So with Senpai making a Fallout RPG and me trying out a great new system, maybe two, I figured I'd make a thread about these kinds of games. Hell, maybe even the more ambitious of you could try to recruit a group to play over skype or something. But anyway, the systems I'm familiar with are: Dark Heresy and Rogue Trader, set in the 40th millennium where man has expanded across stars then got stupid and forgot how they did it; overall a very dark universe with a sci-fi feudal (yes, that's somehow possible) feel and two very similar, streamlined and functional systems that don't get caught up on too many details, even if the combat can get slow. When push comes to shove though, I think DH is a better RPG, while they both have nearly identical systems (to the point where characters are inter-changeable between the two). This mainly because there is simply more to do with DH than RT, and that RT has a very strange system for buying stuff. After all in the latter you begin in control of a massive space ship capable of travelling far, far faster than light and armed with weapons that make nukes look like a dollar-store squirt gun with child-safety jammed on (Seriously, nukes suck in this game). And if I have all that, why can't I get a stock-quality pistol? RT: 8/10 In Dark Heresy on the other hand you start as a low-ranking member of whatever career you are, selected to be an acolyte in the Inquisition by virtue of skill, recommendation, situation, (un)luck, etc. So really your starting equipment is at best a set of armor and halfway decent rifle, But can work your way up to using deamon weapons, casting psychic powers and calling in strikes from orbit, another dimension, and/or from another solar system as the case may be (and yes, you can still get a massive space ship capable of travelling far, far faster than light and armed with weapons that make nukes look like). And the procurement system makes a lot more sense: Find someone selling what you want (if that's possible where you are), barter if you want, and exchange goods/money/services. DH: 8.75/10 Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (WFRP) is essentially the medieval version version of Dark Heresy, but rather than be newly recruited acolytes struggling to maintain order, justice and/or morality in a utterly hostile universe with new terrors around every star and behind every friendly face, you're an adventurer with your own motivations for leaving home behind and trying to take on the world in around them. In terms of systems WFRP and DH are almost identical, even some of the lore carries over, and while it's not as expansive or offer as many settings or stories as DH/RT, it is an excellent RPG non-the-less. Overall about as fun as DH, but even this can't make anyone like halflings. 8.5/10 (The system just seems to work a little bit better in the fantasy setting, and the career system means you're not locked into one roll the entire time) Anima: Beyond Fantasy, holy shit where do I even start with one. Definitely the most complex system I've used, you've got keep track of over 50 stats/skills some of which only the GM can know, including how much 14 different gods like each of the characters. You've got to look up a chart after rolling an attack to see if you hit and again after to see how much damage you did. It's 3 different "magic" systems in play at once, weapons alone have about 10 stats for each and the difference of 2-3 levels between opponents might as well be a death sentence. That said, once you get used to it, memorize patterns in the charts and know the important stats of your characters, its actually easy to play; doing that just takes awhile. The setting is pretty good though, anime style fantasy, pretty light-hearted and creative and gives many spells and abilities that are useful outside of combat and can easily be improvised to work differently. Well balanced too, as long as you stay away from the unarmed martial arts. 7/10 (Outright hostile to newcomers and you need strong math skills or a calculator constantly on hand to try using it, even veterans of P&P RPGs will need a good amount of time to get used to it. But it can be easily modded for any setting and even just what they give you in the book lets you be just about any type of character possible in the setting. My longest-running RP used this system and went on for 3 years RL, playing almost every day. Even then it only ended cause we knew we wouldn't have time to keep it going due to concerns of our outside lives Lastly is Shadowrun, this little guy has been around a while and everyone hates it cause of the god awful shooter based on the universe. Well it was the developers that sucked, not the setting. It's based in 2072 where magic has returned to the world; Elves, Dwarves, Orcs, Trolls and more have come back. Though of course, what's the future without some overbearing, totalitarian, brutal and greedy entity hovering over you heads like that cloud that looks like Bill O'Reilly? That's the corporations who are trying to cash in