JEB
Legend
In rough chronological order:
1. TMNT and Other Strangeness: Never played it, but I loved the books, especially Transdimensional TMNT. It's also the first RPG I tried to play (but the friend of my dad's I randomly asked to run it wasn't willing, go figure).
2. AD&D 2nd Edition: The game that got me into roleplaying. I moved on from the system, but I still love the settings and materials, and cherish many fond memories. Probably the single most important game on the list.
3. Rifts: I only played this a little, and I'm not a fan of the system, but I really love the post-apocalyptic mixed-genre grab-bag setting. Despite my disdain for Palladium's business practices, I still pick up the occasional Rifts book...
4. D&D 3rd Edition: This was a huge, huge deal for me when it came out, because it blew 2nd Edition's system out of the water, and then opened the floodgates to tons of third-party d20 material. Thanks to D&D 3E, the early 2000s were one of my favorite eras in roleplaying. (Funny, though - as much as I liked 3E, I only played it a few times. Didn't stop me from buying plenty of material, though.)
5. Mutants & Masterminds 1st Edition: The first d20 spin-off I really loved, and the first superhero RPG I played (even though we didn't use it for superheroes). However, it was completely overshadowed by...
6. Mutants & Masterminds 2nd Edition: The second-most important game on this list, M&M 2E was my go-to system for many years. Like 1E, I never ran or played a straight superhero game using it, but it was used for a variety of other sorts of games. We're still using it now, in fact, although we're increasingly moving towards some heavy house-rules revisions...
7. Pathfinder: After D&D 4th Edition came out, I was without a D&D game to follow. Then Pathfinder arrived, and it was glorious. Joining Pathfinder Society last year, followed by the release of D&D 5E this year, has had some moderating effect on my interest... I've grown tired of PF's complexity vs. 5E, but I still love their organized play and adventures.
8. Fate Accelerated/Fate Core: The greatest storygame IMHO. Reading this took me well out of my comfort zone, in an awesome way. I've only played Accelerated, but I'd love to play the full game as well.
9. Monsters & Magic: The most obscure game on my top 10, this is a sort-of retroclone (neoclone is probably the term) which combines storygame-style mechanics with AD&D-style gameplay. I absolutely love the ideas in this game, so much so that they inspired some of the aforementioned M&M 2E house rules. I don't imagine I'll ever be running or playing it, however, due to the release of...
10. D&D 5th Edition: Very quickly, this has become my favorite edition of D&D. It really does seem to combine the bits I loved from 2E and 3E with many lessons learned from other editions and competing games. Maybe the luster will wear off later on, but right now I am having a ton of fun with it.
Honorable mentions:
- DC Heroes: Great sourcebooks, and I like the rule structure, just never played it.
- Doctor Who - Adventures in Time and Space: Love the look and feel of the game, but I don't expect to ever play it.
- DC Adventures/Mutants & Masterminds 3rd Edition: It has some solid improvements from 2E, but a lot of it was merely change for change's sake, which turned me off. Still a good game, though.
- Dungeon Crawl Classics: Great adventures, love the 0-level funnel concept, very fun to play. Not as fond of the rules past the 0-level region, however.
- 13th Age: I like the idea of the game, marrying the best bits of D&D 3E and 4E, and it is fun to play. But it's completely overshadowed by 5E now.
1. TMNT and Other Strangeness: Never played it, but I loved the books, especially Transdimensional TMNT. It's also the first RPG I tried to play (but the friend of my dad's I randomly asked to run it wasn't willing, go figure).
2. AD&D 2nd Edition: The game that got me into roleplaying. I moved on from the system, but I still love the settings and materials, and cherish many fond memories. Probably the single most important game on the list.
3. Rifts: I only played this a little, and I'm not a fan of the system, but I really love the post-apocalyptic mixed-genre grab-bag setting. Despite my disdain for Palladium's business practices, I still pick up the occasional Rifts book...
4. D&D 3rd Edition: This was a huge, huge deal for me when it came out, because it blew 2nd Edition's system out of the water, and then opened the floodgates to tons of third-party d20 material. Thanks to D&D 3E, the early 2000s were one of my favorite eras in roleplaying. (Funny, though - as much as I liked 3E, I only played it a few times. Didn't stop me from buying plenty of material, though.)
5. Mutants & Masterminds 1st Edition: The first d20 spin-off I really loved, and the first superhero RPG I played (even though we didn't use it for superheroes). However, it was completely overshadowed by...
6. Mutants & Masterminds 2nd Edition: The second-most important game on this list, M&M 2E was my go-to system for many years. Like 1E, I never ran or played a straight superhero game using it, but it was used for a variety of other sorts of games. We're still using it now, in fact, although we're increasingly moving towards some heavy house-rules revisions...
7. Pathfinder: After D&D 4th Edition came out, I was without a D&D game to follow. Then Pathfinder arrived, and it was glorious. Joining Pathfinder Society last year, followed by the release of D&D 5E this year, has had some moderating effect on my interest... I've grown tired of PF's complexity vs. 5E, but I still love their organized play and adventures.
8. Fate Accelerated/Fate Core: The greatest storygame IMHO. Reading this took me well out of my comfort zone, in an awesome way. I've only played Accelerated, but I'd love to play the full game as well.
9. Monsters & Magic: The most obscure game on my top 10, this is a sort-of retroclone (neoclone is probably the term) which combines storygame-style mechanics with AD&D-style gameplay. I absolutely love the ideas in this game, so much so that they inspired some of the aforementioned M&M 2E house rules. I don't imagine I'll ever be running or playing it, however, due to the release of...
10. D&D 5th Edition: Very quickly, this has become my favorite edition of D&D. It really does seem to combine the bits I loved from 2E and 3E with many lessons learned from other editions and competing games. Maybe the luster will wear off later on, but right now I am having a ton of fun with it.
Honorable mentions:
- DC Heroes: Great sourcebooks, and I like the rule structure, just never played it.
- Doctor Who - Adventures in Time and Space: Love the look and feel of the game, but I don't expect to ever play it.
- DC Adventures/Mutants & Masterminds 3rd Edition: It has some solid improvements from 2E, but a lot of it was merely change for change's sake, which turned me off. Still a good game, though.
- Dungeon Crawl Classics: Great adventures, love the 0-level funnel concept, very fun to play. Not as fond of the rules past the 0-level region, however.
- 13th Age: I like the idea of the game, marrying the best bits of D&D 3E and 4E, and it is fun to play. But it's completely overshadowed by 5E now.
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World of Darkness
