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Games That Changed How We Play
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<blockquote data-quote="steenan" data-source="post: 7780466" data-attributes="member: 23240"><p>The games that changed the way I play were, in chronological order:</p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Call of Cthulhu</strong> - First RPG I played and ran that made building an appropriate mood the focus of play. It wasn't about playing to win, it was about playing stories like Lovecraft's. Characters dying or going insane was as entertaining as characters defeating the monstrosities from Mythos.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>D&D 3e</strong> - The first RPG I played that made creating characters its own minigame and taught me the joys of optimization. It was really fun to build combos and see how they click together in play. Unfortunately, it was also a game of extensive prep and it burned me as a GM after I ran a two-year campaign.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Dogs in the Vineyard</strong> - Got me back into RPGs. Narrow focus, clearly defined themes and rules that truly support them. I love how the game throws players into messed up situations and keeps asking hard moral questions. I also love how it explicitly ignores things that are not part of the theme (no rolls for travel or interacting with environment, no rolls for information gathering etc.). That's also the first RPG that really told me how to run it, instead of speaking in generalities, throwing a random set of tools at me and assuming I'll figure it out somehow. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Nobilis</strong> - On one hand, system without randomization; it's all about choices and resource management. On the other, the focus of play very different from traditional games. Playing with words and philosophical concepts, because that's what most miraculous conflicts are about. Enemies of existence who may be right after all. Death that is just an inconvenience, so you need to seek better methods of defeating someone. And so on.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Fate Core</strong> - Very simple, but able to capture nearly everything I need in an RPG. I love making facts about characters and situations explicit with aspects and formalizing how they work mechanically. Stress and consequences are the best "damage" system I have seen. Compels and concessions as tools for making failures fun instead of something to be avoided. And the fact that dice never kill characters, freeing players to take risks and the GM to push hard where it fits without risking a TPK. Fate is currently my go-to system for most purposes.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Urban Shadows</strong> - It managed to do what Vampire couldn't. Debts are a perfect mechanical tool for making politics engaging. Corruption tempts with power and takes away humanity. Intimacy spotlights the moments when you risk trusting somebody and opening up to them. US is the first PbtA game I really got into and it shows the best aspects of this engine. It's not the only PbtA I currently play, but it's the one that changed me.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Capes</strong> - While not as high on the list of "my best RPGs" as the previous two, it brought as big if not bigger playstyle change. It's fully GM-less, with defined structure, based on setting up scenes, defining stakes by asking questions and then resolving them. Very far from traditional RPGs, it features competitive story creation, no character ownership (characters can switch hands between scenes) and no PC-NPC distinction. It requires no prep and works fine with players coming and going between scenes, so it can be used in many circumstances where a traditional RPG can't.</li> </ul></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="steenan, post: 7780466, member: 23240"] The games that changed the way I play were, in chronological order: [LIST] [*][B]Call of Cthulhu[/B] - First RPG I played and ran that made building an appropriate mood the focus of play. It wasn't about playing to win, it was about playing stories like Lovecraft's. Characters dying or going insane was as entertaining as characters defeating the monstrosities from Mythos. [*][B]D&D 3e[/B] - The first RPG I played that made creating characters its own minigame and taught me the joys of optimization. It was really fun to build combos and see how they click together in play. Unfortunately, it was also a game of extensive prep and it burned me as a GM after I ran a two-year campaign. [*][B]Dogs in the Vineyard[/B] - Got me back into RPGs. Narrow focus, clearly defined themes and rules that truly support them. I love how the game throws players into messed up situations and keeps asking hard moral questions. I also love how it explicitly ignores things that are not part of the theme (no rolls for travel or interacting with environment, no rolls for information gathering etc.). That's also the first RPG that really told me how to run it, instead of speaking in generalities, throwing a random set of tools at me and assuming I'll figure it out somehow. [*][B]Nobilis[/B] - On one hand, system without randomization; it's all about choices and resource management. On the other, the focus of play very different from traditional games. Playing with words and philosophical concepts, because that's what most miraculous conflicts are about. Enemies of existence who may be right after all. Death that is just an inconvenience, so you need to seek better methods of defeating someone. And so on. [*][B]Fate Core[/B] - Very simple, but able to capture nearly everything I need in an RPG. I love making facts about characters and situations explicit with aspects and formalizing how they work mechanically. Stress and consequences are the best "damage" system I have seen. Compels and concessions as tools for making failures fun instead of something to be avoided. And the fact that dice never kill characters, freeing players to take risks and the GM to push hard where it fits without risking a TPK. Fate is currently my go-to system for most purposes. [*][B]Urban Shadows[/B] - It managed to do what Vampire couldn't. Debts are a perfect mechanical tool for making politics engaging. Corruption tempts with power and takes away humanity. Intimacy spotlights the moments when you risk trusting somebody and opening up to them. US is the first PbtA game I really got into and it shows the best aspects of this engine. It's not the only PbtA I currently play, but it's the one that changed me. [*][B]Capes[/B] - While not as high on the list of "my best RPGs" as the previous two, it brought as big if not bigger playstyle change. It's fully GM-less, with defined structure, based on setting up scenes, defining stakes by asking questions and then resolving them. Very far from traditional RPGs, it features competitive story creation, no character ownership (characters can switch hands between scenes) and no PC-NPC distinction. It requires no prep and works fine with players coming and going between scenes, so it can be used in many circumstances where a traditional RPG can't. [/LIST] [/QUOTE]
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