Worlds of Badassitude!

[jdrakeh]

I've recently been trying to trim/grow/shape my RPG collection to match my current fianances and hobby interests. I've finally decided that the best way to this is to just get the most far out, crazy, over the top game for each of the following respective genres:

• Dark Future
• Fantasy
• Horror
• Space Opera

I need candidates for each of the above categories -- games that bring the awesome in almost sickeningly surreal levels, pushing the Envelope of Awesome into the near absurd. Let me tell you what is on the list so far, and you (hopefully) can let me know what I'm missing.

Dark Future

SLA Industries (Murder as #1 pop entertainment phenomena!)
Cyberpunk 3.0 (Mickey Mouse mecha gangs? Yesssssss.)

Fantasy

Deathstalkers (Fantasy with armies of giant, killer, robots! And blue minotaurs!)
Senzar (Like anime, but with 100% more Metallica!)

Horror

The Shadow Project (Resident Evil meets The Matrix!)
Nightbane/Nightspawn (It's like Through the Looking Glass as written by Poe.)

Space Opera

Battlelords of the 23rd Century (Bigger guns. More aliens. All on an AD&D 2e clone.)

Eventually, I need to narrow it down to one game per category -- or would like to, anyhow (I know that this might be hard). If you have any case to make for or against the Overpowering Awesome of any game, let it be heard here.

[Edit: Moved The Shadow Project to the Horror category after doing a bit more research. Looks like Resident Evil with the "OMFG!" turned up to 11. Removed World of Synnibarr from the list for being non-genre specific.]

 

[daddystabz]

Fantasy: D&D 4e, Dawnforge and Midnight

Space Opera: Star Wars Saga Edition

Dark Future: Dark Heresy (Warhammer 40k)

Horror: Chill (an oldie), Rippers (Savage Worlds), Deadlands Reloaded (Savage Worlds)

 

[Henrix]

...games that bring the awesome in almost sickeningly surreal levels, pushing the Envelope fo Awesome into the near absurd.
...
Horror

I'll be honest. I'm drawing a blank here.

Well, Unknown Armies seem to fit the bill right there - surreal and awesome.
If you want more traditional weirdness - Kult: Beyond the Veil.

 

[S'mon]

Man, you've got to check out Mutant Future! Free download from Goblinoid Games.

 

[exile]

Horror = Dread

 

[Scurvy_Platypus]

Well, if you're looking to turn the dial up to 11...

Fantasy:

I don't know about Senzar. I've never been able to get a copy, although I'd really like to. From what I've heard, the system is actually useable. So between having both a useable system _and_ turning the dial up, Senzar seems like a good way to go.

World of Synnibarr... I have much love for this. The system... man, it is all kinds of wrong. I know that people on the internet claim to have run it, but I can't see myself _ever_ doing that. But using a supers system? Yeah, I can see that. This game just turns the dial up to 15 and then breaks the knob off. If you aren't so worried about the system, I think this bad boy wins hands down.

I've actually got the 1st (starting to come apart ) edition, as well as the 2nd edition, _and_ The Ultimate Adventurer's Guide.

The difference between 1st and 2nd ed? I've got no idea, I bought them as a lot. The art is different though. 2nd ed art is what you usually see, with a dragon breathing fire on two people on a grav-bike looking thing. 1st ed art is some sorta angel looking chippie barely dressed. I think she's got some cyber bits too, but I'm at work and don't quite remember.

Space Opera:

I'm not sure if Battlelords really qualifies as "space opera", although I can certainly see running it as such. It's definitely another game that turns the dials up. The system seems useable, although it's way too fiddly for my tastes. It's hard to go wrong with Ram Pythons

I'd probably put Battlelords up for the Space Opera before Synnibarr though. Synnibarr is just all kinds of whacked out Arduin on crank.

Since I'm bumping Synnibarr out of the Space Opera category, I'd like to offer a replacement for your consideration: Encounter Critical. You can find it here:
http://www222.pair.com/sjohn/encounter-critical.htm

Dark Future:

I'm not really familiar with what you've mentioned here, other than having heard of SLA Industries. You can get a copy of the book free (slightly older version):
http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=24798&it=1&filters=0_0_0

Updated version here:
http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=24961&it=1

If you're actually able to spend money (instead of relying strictly on what's already in your library) maybe Underground is a possibility?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underground_(role_playing_game)
It looks like you can still order the books from Mayfair, and get 'em all for $100. I'm not sure about this though.
http://www.mayfairgames.com/mfg-shop/rpgs/underground/mfg-ug.html

Of course if pdf is fine with you, you've got everyone's favorite rpgnow:
http://www.rpgnow.com/index.php?cPath=314

Horror... I've got nothing. Well.... actually... not quite...I'm not sure if it'll work for you or not...

