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Post by Drozgul on Aug 3, 2011 14:05:18 GMT -5
How does one find the perfect gaming system for them?
I have played a handful, and like most of them, and really detest a few.
I like systems that are full of variety and options, but yet still simple enough to not drive me mad.
Over-established systems make me feel like nothing a player character does can matter, but an under-established setting leaves you feeling like you have no idea what to do, or why.
I think a lot of great choices in this come from having a great Storyteller in your group. But even so, I am looking for that system that truly suits me.
What are some of your favorite systems? What makes them so great? The mechanics? The setting? The Resources? Player options? Or does the GM really bring all the flavor to otherwise obnoxious systems?
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Lady Masquerade
Journeyman
Look into my eyes. Do you see who I see?
Posts: 174
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Post by Lady Masquerade on Aug 3, 2011 16:27:10 GMT -5
Systems I have enjoyed: - D&D 3.5 and 4e - Modern d20 and d20 Future - Warhammer Fantasy RP - World of Warcraft TTRP (and MMO) - Hunter: The Vigil - Vampire: The Requiem - Burning Wheel Systems that I have not enjoyed/have little to no interest in: - Star Wars - Shadowrun - Werewolf: The Forsaken - Mage: The Awakening - Changeling: The Lost - Promethean: The Created - Geist: The Sin-Eaters I don't know if I could really narrow down what I would consider to be -my- system, as I like different aspects of each one, as I'm sure everyone does, so I'll list what I like/dislike about each one and maybe you can help me find -my- system. Although I will say now that I still consider party members (meaning players) and who the GM is as THE big factor in whether or not I'll enjoy a game, regardless of which set of rules we play by. That being said, my first vote for MY system would have to be a tie between D&D and Hunter. I like the settings for Hunter and usually for D&D as well, but since we usually run our GM's created worlds, it tends to be at least slightly different every time. I love the opportunity to discover new things about our world, which Hunter serves up on a giant platter, as does D&D especially since we are always in different worlds. We as players can explore and discover new things about our environment every single time, just by having someone different sitting in the seat of God. How freakin' awesome is that?? Combat: Since it's not the big thing I'm looking forward to in a game, I don't really care either way. HOWEVER, I do sometimes feel like I have a greater chance of success using the D&D d20 system as opposed to the d10 dice pool with White Wolf games. Maybe it's just me, but there are many many times when playing any White Wolf game that I have to roll for (insert attack/skill/whatever here) and even though I could have a dice pool of 13, everything I roll is 7 or below. -epic frown and facepalm- Granted, I should interpret this as something that is particularly challenging for my character, but it still gets frustrating when I seem to be rendered almost completely unhelpful in just about any situation because of the dice. (I know this can happen with a string of 1s in a d20 game. I'm just saying that it seems to me like I always feel less useful in a d10 game. That could all be just in my head.) Stories: I usually enjoy the storylines of both these settings, but that's usually almost entirely dependent on the storyteller, as with all the other systems. My vote for 3rd place would be Vampire, based on setting alone. I just am really fascinated with the whole environment and mood, as well as the myriad of different solutions to any problem. You just have to decide how sneaky/underhanded you want to be. Combat: Same as with Hunter. Although I will admit that I tend to make very non-combat characters, therefore being thrust into combat almost every session literally does render me a big fat waste of space to the party. But that's not the fault of the system, so what are you gonna do? My vote for 4th place would be a tie between Burning Wheel and Warhammer Fantasy. If you were to mix the character development of Burning wheel with the combat system of Warhammer Fantasy, I'd be ecstatic to give it a try. I've only played one campaign of each, each of those being less than 3 sessions, but I really did enjoy each of those aspects. Having everyone sit down at the table to help each other make characters I thought was the most fun I've had ever becoming a member of a party. And I don't mean everyone sitting around with 30 books strewn about helping each other pick feats and prestige classes. Just each person starting with a basic idea and letting the ideas of the other party members not only influence their relationships but also CREATE their very life through their shared experiences. <3 Combat: I remember from what little I played of Warhammer Fantasy with Phil as the DM that the combat was the most "realistic" of all the systems to me. It wasn't just a matter of whacking NPC #4 until his hit points dropped to below 0, rinse lather repeat with NPC #5, etc, etc, etc. Instead, each and every