If you could choose only one...

[fusangite]

OK.JD...my all-time favorite is still RQII, by Chaosium, and I really like Stormbringer, and Elric...Like I said, I am an old man...

Ditto. And they made such gorgeous campaign materials -- rich beyond belief. What I loved best was the "otherness" of Glorantha.

 

[Baron Opal]

I would go with BRP, with Ars Magica a close second. My friends and I were able to come up with many different systems of magic, powers, what have you with that system. After running a RuneQuest II/III game for many years I have boxes full of supplements and home campaign notes. If you have the time and inclination, I don't think there is anything you can't make that system do.

That said, there will always be a soft spot in my heart for Ars Magica. I've run a few games in that system, and aside from the "naked man with a stick problem", we have had some great times. And, you can have the magic level be what every you wish. The game has a virtue / flaw system, and if you edit out the Order of Hermes completely, you have a credible, low powered magic system just from the virtues. Also, you have hedge wizards and natural philosophers from ... that supplement. I'm told that the fifth edition fixed the fighting system problems, but I haven't read through it completely through it yet.

 

[scourger]

I voted for D&D Basic/Expert because I don't have any play expereince with the others. Plus, I know I could run a game of it and find players today; the others I couldn't. People will play D&D, even (especially?) old school D&D.

 

[Thanee]

I do not know Ars Magica, and it seems to be too limited in concept.
I do not know Castles & Crusades, except for very few posts on this forum.
Both listed versions of D&D simply lack the complexity I'm looking for in a game system (no skills at all, AFAIK, and so on).

BRP it is.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Omegaz]

I must admit I have a fondness for BRP. Runequest was the second system I played frequently (the first was Tunnels and Trolls which wasn't on the list!). I also played a lot of Call of Cthulu in college. To me BRP seemed much simpler and more logical than original D&D.

 

[Turjan]

If you want to use a system that's close enough to D&D to find players and contains some streamlined concepts of modern D&D, but is still lean enough, take Castles & Crusades.

If you like to play magicians in a well developed background and with a neat magic system, take Ars Magica 5th, which is a very good game!

If you want to be able to play everything and are fine with its quirks, take BRP!


Regarding the old versions of D&D: There may be a lot of players of those games out there, but I'm not sure whether those are easy to find and recruit.

 

[PieAndDragon]

Ars Magica. Seems the most interesting of the lot. Always wanted to give it a try and just 'meh' about the rest.

 

[Steel_Wind]

C&C - but not because of what it is, simply that it is the closest to 3e up there.