firesnakearies
Explorer
I'm wondering if there are any good alternatives out there to D&D that I should be looking into. I have certain parameters, though:
1.) An original, built-from-scratch system. NOT a reskinning or adaptation of D20/OGL/3.x or older D&D, or of any other old school system, like HERO, Rolemaster, GURPS, or Palladium. While some of the countless OGL-clones out there (such as Pathfinder) look pretty cool, I just don't care to play in anything resembling that system any more.
2.) At least as "crunchy" or rules-heavy as D&D 4E or 3.x, but not as much as Rolemaster or other games with 10,000 charts for every conceivable thing. I don't want some diceless "pick your special color to see what success level you attained, and then we'll come up with a charming narrative together!" sort of thing, but I don't want to make twelve separate die rolls every time I attack a monster, either.
3.) A cool fantasy setting which is interwoven into the game system. Must be fantasy-specific. High fantasy or low fantasy, dark fantasy or epic fantasy, any subset is fine -- but not steampunk or any other blend of fantasy with technological elements. No other weird genres, and no "generic game which you can use for ANY genre -- your imagination's the only limit!" nonsense, either.
4.) Not a "silly" game, but not a wrist-cutting gothic emofest, either. I'm not really interested in a game with a built-in heavy comedic spin, nor an inherent "horror" theme, either. If vampires are a core PC option, forget it, but I'm also not looking to play a game set in Xanth or a similar setting.
5.) Fairly new. Like, say, created within the last 5-6 years or so. Maybe a bit older, as long as it still feels very cool and contemporary. I don't like the "feel" of the old "classics" anymore. I want a game which reads as though it was written from within a cultural context very similar to the one I find myself in today.
6.) I don't care if it's from a large company or a little "indie" house, as long as it is well-made and has decent production values for its products. I want something that seems professional, not cooked up in some guy's living room and bashed out in crappy typeface on cheap paper with some shoddy black and white pencil sketches that the designer's cousin did.
7.) I want something that feels new and different from D&D and all of the other old games I've played, but isn't necessarily trying to be SO "cutting edge" and "unique" and "free-form" and "indie" that it hardly feels like playing a traditional pen-and-paper RPG anymore. A game which supports role-playing, character development, and narrative, but still has a big, robust combat system and is still focused on adventures rather than some kind of nebulous "fantasy life simulation".
8.) Ideally, give me a game which is reminiscent of the best mechanical aspects of older versions of Shadowrun and Earthdawn, 3.x D&D, and 4E D&D, with an original setting that somehow draws out some of the coolness of Dark Sun, FASA's Barsaive, Planescape, Robert E. Howard's Hyborian Age, Michael Moorcock's Elric series, Joe Dever's World of Magnamund, and even a touch or two (the darker bits) of Blizzard's Azeroth, and combines them all into something that feels fresh and new.
There are SO many various RPGs out there now, from thousands of publishers. It's really difficult to even begin to look into them blindly, since most of them seem, at a glance, to be pretty mediocre or catering to some small niche interest. Tons of D20-knockoffs, and tons of games which seem to be trying their hardest to blend in with the style of RPGs written in the late 70's and early 80's. But none of those appeal to me, so I just stick with nice, safe, shiny D&D.
If anyone can point me in the direction of a new game system or two that might fit what I'm looking for, that would be great!
$
1.) An original, built-from-scratch system. NOT a reskinning or adaptation of D20/OGL/3.x or older D&D, or of any other old school system, like HERO, Rolemaster, GURPS, or Palladium. While some of the countless OGL-clones out there (such as Pathfinder) look pretty cool, I just don't care to play in anything resembling that system any more.
2.) At least as "crunchy" or rules-heavy as D&D 4E or 3.x, but not as much as Rolemaster or other games with 10,000 charts for every conceivable thing. I don't want some diceless "pick your special color to see what success level you attained, and then we'll come up with a charming narrative together!" sort of thing, but I don't want to make twelve separate die rolls every time I attack a monster, either.
3.) A cool fantasy setting which is interwoven into the game system. Must be fantasy-specific. High fantasy or low fantasy, dark fantasy or epic fantasy, any subset is fine -- but not steampunk or any other blend of fantasy with technological elements. No other weird genres, and no "generic game which you can use for ANY genre -- your imagination's the only limit!" nonsense, either.
4.) Not a "silly" game, but not a wrist-cutting gothic emofest, either. I'm not really interested in a game with a built-in heavy comedic spin, nor an inherent "horror" theme, either. If vampires are a core PC option, forget it, but I'm also not looking to play a game set in Xanth or a similar setting.
5.) Fairly new. Like, say, created within the last 5-6 years or so. Maybe a bit older, as long as it still feels very cool and contemporary. I don't like the "feel" of the old "classics" anymore. I want a game which reads as though it was written from within a cultural context very similar to the one I find myself in today.
6.) I don't care if it's from a large company or a little "indie" house, as long as it is well-made and has decent production values for its products. I want something that seems professional, not cooked up in some guy's living room and bashed out in crappy typeface on cheap paper with some shoddy black and white pencil sketches that the designer's cousin did.
7.) I want something that feels new and different from D&D and all of the other old games I've played, but isn't necessarily trying to be SO "cutting edge" and "unique" and "free-form" and "indie" that it hardly feels like playing a traditional pen-and-paper RPG anymore. A game which supports role-playing, character development, and narrative, but still has a big, robust combat system and is still focused on adventures rather than some kind of nebulous "fantasy life simulation".
8.) Ideally, give me a game which is reminiscent of the best mechanical aspects of older versions of Shadowrun and Earthdawn, 3.x D&D, and 4E D&D, with an original setting that somehow draws out some of the coolness of Dark Sun, FASA's Barsaive, Planescape, Robert E. Howard's Hyborian Age, Michael Moorcock's Elric series, Joe Dever's World of Magnamund, and even a touch or two (the darker bits) of Blizzard's Azeroth, and combines them all into something that feels fresh and new.
There are SO many various RPGs out there now, from thousands of publishers. It's really difficult to even begin to look into them blindly, since most of them seem, at a glance, to be pretty mediocre or catering to some small niche interest. Tons of D20-knockoffs, and tons of games which seem to be trying their hardest to blend in with the style of RPGs written in the late 70's and early 80's. But none of those appeal to me, so I just stick with nice, safe, shiny D&D.
If anyone can point me in the direction of a new game system or two that might fit what I'm looking for, that would be great!
$
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