Agree with this, I've really got into it since avatar legends and now it's my goto, root, veil, masks, avatar are all great games and they all use pbta different.
Any particular PBTA games to recommend? I understand the system is flexible and applicable to a variety of settings, but i'm keen on learning the system itself to see if I can mess around with it.
Getting ready to run this (and Incandescent Grotto) at a work function for my department. My life was forever changed for the better after seeing Captcorajus make a video aout the first Kickstarter years ago
I'm about to start running OSE but I'm a little worried about dungeon turn mechanics being more fiddly than my group expects. When you run it, how transparent are you about those parts?
I haven't played an rpg in years, but I"m collecting the OSE stuff. The books are incredibly gorgeous. Just wanted to add that to the list of positives, lol. I'm looking forward to Dolmenwood.
Really haven't found many other systems that provide the kind of longevity of character advancement for players to look forward to outside of D&D-like games. I run a lot of different games for my players but my 5e campaign is nearly 3 years old and going strong, everyone asks about that one and everyone looks forward to it.
As someone who's trying to move out of 5e, my favourite thing about it is the content, like spells, character options, Etc... Also my favourite thing about PF2, which arguably does those things better
Genesys. It’s settingless and emphasizes the narrative part of rpgs right away with its dice. It’s also fairly hard to die randomly, which is nice for new players.
I feel like this is the next game I wanna go all-in on. It seems great. Is the combat somewhat tactical? Do you use a battle map or is it more theater of the mind?
It is BFRPG (Basic Fantasy RPG) mostly as it feels old school which reminds of my old games, it's PDF is free and so are all its digital supplements, the prints are really cheap in cost, the system is modular enough that you can house rule it and not break it unless you make an effort.
Noobie here. I downloaded the first Badic Fantasies books, but I’m not really into hobbits and stuff. Can you direct me to where to look for other scenarios/worlds?
Cortex Prime. Great system that can be adapted to any kind of gameplay you want. Want the game to be just like D&D? Easy, have skills, attributes. Want a romance game? Your Prime sets are now relationships and social aspects. It easily adapts to any setting, it is easy to learn and play, it doesn't rely on a single d20 to determine outcomes.
Whatever PbtA Strikes my fancy, but probably Masks: A New Generation, if I'd have to pick one. I always whip that one out, if a session is cancelled and I have players who haven't tried it yet.
I have yet to find a setting that Savage Worlds can't do well. You learn one rules system and you can use it to run just about any game you can imagine. You get a pretty decent rules system that's got amazing combat, and it's rules-light enough to allow combat to move quick and fast without bogging down everything. What's more, it's not limited to "grid based" combat either - you can just set up junk on your living room table and have the best tabletop combat you've had in years.
for me, if it wasn't obvious, It's Thirsty Sword Lesbians. mostly because of the versatility, and how they lean into queer and romance themes. Do you wanna play as Mech pilots? We got you. Rival Pirate crews? Done. do you want to play as sentient shades of color? You know, we can make it work... but they will be SEXY sentient shades of color.
Maybe I’m just an old timer but I find the “sexy” part in AW and TSL to be cringey*. I mean, in movies the sexy part is generally not crucial to the plot. And I feel the same about it in games.
I have zero opinions on TSL (other than I'd like to play it one day), but how is a game named after a specific sexual orientation, a specific outlook on life, and a specific weapon choice, a versatile game?
Risus was the first game that I ever Ran. I played RPGs in uni when 3.5 was big, and I was so intimidated by the rules overhead that I could just about follow along with the gameplay and had the desire to run a game but was intensely worried about the players knowing the game system way better than me. So I found Risus and ran that, knowing that I could hold the entire rules system in my head and the players have no expectations on content.
We can (and have) spun up new games quickly in GURPS from an offhand comment in a random channel. We use GURPS for all of it, so it’s easy for everyone, and hashing through new characters together is half the fun.
PF1e...7 years in and I still love the gameplay. It's crunchy enough to satisfy me without being so crunchy I feel like I'm doing math homework. I grew up immersing myself in heroic fantasy settings through books and video games, so the Golarion setting is also very appealing to me.
As someone who also loves PF1e, you’re forgetting everything that doesn’t happen during the session. I have hand-crafted an ever growing character spreadsheet so my group has to deal with less of the math. Dear god there’s so much math.
I still like to bring up Primetime Adventures. It's an RPG that frames the game as if it were a dramatic television show with an ensemble cast. As to why:
I will always go with OpenD6 or Basic Roleplaying (the system Call of Cthulhu uses) if I have the choice. OpenD6 is easy to run and teach, and is designed to be very easy to tweak to fit the needs of the game. To me, Basic Roleplaying fits in the golden spot of modeling reality vs. ease of play, so I particularly like to use it for more realistic games and games with historic settings.
I've been super curious about both Sprawl and Blades in the Dark. I've DMd D&D 5e mostly and played D&D for years looking to branch out. Are both easy to learn?
