Looking for new fantasy RPG - story & roleplay oriented !

[Shadowlord]

Despite of D&D's popularity, it isn't the best RPG. D&D has become, or always has been, a game with lots of combat that often takes place in dungeons.

For me, RPG is more than that, much more. Thus I'm looking for an old-school RPG that emphasizes roleplay and is story centered instead of filled with numbers & stats and combat oriented.
Combat is fine, but it's only a small part of an RPG to me, and rules should be short, easy and flexible. The "holy rule balance" shouldn't restrict good stories and unforgettable game moments. As long as it's believable.

I'm not looking for a drama game without any dice rolls, but I need something else than "level based free attack bonuses & HP" etc. The world where the (epic) stories take place should be more important than micro-rules for accomplishing things.

IMPORTANT: I'm not interested in any manga/anime, oriental, gothic or sci-fi RPGs; I want a classic medieval fantasy RPG. Can you help me find it?
It should preferably come in only one or two corebooks, with moderate support, not the zillion of books as in D&D or GURPS.

 

[thullgrim]

I prefer Rolemaster (or as some call it chartmaster....) but its probably more rules than your looking for.

 

[Mark]

Despite of D&D's popularity, it isn't the best RPG. D&D has become, or always has been, a game with lots of combat that often takes place in dungeons.

Never has been like that for me. Roleplaying in D&D doesn't have to be about *just* the numbers. Unlike a lot of modules or supplements you may have seen in the past that plug in monsters to fit levels and run PCs from encounter to encounter in an unending pursuit for experience points, CMG adds a depth to roleplaying that can ideally come from some who's been there since 1974 and has evolved with the game from the beginning.

My own background outside of the game is in playwriting, acting and directing which I think manifests itself in how I've run games and how, since the advent of the OGL/d20SL, I've approached creating materials through the company I have founded.

Don't be too quick to write off the gaming system simply because you haven't discovered products on the market that strike a balance between combat and character relationships. They are here, and continue to be developed, by Creative Mountain Games.

If I do say so myself...

 

[redknight]

I have found that almost any game can be combat heavy or roleplaying intensive. I have seen "Story" oriented systems become battle fests. True, many DnD campaign often become dungeon crawls. This is not always the case. As a rule, If my session spends more than one week in a dungeon/fight situation then it is too much and I need to cut something out. I try to make the encounters advance the story and not just be present to have a foe to fight.

Bottom line, it is not the system that makes something story oriented or conbat focused. Rather it is the Gm and the style of adventure he choices to run.

 

[NewJeffCT]

I always figured the balance of role-playing vs combat was up to the GM and the gaming group. Just like munchkinism is controlled by the GM.

We have had times where we go 2 or 3 sessions with no combat at all, and then have a whole session that is wall to wall combat. But, rarely do we have any sort of dungeon crawl, unless it is a side adventure because a player or two are not there that session. And, you can get great role-playing and story advancement during combat as well. (Imagine a trusted NPC who has been tagging along for weeks is suddenly revealed to be the right hand man or woman of the main bad guy? Or, imagine that you find out that the supposedly good king that your paladin has been working for is really an agent of evil?)

 

[alsih2o]

Re: Re: Looking for new fantasy RPG - story & roleplay oriented !

Never has been like that for me.

seconded. look around, one of the great things about the ogl is that lots of different styles of play are getting their due and getting support.

look around. i will now shamelessly plug marks cmg, check out the writing style, check out the complete lack of dungeons. check out the in-depth functioning world that can be where your character roams.

i don't get everyhting that comes out but i can say that of what i have seen cmg makes the kind of world i want to play in, people so real you want to touch them, situations that don't depend on an earthquake revealing a some unholy hole in the ground with mysterious bad guys in it, and conflicts that don't HAVE TO involve weapons.

take a look around the smaller companies, there is so much stuff out there some of it has to suit your fancy.

flute weilding arsonists, priests who stay at home and take care f their communities, travelling craftsmen, fleshed out towns that have a reason for being and a history.....what you want isn't a new game (imho) but a fresh look at how to use it. it is out there, trust me.

 

[diaglo]

Originally posted by MarkNever has been like that for me. Roleplaying in D&D doesn't have to be about *just* the numbers.

Third that. all in favor say aye.

Shadowlord,

I suggest you look at Original D&D (1974). It doesn't have to be a dungeon crawl. or a kill the monsters and take their loot kind of game.

We never played that way. Even from the beginning it was always about getting into character to have fun.

 

[Desdichado]

I've never played D&D the way you say it has become. If anything, with the skill system the way it is, D&D is better poised to be about roleplaying than ever before.

 

[Majin Cthulhu]

Well, I'm not here to try to change you mind by countering your anecdotes with my anecdotes, but I can offer a system that seems like you'd like it. Its called The Riddle of Steel.

Its a game that has a very good combat system, and a much lauded Spiritual Attributes system that gives you bonuses when doing something important to your character ( fighting the man that killed your father, saving the innocent, spreading your faith, or what have you) as well as tying character advancement into doing things important to the character instead of how much you kill/loot (unless thats simply what your character lives for, I suppose).

Here's a link to a page where you can download the quickstart rules (down the page next to a big blue IMPORTANT!)
http://www.theriddleofsteel.net/support/

You can find reviews for the game on rpg.net if the urge strikes to do so.

P.S- The quick start rules were written by a fan, not the game's author, and at points may come off as fanboyish, but they will still give you a good idea of the game system.

 

[Umbran]

Okay, I agree with a number of peole above. D&D isn't about the numbers and the dungeons for me. However, I'm not going to try to convince you to keep playing D&D. Quite the contrary.

If you've been playing D&D for a while, and gotten into the headspace that it's all about the numbers, you can have a lot of difficulty getting out of it just because other people say it doesn't have to be like that.

So, I say go and play something else. Let D&D rest a while. Then, come back and think of how you can apply what you've learned from the other system to your D&D game. That's a large part of what got us 3E, after all.

There is a strength to be found in diversity. If you think your D&D is stuck in a rut that you don't like, go out and get some hybrid vigor, I say!