What System should I use Megathread

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Traditional Games > What System should I use Megathread

Man-Thing: Apr 29, 2011; Whatever knows fear
BURNS at the touch

We've all been there, or are there now... we want to run a game, but not in an established or explicit setting. What we're looking for is a ruleset or indie game that fits our needs. This is the thread to post your game idea and let people suggest rulesets.
The format for requirements goes like this:

code:

RULESET [Freeform...Lite...Normal...Crunchy...CPA]

Where Freeform would be something like Dread, Lite would be like Savage Worlds, Normal would be Mutants & Masterminds, D&D 3.5 would be crunchy, and Shadowrun would be CPA

code:

SUPPORT [DIY...User-Generated...Established...Deep]

Again, DIY would be "no stats for anything" like nWoD, User-Generated would be a M&M, established would be D&D 4e's Monster Manuals and Deep would be D&D 3.5

code:

CHARGEN [None...Quick...Involved...Days]

Looking at something like HeroQuest for none, Quick would be Gamma World, Involved would be D&D and Days would be BESM or GURPS

code:

SETTING [Universal...Neutral...Established...Inseperable]

Neutral would be, say nWoD, Universal would be any 'serial-numbers-filed-off' indie system, established would be like D&D's magic/fighter/orc setting and Inseperable would be something like Eclipse Phase where you can't really use it for anything else.

I'm working on a game right now, based on one I saw in the "New Game Idea Thread" -

quote:

The UTE Stockholm, aka "The Stocks" is not only a prison ship transporting a variety of Military and Civilian Prisoners, but the crew themselves are all dishonored for some reason or another. You only take a position on The Stocks if it's the preferred choice over a court-martial.
Each player plays a member of the crew. This is a rather wartorn universe, the UTE has been trying to keep planets and star systems under control for over 20 years now. High tech, but stuff is falling apart both literally and figuratively. No aliens have been discovered... yet. A few examples: Ideally, the game would kind be like a cross between Oz, Battlestar Galactica

What I want is a system with the following requirements:
RULESET: Normal or lower
SUPPORT: Established, though I could handle User-Generated. I don't want to have to stat out every enemy as a full character
CHARGEN: Quick would be preferable, but I'm not opposed to Normal complexity and running a Chargen session
SETTING: I'd prefer Neutral or vaguer. I initially considered nWoD, but I don't want to go to the trouble of statting out every single enemy as an NPC.

If you guys can think of a better way to phrase this OP, I'm all for it. But yeah, help me find a mainly-social/non-combat system that works in a hi-tech world that doesn't require infinity hours of prep for the DM that doesn't fall apart when the characters draw iron on the baddies.

Like I said, I initially considered nWoD or Shadowrun, but ShadowRun puts too much emphasis on gear, and nWoD will have me crafting NPCs all week. I looked at the Cortex system (from Serenity), but it doesn't seem quite right either.

# ¿ Aug 12, 2011 20:20

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# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 13:57

Man-Thing: Apr 29, 2011; Whatever knows fear
BURNS at the touch

List of Systems/Games: (I'll edit this post as people suggest systems/settings)

d20:
Advantages: TONS of support for existing monsters/settings/adventures
Disadvantages: Clusterfuck of feat support and complex character generation

Dungeons & Dragons 3.5
d20 Modern
Star Wars SAGA Edition
d20 Call of Cthulhu, I guess

GURPS
Advantages: Universal system, fairly simple to play
Disadvantages: OMG chargen is retarded, munchkining abounds

GURPS
GURPS X, where X is a noun or adjective

Green Ronin:
Advantages: Death to HP and Ability Scores!
Disadvantages: Poor rulebook organization

Mutants & Masterminds
DC Super-Heroes (aka M&M 3rd Ed)

Storyteller
Advantages: Truly universal "core game" for extensibility
Disadvantages: System mastery required, not-great Monster Manual support

New World of Darkness
Vampire: The Requiem
Werewolf: The Forsaken
Mage: The Awakening
Hunter: The Vigil
Promethean: The Created
Changeling: The Lost
Geist: The Sin Eaters

Unisystem

One-Roll Engine

??? I Dunno suggest something

Man-Thing fucked around with this message at 21:10 on Aug 12, 2011

# ¿ Aug 12, 2011 20:22

Man-Thing: Apr 29, 2011; Whatever knows fear
BURNS at the touch

Sionak posted:

Do you really think system mastery is required for World of Darkness? I know it plays a part in character generation and some of the game lines, but I'd argue that it's a lot more difficult to make a straight-up useless character than in a system like Exalted or D&D.