Index Card RPG. No fuss, straight to the point, I know the rules by heart, and by the end of the session so do the players. Multiple settings to pick and choose pieces from to create your own should you want, and a lot of leeway with regards to player action.
Dungeon Crawl Classics. Easy to learn, Funnels are no biggie if a character dies, easy to run with minimal prep. A lot of new people are weirded out by the dice and the tables but usually an hour in and they're the ones that are most excited and coming up with amazing ideas.
I will second this. Underrated game and if you have the dice or the app it's very easy to run for any experienced GM. It's really good at getting players to embrace randomness and death.
The SAGA Edition of Star Wars. It's a "completed" system so no new surprises. I find it very easy to build any character concept I want with it. And it's "Star Wars" so explaining the setting normally isn't so hard.
Currently having a ball running Exalted Essence for my group. Runs a lot smoother than Exalted 3E, chargen is fairly easy, and the combat and social mechanics are a lot of fun and lead to some really dynamic setpieces and dialogue scenes.
Call of cthulhu. Using quickstarter rules I could start running the haunting in 20 minutes. The system is just really intuitive and easy going. Except machine gun rules. Screw the machine gun rules.
Savage Worlds. It handles the kind of action/adventure stories I enjoy running better than any other system I've found, and I have yet to find a setting or genre that it won't work for.
I can't wait for the Mad Mage version. It's not that I need "family friendly" but the pentagrams and vomiting-up-intestines tends to be a bit polarizing for my table.
Mausritter. The core book has everything you need, the rules are super simple, and because the characters are mice, you can use the actual location you're in as an adventure location and even newbies understand what's going on.
Hero System. I'm a very sandbox simulation sort of GM and Hero has never left me wondering how two things interact: one you get the system down, you can build anything and know how it interacts with everything else. And I love the comic book action feel it has, you can get through an encounter without everybody on one side needing to die, so losing one fight doesn't have to end the campaign.
Pathfinder 2E, I'm very lazy. I like that there is a rule for practically everything, I don't have to worry about creating new rules or exceptions. The encounter building system is TIGHT and works like a charm, the xp system and rewards system is all laid out. Minimal thinking, the game has designed itself, I just need to run it. ALSO what saves my butt is the advanced GM screen which has dc by level and creature creation rules by level right there, so anything the players run into, I am prepared to whip something up flavor wise, the math is all there for me.
If it's a pick up game, I would go for Roll for Shoes. The way the simple rules can bootstrap into a whole universe by building off player choices is so unique.
Recently introduced some newbs. They loved LOTR so TOR2 was the go-to. Then graduated to Tales From The Loop. And finally Dune. A lot to do with the media they were consuming.
These days, it'd be 13th age or ICRPG. But I'd need my books handy. Otherwise - Black Hack or Basic Fantasy Role Playing, which I can run off the top of my head with no books.
Ten Candles recently! That game is so fun, tight mechanics, oozes atmosphere, and low prep. Highly recommend for any new folks wanting to try something odd.
For the past 4 years I've done a "Halloween One-shot" and my friends love it! It started with 5e (of course) but it then branched out to 'Dread,' which was fun, but my players weren't super stoked on it. Then, this last year I ran Ten Candles they ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT! They were talking about it for weeks after the game.
Symbaroum is my go to game, I love the dark fantasy, deadly combat, easy to design encounters, awesome lore and light rules. It's like a perfect combination of OSR but with strategic combat and abilities like in D&D.
Fellowship - it's a strong improvement on the PbtA formula, basically a second generation game. It can handle a lot of game types, from fantasy to scifi. GMing is pretty easy (enemies are 2 lines that describe their powers, and that's it), playing is pretty fun, Playbooks are pretty varied (want to be three goblins in a trench coat? Buddy, we have a Playbook for you!). All around good game and it's poised to get better with possible upcoming 3rd edition.
Since thge Kickstarter for Exalted Essence I got back on the train hard, because for years Exalted has been one of my favourite systems that nobody would run. Now thanks to Essence I am running an Exalted game, and I'm having a good time doing so.
Delta green. Everyone loves x-files. It's modern day so not too 'nerdy', most of the published scenarios are bloody fantastic, plus the rules are simple and easy to pick up, characters quick and easy to create.
I have none really. I have gaming ADD. Recently ran The One Ring and Worlds Without Number, prepping some B/X and Stargate SG-1, reading Zweihander and Against the Darkmaster, playing Call of Ctrhulhu and Those Dark Places...really can't wait for Mothership.
Invisible Sun. I love it because I can play it with zero prep. It fosters players to create parts of the world and drive the story. Character creation is simple and can be done with just a few selections and play can begin almost immediately. It's surreal, magic, noir, 1920s, fantasy and horror. It has such a massive existence that I can run any genre of game within it.
This is such a fantastic game. It's a surreal sensory overload. I have three Mage: Ascension players that are having so much fun. The engagement between sessions are so interesting.
