What other fantasy games are out there?

[X13Phantom]

I have only started watching age of vikings rpg and pendragon both by chaosium on the glass cannon network doesn't seem to have elves or dwarves yet

 

[RenleyRenfield]

So many good suggestions! Wow! Keep them rolling in!


I saw this one mentioned = Talislanta

Seems largely diverse? How is its setting details, are they interesting or just a little lite notes?

 

[RenleyRenfield]

Everway, especially - arguably only - if you can procure a copy of the Spherewalker Sourcebook (it's entirely systemless detail of the many worlds of Everway).

Oh, I have Everway, never opened it up... don't recall any non-human characters though...

What am I missing?

 

[RenleyRenfield]

Steve Jackson Games - The Fantasy Trip. Core rule book In the Labyrinth does include elves and dwarves but they are not essential to the game or setting. Several other intelligent races are available for use as PCs. Base setting is Cidri. There is a Bestiary. Possible to play Octopi as PCs but they are more normally NPC monsters. TFT is often considered a precursor to GURPS, but has a much simpler character design.

Cidri proper is fairly lightly described but the system plays well in almost any pre-written world. Just be sure to delete those pesky elves! Gaming Ballistic has written some FT material as well as a bunch of GURPS Dungeon Fantasy stuff.

GURPS Dungeon Fantasy. GURPS optimized for dungeon crawling. Probably has those elves and dwarves because so many folks seem to expect/demand their presence. In most cases, probably fine just replacing elves/dwarves with humans. If the elves never existed, probablee that humans would mostly fill those slots anyway. Elven ranger/human ranger. Dwarven miner/human miner. Someone has to do it. Lots of Gaming Ballistic stuff for DF.

So, part of me as an old fart knows that GURPS has this... but I don't recall GUPRS going much into details for races. It's been a few years, lol. What are the best race books for that? DO they have a side Races and cultures book kinda like sword and sorcery used to?

 

[jdrakeh]

Oh, I have Everway, never opened it up... don't recall any non-human characters though...

What am I missing?

Human characters are just implied in the core box (I don't have the new books), but there's absolutely nothing keeping you from creating non-human characters (the system is flexible enough to allow it without having to change anything). And the Spherewalker Sourcebook offers a look at all kinds of worlds and, among other things, non-human characters (demons, dragons, elemental avengers, godlings, etc). As a sourcebook, it really delivers on the promise of the original box set (that I feel fell far short in that regard). Said sourcebook is, however, somewhat rare and demands collectible prices on the secondhand market partly because of that (and partly because it's excellent).

 

[RenleyRenfield]

I would like to see some RPGs that genuinely develop non-human races, culture, histories, etc.

I can make all that up... but.. i'm old and I'm tired. Can someone else do that for me this time?

 

[jian]

I am lookin to expand out, and try a few new RPGs.

I am looking to see what everyone here would recommend for a fantasy game that has =

• A rich and detailed setting (I don't want to write by own world or write my own races, etc)
• no elves
• no dwarves (I want to get far away from anything that feels close to Tolkien tropes)
• a variety of non-human races to play (but not cartoonish or things fungus or cactus or duck people)
• lean to the side of serious or darker (not looking for cozy or cute)
• Rules system does not matter, any is ok.

Odd mix of stuff right? Ok, so what have you got?

Cheers!

One recent entry which I think hasn’t yet been mentioned is Cloudbreaker Alliance, a JRPG-style fantasy RPG which meets most of the criteria here.

(The main criterion it doesn’t meet is that elves and dwarves are playable, but since the game is based on JRPG tropes they aren’t particularly Tolkienesque. Dwarves have telekinetic control over metal and elves are most notable for their superhuman hearing, and also always know where north is.)

The setting is rich and detailed, set after the mythical Cloudfall devastated the world and split it into many lands which are only just starting to contact each other. Cloudbreakers (the PCs) are those chosen by their respective peoples to explore and connect, as well as fight the many natural enemies that the Cloudfall created.

There are about a dozen ancestries, including angels, faunalians, floralians, oni, and trolls. They all have unique and interesting traits, much like the elves and dwarves above.

The art style could be seen as somewhat cute but the world really isn’t - it’s post-apocalyptic fantasy and many of the monsters the PCs face are pretty serious and terrifying.

The rule system is simple but tactical, with some emphasis on defeating enemies by figuring out their weaknesses rather than hitting them with your high stats. Which is good, because the majority of the monsters in the book will eat your PCs for breakfast if they don’t do their homework.

 

[RenleyRenfield]

One recent entry which I think hasn’t yet been mentioned is Cloudbreaker Alliance, a JRPG-style fantasy RPG which meets most of the criteria here.

(The main criterion it doesn’t meet is that elves and dwarves are playable, but since the game is based on JRPG tropes they aren’t particularly Tolkienesque. Dwarves have telekinetic control over metal and elves are most notable for their superhuman hearing, and also always know where north is.)

The setting is rich and detailed, set after the mythical Cloudfall devastated the world and split it into many lands which are only just starting to contact each other. Cloudbreakers (the PCs) are those chosen by their respective peoples to explore and connect, as well as fight the many natural enemies that the Cloudfall created.

There are about a dozen ancestries, including angels, faunalians, floralians, oni, and trolls. They all have unique and interesting traits, much like the elves and dwarves above.

The art style could be seen as somewhat cute but the world really isn’t - it’s post-apocalyptic fantasy and many of the monsters the PCs face are pretty serious and terrifying.

The rule system is simple but tactical, with some emphasis on defeating enemies by figuring out their weaknesses rather than hitting them with your high stats. Which is good, because the majority of the monsters in the book will eat your PCs for breakfast if they don’t do their homework.

Ohhhh!!!! I will certainly check this out, thanks!

 

[RenleyRenfield]

Skyrealms of Jorune!

Oh my what is this amazing madness! The art alone! yes!

 

[jdrakeh]

Oh, damn! I should mention my own game, Front Range Minimalist. It doesn't assume any particular races by default, but The Book of Words (the first supplement) includes a lot of non-human races/lineages). It does have elves and dwarves, but they are very easy to ignore (the list of races/lineages is intended as non-exhaustive examples only). It also includes such options as golems, robots, and Yakmen. Drop me a DM and let me know where I can email you copies of the core rules and supplement. I'll gift them to you at no charge.