Sleeper RPG's

[Wik]

Aces and Eights, new? Isn't that a really, really old game? Or is there a new one with the same name?

Speaking of quite old games (though not quite that old), I would once have put Mayfair's DC Heroes into this category. It seemed to belatedly get the recognition it had long been due around the time it went out of print, though.

The new one is a western-themed RPG; the old one is a strategy game using two books (similar to Lost Worlds) based around WWI dogfighting.

Hopefully Twilight 2013 will get a lot of interest, I know I like it based on my reading the PDF. The book should be in my hands within 3 weeks.

It's out? Awesome! I need to order that.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I'll put in another vote for Godlike!

I'm also a huge, huge fan of Space: 1889, but like RIFTS, I like it more for its setting than its mechanics.

Another sleeper from Mayfair- their Blade Runner-esque supers game called Underground.

From WAAAY back in the late 1980s/early 1990s, there was a nice game called Universe by the now-defunct SPI. It had elements that could have made it a serious competitor to Traveller- at least in terms of quality- but SPI folded before the game got any support or buzz.

 

[dm4hire]

Aces and Eights, new? Isn't that a really, really old game? Or is there a new one with the same name?

Speaking of quite old games (though not quite that old), I would once have put Mayfair's DC Heroes into this category. It seemed to belatedly get the recognition it had long been due around the time it went out of print, though.

Aces & Eights was talked about forever in Knights of the Dinner Table, which is where the basis of the game came from though it is founded on real game mechanics from similar Western RPGs.

As for games I think deserve more love than they have received, let's see....

Alternity, Anima, L5R, LBS, Cthulhutech, Serenity, BSG, Desolation, HEX, Alpha & Omega, Rune, Grimm, WoD Innocents, True20, Blue Rose, Sentinels, Boot Hill, Star Frontiers, Gammaworld, Top Secret, d20 Modern, Qin, WoW RPG, Earth Dawn, d20 Cthulhu, Wheel of Time, d20 Dune, Star Trek, Middle Earth, and many, many more that I can't remember off the top of my head but own or owned at one time or another.

Welcome to Iowa. If it isn't D&D, WoD Larp, or Magic good luck finding people to play your games. It's not impossible, just improbable.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

The new one is a western-themed RPG; the old one is a strategy game using two books (similar to Lost Worlds) based around WWI dogfighting.

Actually, that was Ace of Aces...and not only was it good, it was damn good.

Also, the first books covered different eras of WW1 dogfighting- only a couple of the later books featured WW2 planes.

 

[Ariosto]

I was a bit fussy at first about getting Space: 1889 before a sword-and-planet game more in the Burroughs and Brackett vein ... but it grew on me, including the game system. It's probably in my personal Top Ten.

I regret having not picked up a couple of GDW hardbounds some years ago, after mine had succumbed to mildew, but I'm glad to have a Heliotrope (?) black-and-white soft-cover.

On similar (but more eclectic) lines, I love Forgotten Futures -- and it has been for a while offered freely for the downloading. Still wish I had the nifty booklets, though.

 

[Samurai]

Spirit of the Century, or if you prefer a space setting with the same basic rules, Starblazers Adventures. The FATE3 system is a ton of fun and allows for very unique and interesting characters.

 

[jdrakeh]

Gear Krieg. I nearly forgot Gear Krieg. I bought all of the books and minis for the RPG and its companion wargames (yes, there were multiple wargames) and I think I played it all of once. The setting had a lot of potential for Indiana Jones-ish adventure.

I'm still a little miffed that I could never find anybody interested in playing it. I think it was a sign of the times, though, as there weren't too many locals playing non-TSR or non-White Wolf games. I recall the FLGS putting a freeze on orders for products from other publishers at the time.

 

[fruitbane]

YMMV, but role-playing mecha pilots much seemed to call for getting them out of the cockpit ... which in turn left it feeling less like a mecha game.

If you've seen enough Gundam, those pilots hop out of their cockpits in the middle of battle all the time. It's not a good idea, but if you're clueless enough it makes sense.

 

[Ulrick]

*snip*

Alternity, Anima, L5R, LBS, Cthulhutech, Serenity, BSG, Desolation, HEX, Alpha & Omega, Rune, Grimm, WoD Innocents, True20, Blue Rose, Sentinels, Boot Hill, Star Frontiers, Gammaworld, Top Secret, d20 Modern, Qin, WoW RPG, Earth Dawn, d20 Cthulhu, Wheel of Time, d20 Dune, Star Trek, Middle Earth, and many, many more that I can't remember off the top of my head but own or owned at one time or another.

Welcome to Iowa. If it isn't D&D, WoD Larp, or Magic good luck finding people to play your games. It's not impossible, just improbable.

I live in Iowa, and you're right.

But I can honestly say that I have either run or playing a group that used: d20 Modern, Earth Dawn, d20 Cthulu, Star Trek, and Middle Earth (the ICE version). And I know of a group here in Ames that plays Legend of Five Rings. I've even run Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay.

Unfortunately, none of these games lasted very long--at most 3 or 4 months, before people wanted to go back to D&D.

A few years ago, a friend of mine wanted to run Chivalry & Sorcery. He managed to scrape together a small group of 4 players, including myself. I was willing to give it shot. That first session, 2 players had to practicely forced to learn the rules. "Why should we?" they crooned. "We wanna play d20! We wanna play D&D. d20/D&D is better system!"

Needless to say, there wasn't a second session.

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Back to topic:
Does FUDGE count as a sleeper system?

 

[Katemare]

Welcome to Iowa. If it isn't D&D, WoD Larp, or Magic good luck finding people to play your games. It's not impossible, just improbable.

Looks like I live in Iowa suburb, then.