It's not really my ideal system or my favorite (the favorite probably goes to blades in the dark). But if I just have to run a game or campaign for any group regardless of the experience or circumstance? I am going to run Fate. I know the system very well. It is generally quite easy to pickup. You can make a character in less than 15 minutes including explaining the rules. And you can run most types of games and settings in it pretty easily. The only real sticking point is getting players to come up with good aspects but with some guidance on my part and willing players, I find this is rectified pretty quickly. There are some other systems that serve similar niches like Risus, free form universal, and savage worlds. But, I just really like the aspect and fate point economy so of those games Fate is my biggest go to.
The Golden Sea by Grant Howitt, I've run it five or six times now and it gets better every time. It's short, simple, full of flavour and I find it easy to expand on the basic game.
Double Cross. Edgy anime action about superpowered people (or something else) losing their humanity with tight combat and great drama, it gives you a lot of creative freedom without losing its strong flavor and provides a rich world to build upon. Super crunchy, graphic design is very inconsistent, but completely worth it.
Flying Circus by Erika Chappell! It’s easy to learn and offers a wide variety of player experiences. And it has airplane combat with the right amount of danger, crunch, and cinematic action!
Gumshoe games, for their surprisingly narrative-but-still-old school approach to RPGs and the fact that the games are great for playing competent PCs, which I love to have as a GM.
If sci-fi, Cepheus Deluxe is fantastic. Mongoose 2E can get a bit bogged down with a whole bunch of optional rules and supplements and things like that. Cepheus Deluxe is really simple, has everything in one place and builds on all the greatness from Traveller over the years.
Troika! It's a dead simple game with just enough depth to carry a campaign. Plus I can raid Advanced Fighting Fantasy for rules. I use the holdings rules from the Heroes Companion in my current game where my players own several businesses in their city.
Stuck on DnD 5e with an occasional Call of Cthulhu one-shot thrown in. My group is very conservative when it comes to trying new systems. I'm getting really burned out.
For myself, I love IronSworn or StarForged. IronSworn is a game where you can play solo pretty easily. There is a bunch of tables in the rulebook that can help you create NPCs, quests, locations, etc. The mechanics of how the game works are pretty elegant and the rules are pretty simple. StarForged is the same thing, but in space.
So I have my favorite games. Some are old classics that I started with, other are games I've designed, a few are some wild ones I've found along the way, but I've come to a realization lately. It doesn't matter what I like. It's about the game the players want.
Usually Fate. It has a lot of narrative flexibility without being stuck to the overly-specific tropey rules of PbtA games. It's incredibly easy to adapt and modify for whatever anyone wants. I've had a lot of fun with Base Raiders in particular too.
i'm shocked i haven't seen anyone mention Knave yet. it's old-school D&D with most of the old-school jank i like, not much of the old-school jank i don't like, and holy shit it's 7 pages. even something like old-school essentials (clone of B/X d&d with a much more readable layout) seems so much more intimidating when i look it over. but knave? knave is exactly the right length, and it's so much less off-putting to people when i say "hey let's try this new game" and they only have to skim 7 pages.
Savage World settled in a few years in the future, so the world is literally identical to the world now but I can modify it for what I need for the plot. Also I don’t have to role pley some issue due to covid cause there is no more (I hope lol).
Chronicles of Darkness. The dice system is dead simple and running it as a one-shot with specific types of characters is really easy for everyone to get into, say Highschool students encountering the supernatural.
I'm starting to think 7th Sea 2nd edition might end up my go-to game. I love most of the PbtA and BRP games I have, but there's something about how breezy and fun 7th Sea is that really appeals to me when I'm GMing.
7th Sea 2e is my favourite edition. Seriously captures the feel of the setting so well. We came from 1e it was rough at first but when we stopped fighting the system and embraced the flow of the game it was and is a fantastic game.
I'm surprised I'm the first to say this one but Vaesen. I really like Vaesen. It's such an amazing game and it just hits the spot perfectly for gothic horror and supernatural mystery.
Awakening 2e is soo good. I started with Ascension 1e back in the day, but Awakening really just gives me so much more to play with. But that is just me.
Basically anything from Grant Hewitt. They take less then 10 mins to prep and they're amazing. My favourite is called The Witch Is Dead. Where you're a bunch of animals trying to kill a witch hunter.
Call of Cthulhu - has good and effective rules and I love horror games and CoC is arguably the best at it, also because the system is easy to tweak and homebrew for special situations.
Scion. It's a World of Darkness like game where all mythologies are real and you can play children of gods. It's a lot more story heavy than pathfinder in my experience, but pathfinder would be my second choice.
I came here to admit that im a system horrrrrrre. I have like 5 campaigns going in 5 different systems 🤣🤣🤣. I have not really used the same system twice--i only solo--
Most recently, I've been using The Pool a lot. I've been using it to introduce new people to role-playing, but I've also been getting a lot of good play in with experienced gamers as well: it always seems to offer something new to learn about how role-playing works.
I have a 3.P home brew setting that I came up with and a 1ed New World of Darkness setting that I have already made. So, if anyone has any interest in playing I usually whip out one of those.
