Tabletop Gaming!

[Razilin]

There's been a couple of threads here on General concerning an old-standby that predates forum roleplaying.

Tabletop RPGs.

Bring out those dusty books and supplements!

Tell us about your favorites, your despised...and the ever infamous ones like FATAL!

Note: Everyone's got a valid opinion in this thread. This isn't supposed to knock any one game down.


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ADVANCED DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS

Also known as 2e D&D or AD&D. This was the one I grew up playing, up until 3rd edition D&D came out when I was in high school.

Very "gateway drug" when taken as-is, but once the LIBRARIES of supplements got added into the picture, this monster got CLUNKY.

Balance issues began cropping up when poorly beta-tested material like Psionics and Player's Options supplements began flowing out of the publisher TSR's ass.

That being said, this was where a lot of well-loved D&D Campaign World fandoms got their start. Forgotten Realms, Birthright, the ever-loveable Planescape, Dragonlance, and the strangely hilarious Spelljammer (think Star Trek meets D&D) all took off from AD&D.

9/10....mainly because of nostalgia. By the end of its run, this thing had so many conflicting priorities and balance issues its probably more like 5/10.

And don't get me started on THAC0....

3.0 AND 3.5 DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS

Ah, 3rd edition. The only everyone hated at first, then eventually adopted. The birth of d20 and the Open Gaming License. The birth of the Multiclass Shenanigans, Pun Pun the super kobold god, and Optimization Builds up the wazoo.

I really liked this system. It took a lot of 2e's core concepts and streamlined it. And got rid of THAC0. That being said, the original iteration had a lot of fat on the meat that ended up requiring a remake called 3.5 D&D to correct a lot of gameplay and balance issues.

I still didn't like grappling or special maneuvers in 3rd edition, but I did like what the 3rd edition line did for gaming in general:

It made it accessible to the public.

Say what you will about D&D, THIS was the game that got an aggressive PR campaign. And, holy shit, it worked. It was the 90s/2000s era of gaming that just took off like a rocket.

3rd edition was accessible to new players, it had wonderful art to make it instantly recognizable, it had an ad campaign that got it out on the streets.

My main gripe was that by the end of the 3.5 run, it was once again accumulating fat on the meat. A lot of supplements became "band aids" to deal with balance issues that became evident over time, namely the Linear Fighters Quadratic Wizards power creep that had always remained prevalent in higher levels of play. Multiclass-or-die was the build of choice; you never saw pure-class builds by the end of 3.5 D&D. If you wanted to handle the monsters, you had to go into something synergistic.

That being said, the freedom and accessability of multiclassing meant most character concepts were attainable.

Finally, the Open Gaming License was a bold and happily accepted move in terms of bringing in third-party publishers onto the table. The concept that the core game mechanic was now useable by non-Wizard of the Coast entities gave birth to some very fun spin-offs. My personal favorites (even if they didn't last very long) were Spycraft and Mutants and Masterminds.

BUBBLEGUM CRISIS THE RPG

R. Talsorian Games died a long ass time ago. But I still have this original book on my shelf. @Hellis and I may be of differing opinions concerning the gaming system of FUZION (which is where this was born), but c'mon---you get to play was hot chicks in power suits!

 

[Hellis]

Using this new general topic.

HELLO, I HAVE YEARS OF GURPS EXPERIENCE. WHat is gurps you ask? ITs GENERIC UNIVERSAL ROLE PLAY SYSTEM. A system that gives you pretty much complete freedom as to what setting you play, how your charachter works and with combat that basicly say "YOU DIE IF YOU DUMB"

I was planning on running either a modern fantasy style campain in GURPS, over roll20 most likely, or a Gritty, low fantasy campaign with a dose of horror.

 

[Razilin]

Mutants and Mastermind

So supposedly its d20. Only the d20 part is just rolling that dice for mechanics. Its a point based classless customizable system, mainly designed for superhero games. However, it is adaptable to other play styles.

The selling point is its superpower creation system, which is probably the closest thing I've found to creating the majority of superheroes I wanted to play.

I also like how its combat and damage system reflects the generally nonfatal and more cinematic style of four color superhero fights.

I also like how this scales with various levels of power. Up to and including hitting people with buildings.

I did use Champions for my superhero needs prior to M&M, but M&M only requires addition and subtraction to figure things out. Champions needed calculus. This was more user friendly.


Next post: My personal favorite, World of Darkness!

 

[Hellis]

Oh hey, This thread can't die. Not when I plan to run a GURPS game!

For those interested. I believe I have 2 possibly 3 players so far. Its a gurps campaign, nad kept fairly simple. I can easily guide you trough charachter creation. IT will be fairly low tier characters, 75 points.
Players will co-operate to manage and start a settlement. playing as towns people with different proffesions. Think of it a little like minecraft, only this is in a folklore filled setting, with all the posibilities of running into Gnomes, Hags, swampthings and other things poor settlers would dread.

 

[Gwazi Magnum]

So it's far more a "Live an everyday life" sort of game than a "Clear this goblin camp for me" sort of campaign?

 

[Hellis]

Yes. While everyday life might involve goblins stealing your food, bloodcaps stabbing your goats, trolls eating your house....

 

[Gwazi Magnum]

So it's an everyday life being constantly terrorized by monsters?

