bit of customization. You can use it for fantasy with the core rules, though it has a whole expansion for further filling out a fantasy-themed game.

 

[Johnnii]

Personally, I'd consider Savage Worlds rules-light with a fair bit of customization. You can use it for fantasy with the core rules, though it has a whole expansion for further filling out a fantasy-themed game.

My vote is on Savage Worlds as well. One note however, is that SW is class-less, if that is a problem for you.

 

[pming]

Hiya

Hi,
Is there a rules-light fantasy RPG that gives the players a lot of possibilities for character customization?

This is always my player´s biggest complaint when I suggest playing a rules-light game (e.g. a retro-clone like Swords and Wizardry).

The only thing that comes to mind is "Marvel Super Heroes Advanced". Everything is handled by a simple d100 roll with 4 possible results (White, Green, Yellow and Red --- fail, minimum success, success, excelent success). You can customize characters like crazy, without having to 'count points' and whatnot.

And yes, you can use it for any genre if you want. We ran a year or two fantasy campaign called "Urshurak". It was very fun, interesting and played very easily to whatever style the player wanted.

As for other game systems...perhaps the D6 system? You can do a lot of customization with that.

^_^

Paul L. Ming

 

[pemerton]

Herowars/Quest might be an example - characters are built using natural language descriptors with ratings - so, for example, a conflict might involve one characters Dashingly handsome 18 against another's Blind to beauty 16, or Very strong 18 against another's Never been knocked down 20.

The conflict resolution rules are pretty straightforward.

But while the character customisation is as rich as your imagination for descriptors, these different descriptions don't have direct mechanical impact - their impact is mediated through the GM and players' conception of the shared fiction, and sometime their importance is much more in terms of flavour and fiction than mechanics. For example, Very strong 18 and Kung fu master 18 will have the same chance of knocking over someone with Never been knocked down 20. The difference between them goes to narrative and the content of the fiction, not mechanics.

So whether or not this sytem might work for you will depend on how you like your mechanics and your fiction to interact.

 

[Nagol]

Thanks! I remember reading about Eldritch. Wasn´t the problem with it that the bestiary was never released so and there were no monsters in the core rulebook?

Don't know about a bestiary, but there are no developed monsters in the core book. I am experienced with Hero Games though and never thought about it. The same system used to create PCs can be used to create the opponents relatively easily.

Another possibility is Mutants and Masterminds with the fantasy supplement -- Warriors and Warlocks depending on what you call rules-lite

 

[Jan van Leyden]

For a free, if a bit extreme take on rules light, option rich, have a look at PDQ.

For a few dollars more you can get a bit more meat with Jaws of the Six Serpents.

 

[Ariosto]

Depending on what you mean by the terms, The Fantasy Trip (with In the Labyrinth) might be worth a look. Unfortunately, it's long out of print.

 

[Michael Silverbane]

I consider Mutants and Masterminds 2e to be pretty rules-light, with very robust customization. While it is not, strictly speaking, a fantasy rpg, it can be used for such pretty easily, even without the fantasy flavored genre book.