Avatar Legends is PbtA refining lessons from Masks and developing Moves that allows incredible flexibility of diverse stories, just ATLA alone tells tales of mystery detective work, heroic rescuing of villages, prison breaks, political intrigue - persuading a King to turn on his advisor, fighting in a war, dueling, chase scenes and of course interpersonal drama between companions and restoring balance.
Depends on the group I'm playing with: whenever we find time I'll play just with my gf and one of her best friends; I'll GM, our friend is a very enthusiastic newbie, and they have a great chemistry together - this all comes together in Mörk Borg which is just the perfect game in this combination..
The real answer is PF1e but I'll be a hipster and say Camp Myth: the RPG. So easy to run and play with plenty of options. It's essentially just a simplified version of Shadowrun. Plus the merit badges are great.
I have a few games that basically cover 95% of my games: blades in the dark, because it's simply that good of a narrative game. D&d 5e, although it's probably the least played of my most played games nowadays. For classic fantasy games, we use Chroniques Oubliées (forgotten chronicles), it's a French rpg, made to introduce players to the hobby. It's a simple and very effective version of d20 rpg. Nowadays we specifically use a beefed up version created for the lands of Arran (the setting of the comic books Elves, and Dwarves, which are available in English). It is a shame there is no English version of the rpg, I think many people would enjoy it. Lastly, we play Infinity rpg, a 2d20 game by modiphius, a terrific futuristic setting and a very good system (the best 2d20 game by far imo).
Been leaning more and more into OSE. Kickstarted the last OSE box sets. recently got a hold of a bunch of AD&D 2e books and some settings boxes for really cheap, so now I'm learning it so I can run it. I've always wanted to try pre-WoTC D&D.
When I don't know what to play / run, we go back to the comfort of Blades in the Dark. After having been in a dozen of campaigns set in Doskvol I can whip up something seemingly out of nowhere and have a good session with 'zero prep' (even though I don't like to formulate it this way).
Palladium games. Basic question to someone saying they want to roleplay "What do you have in mind? I can run anything with these." The variety of game worlds/genres that all use the same base system lets me run almost anything almost anywhere with a system that lets it all work together.
Cypher System for most people - but especially people that want more freedom to create the characters they want and don't want to slog through hour long character creation or bother with exact distances.
PBTA games. Simple and effective
This. I'm a parent of two. If the kids want to play or friends want me to fulfill my forever DM obligations it's usually PbtA or nothing.
What're your favorites?
Agree with this, I've really got into it since avatar legends and now it's my goto, root, veil, masks, avatar are all great games and they all use pbta different.
Why? Never heard of these before you post.
my favorite pbta these days is the free Simple World. check it out for easy "get it on the table and play" fun.
Any particular PBTA games to recommend? I understand the system is flexible and applicable to a variety of settings, but i'm keen on learning the system itself to see if I can mess around with it.
I do the same, usually with World of Dungeons or a hack of it.
B/X DnD or Old-School Essentials with some homebrew rules sprinkled in (e.g., chaotic magic from Dungeon Crawl Classics).Likes:
This. It just works right with no hassles.
Getting ready to run this (and Incandescent Grotto) at a work function for my department. My life was forever changed for the better after seeing Captcorajus make a video aout the first Kickstarter years ago
I've been having soooooo much fun getting into OSE over the past few weeks! It's honestly such a joy to use
Riding on your comment to say I'm really enjoying Worlds Without Number, since it's OSR-ish.
I'm about to start running OSE but I'm a little worried about dungeon turn mechanics being more fiddly than my group expects. When you run it, how transparent are you about those parts?
I haven't played an rpg in years, but I"m collecting the OSE stuff. The books are incredibly gorgeous. Just wanted to add that to the list of positives, lol. I'm looking forward to Dolmenwood.
Index Card RPG. Simple. Quick. Easy. Any type of game, any genre. Super hackable.
Would you mind a quick rundown of the core mechanic? It sounds interesting.
So glad someone said this.
DnD 5e
I fell out of love for D&D a decade ago. But, if you like it and your friends like it, keep enjoying it and don't let anyone else spoil your fun.
Really haven't found many other systems that provide the kind of longevity of character advancement for players to look forward to outside of D&D-like games. I run a lot of different games for my players but my 5e campaign is nearly 3 years old and going strong, everyone asks about that one and everyone looks forward to it.
As someone who's trying to move out of 5e, my favourite thing about it is the content, like spells, character options, Etc... Also my favourite thing about PF2, which arguably does those things better
5e is pretty complex for a newbie imo. I've never seen a newcomer create a character without DM help.
Genesys. It’s settingless and emphasizes the narrative part of rpgs right away with its dice. It’s also fairly hard to die randomly, which is nice for new players.
Lancer by Massif Press, a wester mech RPG. Check it out on itch.io
Same.
I feel like this is the next game I wanna go all-in on. It seems great. Is the combat somewhat tactical? Do you use a battle map or is it more theater of the mind?