attack would hit a particular part of the body for so much damage. So you could land a critical hit that would otherwise kill a level 1 goblin, but instead you hit his arm, so now it's hanging crushed and lifeless at his side. (If combat was more like this in every game, I could probably enjoy it instead of groaning each time we saddle up for an hour long encounter. ) And yes, this simple addition of some details could easily be worked into a d20 or d10 game, but I have yet to see it happen, so I just assume that unless that's the way the rules are going to write it, it's just "too much extra work/time" to make it worth it. I dunno, I guess for me, it's not about the number of bodies in the pile after the battle, but about how each one was slain and how they fought back as well. (want an example? Ask Droz how he once slew a goblin with a bag of caltrops. Good times.) Now for the systems I don't enjoy as much, they're basically the more futuristic/sci-fi based ones, i.e. Star Wars, d20 Future, Shadowrun, etc. I did like the game that Fenix ran at one time that was based off of Firefly. I just think it might have run a lot smoother if I hadn't been nominated Captain. Bad move on everyone's part including mine for accepting the position. I have no business being a leader in that sort of setting just because I don't have as broad of a mindset as what I think is necessary for that world. But aside from that, I just think I enjoy sci-fi stuff more if I watch it in a movie as opposed to trying to play it in a game. Hope this was what you were looking for Droz. And awaiting your own post.
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Post by Drozgul on Aug 4, 2011 5:08:06 GMT -5
Okay, great start!
Let me lay it down the way Droz sees it.
D&D WoD Burning Wheel Warhammer Fantasy Shadow Run Star Wars
Alright, I gotta admit that I simply love me some good role-playing games. And they're listed above in the order they were introduced to me. If it's not listed, I haven't played it. Or even gotten close.
D&D: The bread and butter to most role-players' first gaming entree'. I have more stories than I can count from great past gaming experiences, and awful ones alike. So many interesting and exciting characters and moments that I love recalling in our group with both old and new players.
D&D was where it all began for me in table-top RPG play. Plenty of options, mythology, folklore, and fantasy galore. You want it? Put it up, cause here's where to find it. I mean, come on, you're never going to try to outwit a dragon on a shady deal, or try to capture a pegasus anywhere else.
Role-playing has always been the heart of the game for me, and in a fantasy setting, that means stepping back into pseudo-histories, and recreating things that might work better there than in real life. Who wouldn't want to fire a belt full of oil flasks through a wall of fire to engulf that smart-ass witch on the other side til she screams herself to death? Hehe, that was a great session!
Mechanics-wise though, you can HAVE it. Even now, in 4E, I take way too long to build and update characters. Its easier for me to say "here's what I want to do, you do it for me, I'll just play." No, they're not overly complex, and no its not too much, my brain just doesn't retain well enough to enjoy that portion of the game. and reading my sheet twenty times every combat is just annoying.
Speaking of combat, when a good GM tosses aside the number and describes some cinematic ass-whooping, I'm in head first. But skipping that and saying, "18 damage, he is now bloodied" doesn't do much for my drive to play.
Wod: A role-players modern day horrific delight!
World of Darkness lends itself to the brightest and shadiest of interactions with table role-players. The struggle to be "good" is just so... well, hilarious! Come on! This ain't about being the "good guy" its about setting goals and getting it done. You can fight for right if that's your deal, but don't act like nobody saw you knock off a 48' trailer full of supplies that will fund your fight against the stuff that makes up your nightmares. But its okay, we all know the windfall is keeping us alive tonight!
Mechanics: Its sound, and fairly straight-forward, but admittedly, I agree with the dice-pool issue Lady mentioned. I don't actually see that much failure, but unlike Warhammer addicts, I hate rolling more than one or two dice...it just isn't fun for me. Especially since with a D20, the range for success varies in 5% intervals. But with dice pools, the result still has to be an 8 or better, you might just need more of them in order to shoot out the tire of a screeching limousine.
And combat...well, I think its for the birds. Even in my favorite setting: Hunter, I prefer to limit combat, because I find it terribly time-consuming and blocky. In modern action/horror, it should take seconds for Jimmy to run out of ammo and get his face torn off. But by the dice, that simple event could take over a real-time hour, and have eaten up valuable game time that we lose from exposition of story. Not that combat is negligible, or counter productive, but to me, its exhausting... Especially since these games are so mood heavy, that sometimes its hard to know why the hell we're fighting anyway...
