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Message: <blockquote data-quote="AbdulAlhazred" data-source="post: 8948715" data-attributes="member: 82106">I have a few I could contribute:Boot Hill (original 1975 TSR version)Extent of Experience: LotsStatus: Fairly simple game which comes with a couple of maps for standard locations, meant for play with map/minis. A unique d% system, no character progression, very deadly combat and not a lot else is provided. Definitely an 'old school' game!Verdict: It was a fun diversion from more serious games. Usually you can expect your PC to die before the end of a session, though if you have some really good Speed, Accuracy, and Bravery you might last a while. We did develop one longer running campaign, but it was more 'fantasy wild west' than by-the-book Boot HIll. Probably wouldn't play it NOW simply because there are better replacements. Traveller(Classic 1977 version)Extent of Experience: LotsStatus: Very straightforward system offering very limited character advancement. Fairly traditional game, but also rather 'low myth' overall (if you play as per the books planets and subsectors are generated randomly and stories evolve out of interactions with patrons, criminals, government authorities, etc.). There are quite a few adventures and pre-generated settings available however. Verdict: This is a very solid and fun game, though in its most classic form it expects the players to be fairly proactive and move things forward. It has been rereleased a number of times with only minor tweaks. Quite fun, though a GM who is familiar with some newer GMing techniques should be more successful at getting past the "what exactly are we doing here?" element. Gamma World 1eExtent of Experience: LotsStatus: This is a completely off-the-wall RPG that uses rules fairly close to B/X D&D in general structure, but you start with MUCH more hit points and XP/Leveling is not a particularly meaningful part of the game.Verdict: Definitely a really fun game, rolling up mutants is the best part, but playing them can be loads of fun too! As with many older less serious games PC mortality is HIGH, though if your GM is foolish enough to give you power armor, things can change... Much fun, though not super conducive to long campaigns. There are a few modules, pretty D&D-esque overall. Kinda like playing higher level 1e, except you are all mega-tough wizards...Star FrontiersExtent of Experience: Played a few timesStatus: Fairly simplistic space opera with a kind of oddball bespoke game engine.Verdict: Never found this game very special. The setting is almost slapstick, lowbrow space opera at best. The rules are workable but nothing special. Honestly, this game is best forgotten by RPG history...RolemasterExtent of Experience: Ran it a couple times, used the components as D&D supplements now and thenStatus: This is a pretty solid game on its own, but it was originally conceived as a set of enhancement modules for original D&D. One virtue is it is easy for D&D players to get into.Verdict: It is a perfectly good game, really well-designed and ICE has since leveraged the core design for a couple other games. OTOH it is really a game that will be loved by those who like having a lot of detailed mechanics! Call of Cthulhu (various editions up to 7th)Extent of Experence: Lots of experience mostly with the earliest couple editions. Played 7th edition for a short campaignStatus: As a BRP based game this is fairly straightforward. I have it and a lot of supplements.Verdict: I consider this game, and BRP in general, clunky and obsolete. The 7th Edition attempts to clean up some of the shortcomings (mostly by reducing the length of the skill list dramatically) but fundamentally this is a mystery game where the mechanics simply don't exist to support carrying through a mystery story! It is pure old-school trad "follow the breadcrumbs" kind of play, and if you muff a die roll somewhere along the way, the GM has to step in and 'fix it'. The campy monsters and such are the fun part, but there are infinitely better systems that you can run nowadays that will let you do mysteries/mythos/cosmic horror. I have no intention of playing this game again.4e D&D (Not interested in the "is this D&D?" debate, honestly got no horse in that race)Extent of Experence: Ran several full campaignsStatus: I have most of the books, can and will play when circumstances allowVerdict: A game which knows it is a game and leverages that fact. Rich with character-facing options and hooks, the game offers the players the chance to author their own quests and construct the destinies of their 'on the path to being epic heroes' characters. IME best played in a much more 'gonzo' and low myth/low prep sort of style compared to other games with the same branding. The implicit milieu is also tweaked in a way that is designed to help set up cool stories vs simply adhering to ancient ideas drawn on a napkin in 1975 that should have died long ago. I will play 4e in an instant, and it is one of a very short list of games I will GM nowadays.Dungeon WorldExtent of Experience: Played in and ran several DW campaignsStatus: I have the PDFs, it is on my list of games worth playingVerdict: A classic PbtA game. Replaces the AW "scarcity and PC conflict" model with a more D&D-esque "party of heroes" kind of model. Low myth, very open-ended play, designed to grab hold of the PCs and give them the ride of their lives. This is a great game, though due to its borrowing of D&D tropes there is the danger that some GMs may try to actually play D&D using these rules... It AIN'T D&D folks! Blades in the DarkExtent of Experience: Playing in one campaignStatus: This is a great game. It is very open-ended and things can range from 'gritty' to 'gonzo' even within the same campaign. I don't think the vanilla BitD, set in Doskvol, etc. is probably a game you will play 100s of times, though you certainly could. OTOH once you understand the system its a quite flexible game engine and there are loads of variants that you can steel from/use to do most anything.Verdict: This is a very classic Indy game and anyone wanting to have a blast and try something a bit differentTorchbearer 2Extent of Experience: Played in one campaign for a dozen sessions or soStatus: Another interesting modern RPG with a fantasy genre, this one based on the venerable Burning Wheel system. Verdict: This is a game with quite a few moving parts, and a rather structured approach to play. We found the structuring to be a bit troublesome in that play, in a narrative sense, didn't always just fit naturally in with the structure. The GM can certainly 'figure it out', but we did trip over this sometimes. OTOH its a fun game, rather brutal, this game DEMANDS that you PLAY, you can't just faff around, or you will die horribly. It is fun though, you are never going to stop worrying about where the food, water, and torches are going to come from!Top SecretExtent of Experience: Played through a couple campaignsStatus: I don't own this game, haven't seen it around in years.Verdict: This game had some very interesting mechanical ideas around 'currency', you could spend Fame and Fortune points to change some of the results in play. Used cleverly you could leverage this as a way of reinforcing your character concept, although it was also possible to simply use your points in a purely mechanical kind of way. This does also somewhat alleviate the issue in older 'trad' games where the PCs have to find the clues or else the GM will need to force things back on track. Fun game, but another that is pretty obsolete when compared with modern Indy games today. Loved it but no real reason to play anymore.</blockquote>

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