It is BFRPG (Basic Fantasy RPG) mostly as it feels old school which reminds of my old games, it's PDF is free and so are all its digital supplements, the prints are really cheap in cost, the system is modular enough that you can house rule it and not break it unless you make an effort.
Noobie here. I downloaded the first Badic Fantasies books, but I’m not really into hobbits and stuff. Can you direct me to where to look for other scenarios/worlds?
My group won't leave f20, so Pathfinder 2e is usually what we play.
f20?
Mörk Borg - strong combination of easy to run and silly fun PC abilities. Strength of the aesthetic does half the pitch for me.
I feel like the character creation is so wacky and the art so striking that it’s easy to hook new players in.
For some reason Mork Borg fell flat with me - but Cy Borg seems to be just the right sweet spot of weirdness.
Cortex Prime. Great system that can be adapted to any kind of gameplay you want. Want the game to be just like D&D? Easy, have skills, attributes. Want a romance game? Your Prime sets are now relationships and social aspects. It easily adapts to any setting, it is easy to learn and play, it doesn't rely on a single d20 to determine outcomes.
Bubblegumshoe. The type of story it tells just clicks for me.
Under rated game. It works really well for what it wants to do.
Whatever PbtA Strikes my fancy, but probably Masks: A New Generation, if I'd have to pick one. I always whip that one out, if a session is cancelled and I have players who haven't tried it yet.
Such a solid game, I probably enjoy running masks more than almost any other system
The one ring for fantasy, Mork Borg for one shots, CoC/wfrp for campaigns, cyberpunk for SF ...
How’s the One Ring? I have heard vague good things but haven’t had a chance to play/read yet.
Savage Worlds. Currently running a Shadowrun setting game in it using the Sprawlrunners addition.
SW has long been a go-to for my group. Exploding dice is just a fun mechanic. It's not perfect but it runs low fantasy games super well.
I have yet to find a setting that Savage Worlds can't do well. You learn one rules system and you can use it to run just about any game you can imagine. You get a pretty decent rules system that's got amazing combat, and it's rules-light enough to allow combat to move quick and fast without bogging down everything. What's more, it's not limited to "grid based" combat either - you can just set up junk on your living room table and have the best tabletop combat you've had in years.
for me, if it wasn't obvious, It's Thirsty Sword Lesbians. mostly because of the versatility, and how they lean into queer and romance themes. Do you wanna play as Mech pilots? We got you. Rival Pirate crews? Done. do you want to play as sentient shades of color? You know, we can make it work... but they will be SEXY sentient shades of color.
Maybe I’m just an old timer but I find the “sexy” part in AW and TSL to be cringey*. I mean, in movies the sexy part is generally not crucial to the plot. And I feel the same about it in games.
I have zero opinions on TSL (other than I'd like to play it one day), but how is a game named after a specific sexual orientation, a specific outlook on life, and a specific weapon choice, a versatile game?
I played it once and it was such a blast. Our group is very queer so that helps but it really helped me *get* PBTA games. Very intuitive design!
I have been so excited to try that game!! Just need to get some time on the calendar
Do you have to play a lesbian? Can I play a gay man?
I didn't see you were the OP initially, and was wishing I had seen the post earlier to mention TSL before it got buried haha
Risus. Four pages of rules and you can spin up characters as quickly as the players can imagine them into existence.
Risus was the first game that I ever Ran. I played RPGs in uni when 3.5 was big, and I was so intimidated by the rules overhead that I could just about follow along with the gameplay and had the desire to run a game but was intensely worried about the players knowing the game system way better than me. So I found Risus and ran that, knowing that I could hold the entire rules system in my head and the players have no expectations on content.
We can (and have) spun up new games quickly in GURPS from an offhand comment in a random channel. We use GURPS for all of it, so it’s easy for everyone, and hashing through new characters together is half the fun.
PF1e...7 years in and I still love the gameplay. It's crunchy enough to satisfy me without being so crunchy I feel like I'm doing math homework. I grew up immersing myself in heroic fantasy settings through books and video games, so the Golarion setting is also very appealing to me.
As someone who also loves PF1e, you’re forgetting everything that doesn’t happen during the session. I have hand-crafted an ever growing character spreadsheet so my group has to deal with less of the math. Dear god there’s so much math.
I still like to bring up Primetime Adventures. It's an RPG that frames the game as if it were a dramatic television show with an ensemble cast. As to why:
Very underrated. One of my all-time favorite gaming moments arise from PTA’s mechanics.
I've always wanted to try PTA, but haven't had any luck finding someone to play with :(
Pathfinder 2e for the typical modern D&D stuff.
I will always go with OpenD6 or Basic Roleplaying (the system Call of Cthulhu uses) if I have the choice. OpenD6 is easy to run and teach, and is designed to be very easy to tweak to fit the needs of the game. To me, Basic Roleplaying fits in the golden spot of modeling reality vs. ease of play, so I particularly like to use it for more realistic games and games with historic settings.
Another vote for OpenD6, such an easy system to learn
The Sprawl, Stars Without Number, Blades in the Dark, or Dungeons and Dragons 5th edition.
