Trying out some indie RPGs...

[Olaf the Stout]

Another non-Indy game that everyone should try at least once: Paranoia.

I ran my first session of Paranoia for my regular D&D group a month ago. It went over like a fart in an elevator.

Perhaps I didn't do a good enough job of getting the concept of the game across, but they really didn't "get" the game at all.

Troubleshooters were committing treason right in front of other troubleshooters eyes and not a single laser pistol was raised in anger! It was like I was running some sort of strange anti-Zzap game. I eventually called the game off mid-session because it was going so poorly (and I've never done that with a game before ever).

Olaf the Stout

 

[Quickleaf]

Important tip for Feng Shui: normally attack and defense use the same stat. For named NPCs, decouple these so that you can lower defense 2-3 points below the NPC's Shooting or Martial Arts skill. If you don't do this, PCs have a lot of trouble hitting and damaging a worthy foe, and boss battles generally continue until the GM gets bored. Other than that? A fantastic game.

Thanks for pointing that out Piratecat. Is Feng Shui easy enough to pick up and run a one-shot with? That's what I'm thinking of doing, running a few (3 or 4) indie rpg one-shots in different genres.

Have you played Mountain Witch before? If I had to choose between a one-shot of Feng Shui or Mountain Witch which should I go with?

Another non-Indy game that everyone should try at least once: Paranoia.

Been there, done that, disobeyed the Computer, have the scars.

BW is excellent, but doesn't fit the "lighter than 3E/4E" bit in the OP. It might be slightly lighter or heavier depending on how you look at it, but it is definitely in the same band.

For an excellent, lighter way to get some experience with the BW family, try Mouse Guard.

Thanks Crazy Jerome, I'm a big fan of Arachaia and Mark Smylie's Artesia, but I've yet to delve into the Mouse Guard graphic novels. However, I was/am a HUUUUGE fan of Redwall (the children's novels by the late Brian Jacques). I'm worried that BW might be a bit too....esoteric?....for my group's simpler tastes. And since this would be a one-shot the rules need to be easy to grasp.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

Thanks for pointing that out Piratecat. Is Feng Shui easy enough to pick up and run a one-shot with? That's what I'm thinking of doing, running a few (3 or 4) indie rpg one-shots in different genres.

Have you played Mountain Witch before? If I had to choose between a one-shot of Feng Shui or Mountain Witch which should I go with?

I haven't played Mountain Witch before (never even heard of it). However, I definitely think you can quickly pick up and run a one-shot with Feng Shui. It is relatively crunch-light and the game is simple to explain to new players.

Action movies are your source of plot lines. Just grab the basic plot from 1 or 2 of them and use them as a basis for your adventure.

Olaf the Stout

 

[Piratecat]

Troubleshooters were committing treason right in front of other troubleshooters eyes and not a single laser pistol was raised in anger!

I.. I.. you're saying words, but they're just not parsing. To be fair, I may be better at running Paranoia than any other system. It just happens to match my strengths.

I've never run Mountain Witch, but Feng Shui is dead simple. In one notable game I started the PCs in freefall, without parachutes. Then we flashed back half an hour to figure out how they got there. Tremendous fun. For a quick idea of how it should feel, skim this:

http://www.enworld.org/forum/story-hour/3454-enboards-boston-event-feng-shui-six-chamber.html

 

[Olaf the Stout]

I.. I.. you're saying words, but they're just not parsing. To be fair, I may be better at running Paranoia than any other system. It just happens to match my strengths.

I know! I was speechless when it happened!

At another point in the game I had a Blue clearance person kill a Troubleshooter herself after the Troubleshooters all ignored her order to shoot one of their fellow Troubleshooters!

Obviously I though I had explained the game concept, but there was a major disconnect between what I said and what they understood.

I've never run Mountain Witch, but Feng Shui is dead simple. In one notable game I started the PCs in freefall, without parachutes. Then we flashed back half an hour to figure out how they got there. Tremendous fun. For a quick idea of how it should feel, skim this:

http://www.enworld.org/forum/story-hour/3454-enboards-boston-event-feng-shui-six-chamber.html

Quickleaf, the story hour Piratecat has linked to is fantastic. Reading that story hour was what got me to buy Feng Shui myself many years ago now. At least my players all understood that game when I ran a one-shot of it!

Olaf the Stout

 

[Quickleaf]

[MENTION=13703]Olaf the Stout[/MENTION] [MENTION=2]Piratecat[/MENTION]
Yeah, I just read through the first 4 pages. Was this a face-to-face game? Sounds totally totally wahoo Love the scolding master martial artist PC!

