Name an TTRPG You Really Like But Have Never Played/GMed

[Reynard]

Everyone will have their own take on this, but as someone who has spent a lot of time actually implementing software to run and automate RPGs in various ways, my ultimate conclusion is that engaging with the systems and understanding them adds immensely to the game; outsourcing it to eg. a VTT removes the understanding and has a tendency to detach players from the game because they don't understand the gears in motion.

Although I also say this as someone who doesn't get drawn into CRPGs anymore for the same reasons. So many dials, but no real sense of them doing anything tangible; just a grind.

Because computer games aren't VTTs or tabletop RPGs. There's an appreciable gulf that still exists between the two. A gulf composed of meat.

You could definitely have a much more complex TTRPG now if you wanted to now, that ran fast, so long as you mechanically interacted with it via an app/VTT. But that's a whole other discussion.

I mean, it is the discussion we are having right now. I am not sure I buy that complex critical tables being run by the VTT are going to "detach players from the game." I think it is more likely that players who like those elements will get to have them because everyone else at the table doesn't have to suffer through 18 rolls just to resolve one hit.

 

[Heilemann]

I mean, it is the discussion we are having right now. I am not sure I buy that complex critical tables being run by the VTT are going to "detach players from the game." I think it is more likely that players who like those elements will get to have them because everyone else at the table doesn't have to suffer through 18 rolls just to resolve one hit.

Certainly up for debate, but I genuinely think the little motions that go into understanding the roll, the weapon, skill, environment, etc modifiers, the carried over bonuses from table to table, that particular weapon vs that particular armor, hitting that 66 on the crit table.

The transparency of all of those little steps lends tremendous grit and grime to the experience of the game, whereas clicking a button and having it spit out damage, bleeding and effect doesn’t land anywhere near that. It moves faster, yes, so it facilitates something different, but in my humble opinion, something inferior.

 

[Reynard]

Certainly up for debate, but I genuinely think the little motions that go into understanding the roll, the weapon, skill, environment, etc modifiers, the carried over bonuses from table to table, that particular weapon vs that particular armor, hitting that 66 on the crit table.

The transparency of all of those little steps lends tremendous grit and grime to the experience of the game, whereas clicking a button and having it spit out damage, bleeding and effect doesn’t land anywhere near that. It moves faster, yes, so it facilitates something different, but in my humble opinion, something inferior.

I think the analysis fun happens off screen, as it does for Diablo or whatever.

 

[Simon The Hunter]

I have 7 (I just counted them) Free League rulesets sitting on my shelf. I've read the rules, but alas, never played.

 

[Kannik]

Looking at my shelves, there's only a few that I have wanted to play but never got the chance:

• Space Master
• Mechwarrior (I've played a tonne of BT, but never got a chance to play the RPG in the BT universe.)
• Tribe 8 (to a lessor degree; this has been a more recent itch and thanks to the Kickstarter there'll be a new version to try!)

When it comes to my PDF collection though, there's a growing list:

• Dune 2d20 (I've have the LUG Dune on my shelves for ages, but less burning desire to give it a try)
• Ultraviolet Grasslands
• Qin
• The Warren
• Agon
• Monster Care Squad
• Beam Saber
• Draw Steel (but this one is really new, so maybe it doesn't count)

 

[Ruin Explorer]

I mean, it is the discussion we are having right now.

I didn't want to derail your thread is why I said that. If you're happy for it to be derailed, I have more detailed ideas on how it could work and what the potential issues might be. The biggest issue is likely that you'd need to support an official app across multiple platforms for the lifetime of the game, which can be expensive and might limit the lifespan of the game pretty hard if it wasn't hugely successful in an ongoing way. You can't just let apps get outdated either - whilst that may be okay for PC, and possibly Android, I forget, Apple (which is over 50% of phones and tablets in the US) will remove them from the store, preventing anyone downloading them in future. And people are a lot more aware of this issue now than say, 10 years ago, which is part of why we haven't really seen this happen.

 

[cranberry]

Mothership. It seems really cool, and I'm just learning the basics now.

 

[Thomas Shey]

Red Markets looks like it does a great job at what its trying to do, but my gaming group is pretty unsuited for it.