I've been super curious about both Sprawl and Blades in the Dark. I've DMd D&D 5e mostly and played D&D for years looking to branch out. Are both easy to learn?
A mostly-Mythras BRP mashup, possibly with the other BRP bits tweaked (adding some, removing others) to fit the specific setting or campaign premise.
Index Card RPG. No fuss, straight to the point, I know the rules by heart, and by the end of the session so do the players. Multiple settings to pick and choose pieces from to create your own should you want, and a lot of leeway with regards to player action.
Delta Green. But with custom Cthulhu Dark-like rules. Yeah, I don't like rules. Narrativism and ambience above all.
Are you running Cthulhu Deep Green?
Dungeon Crawl Classics. Easy to learn, Funnels are no biggie if a character dies, easy to run with minimal prep. A lot of new people are weirded out by the dice and the tables but usually an hour in and they're the ones that are most excited and coming up with amazing ideas.
I will second this. Underrated game and if you have the dice or the app it's very easy to run for any experienced GM. It's really good at getting players to embrace randomness and death.
The SAGA Edition of Star Wars. It's a "completed" system so no new surprises. I find it very easy to build any character concept I want with it. And it's "Star Wars" so explaining the setting normally isn't so hard.
Currently having a ball running Exalted Essence for my group. Runs a lot smoother than Exalted 3E, chargen is fairly easy, and the combat and social mechanics are a lot of fun and lead to some really dynamic setpieces and dialogue scenes.
Is that a fan hack?
Call of cthulhu. Using quickstarter rules I could start running the haunting in 20 minutes. The system is just really intuitive and easy going. Except machine gun rules. Screw the machine gun rules.
Savage Worlds. It handles the kind of action/adventure stories I enjoy running better than any other system I've found, and I have yet to find a setting or genre that it won't work for.
And if you have a group like mine who hates learning new systems, you just learn this ONE and you can do pretty much any game using it.
Shadow of the Demon Lord. It's an easy system for a casual game.
Better 5e definitely. This is also what I'm running currently.
I can't wait for the Mad Mage version. It's not that I need "family friendly" but the pentagrams and vomiting-up-intestines tends to be a bit polarizing for my table.
Mausritter. The core book has everything you need, the rules are super simple, and because the characters are mice, you can use the actual location you're in as an adventure location and even newbies understand what's going on.
Hero System. I'm a very sandbox simulation sort of GM and Hero has never left me wondering how two things interact: one you get the system down, you can build anything and know how it interacts with everything else. And I love the comic book action feel it has, you can get through an encounter without everybody on one side needing to die, so losing one fight doesn't have to end the campaign.
Palladium Fantasy 1e...it's what I'm really familiar with.
Very hard to boil down to one, so these are my typical go-to games. Ask me next week and I'd likely have a different set of games.
Pathfinder 2E, I'm very lazy. I like that there is a rule for practically everything, I don't have to worry about creating new rules or exceptions. The encounter building system is TIGHT and works like a charm, the xp system and rewards system is all laid out. Minimal thinking, the game has designed itself, I just need to run it. ALSO what saves my butt is the advanced GM screen which has dc by level and creature creation rules by level right there, so anything the players run into, I am prepared to whip something up flavor wise, the math is all there for me.
Delta Green for me - mechanics are simple enough (percentile dice), and my friend group enjoy the horror and conspiracy aspects
Our 2d6 system.
How does your 2d6 system compare to Traveller?
If it's a pick up game, I would go for Roll for Shoes. The way the simple rules can bootstrap into a whole universe by building off player choices is so unique.
"simple rules can bootstrap into a whole universe by building off player choices"
Recently introduced some newbs. They loved LOTR so TOR2 was the go-to. Then graduated to Tales From The Loop. And finally Dune. A lot to do with the media they were consuming.
If all they say is that, I don't. Because it's the wrong question.
These days, it'd be 13th age or ICRPG. But I'd need my books handy. Otherwise - Black Hack or Basic Fantasy Role Playing, which I can run off the top of my head with no books.
Right now its either pathfinder 2e or Blades in The Dark.
Ten Candles recently! That game is so fun, tight mechanics, oozes atmosphere, and low prep. Highly recommend for any new folks wanting to try something odd.
For the past 4 years I've done a "Halloween One-shot" and my friends love it! It started with 5e (of course) but it then branched out to 'Dread,' which was fun, but my players weren't super stoked on it. Then, this last year I ran Ten Candles they ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT! They were talking about it for weeks after the game.
Mongoose Traveller 2e or Call of Cthulhu 7e.
Shadow of the Demon Lord for me. I just love the Army of Darkness-esque tone and the character customization is so great for such a simple game!
I love GURPS. I've written a big post about why I like GURPS (
Pulp Chtulhu. My group is so familiar with the system, we just take it for a quick game sometimes.
Symbaroum is my go to game, I love the dark fantasy, deadly combat, easy to design encounters, awesome lore and light rules. It's like a perfect combination of OSR but with strategic combat and abilities like in D&D.