on magic, technology and everything else. Oh ya, there's the matrix too, yes that matrix. The system is different than others that I've used (it's a d6 dice pool system, as opposed to the others which are d100 systems) but in my personal opinion the easiest to get used to, just try to have as many dice as your team has guns (trust me, you still won't have enough guns or dice). The players get to be Shadowrunners, criminals the corporations/governments/greedy bastards (trust me, they tend blend together after awhile) hire to kidnap, steal, kill, blackmail and otherwise inhibit each-other in entirely normal, moral and legal ways *cough cough*. (Hey, NOW it's normal). In the end though, who doesn't want to be a troll opening up with a minigun on a giant dragon while one of his buddies cast an exploding ball of death at the cops and another jacks into the matrix to steal some unmanned aerial drone codes? 8.5/10 (Fun, interesting, broad and easy, but it leaves a lot more to the players than other games; do they want to drive a van packed with explosives into his house? Infiltrate his house and stab him in his sleep? Poison his food? Hack his car and drive it into a river? Not really a weakness but it means that the GM always has to be on his toes for this sort of thing. Also, you get to freak your friends out with how much you know about killing someone, disposing of a body, gun running and so much more!) So POST! Post about a new system you just found or that time your character fell from low orbit and limped away! Post about that one campaign that you've thought out but never got to run or still need a few ideas for! But most of all, POSTS FOR THE POST GOD! GAMES FOR THE GAME THRONE!
Re: Pen-and-Paper RPGs: stories, reviews, suggestions and mo There's a few other games in the 40k universe alongside Dark Heresy and Rogue Trader. There's also Deathwatch (where you play as Space Marines, AKA super soldiers, hunting the galaxy's most dangerous threats), Black Crusade (Where you play as daemon-worshipping bad guys, AKA the galaxy's most dangerous threats), and the upcoming Only War, (In which you play as ordinary human soldiers, fighting the galaxy's most dangerous threats). They're all based on the same system, so once you learn one, you pretty much have a grip on the others. Also, on a more shameless note, I have to advertise for the Maid RPG, a system where the players are maids working within a mansion (or something equivalent in one of the many settings the game offers) of some kind, serving their masters. It's a game fueled purely by anime antics, and the game allows for a wide variety of possible characters (including angel robot vampire maids. I am not exaggerating), as well as having a rather nice selection of goofy items. And then there's the Seduction rules It seems like a fun, lighthearted experience, albeit one likely to dive headlong into the depths of immaturity very quickly. Putting these out there, since the 40k universe needs more love and I've wanted to try these systems out...
Re: Pen-and-Paper RPGs: stories, reviews, suggestions and mo You really like that d100 system eh? Even the maids RPG uses it (well, pretty much), and I've heard stories about it (like how a casual walk through the woods became a mad dash for life cause for some reason a glacier started moving through it.)
So I'm starting a DH game in the RPer's club here at university, to give you guys a taste what the system's like I'll be posting a short synopsis of the session's events. There are five people in the group at the moment, I may be accepting a sixth at some point or someone may drop out of the game. One person has already made their character and while he's only really been fleshed out mechanically, he so far appears to be a fanatical, gunslinger Cleric. This already promises to be interesting. PS: The games are every Friday evening, so look out for updates Saturday/Sunday
The other characters are as follows: - A creepy, mildly crazy psyker (read mage) who is secretly attempting to overthrow various planetary governments using his inquisitional status. - A superstitious guardsman who can't even read, but is a proven survivor. - A stupid (He simply can't start with lower intellect) assassin who has so far proven to be the most effective member in combat. Though, he is quite a likable and polite person; too bad he was born into this universe. - A calm yet brutal Arbitrator (read Space cop) specializing in close quarters combat. Also the only female on the team Their first mission is simple, infiltrate a decrepit spaceship, recover it's valuable cargo and 'Black Box'; and despite my warning, only the Arbitrator remembered to bring a flashlight, so now they're all bunched together perfect for ambushing. Someone also has already nearly been flung out into the emptiness of space. Another got electrocuted by damaged paneling. Still they have no idea why the ship is so badly damaged, why the ship's weapons are missing or what happened to the crew or the entire regiment of troopers that were on board.