Burning Wheel: A character builder's wet dream, and the power gamer's nightmare.
So since I fall somewhere in the middle of those two, I should mention that even though the building process was a little long, the group input from word one was just what the doctor ordered. I didn't care how long it took, cause I was getting history on all characters, some NPCs, a geography lesson, and we were already playing before the "paperwork" was done. Now that's solid!
The beginning of a BW game sounds like a bad joke; A clerk, a dock worker and a cartographer walk into a seedy bar...
But without a punchline, cause that's how it was, and it was off to an interesting start. Sounded to me like a recipe for waging an ink war, full of forgeries, and misplaced shipping orders, and cargo drops at the "wrong destinations". Man it was gonna be fun!
Mechanics were decently simply, all based around character creation bullet marks. My character will always do this, tends to handle these situations this way, and intention is the key to success, not necessarily success itself.
Combat...well, honestly, I hoped not, because that wasn't the kind of game I was interested in. But it seems to be pretty laid back. Get in, drop a die or two and tell it. Not as conducive to energetic combat as D&D, but so what.
Warhammer: Final Fantasy style promotion system for character leveling, and some really neat combat ideas!
I don't have much negative to say here. The building was the most fun because I was walked through it, and the combat was off the cuff awesomeness.
The GM was key in this I think. He had a way of keeping me tuned in to something I wasn't really that interested in...I mean, why would anyone want to learn D&D another different way?
Don't knock Warhammer Fantasy, or I'll crack your skull with an unloaded stolen crossbow! Hehe!
I see Shadow Run and Star Wars on the same level. There's just too much going on for me to get my head into it.
With Star Wars, its a little over-established. Even in an era where there's room for anything to happen, while you're snookering a playboy out of some information, the Sith could be blowing a system out of the archives!
I realize that it sounds kinda cool, but I just feel a little under-dogged by the setting itself, no matter what factions I side with. Too many agendas going on.
I lump Shadow Run in the same, because the corporations that run things demand that you take care of business that they'll kill anyone else for doing, and you too if it isn't kept under the radar. A lot of threats on just your identity is enough to daunt a player out of trying it in my opinion.
And of course, because I'm not really into high octane thrill rides, and explosions, I am only glad so far that the games I have played haven't shown me a great deal of those things.
Shadow Run was described to me as a cross between Akira (an anime film) The Fifth Element (film) and The Matrix (films) which should have immediately been a HUGE red flag of "no freaking way should you play this. None of which ever interested me, but so far I am somewhat pleased that I don't feel our current game molds that initial judgement.
Character building of both annoy me, and combat annoys me more (even though some of the fights were pretty epic). I don't find either terribly complex, just really open. I guess I almost need a little limitation, or a lot of help getting into these.
All fall on the party to be a fun, well-to-do group, and the GM to have his/her head screwed on and ready for all our curve ball shenanigans.
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Post by xenocide on Aug 7, 2011 20:36:12 GMT -5
systems I have played: dnd 3.5 dnd 4.0 Battletech/mechwarrior warhammer Mekton Tri-stat DX
systems I want to play: Rifts Star Wars
Systems I am open for discussion on: anything else?
with dnd 3.5 and 4.0, I see the core of role playing. the foundation for just about any system, no matter what mask you throw on it. I love the sheer versatility of 3.5, and the simplicity of 4.0. both take very little knowledge to play, but there is no end to the mastery.
battletech/mechwarrior: with these two, I play them both simultaneously. its awesome. I like the sheer control you have in the game, and the huge amounts of customization. also, giant robots are awesome.
warhammer: i really cant say much. played it all of twice, and hated both times. vindictive gm/ narcissistic players/ no fun.
first place will always be dnd in my mind, in the same way that first place in fantasy will always be LoTR (before idiots got their hands on the copyrights.) other than that... I haven't really played enough to make a full critique.
Well, that has changed. I really prefer Mekton/Tri stat now. We are going to start 'star wars 3.5' here soon, and I can't wait to see what that entails... I wanna be a jedi, but our dm doesn't want jedi.
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Post by xenocide on Dec 28, 2011 14:43:07 GMT -5
EDITED!!!
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