Good/New Fantasy RPG's

[NotZenon]

Hello I was hoping someone could help me find a new RPG.

For reference i have played every iteration of DnD, as well as a few side versions of the game (such as E6, pathfinder, trailblazer, and arcana unearthed, star wars/saga). For the record i have also played some other games like, gurps, merps, shadowrun, paladium (lol), etc...

You know i love DnD but I am looking for something new, specifically:

-not D20
-Detailed but easy to use magic system
- rules that "feel" realistic without being overburdened by detail
- classical fantasy (low or high magic)

I'm interested in Rune Quest, and Dragon age, based on recommends by other people but also would like to learn about more about some other games if they are out there.

Part of the reason I want to try a new system is we have just been playing DnD for so long, none of the spells /magic items have any mystery at all anymore. A fighter finding a magical sword is as humdrum and expected as picking up milk at the grocery store. I also have a few players who have far more "rules mastery" than the other players, and starting a new game kind of levels the playing field abit.

We were going try rolemaster, with another Dm but after a few hours of trying to create characters everyone was like, screw it lets just play something else.

Umm yeah so any thoughts, comments, etc.. are appreciated.

 

[Nagol]

Pendragon has everything you're looking for with the caveat that the magic system, though easy is quite punishing and unlikely to draw many player characters.

Ars Magica fits pretty well. The magic system can get a bit involved during down time.

The Dungeon Crawl Classics beta test looks interesting.

 

[Agamon]

I'm currently reading Arcanis and I'm liking it enough to consider running a game with it concurrent to my PF game. Living Arcanis was a d20 game, but the new game is nothing like d20, and the setting is incredibly rich. There's a good review of it here

 

[NotZenon]

thanks guys i will look into those.

 

[Giltonio_Santos]

Don't forget about The Burning Wheel, by Luke Crane. There you have a really strong fantasy RPG. On my own experience, the game has delivered its promise of changing the way you play any RPG.

 

[pogre]

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay
I prefer 2nd edition, but 3rd edition is a good game too. 3rd is very unique in terms of mechanics compared to D&D.

 

[Ycore Rixle]

Shameless self-plug alert!

You should check out my game, Spellbound Kingdoms. It meets all of your criteria, although the Renaissance elements (there are black powder guns, for example) might push it too far away from "classical fantasy" for you. Still, you can remove those elements without unbalancing the game. Take a look, I think you'll like it.

I'd also include Ars Magica if you find the magic system easy enough. Some do, some don't. It's a good game, whether or not it suits you mostly just depends on how you like the magic system.

And there's the venerable Fantasy Hero game, which uses the Hero system rules for classical fantasy. I've always had a soft spot for it. Again, though, the magic system can be a pain if you don't find a source for ready-to-use spells, items, etc.

 

[Niccodaemus]

Part of the reason I want to try a new system is we have just been playing DnD for so long, none of the spells /magic items have any mystery at all anymore. A fighter finding a magical sword is as humdrum and expected as picking up milk at the grocery store. I also have a few players who have far more "rules mastery" than the other players, and starting a new game kind of levels the playing field abit.

This is what happens when RPGs get reduced to meta-data.

A fighter finds a +1 magical sword. How does he know it is magical? How does he know it is +1? While an identify or some other spell might indicate it is magical, it certainly should not reveal any meta-data about it.

I think a lot of the issue comes down to game world, and how magic and monsters are portrayed. In a world where there are "magic shops", magic is indeed mundane. A magic ring is reduced to the equivalent of getting a cup-o-joe at Starbucks. D&D progressively got "video gamey". Kill monsters, get stuff, trade it in for other stuff. *Shudder!*

D&D was conceived as a way to capture the experience of folktales, mythology, and legend. It was an evolution of wargaming, in which instead of controlling entire armies, you controlled a single person. It revolutionize the gaming industry, because this person was able to see the world from an individual's point of view, not that of an abstract country, corporation, etc…

It seems to me that there has been a steady trend to pull RPGs back to their wargaming roots. Focus on the tactical, rather than the evocative.

My personal suggestion would be to read material which inspired the original designers (Gygax and co.) Immerse yourself in the alienation of a few fairy tales from different cultures. Read some Lord Dunsany. Read the actual Poetic Edda, or the Kalevala. Check out Edgar Allen Poe's Hop Frog. Think about how you might be able to evoke such primitive chords in your game, using the rules as malleable tools to serve you, not shackles to restrict you.

