What game system have you tried that made you go WOW!

[grodog]

My "wow" systems:

• Amber Diceless (by Phage; wonderful free-form stuff; pits you against other players by design and intent; great specific-setting emulation)
• Ars Magica (2e by Lion Rampant; for the magic system, troupe style role-playing, the covenant as a "group" character/unifying element, and the Mythic Europe paradigm)
• Blue Planet, 1st edition (Biohazard Games; more for the setting than the game system: it was a cyberpunk-ish world that I actually wanted to play in)
• Call of Cthulhu (3rd edition hc was the first I owned, by Chaosium/GW)
• Fading Suns, 1st edition (Holistic Design's attempt to create a non-epic-heroic RPG, based instead on the Passion Play as a model)
• Heaven & Earth (1e from Event Horizon Production; despite the late '90s metaplot baked into the game, it's the only book we published that I'm still particularly proud of---a diceless RPG system grounded firmly in the game's Twin-Peaks-meets-XFiles-meets-The Book of Revelation setting, with some pretty interesting game mechanics firmly grounded in the looming apocalypse; H&E 3e is still in print from Abstract Nova)
• Kult, 1st edition (Metropolis: what MtA should have been)
• Paranoia (1st and 2nd editions, from West End Games: dystopian black humor as the best beer and pretzels RPG ever!)
• Vampire: The Masquerade, 1st edition (White Wolf; a large element of the games we played featured variations on dramatic strutures [campaign as TV episodes, campaign as a literary tragedy, etc.] and with vicious inter-party politicking/allying/betraying/etc.)

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Someone mentioned Torg. And Shadowrun. Yeah, both intrigued me.

Shadowrun was my first roleplaying game. I had read some novels (I think it was the first trilogy) before, and learning that I could also play in it was awesome.

Torg is the favorite game in my group - it just suffers from the lack of new adventures and the work required to make a good compelling new one.

Dragon Warriors

• Simple, old-school rules (I'd probably play this rather than BECMI if I ever decided to get nostalgic someday, and I *love* BECMI).
• Awesome campaign setting. The setting alone is worth the "price of entry", and is something that could be adapted to other game systems. I've already stolen elements for one of my current 4e campaigns.
• A dark, gloomy tone to many of the published adventures. Sometimes (in fact, most times), all the PCs can do is salvage the best of a situation. They can't save some of friends and patrons, who have already doomed themselves by their own choices.
• PCs are easily killable at all levels, which adds an element of real danger.
• No attempt to balance magic with steel. Spellcasters are rare, but terrifying.

It's about as "old school" as it gets, except for the fact that the campaign setting is something that even modern games could learn from. It's medieval Earth as seen through a warped and smoky lens, and with a hefty dose of realism.

Some of the above probably resembles Warhammer (...must be an English thing), but there are key differences which make Dragon Warriors appeal to me. The campaign setting is much less "fantastic" (it's hugely human-centric, and there are no Chaos Hordes or Elven Armies or Skaven). The ruleset is simpler and more elegant. The PCs start out as reasonably competent and can succeed on most things that you expect them to succeed on, but never get to the point where they can ignore even a pack of wolves or peasants armed with pitchforks. And it's more focused on the deeds of heroes, rather than the clash of armies.

Other games that have made me go WOW...

While Dragon Warriors didn't make me go "WOW", I am surprised about it. It is definitely what I imagine under an "old school" game - which I am definitely not interested in, but it works pretty well, and the setting is very enjoyable.

Your note about the skill system is apt - unlike with Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, you have a fair chance of succeeding on stuff, but combat retains its lethality.

 

[Ariosto]

Skyrealms of Jorune gave me a short-lived "wow" that did not lead to extensive play.

Talislanta was another that got more reading than play, perhaps partly because EPT already provided plenty of the "exotic". I would like to pick it up again someday, though.

Space 1889 was surprisingly in tune with my "eccentric" (or so I thought) tastes -- not the sort of game I would at all have expected to see anyone release at the time. It happened to coincide neatly with my getting into colonial-era skirmish wargaming -- and an abortive GURPS Barsoom project.

 

[dragonlordofpoondari]

Great thread!

I tend to be wowed by systems that are disarmingly intelligent. Here are a few favorites ...

Darwin's World - Post-Apacalyptic gaming done right over D20 Modern. Well supported (everything is now available in print form too. Yay!)

Fading Suns - see Grodog's description above. This is the ultimate kitchen sink Sci-Fi setting. It can literally do anything sci-fi, from hard exploration or trading to pulpy space opera. The universe is well thought out and the writing is first rate. A very intelligent game. Also, well supported. Prefer the D20 version, but amazing fluff for any system.

Dawning Star - another brilliant take on sci-fi. I hope they continue to produce material like they say they will ...

Delta Green - both versions. So smart it's scary ... great for those who enjoyed Cthulhu, Dark Matter, the X-files, or the 90's.

Transhuman Space - Lots of GURPS source books impress me, but this one impressed me the most.

Don't Rest Your Head - insomniacs gain awareness of creatures bent maintaining their secrecy and power. No sleeping allowed.

Lacuna Part 1: The Creation of the Mystery and the Girl from Blue City - it shares some similarities with The Matrix ... which isn't necessarily a bad thing. In Print.

Over the Edge - classic stuff

Underground - more classic stuff

Kult - horrifying but intriguing.

 

[thedungeondelver]

Outside of D&D...

SAVAGE WORLDS
TWILIGHT: 2000 (and interestingly enough, I'm running a T2k game using the SW rules!)
WARHAMMER FANTASY ROLE-PLAY (both 1e and 2e)
The late lamented Last Unicorn Games' STAR TREK: THE ROLE PLAYING GAME
HEAVY GEAR (well, the whole Silhouette system)

 

[Mallus]

I should probably include M&M2e in my "Wow" list. It made me go 'wow, this is as good as HERO/Champions but there's less work!'. I'm using it now to run the last act of my old, originally 3e World of CITY campaign.

M&M2e is the perfect system to run a high-level campaign 3e D&D campaign with .

 

[Thanee]

HEAVY GEAR (well, the whole Silhouette system)

Interesting... this one would probably end up pretty high in my "anti-wow" list.

Bye
Thanee

 

[thedungeondelver]

Interesting... this one would probably end up pretty high in my "anti-wow" list.

Well.

Yay for you, then.

 

[Aus_Snow]

Cage fight!

Heh. That's a very interesting quote there, from Mr. Gygax (RIP). My, how things have changed.

/tj

 

[kitsune9]

Scurvy, thanks for the very indepth post on the games! Quite informative!

For those who have chosen Savage Worlds, I think from your posts that this is a game that I will probably pick up next. I keep hearing nothing but oodles of good stuff and would like to give it a try.