I'm trying to narrow three options. Here is the situation.
My last game was a D&D game with jedi, judges & mutants added for the first two adventures in the Shackled City Adventure Path. I had each player run two characters because I thought I only had two players. Three or four actually played. It went on hiatus after first week in April. I needed a break from it, and I don't really want to pick it up again right now (maybe ever). Due to a variety of factors, I am a little burned out on D&D & d20. On the other hand, I likely won't be able to DM beginning in September due to real life (RL) issues (I'll be lucky to continue playing weekly); and I have a window of July & August to run one more game before some possible mandatory time off.
Here are my options.
1) A core D&D (Greyhawk) 3.0 game. It's been on hold for three years. It was fun, but it's a lot of work to prepare and run. I've got two short adventures picked out from Dungeon that I would like to run. I've even got the minis. My hesitation is that it just more D&D. I'm also not sure if I want to play with a guy who will want to play this game. He's my friend, but he made me really angry two years ago when he boycotted other games I was running. After he and several others didn't show one particular night, I went on a one-year DMing embargo. He also quit our group about a year ago because we weren't playing D&D (at least not the way he likes it). The other players who are still around have been pretty solid over the years (both as friends and as players), so I hate to punish them for this guy's actions. Plus, he's still a friend even if he is incredibly selfish.
2) Judge Dredd (JD) d20. The players have run the first two published adventures. I've got two more. I think the first two are probably better than the last two, but they're all pretty good. The great thing about JDd20 is that it more easily allows fluctuating numbers of players from week-to-week. It's been a real challenge for me to DM due to all of our RL concerns. Right now, I can count on 2 players almost every week; but the other two may or may not show on any given week. JD is still has some of the complexities of the d20 system plus a few tweaks of its own. Overall, though, it is easier to run than D&D because there is no magic. I tihnk the players would play it, but it won't be as popular or well-attended as option 1 (the guy who quit probably won't show even if invited to play).
3) Savage Worlds (SW). I recently got this game, read it and really like it. It really does look fast, furious and fun like its marketing says. A drawback is that I do not have a setting for it. I am interested in Tour of Darkness, the Viet Nam Weird Wars supplement and plot-point campaign; but I haven't found it locally yet (and I want to give my FLGSs a chance to get it for me). Otherwise, there is a zombie run setting at rpgnow that looks cool. But, SW is an unplayed game. It might be great. It might not. If so, I may want to run nothing but SW (like I did with d20 for the past several years). It looks as if it could be a better fit for all of us 30-something gamers just like the designer said in his journal notes.
So, there is my quandry. Any advice is appreciated.
My last game was a D&D game with jedi, judges & mutants added for the first two adventures in the Shackled City Adventure Path. I had each player run two characters because I thought I only had two players. Three or four actually played. It went on hiatus after first week in April. I needed a break from it, and I don't really want to pick it up again right now (maybe ever). Due to a variety of factors, I am a little burned out on D&D & d20. On the other hand, I likely won't be able to DM beginning in September due to real life (RL) issues (I'll be lucky to continue playing weekly); and I have a window of July & August to run one more game before some possible mandatory time off.
Here are my options.
1) A core D&D (Greyhawk) 3.0 game. It's been on hold for three years. It was fun, but it's a lot of work to prepare and run. I've got two short adventures picked out from Dungeon that I would like to run. I've even got the minis. My hesitation is that it just more D&D. I'm also not sure if I want to play with a guy who will want to play this game. He's my friend, but he made me really angry two years ago when he boycotted other games I was running. After he and several others didn't show one particular night, I went on a one-year DMing embargo. He also quit our group about a year ago because we weren't playing D&D (at least not the way he likes it). The other players who are still around have been pretty solid over the years (both as friends and as players), so I hate to punish them for this guy's actions. Plus, he's still a friend even if he is incredibly selfish.
2) Judge Dredd (JD) d20. The players have run the first two published adventures. I've got two more. I think the first two are probably better than the last two, but they're all pretty good. The great thing about JDd20 is that it more easily allows fluctuating numbers of players from week-to-week. It's been a real challenge for me to DM due to all of our RL concerns. Right now, I can count on 2 players almost every week; but the other two may or may not show on any given week. JD is still has some of the complexities of the d20 system plus a few tweaks of its own. Overall, though, it is easier to run than D&D because there is no magic. I tihnk the players would play it, but it won't be as popular or well-attended as option 1 (the guy who quit probably won't show even if invited to play).
3) Savage Worlds (SW). I recently got this game, read it and really like it. It really does look fast, furious and fun like its marketing says. A drawback is that I do not have a setting for it. I am interested in Tour of Darkness, the Viet Nam Weird Wars supplement and plot-point campaign; but I haven't found it locally yet (and I want to give my FLGSs a chance to get it for me). Otherwise, there is a zombie run setting at rpgnow that looks cool. But, SW is an unplayed game. It might be great. It might not. If so, I may want to run nothing but SW (like I did with d20 for the past several years). It looks as if it could be a better fit for all of us 30-something gamers just like the designer said in his journal notes.
So, there is my quandry. Any advice is appreciated.
