Hello everyone!
I’ve had some issues with D&D 5E lately and would like to try something else. I’ve thought a bit about what I actually want from a new system and came up with this:
The RPG should
- be universal a.k.a. adaptable to different settings
- be able to include magic of some kind, preferably already offering that option by its default rules
- be balanced between different character archetypes/classes (if such exist)
- guarantee smooth and fast combat (specifically less complicated than D&D 5E)
- guarantee smooth play in general, no constant looking up rules
- encourage role-playing (not necessarily via rules, but IMO D&D 5E neglects RP by its rules being overly focused on combat)
- still offer as much customization options as possible
- be easy to modify if needed and easy to create homebrew content for (e.g. items, monsters)
- be suitable for one-shots as well as longer campaigns
- have an online tool or a clearly structured index to look up rules/other stuff
- already have some homebrew content available on the internet, as well as a platform to discuss rulings
Using the criteria above, I put together a list of potential candidates:
- Adventurers!
- AGE
- Apotheosis
- Cortex Prime
- Cypher
- Dungeonslayers
- Fate (Core, Accelerated and/or Condensed)
- Freeform Universal
- Fudge
- Genesys
- Hero System
- HeroQuest
- Ironsworn
- Low Fantasy Gaming
- Mini Six
- Old School Essentials
- PbtA (and/or more specifically Dungeon World)
- Prose Descriptive Qualities
- Risus
- Savage Worlds
- The Black Hack
- World of Dungeons
- Worlds Without Number
- Whitehack
However, I only read about each RPG briefly… and as you can see, the list is still very long. Do any of the systems named don’t fit what I’m actually looking for or meet the requirements listed above especially well? My goal is to bring the list down to 2-3 RPGs, ultimately choosing from them. Oh, and if you think there is another RPG that I haven’t named, but fits my needs better than all the others: Recommend away!
Many thanks for all your help!
EDIT: added suitability for longer campaigns as a desirable quality
I really like Fate. It's a generic system you can run in any setting. It doesn't have any of D&D's stupid baggage like martial-caster divide or the adventuring day. The way aspects work feels to me more intuitive and like how new players try to do RPGs. That's stuff like "But he's a paladin surely if I invoke his love of justice he'll go along with our plan." New players try that all the time until D&D hammers the idea out of them.
However! Fate does not really work if your players suck. Sorry. Passive players that want to just sit there while you tell them a story aren't a good fit. Players that get easily discouraged and give up rather than coming up with clever ways to succeed-with-cost won't like it. It's described as a more writer's room mode of playing sometimes. Everyone needs to have a little GM in them. But then it can be a lot of fun.
I've looked up further reviews, and this one sounds really interesting, especially the way players set up their characters' abilities. However, there were some mentions about more or less frequent discussion of rulings during play that could take up some time. Does that match your experience? Was there a certain aspect of play that left especially much uncertainty rules-wise?
I think it really depends on the table.
Here's an example. The game doesn't have explicit rules for what it means to have a broken arm. Someone might suggest that as a consequence for something, and an argumentative table might later be like "you can't just climb a ladder like it's nothing with a broken arm!"
A good player would probably take this as an opportunity to self-compel and get a fate point. An annoying player will try to weasel out of any consequences.
The game doesn't work well if the players don't buy into the premises. A more rules heavy game will have like impartial tables set out- "see it says on page 183 if one arm is broken you can ascend a ladder at quarter Dex per round". Fate is more hands off and trusts your friends to be reasonable about such minutia. Do you trust your friends?
As to the specific rules it does provide about attack and defend and overcome, I didn't find it any worse than other systems. But in my experience most players are really bad at learning and reading and remembering, so it wasn't a perfectly smooth run.