Fellowship - it's a strong improvement on the PbtA formula, basically a second generation game. It can handle a lot of game types, from fantasy to scifi. GMing is pretty easy (enemies are 2 lines that describe their powers, and that's it), playing is pretty fun, Playbooks are pretty varied (want to be three goblins in a trench coat? Buddy, we have a Playbook for you!). All around good game and it's poised to get better with possible upcoming 3rd edition.
Wfrp 4e
Since thge Kickstarter for Exalted Essence I got back on the train hard, because for years Exalted has been one of my favourite systems that nobody would run. Now thanks to Essence I am running an Exalted game, and I'm having a good time doing so.
How are you playing it? It doesn't look like the book is out. Did they send something to backers early?
Depends on the game of course, but these days it's either FATE or Savage Worlds.
Delta green. Everyone loves x-files. It's modern day so not too 'nerdy', most of the published scenarios are bloody fantastic, plus the rules are simple and easy to pick up, characters quick and easy to create.
I have none really. I have gaming ADD. Recently ran The One Ring and Worlds Without Number, prepping some B/X and Stargate SG-1, reading Zweihander and Against the Darkmaster, playing Call of Ctrhulhu and Those Dark Places...really can't wait for Mothership.
Troika!
At the moment, I like Cypher System. It's incredibly easy to run and character generation is fun and evocative.
Invisible Sun. I love it because I can play it with zero prep. It fosters players to create parts of the world and drive the story. Character creation is simple and can be done with just a few selections and play can begin almost immediately. It's surreal, magic, noir, 1920s, fantasy and horror. It has such a massive existence that I can run any genre of game within it.
This is such a fantastic game. It's a surreal sensory overload. I have three Mage: Ascension players that are having so much fun. The engagement between sessions are so interesting.
Agon second edition
Mörk Borg. Super fast character creation, the world is awesome (almost feels like elden ring), and the rules are easy.
It's not really my ideal system or my favorite (the favorite probably goes to blades in the dark). But if I just have to run a game or campaign for any group regardless of the experience or circumstance? I am going to run Fate. I know the system very well. It is generally quite easy to pickup. You can make a character in less than 15 minutes including explaining the rules. And you can run most types of games and settings in it pretty easily. The only real sticking point is getting players to come up with good aspects but with some guidance on my part and willing players, I find this is rectified pretty quickly. There are some other systems that serve similar niches like Risus, free form universal, and savage worlds. But, I just really like the aspect and fate point economy so of those games Fate is my biggest go to.
The Golden Sea by Grant Howitt, I've run it five or six times now and it gets better every time. It's short, simple, full of flavour and I find it easy to expand on the basic game.
I ask if they have a specific character in mind. I might ask more about styles, themes, etc.
My go to game: pasion de las pasiones.
The new Alien RPG has always been a hit.
World of Dungeons
Have you seen
Double Cross. Edgy anime action about superpowered people (or something else) losing their humanity with tight combat and great drama, it gives you a lot of creative freedom without losing its strong flavor and provides a rich world to build upon. Super crunchy, graphic design is very inconsistent, but completely worth it.
For Dungeon Crawl games, Old School Essentials, but just the core book, or reluctantly D&D5e, because everyone seems to know that.
Flying Circus by Erika Chappell! It’s easy to learn and offers a wide variety of player experiences. And it has airplane combat with the right amount of danger, crunch, and cinematic action!
pathfinder 1e
Gumshoe games, for their surprisingly narrative-but-still-old school approach to RPGs and the fact that the games are great for playing competent PCs, which I love to have as a GM.
If sci-fi, Cepheus Deluxe is fantastic. Mongoose 2E can get a bit bogged down with a whole bunch of optional rules and supplements and things like that. Cepheus Deluxe is really simple, has everything in one place and builds on all the greatness from Traveller over the years.
Savage Worlds.
My go-to game is
Troika! It's a dead simple game with just enough depth to carry a campaign. Plus I can raid Advanced Fighting Fantasy for rules. I use the holdings rules from the Heroes Companion in my current game where my players own several businesses in their city.
Don't have one. Nearly every campaign is in a new system.
That sounds like fun.
Stuck on DnD 5e with an occasional Call of Cthulhu one-shot thrown in. My group is very conservative when it comes to trying new systems. I'm getting really burned out.
Fiasco remains my go-to for new players. Rarely fails. They understand the setup, they live for the payoff.
Mork Borg. Lightweight and thematically evocative so you could easily get fascinating one-shots together fast.
Burning Wheel. Never have I seen a game with as much depth and richness, and all just about tailored to my priorities.
Lamentations of the Flame Princess. It's been the go-to for about a decade now. Nothing has even come close to dethroning it.
For myself, I love IronSworn or StarForged. IronSworn is a game where you can play solo pretty easily. There is a bunch of tables in the rulebook that can help you create NPCs, quests, locations, etc. The mechanics of how the game works are pretty elegant and the rules are pretty simple. StarForged is the same thing, but in space.
