What are the big non-d20/non-D&D Game Systems?

[Joe Sala]

Is this still being done by Atlas games?

Pinotage

Yes. They had a delay last year because the publisher, John Nephew, ran for a public position (in his town council, I think), but they still have 4 books planned for 2008.

 

[jdrakeh]

Accidentally, not intentionally. There are presumably a lot of great RPGs out there that are no longer supported.

Well, in that case, there are a few dozen 'big' games out there.

 

[Treebore]

Castles and Crusades. Two folios, several modules, the Miasmal Wyrms book, plus the Yggsburgh supplements, and all of that just so far this year. Plus the PH will be going into its 4th printing soon.

They are also supporting Lejendary Adventures, with a couple of adventures this year, plus new HB's are due out before the end of the year.

GURPS, HARP, True20, L5R, M&M, Shadowrun, Traveller, etc... certainly count.

 

[Derren]

Then there are also the regional big systems like DSA in Germany.

 

[Particle_Man]

If you are trying to broaden your horizons, you might want to look at the indie stuff too. A far from complete list:

In a Wicked Age
Cat
The Thirty
Orkworld
Dogs in the Vinyard
Agon
The Shab-al-Hiri Roach
Dead Inside
Don't Rest Your Head

 

[jdrakeh]

If you are trying to broaden your horizons, you might want to look at the indie stuff too. A far from complete list:

In a Wicked Age
Cat
The Thirty
Orkworld
Dogs in the Vinyard
Agon
The Shab-al-Hiri Roach
Dead Inside
Don't Rest Your Head

Note, I'm not talking about single product RPGs, here. . .

 

[Aus_Snow]

There are only a few that I can think of, that meet the criteria given.

* Exalted
* The new World of Darkness (Vampire and Werewolf are actually supplements for the core 'mortals' book, which has a number of non-'alien being' supps as well.)
* Dark Heresy (i.e., WH40K)
* Warhammer Fantasy Roleplaying
* Mutants & Masterminds
* Mongoose Traveller
* Mongoose RuneQuest
* GURPS
* HERO

Probably a couple more.

 

[Daerwyn]

For the magical-samurai in you, the Legend of the Five Rings rpg series is definitely putting out material. They're re-releasing the main 3rd edition book soon without turning anything obsolete, which seems like it'd make for a good starting point.

 

[Jhaelen]

I guess, White Wolf's World of Darkness is the only rpg with a following comparable to D&D. Here in Germany DSA (Das Schwarze Auge) is probably the most successful system. Shadowrun is also pretty popular.

I think the best managed "niche game" is Ars Magica. When they released the Fifth Edition they decided to publish four 144-pages hardcover supplements every year. Amazingly they are doing it, sales are excellent for their company size, and they can even reprint old books periodically.

I totally agree. I'm buying everything from Ars Magica, both because it's one of my all-time favorite games and because the quality of their supplements is consistently, extraodinarily good. They always have well-researched background information and are full of inspiring plot/adventure ideas that are just as useful for other rpgs as they are for Ars Magica.

 

[Glyfair]

He provided specific criteria for "big" in the first post -- ongoing supplement support from publishers. Incidentally, this exempts all of the OOP games that you mention (and some of the in print games no longer having supplements printed for them).

Of course, ongoing in somewhat vague. Heroquest has ongoing support, but it's a release every few months, and not necessarily on a regular schedule.