What to run when you are done with D&D?

[DemoMonkey]

Have you considered sports?

 

[billd91]

What do I run when I go on break from D&D? It’s not a different fantasy genre game. At all. It’s something different.

Mutants and Masterminds
Call of Cthulhu

 

[Jd Smith1]

Zweihander. My go-to system for everything, but especially fantasy.

 

[jdrakeh]

[Edit: I didn't read the first post thoroughly.]

Sword of Cepheus.

 

[innerdude]

I keep meaning to try [Ironsworn] solo. But it's PbtA so I'm ambivalent.

It's . . . PbtA adjacent, I suppose, but in play I found it to feel very, very differently from Dungeon World (which I thought was . . . merely okay, and my group bounced off of it pretty hard).

It has enough additional rules "heft", with the condition tracking, momentum mechanic, and the use of assets that upgrade/progress with your character that both I and my group found it very compelling.

And this is a group weaned on 4e and Savage Worlds.

It's not going to ever be truly "tactical." But in play there's just something . . . tremendous about the way it captures the soul and spirit of playing a mythic viking tribe / adventure group.

Play it solo. If you don't find solo play interesting or compelling, or can't seem to get into the right mindset, go ahead drop it. The group experience doesn't really change that much from solo play.

 

[aco175]

Remembered this one from Good Morning Vietnam, if you are looking for someplace to run to.

 

[Cadence]

Could Dark Ages VtM be used for that?

 

[vincegetorix]

Fantasy Age.

Super easy to run and offers a good amount of player options to tack on a 3 classes chassis. The Companion book has rule options to make the game a little more dangerous (like halving starting HP). It also has Organization rules and Mass Combat rules.

 

[PabloM]

Definitely, Torchbearer. The 2e is a beauty in terms of game-design.

 

[PabloM]

Believe me, it's what you're looking for.

 

[Staffan]

Except I explicitly want those things I mentioned.

To expound since that was a bit terse: I want to run a dungeon fantasy game specifically. Not just a general fantasy campaign. But I am frustrated with 5e specifically and D&D broadly. That why my ask in the OP was for "D&D like" which may have thrown people.
To

Hmm. You might want to give Forbidden Lands a shot. It uses the engine from Mutant: Year Zero, but is fantasy-based and focused on exploring a region that's been unreachable until just recently because of Reasons. There's quite a bit of both hex-crawling, base-building, and dungeon exploration in it.

One thing it doesn't have is the explosive character growth of D&D. I think you'd be hard-pressed to find that outside of D&D and its variants (e.g. Pathfinder, 13th age).

 

[Reynard]

Hmm. You might want to give Forbidden Lands a shot. It uses the engine from Mutant: Year Zero, but is fantasy-based and focused on exploring a region that's been unreachable until just recently because of Reasons. There's quite a bit of both hex-crawling, base-building, and dungeon exploration in it.

One thing it doesn't have is the explosive character growth of D&D. I think you'd be hard-pressed to find that outside of D&D and its variants (e.g. Pathfinder, 13th age).

I love the YZ engine and own Forbidden lands. it has been on my list to try for a while but I was artly worried it might be too married to its specific setting.

 

[Staffan]

I love the YZ engine and own Forbidden lands. it has been on my list to try for a while but I was artly worried it might be too married to its specific setting.

The setting is, I think, pretty sparse and more of a "mood" (exploring a mostly uninhabited land and dealing with the perils there) than one having a bunch of specifics (specific cities, nations, and so on). I think the game (much like MYZ) has a built-in campaign, but I don't know how much into specifics that goes (since another player in my gaming group has expressed interest in running it).

 

[TheSword]

Give WFRP the Enemy Within or Ubersreik Adventures (I and II) a go and leave the endless combats a rest for a bit and immerse yourself in great characters and stories! Perfect antidote to D&D

The Enemy Within Campaign Journal (Spoilers)

So after discussing WFRP and it’s rules on a few other threads I thought I would post the campaign journal on how we get on. This will be from a DMs perspective and like all campaign journals will contain spoilers. However if you comment please don’t reveal stuff from the campaign that my...

www.enworld.org

 

[Reynard]

Give WFRP the Enemy Within or Ubersreik Adventures (I and II) a go and leave the endless combats a rest for a bit and immerse yourself in great characters and stories! Perfect antidote to D&D

The Enemy Within Campaign Journal (Spoilers)

So after discussing WFRP and it’s rules on a few other threads I thought I would post the campaign journal on how we get on. This will be from a DMs perspective and like all campaign journals will contain spoilers. However if you comment please don’t reveal stuff from the campaign that my...

www.enworld.org

I presume these are full of dungeon exploration?

 

[TheSword]

I presume these are full of dungeon exploration?

Nah, but it’s still good. Plus what’s a dungeon when it comes down to it, but a series of choices.

In all seriously, if you’re set on dungeons, WFRP isn’t a great fit. It has some, but in general its far more NPC based. But it really is a great antidote to D&D For anyone else wanting an alternative for a bit.

 

[Mezuka]

Haven't played D&D for 2 years now. These are the games I GMed:

• Fantasy AGE. No setting, do want you want.
• Symbaroum. Rich setting. Post-cataclysm setting corrupted land.
• Shadow of the Demon Lord. Grimdark setting.

SotDL hit the right spot for me and my players. It's a modernized AD&D 1e mixed with Warhammer Fantasy.

 

[payn]

Hmm. You might want to give Forbidden Lands a shot. It uses the engine from Mutant: Year Zero, but is fantasy-based and focused on exploring a region that's been unreachable until just recently because of Reasons. There's quite a bit of both hex-crawling, base-building, and dungeon exploration in it.

One thing it doesn't have is the explosive character growth of D&D. I think you'd be hard-pressed to find that outside of D&D and its variants (e.g. Pathfinder, 13th age).

My online group is about to dive into Forbidden Lands. Session zero is on thurs. I'll report back on how it goes.

 

[Hex08]

EDIT because it seems to be getting lost: I am talking about wanting to do the whole dungeon fantasy thing, but not with any version of D&D.

More specifically, what do you run when you are done with D&D specifically, but still want something "D&D like" -- dungeons, monsters, traps, treasure, etc...?

Well, I am done with D&D and occasionally run Castles and Crusades instead. It's certainly "D&D like" since it's part of the Old School Revival (OSR) but you might consider that a version of D&D (since it really is). Otherwise, I would recommend Savage Worlds. It easily works for a fantasy game and even has some excellent settings like Hellfrost, Shaintar and Lankhmar available.

 

[Argyle King]

EDIT because it seems to be getting lost: I am talking about wanting to do the whole dungeon fantasy thing, but not with any version of D&D.

More specifically, what do you run when you are done with D&D specifically, but still want something "D&D like" -- dungeons, monsters, traps, treasure, etc...?

Hope drastic of a departure from D&D mechanics are you open to learning/playing?