GAHH!! Time to take a break from 3.5

[Grimstaff]

Its always fun to try a different game every now and then. My group has always found it to be a nice break, and we take desriable elements back to our D&D game when we're done "playing the field" for a few weeks.

Rolemaster is great, as is its bastard child MERP.
Tunnels and Trolls is fun, too.
Also Runequest, Harn, and WHFRP.

Enjoy, see you again in a couple of months!

 

[Treebore]

I hear you. Its a large reason why I quit 3E and switched to C&C two years ago. I also looked at 1E, 2E, OD&D, BFRP, Savage Worlds, True20, etc...


I hope you recover the fun and joy of playing like I did.

 

[Steel_Wind]

Its always fun to try a different game every now and then. My group has always found it to be a nice break, and we take desriable elements back to our D&D game when we're done "playing the field" for a few weeks.

Rolemaster is great, as is its bastard child MERP.
Tunnels and Trolls is fun, too.
Also Runequest, Harn, and WHFRP.

Enjoy, see you again in a couple of months!

Hmm. When we first "took a break" from D&D for Rolemaster, it was 1983.

We didn't come back from Rolemaster to D&D until 3rd edition was released. It was a long 17 year break.

I don't foresee that sort of Uber-break happening now. But... *shrug*

I need some time away. And a few less modules too. It was fun for a while - but I got to get back to homebrew and kit-bashed adventures for a bit too. That's a whole other issue separate from 3.5 and one which will not take nearly as long to shake off

 

[Brazeku]

I feel for you man. I had similar concerns, although I took the opposite approach: I gave the same resources (and specially developed counter-resources) to the opposition. Probably wouldn't be your cup o tea, but I can relate to your concerns and have actually been considering a resource-light campaign (such as what you suggest) to change things up now and again.

 

[Gothmog]

I have to agree- the 3E version of D&D feels very video-gamey to me, characters are too freakin' powerful (like you said, superheroes by 9th level), and there are no consequences for their actions, except losing some gold or XP in the RAW. I came to the realization about 3 years ago that 3E D&D/D20 didn't hold much appeal for me, for the reasons I listed above, in addition to horrendous prep time.

My group prefers grim and gritty style gaming too, with strong horror and investigation/mystery components. After trying a few systems, we found we REALLY like WHFRP2 for our fantasy gaming. Its dark, grim, and there are consqeuences for PC actions (permanent injuries, madness, mutation, and low magic levels so its not just insta-poof cured like in D&D). Characters are competent to begin with (equivalent to about 3rd level D&D characters), but never progress to superheroic levels. Another great game that works in any genre is Savage Worlds- its kinda pulpy in nature, but it again has consqeuences for PC actions. Both WHFRP and Savage Worlds are a breeze to prep, but have plenty of character customization options, so no two characters play the same or have the same abilities.

I have fond memories of Rolemaster/MERP as well- those were my first RPGs, and we played them for a long time. I often hear people complain about Rolemaster being too complicated to play, but IME it was MUCH less work to prep and run than D&D 3.x. I may have to go dig out my old Rolemaster/MERP books now- those were some great games.

 

[Philotomy Jurament]

I had a lot of fun with Rolemaster (I ran a RM campaign in a very non-canon Middle Earth, back in the day -- one of the big hits was the old I.C.E. module, The Court of Ardor). I think it's a good choice for what you want to do. It'll still be a relatively heavy system with lots of rules/crunch options for the players, but the "consequences" factor should go way up because of the way the system works (and the way you intend to have them track resources).

As to the overall feeling behind your rant...I hear you. And you're not alone (not by a long shot). Sometimes you need a change (and systems do matter); it can be just what the doctor ordered, and revitalize your gaming (that's been the case with me at several points over the last couple decades). I hope it works out well for you and your group.

 

[smootrk]

Agreed with OP, although I have not had the opportunity to try an alternative system yet. I have been yearning to just dumb down everything and use Basic Fantasy or C&C instead... and I have an itch to play Star Frontiers for its vastly different character build design (classless and level-less advancement - and no Resurrection!).

 

[Agamon]

I never did understand the fun of looking up charts all the time, as one does in Rolemaster, but, hey, you guys played it for 17 years? Cool, power to ya. I don't blame you for getting tired of bash the door in, kill the monsters and take their stuff. I'm running AoW, too, and it is pretty video game-y. I don't have such a big problem with it at the moment, though. I do plan on playing a RP-intensive MnM game when AoW is done, which will be sometime around the release of 4E. 4E looks interesting, and will be the D&D game of choice when we play D&D again, it just might be a little while. I'll need a break soon, too.

I really want to run a WFRP game, too. That might be partly because my rookie Dwarf team is cleaning house in the Blood Bowl league I recently joined, though...

 

[ThoughtBubble]

I definitely know what you mean. I love D&D 3, I think it's a nicely designed system and it really fires on all 4 cylinders. I ended up drifting over to M&M (for crazy high power and signature moves), and then Burning Wheel (for all my fantasy needs). Burning Wheel in particular fills that need of mine to have a more gritty play experience. Especially the points where 4 guys with crossbows pointed at you is a very bad time. If Rolemaster doesn't work out, I'd recommend giving it a look.

Good luck getting back into your groove!

 

[Sound of Azure]

Cool, ok. I'm sad to see somebody dissatisfied with something I still very much like (though I have a sudden inability to create new material now that I know about 4e), but when you need to walk away, you need to walk away.

I understand some of your concerns... one of the reasons I rarely DM for parties above 7th level or so.

Anyhow, good luck in finding the fun times again!