It's hard to make a straight-up bad character at generation, but you can nerf yourself pretty hardcore if you don't understand why bullet-shaping a character means saving a LOT of XP down the road, which can cause disparity within a party later.

# ¿ Sep 2, 2011 20:16

Man-Thing: Apr 29, 2011; Whatever knows fear
BURNS at the touch

What system should I use if I want to run a Star Wars game with no Jedi or force powers whatsoever (just blockade-running in the team's trusty YT-1300 Light Frieghter and gunnin' down Stormtroopers on Bespin's Cloud City)?

SW:SE and just say "no taking Use the Force or Jedi Classes"? Or something else entirely?

Lookin' for something with fairly simply gameplay, with about-equal social and combat resolution complexity. A fairly engaging space combat system would be a nice touch.

It looks like (from a cursory Wikipedia inspection) that Traveller is what I want, but I know nothing about the game other than "lol you can die randomly while still in chargen"

If I want Traveller (based on the above criteria), which version do I want? Keep in mind, I think D&D 4e is probably the best game ever, and the way it handles combat is sublimely orgasmic.

Man-Thing fucked around with this message at 11:03 on Dec 3, 2011

# ¿ Dec 3, 2011 10:59

Man-Thing: Apr 29, 2011; Whatever knows fear
BURNS at the touch

CommaToes posted:

Hey guys, this is just a simple request for an idea I had for my group.

Does anyone remember the game Grim Fandango? It was pretty much a film noir adventure game set in the Mexican afterlife. It had hard boiled detectives, gangsters and mysticism. I thought of A Dirty World, but it doesn't have the magical properties of monsters and other stuff.

Can anyone recommend a system that would work with this world?

oWoD Wraith might have what you're looking for, but be advised - oWoD Wraith is a lovely, lovely game.

# ¿ Dec 6, 2011 05:12

Man-Thing: Apr 29, 2011; Whatever knows fear
BURNS at the touch

OK, I have had it with space games where you play Jedi/space wizards/space popes. I want a space game where you cruise around, searching for safe jump spots, take work where you can find it ferrying people and tools, search for minerals to sell and generally eke out a miserable, meager existence.

Basically I want Firefly meets EVE Online, with a dash of Battlestar Galactica and a small side of Borderlands. Preferably with some sort of "Random Planet Generator" and more focus on kitting out the ship than necessarily advancing characters.

I am willing to do a lot of the work myself in terms of world-building, so if anyone can suggest a universal conflict-resolution and involved character/ship-customization system that hopefully play nice together, I'll be in your debt.

The next person to say FATE gets a kick in the balls.

Man-Thing fucked around with this message at 08:15 on Jan 4, 2012

# ¿ Jan 4, 2012 08:11

Man-Thing: Apr 29, 2011; Whatever knows fear
BURNS at the touch

InShaneee posted:

You know, I was recommended Traveller on the previous page, and having checked it out, it actually looks like it could work for you. Detailed ship building, robust planet/planetary system creation, and one of the core assumptions is that you bought your ship on credit and you're gonna have to work your tail off to pay it back.

I'm going through the SRD now, I really like a lot of it, but the melee/gun combat described on the last page seems a little iffy (I don't like downward spirals and wound penalties in general).

I'll give it a deeper read and then see about feeding all the RNG tables into a spreadsheet and generating 10,000 planets or so and then assigning them star co-ordinates this weekend.

# ¿ Jan 4, 2012 08:29

Man-Thing: Apr 29, 2011; Whatever knows fear
BURNS at the touch

Quarex posted:

What I wanted, in theory, was a good post-apocalyptic-friendly system; something like this sounds good:

RULESET: Between Lite-Normal and Normal-Crunchy
SUPPORT: User-Generated or Established
CHARGEN: Quick or Involved
SETTING: Any, really!

Gamma World 4e seems to fit the bill, and it has fantastic support via 4e monster manuals.

Super-easy character creation, decent support, post-apocalyptic setting, tennis racquets as gear.

# ¿ Jan 17, 2012 20:30

Man-Thing: Apr 29, 2011; Whatever knows fear
BURNS at the touch

Lynx Winters posted:

Mutants and Masterminds should work fine.

I was gonna say this. It's perfect, just make PL3 characters for their teen gymnast characters, and PL10s for their Zords.