 

[Hellis]

Its being settlers in america, if america was a continent filled with european folk lore, and instead of just natives and wolves, you have to deal with the myriad of tiny terrors and the like, yes. It will also have micromanage elementsm, such as building up the village piece by piece.

 

[Space Cowboy]

 

[Gwazi Magnum]

That actually sounds pretty interesting.

 

[Hellis]

Well. With you I likely have 3-4 players :D

 

[Gwazi Magnum]

I was like the first one to express interest though. :/

 

[Hellis]

Yes, But you restated your interest. It was a while since I talked about it last

Right now, its likely you, grif, Zombeh.

oh, and @J_"Kraken"

 

[BrattyCommissar]

Well, my first game was 3.5e. I usually DM'd, because I was the fastest on my feet to handle the problems of players. Fun but it needed work.



And, now, I know this is basically blasphemy, but 4e... wasn't bad. It was enjoyable. Did games both as a player and DM and it ran well, and took less paperwork for us to do shit. The biggest gripe I've heard about it is that it's "Too much like a MMO" which I didn't have any problem with. It was fun, and wizards weren't omnipotent gods compared to martial classes being one trick ponies. Everyone could derp to those levels, which had its own special balance.

I remember my 4e days better than 3.5e, mostly because they were more recent, I knew more about tabletop gaming, and it was more recent. I would suggest people give it a try. It honestly isn't bad, at worst it's just not to your tastes.



From there I went on to this other system. The ugliest fucking bitch at the dance who had one good idea but didn't do it well. Scion, by White Wolf. Boy that game's RAW was awful. It was awful. It was probably the worst RAW I've ever seen, let alone played. It didn't get mythology right, it didn't get game balance right, it didn't get almost anything right.

And yet it's what gave me the most appreciation for balance, and if it weren't for it, I wouldn't have learned how to handle things better. And if it weren't for that, I wouldn't know of John's Scion Resources. They're discontinued now, because instead of homebrewing that game for no-money, they're finishing up their own system for actual money.

Now from there I also made super extensive fucking homebrew of my own. Good times.



There was then a brief stint with Mutants and Masterminds or whatever it's called. And Maid RPG. Yes. Maid RPG. I believe this very website has generators related to that one that you can use.



Now after that, was Dungeon World, which is a fun 2d6 system, based on another system called Apocalypse World. Which apparently encourages you to use their system and make more systems and play and have fun. I may have made many many many many many many many versions of this over the years as well. Much fun!



Then I ended up doing Pathfinder, which is more like 3.5e, and it's one of the games I'm still playing (as a player). It's fun if a bit... unbalanced and derpy at times.



I've also had a look at 5e, and it looks pretty good too, but I haven't played any of it yet.



Oh, and a brief look at GURPS, but it didn't really do it for me to the point where I wanted to play it. Instead, I butchered something out of it for a short-term mini-campaign I'm doing on Saturdays with some awesome cool people.



Then there's Hero's Journey, the game made by super duper fucking awesome people. It's not out just yet, should be sent to printing soon. It's been a year since I donated to the Kickstarter for it, and my HYPE STILL BURNS. So much so that I'm going to start a campaign of it almost immediately after I get my hands on it. I already have 12 players for it lined up, so, uh, for anyone who would've been interested, that's not quite a possibility at this point if you're not in. I know you must be devastated.

Oh also on the 12 players, who know who they are. I LOVE YOU GUYS THANKS FOR SIGNING UP TO A GAME THAT NONE OF US KNOW IF IT WILL BE ANY GOOD. /obligatory pre-valentine's day love outburst.

 

[Cpt Toellner]

I find the lack of Greater-Good in this thread to be disturbing.

 

[Razilin]

THE (NEW) WORLD OF DARKNESS

Oh World of Darkness. Back in the days of 2nd Ed D&D/AD&D, this was the "grown up" version of tabletop RPGs alongside GURPS. In those days, WoD had this fantastic metaplot weaving through a couple dozen books and supplements, creating an evocative, dark, and foreboding campaign universe tied to an eschatological end that would ultimately end in an epic win as far as storytelling was concerned...but was nevertheless stained by the fact that it was obviously a retcon and reboot so they could make the New World of Darkness line of books.

So!

New World of Darkness.

As much as it IRKS me that they mostly did away with the overarching metaplot that made the Old World of Darkess a fun game to play---I REALLY LOVE NEW WORLD OF DARKNESS. Gameplay-wise, it stripped down a lot of the fat that had accumulated over the years with the old series. Granted, I can't break the game anymore (or quite so easily), but it is much more accessible to newer players, a lot more versatile, and far simpler in actual mechanics than the old World of Darkness had been.

To me, the big selling point of the WoD series had always been Mage: the Awakening/the Ascension. This was the answer to the god-awful Vancian magic system of D&D to the vast majority of players from the 1980s and 1990s. It was freeform, customizable, and imaginative. You could have typical spells, but you could also make up a magical effect on the spot (albeit with greater effort and risk). It was fun, even if it required a little more math than I was expecting.

Other players may lean more toward Vampire or Werewolf, the other two main storylines in the WoD setting. But for me, Mage and magic was always the most fun to play. Be a fuckin' human for once, damn it!