Suggestions for non-fantasy rpgs

[theskyfullofdust]

I've got a friend (no, really, I have) who plays 3:16 and has invited me to a game, I'll take him up on it and see what's it like. Sounds simple and fun

 

[theskyfullofdust]

I'm going to recommend

• Icons - Rules light Supers
• Colonial Gothic - Supernatural Horror during the American Revolution
• Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space - Cubicle7's new Doctor Who RPG.
• Monsters and Other Childish Things especially the Dreadful Secrets of Candlewick Manor setting.

Sounds interesting. Heard of ICONS and the Doctor Who game, but not the others. I'll check them out too, thanks

 

[theskyfullofdust]

Well, just had a look at a few reviews and ICONS sounds fun. Might have to check it out and at least run a game to see if the players like it; hell, maybe rather than go to one game, we'll just play various games every few sessions to prevent us needing another 'break'.

Any other suggestions, or, better yet, anyone give me some mini-reviews on some of these games?

 

[Pamela]

You might consider Amethyst if you are interested in a mix of fantasy and technology; it's also D&D-based so it would save you and your players learning a new system. It's created by Dias Ex Machina and published by Goodman Games.

If you want no fantasy elements at all, please disregard the above.

 

[Bluenose]

Well, just had a look at a few reviews and ICONS sounds fun. Might have to check it out and at least run a game to see if the players like it; hell, maybe rather than go to one game, we'll just play various games every few sessions to prevent us needing another 'break'.

Any other suggestions, or, better yet, anyone give me some mini-reviews on some of these games?

There's a couple which haven't been suggested already that might be worth looking at. 2300AD, one of GDW's old games, is available on DriveThru RPG and always played well for my groups. Near future, some cybertech but it doesn't have to be the focus, some military, exploration, trade, etc. 2320AD takes the setting, advances it twenty years, and makes it a D20/OGL game. It does require the Traveller T20 rules, mind you.

 

[parvatiquinta]

If you want to go sci-fi a game that wasn't yet mentioned and that I would recommend is Jovian Chronicles. Set in the Solar System, it features not only rules for firearms and explosives but mechas as well. It's not very rule-light, but from what I recall it's easy enough to play even for beginners (but I was trying it out with a group of experienced players, so can't guarantee it's easy to GM right out of the box).

 

[Darrin Drader]

Well, they don't mind crunchy rules but not too complex- as the sessions are usually only 2 hours long, I don't want to spend most of that time dealing with rules or overly long combats.

Lethal combat is fine, and I think tactical is better than vague, if only because we're on-line and using maps helps keep everyone focused.

They all like character creation, but it doesn't need to be too in depth.

Genre-wise: anything really. Between us we've covered most genres, so anything goes.

There's obviously a lot of great systems to choose from. I personally really like Traveller, True 20, and Savage Worlds. That said, here's a breakdown of what you get with each:

Traveller: it is the classic RPG system. The game play is fun, and the system it uses favors a bell-curve probability, which is nice if you believe that probability should be bell-curved. The only real con is that there is literally no advancement system. There's also a lot of randomness instead of choice when it comes to character creation.

True20: Think D20 light. There are only three character classes, but they're very broad and the ability to customize if great. It's wide open as to what genre you can use it for. The con: the damage system. It uses a progressive wound system that can be difficult to track. A lot of people who play the game use one of the alternate wound systems,

Savage Worlds: Their motto is FFF - Fast. Furious. Fun. I've only played it once, but I enjoyed it quite a bit. It really does a good job of speeding things up, and its approach to certain things is unique. It uses a deck of cards for initiative, and poker chips for "bennies." Like True 20, it can support any RPG genre. Con - the damage system is similar to True 20, but not quite as involved. They make it pretty easy to shake off wounded conditions too, so this might not truly be a con.

 

[halfjack]

You might find our humble FATE sf game, Diaspora, interesting. We just had the good fortune to win a gold Ennie for best rules, but you'll find more commentary and reviews at the web site as well.

 

[GlassJaw]

If I was to run a non-fantasy game right now, it would probably be Shadowrun 4E, Eclipse Phase, or Savage Worlds in a modern setting. I really like the Pinebox, TX modern horror setting by 12 to Midnight.

 

[theskyfullofdust]

You might find our humble FATE sf game, Diaspora, interesting. We just had the good fortune to win a gold Ennie for best rules, but you'll find more commentary and reviews at the web site as well.

I was actually looking at the site yesterday, wondering if it would work. I like the idea of the FATE system, with Aspects and all that, but not too sure if my players would be up for it. Still, that's another one to add to the list to run past them.

And I saw the game had won Gold, which is the chief reason I went and had a look (that and it was suggested too). Well done

Thanks