mrlich 🎨Okay, I’m curious - is there a #ttrpg system out there that is:
1. Simple / easy to learn quickly
2. Flexible enough for pretty much any genre
3. Easy enough that the rules get out of the way of the role-play
Whatcha got folks?
Keith Davies@mrlich I'm curious myself. I've got some go-to games, but I'm not certain they fit all your criteria.
@kjdavies the most popular recommendation so far has been FATE core. I’m trying to look through them all, but that has a pretty strong lead in terms of number of folks who recommended it. (In case that helps)
Seandar16 🔜 Lunar Faire@mrlich I like Lasers & Feelings, and its many many hacks. Easy enough to pick up and play a one-shot at the drop of a hat. It would be very easy to hack yourself if you can't find a clone that fits a genre.
https://johnharper.itch.io/lasers-feelings
Fate is also great, and better for campaigns than something like Lasers & Feelings. The Condensed rules are my favorite variant. GM & players define the genre/game world in a session zero.
https://fate-srd.com/
@Seandar16 thanks! Those have both received thumbs up from other folks, and FATE Core seems to be the front runner in terms of sheer number of recommendations.
So I’m planning to do a pretty deep dive into FATE, but L&F also keeps coming up and I’ve been meaning to check it out for years now.
Appreciate the feedback!
@mrlich My recommendation is read Fate Core, but run Condensed. Condensed only streamlines a handful of rules but they're great tweaks, and Core is worth reading anyway because it does just a fantastic job of explaining itself for the GM.
@Seandar16 roger that. Will give it a going over. (Thanks as always!)
kiki
Audrey Winter has moved!@mrlich I want to ask you a question about something, but I don't want to derail your thread. May I use a PM to ask? Also, relevant directly to this thread, what's the context here? Is this for you, or for someone else? If someone else, is it someone new to gaming? Or are you just looking for a quick pick-up?
@audreygwinter context: Both for myself AND for @ionquestgames - I was thinking about adding stats to supplements that I/we create, and obviously we can’t make versions for EVERY system, so I thought it would make sense to learn what systems offer folks the most flexibility and speed in order to be as widely useful as possible.
Gorobar@mrlich let's see... #pbta games are too different to call them one system (and also not easy on the gm) - also they don't even try to "get out of the way" for "roleplaying" but use rules to encourage storytelling
#Fate would qualify in theory, but I'm still struggling to wrap my head around it inreality (player and GM) - doesn't feel easy to actually make it work.
I guess I'd go with #SavageWorlds, although it's focus is not really on narrative play.
Or maybe just "roll a die, over x =success"?
#Fate would qualify in theory, but I'm still struggling to wrap my head around it inreality (player and GM) - doesn't feel easy to actually make it work.
I guess I'd go with #SavageWorlds, although it's focus is not really on narrative play.
Or maybe just "roll a die, over x =success"?
RdGkA@mrlich P.S. re personal preference:
I personally much prefer specific systems for the games I want to play (mostly PbtA, currently) over the idea of a "generic" system.
Can be significantly more work as GM, not so much for the players (if you supply them with good material and probably tutorialise the rules). But the experience makes up for it IMO.
Unless it's a one-shot for rpg beginners, I also feel like the "rules light" part is generally often overrated.
@gorobar good info! I really appreciate the context.
@gorobar these are _great_ suggestions, and I love the additional feedback to give context - so thank you for that!
I have received a lot of recs for FATE - specifically FATE Core. Have you tried the lighter / minimalist ruleset?
I can also recommend watching YouTube videos of real plays to get the system. That’s working better for me than reading through rulesets.
@mrlich #FateAccelerated? not yet - didn't come to it. I once had a starting campaign as player (online and organised via Mastodon, btw) in #FateCore, although it didn't hold for scheduling reasons.
I might give it a try when #DresdenFilesAccelerated is out in German, but I really don't feel secure running it without previous experience as player
I might give it a try when #DresdenFilesAccelerated is out in German, but I really don't feel secure running it without previous experience as player
@gorobar I’m a HUGE Dresden nerd, so I _really_ want to play that. Guess I better bring it up to my weekly group!
Kuro@mrlich maybe take a look at #Outgunned from #TwoLittleMice.
Its focus is cinematic roleplay and there are a bunch of genres of cinema that are already covered in its Action Flick supplements.
Its focus is cinematic roleplay and there are a bunch of genres of cinema that are already covered in its Action Flick supplements.
@Kuro oh - nice! I don’t think I received any recs for Outgunned - definitely will give it a look - thanks!