Detach your fantasy game from any connection to films made after 1930. Check out Der Golem, Nosferatu, Faust, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, The Hunchback of Norte Dame with Lon Chaney.

Think about the archetypes of D&D (heroes, weapons, , and monsters) from a mythic point of view… not a game mechanic point of view.

 

[Herremann the Wise]

Don't forget about The Burning Wheel, by Luke Crane. There you have a really strong fantasy RPG. On my own experience, the game has delivered its promise of changing the way you play any RPG.

I purchased the new Burning Wheel gold and I'm looking forward to finally getting my hands on it (delivery to Australia takes a little while). I have a feeling this might be an interesting direction to look in. I'll post back when I receive my copy with further info.

Best Regards
Herremann the Wise

PS: And I purchased the Spellbound Kingdoms pdf a while ago and recommend looking at this too. There's some nice mechanics in that one too.

 

[NotZenon]

This is what happens when RPGs get reduced to meta-data.

A fighter finds a +1 magical sword. How does he know it is magical? How does he know it is +1? While an identify or some other spell might indicate it is magical, it certainly should not reveal any meta-data about it.

I think a lot of the issue comes down to game world, and how magic and monsters are portrayed. In a world where there are "magic shops", magic is indeed mundane. A magic ring is reduced to the equivalent of getting a cup-o-joe at Starbucks. D&D progressively got "video gamey". Kill monsters, get stuff, trade it in for other stuff. *Shudder!*

D&D was conceived as a way to capture the experience of folktales, mythology, and legend. It was an evolution of wargaming, in which instead of controlling entire armies, you controlled a single person. It revolutionize the gaming industry, because this person was able to see the world from an individual's point of view, not that of an abstract country, corporation, etc…

It seems to me that there has been a steady trend to pull RPGs back to their wargaming roots. Focus on the tactical, rather than the evocative.

My personal suggestion would be to read material which inspired the original designers (Gygax and co.) Immerse yourself in the alienation of a few fairy tales from different cultures. Read some Lord Dunsany. Read the actual Poetic Edda, or the Kalevala. Check out Edgar Allen Poe's Hop Frog. Think about how you might be able to evoke such primitive chords in your game, using the rules as malleable tools to serve you, not shackles to restrict you.

Detach your fantasy game from any connection to films made after 1930. Check out Der Golem, Nosferatu, Faust, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, The Hunchback of Norte Dame with Lon Chaney.

Think about the archetypes of D&D (heroes, weapons, , and monsters) from a mythic point of view… not a game mechanic point of view.

Thanks for the thoughtful reply and i totally agree with your sentiment. I will always love reading those old dnd books and modules, and the new ones too. But part of the reason i'm looking for a new system, is i do have very rules oriented players, and to be honest they have literally memorized every single magic item and spell (and monster) in the game (maybe not in the expansions, but in the core game).

In our last game I would make my own items and monsters, and when i couldn't i would try go by descriptions rather than game mechanics... but usually after the first or second attack roll someone would be like "oh its a hook horror" or "oh its a +3 to hit cause i missed on a 13 but hit on a 14".... you know what i'm getting at here.

also to be honest i'm really bored of the d20 vs armor class or d20 vs number mechanic. I mean ultimately any system is going to be a roll vs a number eventually, but at least there will be some kind of novelty to the system! haha.

Also there is just something exciting for the whole group about diving into a new game. (although no one wants to purchase new books lol - but one of the advantages of that is it takes longer before the players start learning the "in's and out's" of the system.)

i'm not gunna lie i'm not really into the older movies (or the Cthulhu horror genre that everyone is all up ons nowdays), but one of the things i like to do when i dm is try to make the characters feel like they are characters in an epic story book or movie, rather than the "video game" feel that is so hard to avoid. I want my players to be connected to their characters but the truth is because of video games they have a "reload at the save point" mentality (even though I don't let them do this they are still programmed from the way they play video games.) as well as a "kill it and take its treasure" mentality.

you know what i mean.

Man it looks like i have alot of new games to research... i wish i had the time/money to just buy/play them all!