The Sort of TTRPGs You Want More (and Less) Of

[DwarfHammer]

I'm curious. Would you mind expanding what you mean by this?

first. No company will ever make the game or magic system I want. That’s cool because what I want isn’t marketable or what other people want. So I’m cool with people not wanting that.

I don’t like magic systems that feel like superheroes using their energy blast or hear vision. That’s fine for Superman, firestorm, and captain atom.

I like material components to be important and need to be located or foraged for. I like sigil and magic diagrams, constellations and the positions of stars being important. Summoning spells are either making pact or binding another creature to your will.

curses and the evil eye and hexes are to be feared.
Magic takes so much to learn that you don’t just decide to pick a level in wizard or cleric next time you level up.

 

[JeffB]

a bunch of good stuff

Totally agreed that the game needs some tweaking, but I believe the overall play merits far outweigh the cleanup needed.

And also totally agree with you on the lack of FAGE support. With Owen K.C Stephens now heading up the line (last I heard), I am hopeful we will see more FAGE materials.

 

[Ovinomancer]

Quite accurate. Even one of my friends who I play with for 20 years now, commented "you know, it's mostly you who's bothered by these design problems" when I talked some perceived deficiencies of a new system we used for our play style. As long as the GM bends the rules a bit to suit the group, most players will not complain.

Yup. I'm that guy in my group, too. It's why I'll rant about my pet peeves in game designs but we play pretty much bog standard by the book games without a lot of house rules. Not worth the effort for the return. The house rules I do have are flavorful and tuned to the specific game I'm running to emphasize a theme.

 

[DwarfHammer]

I really don’t think we need to change how many spells can be concentrated on so much as what spells need concentration.

 

[Ovinomancer]

I really don’t think we need to change how many spells can be concentrated on so much as what spells need concentration.

I think you may be in the wrong tab?

 

[Fenris-77]

I think you may be in the wrong tab?

I like unicorns that fart candy.

 

[Ovinomancer]

I like unicorns that fart candy.

You definitely are.

 

[DwarfHammer]

I think you may be in the wrong tab?

Yup

 

[Aldarc]

I don’t like magic systems that feel like superheroes using their energy blast or hear vision. That’s fine for Superman, firestorm, and captain atom.

At first glance, this seems like Blue Rose, where there is a prevalent lack of blasting magic. It's typical magic covers things like psychic powers, divination, elemental shaping, animism, and meditation. Blasting magic does exist, albeit as dark, corruptive "sorcery." However, it is a setting where is magic is more akin to talents or powers, so it is "at-will," but cast against fatigue checks.

I like material components to be important and need to be located or foraged for. I like sigil and magic diagrams, constellations and the positions of stars being important. Summoning spells are either making pact or binding another creature to your will.

curses and the evil eye and hexes are to be feared.

I get this. One of my favorite summoning mages I have seen has been in Invisible Sun by the Goetic "class." Every time that you summon a creature (e.g., demon, spirit, angel, fey, etc.), the summoner has to negotiate the cost and task. I too would enjoy - for certain settings and/or games - a greater weight to the magical process and distinctions between magical types.

For one campaign setting idea that I brainstormed, I wanted to toy with a world where the constellations embodied divine figures, astrology was real and suggestive of a person's nature, fate, and divine favor. And star priests served as astrologers and astronomers who divined the future, portents, and divine will from the stars, used astrology to play matchmakers, and called upon the astral heavens for blessings.

So I also would definitely be interested in something other than just repackaged D&D-style spell slot magic.

Totally agreed that the game needs some tweaking, but I believe the overall play merits far outweigh the cleanup needed.

I do agree that it remains a solid game. What I would probably prefer is something more akin to a True20 version of the AGE system. Blue Rose (AGE) is probably the closest version, as its magic system most closely harkens back to how it was in Blue Rose/True20, but I don't see FAGE going in that direction.

 

[Neonchameleon]

First what I want more of is games like Monsterhearts (although please not exactly like Monsterhearts!) that take a genre that I'd never have thought of setting anything in and show me, in a highly playable game, why the entire genre of fiction is a good one I should be interested in and why I would want to play in that setting.

Contrary to those who'd like to see system and setting tied together, I'd like to see the exact opposite.

Why?

Because given the complexity and time involved in learning most RPG systems, system-learning is something I only want to do once. Ever. I most assuredly don't want to have to learn a new system every time I want to change the tone or type of game I'm running or playing.

On the toher hand I find much more tightly focussed rules tend to be a whole lot easier to learn than e.g. D&D with far fewer edge cases.

Which leads to the second thing I want more of - games where you do not need to look anything up in the rulebook in play.