R
Razilin
Guest
Original poster
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!
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.
----------------
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!