Is there one RPG to rule them all? What version?

[Ath-kethin]

I can't believe nobody has put forward HoL (Human Occupied Landfill).

The only reason they stopped printing it was to let the rest of the RPG ecosystem recover. Bless their souls.

HoL has the best skill names in all of RPG-dom, hands down.

 

[TerraDave]

5e is obviously the dominator, ruler, king, biggest dog, whatever. B/X and 1E come right behind it.

But in terms of its enduring popularity, elegance of design, consistency through time, ongoing cultural relevance, and just how well it plays while not feeling like D&D, CoC has to be the all time greatest.

 

[Greg K]

I don't have just one, but depending upon my specific non-supers needs, the following can all cover a lot of ground:
BASH! (Bash!Fantasy and BASH! Sci Fi)
BESM
BoL/Everwhen
Cartoon Action Hour
Cortex Plus
Hero System 4e/ 5e
GURPS 3e or 4e
Savage Worlds
Tinyd6 (Stranger Stuff, Teenage Witchcraft, Tiny Dungeon, Tiny Frontiers, Tiny Wastelands, Tiny Cthulu, Tiny Gunslingers, Tiny Pirates)

 

[Lord Mhoram]

I think I have had two. Both universal system -
HERO (4th/5th) - I played HERO for nearly 35 as a main system, and there wasn't a setting I came up with that it couldn't handle, to my (and our group's) satisfaction.

In the last few years, I find that I don't have time to really spend that much time in the mechanics and details the HERO requires, so I I have been drifting to the Cypher System, and at this point, we have moved to that for all new games. It is a much easier system to GM and play, but still has some nice mechanical bits to use.

 

[GMMichael]

5e is obviously the dominator, ruler, king, biggest dog, whatever. B/X and 1E come right behind it. . .

Except that 5e (assuming you mean D&D) inherits parts from, and gets treated like, the third edition I mentioned earlier.

Class balance, skill checks, grid-based rules, "mechanics," and combat "pillar" focus of classes all come from 3e. 4e snuck in there a bit with gratuitous healing and encounter-recharge powers, but 5e is ruled by 3e, making the latter the RPG to rule them all (and to inspire rebellion).

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I think I have had two. Both universal system -
HERO (4th/5th) - I played HERO for nearly 35 as a main system, and there wasn't a setting I came up with that it couldn't handle, to my (and our group's) satisfaction.

In the last few years, I find that I don't have time to really spend that much time in the mechanics and details the HERO requires, so I I have been drifting to the Cypher System, and at this point, we have moved to that for all new games. It is a much easier system to GM and play, but still has some nice mechanical bits to use.

One thing that helped me run HERO 4th back in the day was my Excel spreadsheet based character sheet. It automatically kept track of the figured characteristics, and all the power, skill and disadvantage point totals.

 

[Staffan]

If I only had to play one game, it'd probably be TORG Eternity because then I'd have both generic action movie, fantasy, cyberpunk, stone age dinosaurs, 30s pulp, post-apocalyptic wastelands, horror, and bio-horror/corporate intrigue in one game.

 

[aramis erak]

Hello. No correct answer, but there are so many these days.

There is one correct answer to the titular question, but it may not be popular... There is no one game to rule them all... because rules matter, and rules and playstyles need to be non-exclusive of each other. (Noting that there are playstyles where the rules are entirely "Trust the GM to decide fairly" - even tho' that's one I am psychologically unable to play, it is a valid playstyle. And other RPGs that envision nearly to almost exclusively boardgame or minis wargame mode.)

Now, are there games that deserve more play? Hell yeah!
I'm fond of all of these:
FFG (now Edge) Star Wars
FFG (now Edge) L5R Fifth Edition
Twilight 2000 4E
Sentinel Comics
Pendragon (any edition, tho' 4th is my favorite)
Tunnels & Trolls (again, any edition, tho' 5.5 is my favorite.)
2d20 Dune. (Best 2d20 version I've read, and I've run a bunch of it.. And read many of them)
Alien
Vaessen
Talisman (The RPG, not the boardgames, tho' the Talisman Adventures board game rocks, too...)
Monarchies of Mau. (Pugmire, but Cat-Flavored instead of dog-flavored)

For the lighter fare, I'm quite fond of 4:
My Little Pony: Tails of Equestria (A group of adults taking it for humor but playing the characters sincerely can be a total hoot... System is fairly solid, if simple. And the Zombie Pony teaching the lesson of Sharing to the mean diamond dogs was priceless.)
Kobolds Ate My Baby (All Hail King Torg!)
The 9th Level Games version of Ninja Burger. I actually ran a campaign of it once... the varied and bizarre things players will do to make silent deliveries...)
the old GW Judge Dredd. (I wish Rebellion would have GW reissue it...)

Of that long list, the ones not played in the last 4 years are Ninja Burger and Judge Dredd.
The ones not getting campaigns: KAMB, MLP:TOE, T&T, and Monarchies of Mau...
My campaigns tend to be 3-4 months, and I tend to run 2 at a time.

 

[aramis erak]

Never heard of it.

Cortex Prime is a minor evolution of the Cortex Plus engine which drove MWP's Smallville, Firefly, Marvel Heroic Roleplay, Leverage, and the unreleased Dragon Brigade (now probably never to see the light of day other than the preview version). A "generic"/"Build your own flavor" of Cortex Plus was the Cortex Plus Hacker's Guide.

I like it, it's solid, and Prime is a build-your-setting like the Hacker's Guide was... Firefly was awesome for Firefly, MHRP was awesome for Marvel, but I prefer Sentinel Comics - Marvel got a full event (5 sessions) a couple years back from my player base.

 

[Fenris-77]

I can't believe nobody has put forward HoL (Human Occupied Landfill).

The only reason they stopped printing it was to let the rest of the RPG ecosystem recover. Bless their souls.

Any game with a skill called Lip and Tongue Wrestling gets my vote. The basic mechanics are actually pretty tight too.