Do Feng Shui GMs use adventures or do you pretty much just come up with a situation and run the rest by the seat of your pants according to the hijinx of the players?

 

[Olaf the Stout]

[MENTION=13703]Olaf the Stout[/MENTION] [MENTION=2]Piratecat[/MENTION]
Yeah, I just read through the first 4 pages. Was this a face-to-face game? Sounds totally totally wahoo Love the scolding master martial artist PC!

Do Feng Shui GMs use adventures or do you pretty much just come up with a situation and run the rest by the seat of your pants according to the hijinx of the players?

I've only GM'd the adventure that came with the rulebook. However, I think I would be pretty comfortable coming up with a plot just by watching a couple of action movies, mixing together a few of their plot elements and you're done.

Even without stealing a movie plot, you really just need 4 or 5 fight scenes and some way to link them together. One thing I would spend a bit of time on is thinking of cool places to stage the fights what bits of scenery you could bring in to play. That is where watching some action movies will give you good ideas as well.

The museum fight in the Feng Shui story hour is a great example of a fight location with tonnes of interactive scenery that just brings the whole scene to life. I can still picture bits of it in my head now, despite the fact I didn't play in that game, I've just read it a few times over the years.

Olaf the Stout

 

[Cerebral Paladin]

Talking about Dread, Greg K said:

I like the version with dice

Version with dice? As a huge fan of Dread and Dread variants, I'm deeply intrigued. I wasn't aware of any workable dice variants.

Also, on the topic of Indie RPGs to recommend: Dogs in the Vineyard is a very interesting Indie RPG. Doesn't work for everyone (which is true for just about every Indie RPG--they're less "one size fits all" than conventional RPGs), but it has some great aspects and some players (including me) love its system. In particular, I like the way it can handle social conflicts, and the degree of choice it gives players--are you willing to get shot to prevail in a conflict? No? Okay, you can walk away unhurt, but you lose the conflict. Yes? Okay, then we see what happens. And are you willing to shoot back, or do you stick to just talking? I like the default setting (religious enforcers in the Mormon settlement of Utah in the late 1800s, with the serial numbers filed off), but if it doesn't work for you, use a different setting--Star Trek works particularly well, as long as you go with meaty moral conflicts that the characters really care about and that the players can really grok.

I'm in the thumbs-down on Prime Time Adventures camp, but again, just because it doesn't work for me doesn't mean it won't work for you. I don't like the indirection of playing a game that's about a TV show. I don't want to be playing a game about a TV show about something cool--I want to be playing a game about something cool.

Time & Temps is also a fun Indie RPG--if you like wacky time travel in the mood of not so serious Doctor Who, it's tons of fun. That said, while its system has some cool elements, it's wonkier than many--I find it somewhat unintuitive and complicated, even though it's pretty light-weight.

For a set of Indie RPGs to try out, I'd go with Fiasco, Dread, and Dogs in the Vineyard. They each do different things, and they're all awesome for the people for whom they work well.

 

[Desdichado]

Lately I've been grooving on the "hack" family of games--Redbox Hack, Old School Hack, and the DINO-PIRATES OF NINJA ISLAND Basic Game, which is itself a slight hack of Old School Hack.

In fact, I've been so grooving on them that I've created my own version of them, most closely based on DPoNI to run for my Pbp group (which curiously, includes barsoomcore himself, among others.) Old School Hack, as the most readily available and easily accessible is an interesting fusion of indie game with some classic D&D mentality.

Other than that, I'll further add my support to the recommendation for Dread; a game I've had a lot of fun with the few times I've played it. And Fiasco sounds fun. Is there a website or something where I can get more info on that? I heard that mentioned briefly by my Pbp group too as we were discussing possible systems to use, but I guess I'd been out of the loop and hadn't heard of it 'til now.

 

[Greg K]

Talking about Dread, Greg K said:
Version with dice? As a huge fan of Dread and Dread variants, I'm deeply intrigued. I wasn't aware of any workable dice variants..

Yep, a dice system called the Disciple 12 system. Oh, and I forgot to mention that that the entire Disciple 12 system products are free
Neoplastic Press at RPGNow. You have to be set to allow adult content. The line includes the following:

Dread: The First Book of Pandemonium
Spite: The Second Book of Pandemonium: You are supernatural warriors that hunt angels to stop them from destroying the world
Pent: The First Gospel of Pandemonium: Short adventures, adventure hooks and NPCs.
Crux: The Pandemonium Scriptures 1 48 page magazine
Crux: The Pandemonium Scriptures 2 48 page magazine