Favorite non-D&Desque RPGs

Posts: 1440 · Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2008 1:48 pm

Kobolds Ate My Baby..............
A Beer and Pretzels Role-Playing Game.

It is fantasy, but far from TSR....
And not so D&Dish.

Posts: 177 · Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2008 1:50 pm

COC, yep. Paranoia was loads of fun. Whispering Vault, because of the people who were involved.

Would Amber count? We had some awfully strange games that were anything but typical fantasy.

Someone mentioned Deadlands...a game I've long wanted to try.

Posts: 1117 · Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2008 1:51 pm

Aneoth wrote:

Kobolds Ate My Baby..............
A Beer and Pretzels Role-Playing Game.

It is fantasy, but far from TSR....
And not so D&Dish.

ALL HAIL KING TORG! Very Happy

Posts: 1117 · Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2008 2:06 pm

PaulKM wrote:

Someone mentioned Deadlands...a game I've long wanted to try.

It's fun, if a bit of a mess of sub-systems that all use their own rules. My biggest complaint with it is actually the metaplot, and the shoehorning in of various sub-plots that just don't fit that well.

Posts: 1440 · Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2008 2:09 pm

g026r wrote:

ALL HAIL KING TORG! Very Happy

King Torg....
ummmm yes............

ALL HAIL KING TORG!!

Too slow...
Now roll on the horrible death chart...........

Posts: 508 · Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2008 3:26 pm

red_bus wrote:

I remember playing a few games of SPACE 1889 (even though it was probably 15 years ago now). The system was really not very good, but the setting is amazing!

As far as I can tell, this game pretty much invented the idea of steampunk.

Posts: 101 · Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2008 3:42 pm

Shadowrun for me. It's the only other non D&D game I collect. The combination of tech and magic, set in the future, always plucked a string with me. Plus, the rules are very well done and the game is just flat out fun to play.

Honorable mention would have to go to Talisman, and there's an amazing beer+pretzels type card game called Kung Fu Fighting. If you see it, nab it, it's awesome and loads of fun, in the Lunch Money vein of games.

Zen

Posts: 4545 · Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2008 7:25 pm

Villains and Vigilantes was lots of fun. Probably the only Superhero game you could roll up a character and start playing in about 20 minutes.

Also, a little known pulp type RPG called Daredevils. Only played it a couple of times, but it was really cool. Managed to have all sorts of genres (horror, SF, Fantasy, crime pulp, mystery, Indiana Jones adventure) in the same system and do it well.

Mike B.

Posts: 995 · Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2008 7:43 pm

Hmmm. I am surprised no one has voted for TSR's amazing Rocky and Bullwinkle game with the hand puppets! jocolor

Posts: 710 · Posted: Fri Jun 20, 2008 7:12 am

Call of Cthulhu
Star Wars D6 version

Posts: 51 · Posted: Fri Jun 20, 2008 8:28 am

Gamma World and Star Wars D6 are my two favorite non-fantasy systems. Deadlands is another fun setting the handful of times I played.

I am surprised no one was a White Wolf World of Darkness fan. I never played but having picked up a few of the supplements lately it looks interesting from a table top perspective (I don’t think I would enjoy the LARP aspect).

Posts: 2559 · Posted: Fri Jun 20, 2008 8:42 am

Avurax wrote:

I am surprised no one was a White Wolf World of Darkness fan. I never played but having picked up a few of the supplements lately it looks interesting from a table top perspective (I don’t think I would enjoy the LARP aspect).

While I wouldnt call any of them one of my favorites, Vampire: The Masquerade is a very interesting game. I have quite a few of the sourcebooks and enjoy reading them once in a while. I didn't really care for the other spin-offs such as Werewolf or Changling....although Wraith was very interesting, I couldnt see it being very fun to play.

And yeah....I wouldnt enjoy the LARP aspect of it either. I'd be too tempted to bite or hit somebody. Laughing

Posts: 1117 · Posted: Fri Jun 20, 2008 8:46 am

Avurax wrote:

I am surprised no one was a White Wolf World of Darkness fan. I never played but having picked up a few of the supplements lately it looks interesting from a table top perspective (I don’t think I would enjoy the LARP aspect).

Well, I was going to mention Wraith: The Oblivion (as fun to read, mind you) and Mage: The Sorcerers Crusade, but I decided not to.

I agree with King's assessment on Wraith though: it's wonderfully thematic, but I've never actually tried to play it. Too damn depressing. Shocked

Not a big fan of their core games (either old or new) though. I prefer my games set in alternate times. Modern-day gaming just never really appealed to me.

Posts: 7612 · Posted: Fri Jun 20, 2008 8:49 am

did anyone ever play MERP? what was it like?

i always wanted to give it a go, but never got a chance.

Posts: 1756 · Posted: Fri Jun 20, 2008 8:55 am

MERP is fantastic!!

We played it for years, eventually incorporating more Rolemaster rules as we got familiar with the ruleset (it is not uncomplicated). Three things to say:

(i) the combat system is absolutely thrilling - deadly and dramatic.
(ii) the magic system is dull.
(iii) you get to adventure in Middle Earth!!

Well worth giving it a go. We even experimented with swapping in the D&D magic system.

Posts: 1200 · Posted: Fri Jun 20, 2008 9:00 am

I was disillusioned with MERP and may not have given it a fair chance.

Played it once many years ago. It took probably 40 minutes to set up a character while having game mechanics explained to me.

About five minutes into game play the group had an encounter and my character was hit by a single arrow that happened to do a massive critical causing an Insta-croak. No chance of healing, etc. After that I stuck with AD&D.

In retrospect it could have been a case of a bad DM that should have tried to make the game more entertaining to somebody new to the MERP system.

Posts: 1210 · Posted: Fri Jun 20, 2008 9:08 am

red_bus wrote:

MERP is fantastic!!

We played it for years, eventually incorporating more Rolemaster rules as we got familiar with the ruleset (it is not uncomplicated). Three things to say:

(i) the combat system is absolutely thrilling - deadly and dramatic.
(ii) the magic system is dull.
(iii) you get to adventure in Middle Earth!!

Well worth giving it a go. We even experimented with swapping in the D&D magic system.

sorry but IMHO merp is not fantastic... the world of tolkien doesnt fit to rolemaster system... try "Tiers Age" and you will seize what it does mean!

(ah, btw, Tiers Age is a free rpg: you can find it on the net!)

Posts: 96 · Posted: Fri Jun 20, 2008 10:49 am

COC
Spacemaster (Played a lot of Rolemaster and some MERP but really really liked the system in space. The complexity seemed to suit sci-fi).
Marvel Heroes
Golden Heroes

Posts: 1117 · Posted: Fri Jun 20, 2008 10:53 am

Sardan wrote:

Golden Heroes

That's the old Games Workshop supers game, isn't it?

Posts: 604 · Posted: Fri Jun 20, 2008 9:13 pm

aia wrote:

(ah, btw, Tiers Age is a free rpg: you can find it on the net!)

I don't speak or read French, so it's of little use here.

On the topic of MERP, Rolemaster Express is simply MERP without the setting.