I'm a pretty big fan of Beyond the Supernatural. Depending on how you tweak bits of it, you can get a pretty over the top sort of game going. At it's base though, it's not a bad gritty game, which seems to be a staple of "horror". Don't get the 2nd Edition though, get the first.

If you're not sure which edition you're looking at...

2nd Ed has a green looking thingy confronting someone as they come out of a shop (Antiquities).

1st Edition has a team of 3 people in blue confronting a two legged thingy with scales and fur. It's in the process of chewing on the leg of one of the team members as they dangle from its jaws, and there's a guy firing an assault rifle.

If you're still not sure... the 1st ed book come with the Victim class.

Now, if you want to punch things up a bit... I'd say Nightbane might be the way to go. It's kinda like that old Clive Barker movie "Nightbreed". At least that's the vibe I got from it. Again, a bit of poking to suit personal tastes, and you've got some really good potential here.

It originally came out as "Nightspawn" but Palladium ran into Todd MacFarlane and he slapped them eighteen different ways till Friday; the book was promptly renamed "Nightbane". No real difference I know of between the two, except whether you want to be all snooty/gloaty about "It will always be 'Nightspawn' for me, and I've got the book to prove it."

 

[Particle_Man]

Horror: Don't Rest Your Head - lots of surreal horror goodness there, evocative of Grant Morrison's Doom Patrol (which dates me horribly).

Dark Future: Omega World (a Gamma World game done in a Dungeon Magazine a while back by Jonathan Tweet - very cool).

Fantasy: 50 Fathoms (by Savage Worlds) was charming, and I think Solomon Kane (also by Savage Worlds) is quite nice too, but in the latter the magic is more horror-tinged and less firebally.

Space Opera: No idea, so I will just put in a vote for Star Frontiers. Because Dralasites are cool.

 

[Scurvy_Platypus]

Oh, and since Battlelords was a possibility for Space Opera, I'd also like to offer up the following possibility:

Waste World. I've got the three books that were done for it, and it seems pretty groovy. There's a review of it here:
http://www.rpg.net/news+reviews/reviews/rev_1024.html

I'll note that Waste World might be a bit borderline. By which I mean, I can see nudging it over more into the Space Opera (Dark Future?) side of things, but I can also see pushing it in a different direction and coming up with something that has a bit of a Rifts vibe to it in some ways.

At its default, I think it's right up there with Battlelords in terms of overall gonzo type stuff, but with a system I'd actually use. I recall Colin Chapman mentioning that Waste World had quite a bit in common with the Talislanta system. I didn't do a serious comparison, but I did do a quick-over at one time and noticed there was a pretty close parallel overall. So that might help you (or not) decide if you're interested in the system or not.

Sidenote:

I read the replies here, and I see the OP asking for "the most far out, crazy, over the top game" and I'm left a bit puzzled. I mean, Dark Heresy is an ok game I guess if you like the system, but it's a lot more on the gritty side of things than anything. Everyone I've ever seen talking about the game online also talks about how characters are insignificant bugs and how great that is. How they'd never let a PC throw their weight around just because they're part of an Inquisitor's retinue.

I guess I've just got a really different view of what's "over the top".

It's probably best that I don't say anything about Star Thugs, which is more on the "game" side of rpg, but still pretty far out there:
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=18437&it=1&filters=0_0_10107
http://www.gamingreport.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Reviews&file=index&req=showcontent&id=1523

 

[jdrakeh]

Fantasy: D&D 4e, Dawnforge and Midnight

Space Opera: Star Wars Saga Edition

Dark Future: Dark Heresy (Warhammer 40k)

Horror: Chill (an oldie), Rippers (Savage Worlds), Deadlands Reloaded (Savage Worlds)

All great games, but none of these push the Envelope of Awesome to the edge of agreeable perception in the manner that I am trying to describe. I guess you have to read The World of Synnibarr to understand. It's like gazing into an Abyss of Awesome. And when you look into the Abyss, the Abyss also looks into you. There is no going back!

 

[Scurvy_Platypus]

I guess you have to read The World of Synnibarr to understand. It's like gazing into an Abyss of Awesome. And when you look into the Abyss, the Abyss also looks into you.

You must have gotten that "kinder, gentler" Abyss.

When I gazed into mine it said, "I'm going to make you my bitch."

So I pulled out a Midnight Sunstone Bazooka and blew it away.

Damn right I attack the @#$%#$ darkness. Then I drank my Mountain Dew.