The older i get the less I need.

I've been thinking about the "do I need all this stuff" question a lot lately - cleaning out a parent's apartment will do that. I have a lot of "stuff-intensive" interest and I'm really taking a hard look at whether I'll watch that movie or play that game or use those crafting supplies again.

In the past when I got rid of stuff it felt agonizing to part with things ("I will definitely play that game I Kickstarted years ago! I just need to find the right group! No, I'm not looking for a group, why do you ask?") but I am slowly realizing that once I get rid of things I rarely miss them and am usually relieved that there's one less pile of books to trip over in my office. My big challenge is getting over how much money I've paid for things I've never used, that's hard.

I still joke that I'll play tabletop games in the old folks' home but I think I'd rather have a tightly curated shelf than bookshelves full of things I've barely touched. It's just getting there that is hard - especially since that feels like I am closing the doors on opportunity.
 

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Its funny, but I find I have a very different dynamic (referencing the above poster) to computer games and RPGs; the latter, even if I never play them, I can get enjoyment out of reading them, and since I do everything digital, if I don't do so with a given one ever again, its no big deal; just a file on a computer.

On the other hand, I've made an active effort to stop buying new computer games because I have a non-trivial backlog.
 

I'm somewhat the opposite. As I have gotten older, I have become more and more disinterested in deep investment in a particular game. I want games that are more or less complete in a single package and are not trying to sell me a game line. I also crave novelty even more. I want distinct, novel game experiences that pretty much work out of the box and I have zero patience for games that require a lot of work or resemble games I already own with a dash of paint.
 

...Are there generic systems that can do fantasy, sci-fi, horror, modern, etc all in one?
Well...I look at my TTRPG bookshelf and I see my HCs and SCs for Basic Roleplaying, Savage Worlds, FATE Core, Cepheus Engine and True20 and IME they can do all the genres you list. Though some do require companions in edition to the CRB for some of them. I won't give a detailed explanation for most of the systems I listed, as I see others have already done that, but I will for CE and True20.

Cepheus Engine: it's Mongoose Traveller 1e with some slight differences depending upon who the publisher of the CRB is. So it has 2d6 rolled against a target number as a core dice mechanic and starting PCs that are relatively seasoned compared to other TTRPGs. Having MGT1e as its DNA, it's strongest at supporting the SciFi genre, but it does others well too. There's a freebie SRD which is very close to MGT1e, but Stellegama Publishing's popular Cepheus Deluxe borrows some from MGT2e. While Moonstone Publishing's Shipbuilding and Vehicle toolkits add to the core more than the equivalent books for MGT1e did. The Sword of Cepheus, which is a Sword & Sorcery flavor for the rules, is what intro'd the rules to the Fantasy genre.
The most impressive thing about it is all the genre companions and settings that different publishers and fans have released for it. There's a Modern companion and Military companion available and some terrific companions for adding different flavors of magic/powers. The only knock against CE, is the challenge of creating careers if you want to use it for a subgenre that has no published coverage. That can be a significant task, as careers are core to the system and quite detailed.

True20: it's derived from D&D 3e, but changed things signficantly. It eliminated class-favored skills and pared down the overall number. It replaced clsses with just 3 Roles (Adept, Expert & Warrior) which are broad based and usable in all genres. It also made some feats Role specific. The biggest differenced is that it replaced HPs with a wound system and damage dice with a Toughness save.
There's some quality 3rd party settings for it and I've pesonality used it for SciFi (Reign of Discordia), Cosmic/Lovecraftian Horror (Shadow of Cthulhu) and Historical Fantasy (Tales of the Caliphate Nights), with good results. There's also a good amount of 3P companions that cover many genres and provide a variety of toolkits. The publisher -Green Ronin- also released some genre books and terrific handbooks for the 3 different Roles.
Sadly it's no longer supported and the books are OOP, but GR still sells the PDFs and any GMs or players familiar with D&D wouldn't have much of a problem learning it.
 

And 3e had moved away from the rigidity of the class model to some degree, so hitting something like Alternity which had moved away from it even more would feel easier to engage with if all you'd have was traditional class and level systems.
Many of my friends were hoping D&D 3e would use Alternity's rules.

As for Star Drive... it's very much a Traveller homage, if not ripoff. The difference in the tech paradigm does make it a touch different...
 
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True20: it's derived from D&D 3e, but changed things signficantly. It eliminated class-favored skills and pared down the overall number. It replaced clsses with just 3 Roles (Adept, Expert & Warrior) which are broad based and usable in all genres.
I remember coming across this online at some point when I was looking for something different from what we were playing at the time. What that was I don't remember. I think that by the time I found out about it there were already a few supplements and some 3rd party stuff it was more of an investment and commitment that I wanted to make and was burned out on 3E/d20. Maybe I missed out, but I may have actually stopped playing for a while at this time too.
 

As for Star Drive... it's very much a Traveller homage, if not ripoff. The difference in the tech paradigm does make it a touch different...
careful. An attitude like that and you may be called on to defend the originality of Traveler, which might be tough...
 

careful. An attitude like that and you may be called on to defend the originality of Traveler, which might be tough...
Nah, I can just let Marc Miller handle that.
Oh, wait, he has... He's not said it was original... just that it was a disinct from its inspirations development of the genre engine known as CT, and that the setting was grown from the rules.
 

I find that as I get older, I like effects-based system less and less. I don't want to worry about how three different characters built their fire powers differently (or how I'm going to do so). I don't want to have to build Fire Blast, I want it to be there already. I also don't like fishing disadvantages or flaws for points. Maybe there's a good reason to play a dwarf eunuch with anosmia, but "I needed 20 more points" isn't it. I picked up Dungeon Fantasy for GURPS specifically so I didn't have to do all that tweaking - it would have taken forever and the end result would likely have been worse.
Mostly agreed on both counts. Regarding disadvantages, my preference these days lean toward having them provide metacurrency when triggered rather than build points on creation. This stops fishing for points that give you the most bang for the buck, and instead rewards you when your disadvantages actually makes things interesting by causing problems.

As for effects-based powers, I see both the pros and cons. They definitely belong in supers games, where characters tend to have unique powers with common effects – both Jubilee and Dazzler can blind and confuse opponents, but one does it by creating plasmoid fireworks and the other by converting sound to light. So it makes sense that you could build both as a "Blind" power with different add-ons. And in that context, I'm also OK with limitations providing discounts.

But in fantasy games, I prefer pre-made spells – ideally with a touch of oddness. One of my favorite examples is the Exalted equivalent of comprehend languages: The Eye and the Mouth. This spell summons a disembodied eye and mouth, which can read a text for you and translate it. But they'll only translate any text once (possibly per character), and they will only read it straight through – you can ask them to pause, but not to go back.
 

In rules, all I want is a resolution system that allows for weighted outcomes. I still enjoy setting & ideas stuff, but it has to be original. there's already a lot available in my head, based on past reading ;-).
 

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