For someone looking to branch out...

[Captain NeMo]

What game system would you recomend for someone who likes D&D but would like to try alternatives. Not necesarily fantasy, possibly sci-fi/cyberpunk but open to almost anything. Any ideas for a system which is relatively quick and cheap to get into (if the CORE rulebooks number in the 2 digits, I'm not interested )?

Cheers,

Jodjod

 

[Bloodstone Press]

If you like d20 fantasy and want to experiment with modern or sci-fi, I'd say stick with d20 and move to the d20 Modern or Future book. If you are looking for a rule-set other than d20, I'd suggest GURPS.

 

[Zappo]

Elric/Stormbringer (the BRP/d100 version, not the D20 version - I'm a big fan of D20, but when something is bad, it's bad).

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplaying - I'm told that the new edition is very good.

Both are good fantasy games and they have fairly different systems when compared to D&D, so you get a newness factor that should be fun.

Also, both have only one core book.

 

[RSKennan]

While I like D20 a lot, I'd say not to go with another d20 system. If you're feeling adventurous, I'd say to *really* broaden your horizons. I'd say try a game with a vastly different set of design goals.

Unfortunately, I'm not one to recommend any 'modern' or new non-d20 games, but prior to d20, I can recommend from personal experience any of the following: Call of Cthulhu, Shadowrun, World of Darkness, Deadlands, Cyberpunk 2020, Rolemaster, Waste World, Skyrealms of Jorune, Fudge, In Nomine (Non-gurps), Gurps 3e, and Hero 5th edition. Those games are among the 'best' in my personal collection. YMMV, of course.

 

[Stormborn]

I second GURPS. With 4th edition out you can have all you need in 1 or 2 books. I highly recomend the GURPS line ingeneral as an aid for any type of campaign, but there is no need to buy them.

I've never done it, but you can actually play with the new World of Darkness with just the core book, no need for Vampire or Werewolf books. Ghost Stories is a book of adventures to go with it. Between the two you can do a lot. And we all know there are a ton of extra stuff if you get into wanting to add to your campaign.

I really enjoyed Pendragon, and you only need 1 book for that, but its really only good for Pendragon. You also need the right group to play it with, if they can't get into the feel of the game its not going anywhere.

 

[JDowling]

my friends have lots of good things to say about Exalted. I won't try it because it's White Wolf and I've always disliked their system.

 

[Nifft]

I like Exalted. It's like the old White Wolf system, but it makes sense, and all the die modifiers tend to balance out so you are only occasionally rolling an insane number of dice.

But when you *do* get to roll an insane number of dice -- well, that's when you feel the power of being a Sun God.

-- N

 

[GlassJaw]

Shadowrun

 

[Snowy]

A lot of my friends who are DnDers play shadowrun too. Seems like great fun from their sessions i've sat in on. Thats the next on my wish list a try at that.

 

[Turjan]

If you want to try a different kind of fantasy, you might have a look at HeroQuest (not to be mixed up with the board game). It's epic fantasy, and the game uses a d20, but that's where the similarities to D&D end. You can have a look at the Downloads and Game Aids page first, where you find some sample chapters of the core book and, last not least , the Game Aids themselves, which contain the system in a nutshell and are also available as booklet version.

Another good and completely free and versatile FATE (not to be mixed up with FATAL ), with the core book available as download here. It's a bit more conventional than HeroQuest, but nevertheless different from D&D.