What is a GOOD rules light system?

[Gothmog]

I have two recommendations for you.

If you're looking for something gritty and dark, but rules-light and runs like a dream, check out Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2. Its a skill-based system with unpredictable and deadly combat. I've seen 3rd career (equiv to about 12th level D&D characters) get knocked out by a goblin with one lucky shot. Granted the chances aren't high, but they do exist. Magic is rare and dangerous, warped by the winds of Chaos. Monsters are actually extremely dangerous rather than just XP and treasure speedbumps like in D&D. My group got tired of the complexity of D&D, and we switched to WHFRP2 and haven't looked back. Its just as customizable as D&D thanks to Talents (kinda like feats) and the skills, but is based on a percentile system, and is MUCH easier to GM and prepare for. Go to www.blackindustries.com to check it out.

If you're looking for something more cinematic and heroic, check out Savage Worlds. Also rules light and a breeze to pick up and play- I've taught non-gamers how to play in that system in under 20 minutes! SW is not genre-specific, so you can use it for fantasy, sci-fi, post-apocalyptic, pirates, or pretty much anything. It can also be easily modified (tells you how in the book) for a more gritty and less pulp heroic feel. Its a very simple intuitive system, has lots of customizability (via Edges and Hinderances- work kinda like feats and couter-feats), and its a blast to play. I've run combats with 30 characters per side, and had them done in under and hour! SW is at www.peginc.com. There is even a free quickstart rules set and free adventures to try!

Both of these lines are very well supported, and don't show any signs of slowing down.

 

[ChristianW]

I've recently re-read my 1e books and I'd love to run a campaign with that set of rules. The game is easy enough to understand and has plenty of opportunity for customization. I also like the fact that a slow rate of progression puts more emphasis on charater development. Combat is pretty simple, which may bore some folks, but I recall that it always worked well.

 

[scourger]

I have two recommendations for you.

If you're looking for something gritty and dark, but rules-light and runs like a dream, check out Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2. Its a skill-based system with unpredictable and deadly combat. I've seen 3rd career (equiv to about 12th level D&D characters) get knocked out by a goblin with one lucky shot. Granted the chances aren't high, but they do exist. Magic is rare and dangerous, warped by the winds of Chaos. Monsters are actually extremely dangerous rather than just XP and treasure speedbumps like in D&D. My group got tired of the complexity of D&D, and we switched to WHFRP2 and haven't looked back. Its just as customizable as D&D thanks to Talents (kinda like feats) and the skills, but is based on a percentile system, and is MUCH easier to GM and prepare for. Go to www.blackindustries.com to check it out.

If you're looking for something more cinematic and heroic, check out Savage Worlds. Also rules light and a breeze to pick up and play- I've taught non-gamers how to play in that system in under 20 minutes! SW is not genre-specific, so you can use it for fantasy, sci-fi, post-apocalyptic, pirates, or pretty much anything. It can also be easily modified (tells you how in the book) for a more gritty and less pulp heroic feel. Its a very simple intuitive system, has lots of customizability (via Edges and Hinderances- work kinda like feats and couter-feats), and its a blast to play. I've run combats with 30 characters per side, and had them done in under and hour! SW is at www.peginc.com. There is even a free quickstart rules set and free adventures to try!

Both of these lines are very well supported, and don't show any signs of slowing down.

I'll just quote this for truth since I was going to post telling you that I just finished running a great Savage Worlds Tour of Darkness game and am preparing to run Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay Karak Azgal.

 

[Turjan]

There's also HeroQuest, though it's very tightly tied to Glorantha in its current incarnation. This will change when QuestWorlds comes out some day. HeroQuest is a game of epic fantasy. Epic means that your final goal is something like going to the realms of the gods and change history . It starts pretty normal though. One thing that's not everyone's cup of tea: combat is highly abstract, because important combats play out like a betting game.

Here is the chapter from the main rulebook on how it plays, with other downloads on this side. Here you will get the Game Aids, also available as little booklet. And this is how characters look like.

 

[Wik]

What? No one mentioned the d6 system!? Blasphemy!

I've started running it, and I'm loving the system. It's probably a *bit* heavier than this Risus game that's being mentioned, but I find it's a very open system that allows for a lot of room in combat situations. My only problem with it is that it is REALLY poorly written nowadays - the d6 Space, d6 Adventure, and d6 Fantasy books are poorly organized and the rules seem to be more complex than they should be. If you can, pick up one of the older d6 books - like Indiana Jones, Star Wars, or Torg.

There are a few problems, but I'll take them over any other system I've encountered.

 

[Treebore]

I agree heroquest is a good game and rules lite in comparison to 3E, but C&C is easier IMO, and just as strong, if not stronger, on the rules mechanics.


As for Savage Worlds, I haven't checked it out myself, but I have heard/seen at least a half dozen posters say it is good, fun, and a simple system. Even C&C users said they wouldn't mind using it, or going back to it, if that is what it would take to get a game going.

 

[Testament]

Savage Worlds is an absoutely amazing system. Its a generic system that doesn't feel as though it skimps on anything, being open enough to be easy and fast, but detailed enough (thanks in large part to Savage Settings) to feel complete. Customisability is high, characters are flexible and the system, being based upon such a simple premise (non-contested rolls always aim for 4, every 4 above is a 'raise') that it never gets in the way.

 

[Votan]

Wow. I sent this thread to the whole gaming group because the responses have been both frequent, helpful and very interesting. The DM has already been talking about remembering the french version of Dragon Warriors (we are in quebec about 60% of the group is francophone Quebecois).

It's extremely clear that the field of RPGs definitely fills this niche and now it is mostly a conversation about which system will fill the niche best for our group. [I have a strong preference now that I've looked at a few options but I'd have missed mine if I hadn't asked around]

But you have all been extremely helpful at pointing out options -- ranging from stuff that is very close to Risus to some stuff that is really far away and that I had no idea exisited but is looking extremely cool.

Thank you all very much!

 

[Aus_Snow]

Ha! Good to see more work being done on expanding/refining DW. Thought one of my GMs was the only person doing that anymore.

Excellent.

 

[Glyfair]

There's also HeroQuest, though it's very tightly tied to Glorantha in its current incarnation. This will change when QuestWorlds comes out some day.

It's incredibly easy to strip it of the Glorantha connections (at least Hero Wars was, I haven't picked up the Heroquest update).

The biggest weakness to HQ for me is that it's not tactical at all. If you don't want to worry about your positioning on the battlefield, etc., it's the perfect system for you. Describe your action, tell the GM how many points you are wagering (if it's a long contest), roll to see the result.

The biggest strength is that it has the best character generation system, for storytelling games, I've seen. Describe your character in 100 words, and that determines what you can do. If you describe yourself as widely travelled, then you have that as a skill. There are no stats (or rather "assumed stats") unless you describe it in your description i.e. you only have "strength" if you describe your character as "strong."

I'm considering trying a short Eberron campaign using it, but tweaking the system to be a bit more tactical.

My favorite rules-lite FRPG is Melanda, Land of Mystery. Unfortunately, systemically it's hard to follow. You really need to play with someone that knows the game first, but after that it's easy (of course, there are something like 100 local variations - even the designers play it differently from each other). If played correctly, the Rune Magic system can be a lot of fun.