Favote Fantasy RPG(s) other than D&D

[Reynard]

I'm sure w've had this discussion a hundred times, but it is always a good one.

Other than D&D (including all editions, simulcra and clones -- so no Pathfinder, C&C, or Swords and Wizardry, please) what is you favoite fantasy RPG and why?

For my part, I have a deep and abiding love for Earthdawn (first edition). It is the only "fantasy heartbreaker" i have ever encountered that worked. While the system can be a little clunky and dice heavy, it does so many things right I can forgive it its weaknesses. What's more is that it posits a world in which every D&D cliche has a reason for existing -- and a cool reason at that.

 

[Mouseferatu]

My experience with non-D&D fantasy RPGs is limited. So far, I've got high hopes for Dragon Age, but that's just based on reading the first boxed set, not play experience.

I've played the first game of a Solomon Kane (Savage Worlds) campaign, so we'll see what I think of that system once I've had longer to experience it.

 

[Nagol]

Depends on what I want from the fantasy.

Ars Magica has a wonderful high sorcery feel.

Harn is a grittier common-man vibe.

Pendragon has a wonderful romance (in the literary sense) mechanic in its passions and virtues mechanic.

[I}Lace and Steel[/I] has an interesting magical system and a good set of mechanics for adventuring in courtly intrigue.

 

[maddman75]

I'm not a big fantasy guy, but if I do get the itch I'm probably going to want to put my own spin on it. Right now my current darling for that is Savage Worlds. Using it for fantasy works pretty well, and the fast pace of the miniatures gives you a good dungeon crawly feeling.

Another would be Mouseguard. When you're a mouse, a Snake is a dragon, a spring rain is a tsunami, and the only thing you can count on is your fellows in the Guard. My players don't care for it, but I would drop everything else I'm doing to run nothing but Mouseguard if I could.

 

[Doug McCrae]

RuneQuest. The world of Glorantha is the best thing about it, but the system is good too. Consistent, unified. A lot like 3e, but with d100 instead of d20 and no classes. When I first saw it in the early 80s, I really liked that monsters had the same stats as PCs. Now you knew how strong a gryphon was, etc.

Glorantha is the best rpg world evar imo. Greg Stafford really knows his stuff when it comes to mythology and folklore. It feels rich and deep, and there's tons of just plain cool stuff, like the gigantic block of stone from the God-Time that keeps the Devil pinned. Religion and culture are very important in Glorantha. The non-human races - elves, dwarves, trolls - are very different from humans in their outlook, though still comprehensible.

 

[Reynard]

RuneQuest.

A quick search shows me there are a number of editions and printings of Runequest. Which do you recommend?

 

[Doug McCrae]

A quick search shows me there are a number of editions and printings of Runequest. Which do you recommend?

I'm not up enough on all the editions to give a good recommend. People have been saying good things about the most recent edition from Mongoose, RuneQuest II, which was published this year.

Afaics though all editions of RuneQuest are fairly similar. There is also HeroWars (formerly known as HeroQuest) which is also set in Glorantha but uses a totally different, narrativist, system. RQ has a strongly simulationist system, much like 3e.

 

[Ed_Laprade]

Runequest and The Fantasy Trip are both good, but if I had to pick only one it would be the original Palladium FRPG. But then, I haven't even looked anything other than D&D that's much younger than that.

 

[coyote6]

GURPS.

I do want to try Savage Worlds (using the Hellfrost setting, or a variation thereof).

 

[Mouseferatu]

If one were interested in the world of Glorantha as a setting, but had no interest (positive or negative) in the rules set... What book/edition would be best? That is, what product focuses most on the setting, and least on the mechanics?