# ¿ Feb 7, 2012 03:26

Man-Thing: Apr 29, 2011; Whatever knows fear
BURNS at the touch

InfiniteJesters posted:

Would GURPS, d20 Future, Diaspora or something completely different be best for playing a sci-fi game in the vein of Mass Effect (albeit with a more homebrew setting?)

Honestly I think Rogue Trader is pretty brilliant. That's literally what I'm doing now. Barring that, I would heavily reskin D&D 4e. I would stay far, far away from d20 future and especially GURPS.

# ¿ Feb 12, 2012 00:26

Man-Thing: Apr 29, 2011; Whatever knows fear
BURNS at the touch

InfiniteJesters posted:

May I ask what's wrong with d20 Future (besides that it inherits what shortcomings follow any d20 system game, obviously)?

To answer honestly, it's because d20 Modern is a loving trainwreck of a terrible system that took everything wrong with 3.5 D&D and amplified it. The only good thing about Modern is its view on how to handle wealth in a modern setting.

# ¿ Feb 12, 2012 07:01

Man-Thing: Apr 29, 2011; Whatever knows fear
BURNS at the touch

Male Man posted:

The best thing about d20 Modern is Solid!: The D20 Blaxploitation Experience.

Oh god that's a real thing :gonk:

# ¿ Feb 12, 2012 20:50

Man-Thing: Apr 29, 2011; Whatever knows fear
BURNS at the touch

Can anyone tell me about the Cortex system that MWP uses? I'm interested in the Marvel Supers game they just put out, want to know if Cortex is rubbish.

# ¿ Feb 14, 2012 16:56

Man-Thing: Apr 29, 2011; Whatever knows fear
BURNS at the touch

Keska posted:

Are there any games out there set in a fantasy Renaissance time period other than 7th Sea?

Carcassonne.

# ¿ Feb 15, 2012 22:24

Man-Thing: Apr 29, 2011; Whatever knows fear
BURNS at the touch

El Estrago Bonito posted:

What rules should I use for a West Wing style political roleplay?

Have you read shock. Social Science Fiction? It's a "Story Game" but that doesn't mean you couldn't use it for a more ongoing system. It's just a shade crunchier than Fiasco! though, so be warned it's pretty rules-~~light~~nonexistant.

# ¿ Feb 21, 2012 19:35

Man-Thing: Apr 29, 2011; Whatever knows fear
BURNS at the touch

InfiniteJesters posted:

What would be a good system for running something like the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. video games?

ShadowRun 4e is also good at military espionage and "don't get loving shot, not even once" style play.

# ¿ Mar 9, 2012 19:55

Man-Thing: Apr 29, 2011; Whatever knows fear
BURNS at the touch

Strange Matter posted:

Having just beaten Mass Effect 3 (uuuuuuuuuuuugh) and with like four of my friends on the cusp of the ending as well, I figure it's inevitable that we're going to end up playing a Mass Effect RPG in the near future, if only out of a mutual need to exorcise our demons.
I saw Traveler mentioned earlier in the thread, but I got the sense that Traveler was a lot more about narrative and exploration and is a bit light on the action.

I'm using Rogue Trader right now to simulate Mass Effect, but it is very much not a tactical game. You could certainly just use D&D 4e and reskin wizards as Biotics and Warlocks as Infiltrators. Also ~~cure light wounds~~medi-gel is a pretty easy swap.

# ¿ Mar 15, 2012 23:22

Man-Thing: Apr 29, 2011; Whatever knows fear
BURNS at the touch

Snot Man posted:

I'm still fairly new to tabletop RPGs but I'm eager to try my hand at some DMing. My current pet project, if I can rope enough poor fools into it, would be to run a game themed after tokusatsu, Japan's weird take on the superhero genre. Think Power Rangers, Ultraman, Godzilla and so forth.

I cannot recommend Marvel Super Heroes enough. Chargen takes a matter of minutes, you can't nerf your dude, and it supports all the "hit a giant rubber-suited dude with a lightpole" extemporaneous creations you could want!

# ¿ Apr 20, 2012 17:58

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# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 13:57

Man-Thing: Apr 29, 2011; Whatever knows fear
BURNS at the touch

CapnAndy posted:

Shadowrun is right out because I don't want magic.

What am I looking for? Please tell me it exists.

Just do Shadowrun and ban magic. Also, reskin the races as "body types" and call it a day.

# ¿ May 18, 2012 05:15

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Traditional Games > What System should I use Megathread