Powers & Perils by Avalon Hill games. It has a very comprehensive fabrication and combat system.
Knights of Underbed. Or any other TinyD6 game.
Depends heavily on what they want to play, but if it's just roleplay anything, than probably old World of Darkness because it's what I know best.
So I have my favorite games. Some are old classics that I started with, other are games I've designed, a few are some wild ones I've found along the way, but I've come to a realization lately. It doesn't matter what I like. It's about the game the players want.
RedHack, because I just released it and I'm obviously very biased!
Usually Fate. It has a lot of narrative flexibility without being stuck to the overly-specific tropey rules of PbtA games. It's incredibly easy to adapt and modify for whatever anyone wants. I've had a lot of fun with Base Raiders in particular too.
i'm shocked i haven't seen anyone mention Knave yet. it's old-school D&D with most of the old-school jank i like, not much of the old-school jank i don't like, and holy shit it's 7 pages. even something like old-school essentials (clone of B/X d&d with a much more readable layout) seems so much more intimidating when i look it over. but knave? knave is exactly the right length, and it's so much less off-putting to people when i say "hey let's try this new game" and they only have to skim 7 pages.
Savage World settled in a few years in the future, so the world is literally identical to the world now but I can modify it for what I need for the plot. Also I don’t have to role pley some issue due to covid cause there is no more (I hope lol).
Castles & Crusades. Light on it's feet and great flow.
Chronicles of Darkness. The dice system is dead simple and running it as a one-shot with specific types of characters is really easy for everyone to get into, say Highschool students encountering the supernatural.
I'm starting to think 7th Sea 2nd edition might end up my go-to game. I love most of the PbtA and BRP games I have, but there's something about how breezy and fun 7th Sea is that really appeals to me when I'm GMing.
7th Sea 2e is my favourite edition. Seriously captures the feel of the setting so well. We came from 1e it was rough at first but when we stopped fighting the system and embraced the flow of the game it was and is a fantastic game.
Stars Without Number. My circles and I are huge into scifi, so it's the perfect OSR title for us
Cortex Prime, largely because I really like it.
There's this fun new one I've been playing for the last couple years called "When Will Everyone Else Log On To Discord?"
I'm good to run a DCC adventure any day, funnel or otherwise.
I'm surprised I'm the first to say this one but Vaesen. I really like Vaesen. It's such an amazing game and it just hits the spot perfectly for gothic horror and supernatural mystery.
Scion 2nd edition. Is it weord? Yes. But if the player accepts the buy in, that's it, they're hooked
I am all about Mage the Awakening 2nd Edition right now.
Awakening 2e is soo good. I started with Ascension 1e back in the day, but Awakening really just gives me so much more to play with. But that is just me.
The Quiet Year. Simple, fast, crazy fun. Haven't had a bad session yet.
I'm having alot of fun with Ironsworn. Haven't really touched Delve or Starforged yet. Plus it's very budget friendly at $Free.
Basically anything from Grant Hewitt. They take less then 10 mins to prep and they're amazing. My favourite is called The Witch Is Dead. Where you're a bunch of animals trying to kill a witch hunter.
GURPS Lite.
Call of Cthulhu - has good and effective rules and I love horror games and CoC is arguably the best at it, also because the system is easy to tweak and homebrew for special situations.
Scion. It's a World of Darkness like game where all mythologies are real and you can play children of gods. It's a lot more story heavy than pathfinder in my experience, but pathfinder would be my second choice.
Fiasco
I would play either Blades in the Dark or Vaesen. Both are very beginner friendly, have a great setting simple rules and still enough depth. :)
The One Ring 2e and Mouse Guard. So much potential for epic fantasy adventures.
The One Ring 2e, love the mechanics and beautiful thematic character sheet.
Shadowrun 5th Edition
Lately FFG Star Wars for the past several years.
Mothership has been fun, dark but fun. Same with Blades in the Dark.
I came here to admit that im a system horrrrrrre. I have like 5 campaigns going in 5 different systems 🤣🤣🤣. I have not really used the same system twice--i only solo--
Most recently, I've been using The Pool a lot. I've been using it to introduce new people to role-playing, but I've also been getting a lot of good play in with experienced gamers as well: it always seems to offer something new to learn about how role-playing works.
I have a 3.P home brew setting that I came up with and a 1ed New World of Darkness setting that I have already made. So, if anyone has any interest in playing I usually whip out one of those.
Into the Odd.
Degenesis. It's completely free, the art is amazing, and the settings is very well fleshed out.
If I want simple, Knave.
Godlike. Specifically I pull out the free module “Glazier”. My favorite to run at conventions
Avatar Legends is PbtA refining lessons from Masks and developing Moves that allows incredible flexibility of diverse stories, just ATLA alone tells tales of mystery detective work, heroic rescuing of villages, prison breaks, political intrigue - persuading a King to turn on his advisor, fighting in a war, dueling, chase scenes and of course interpersonal drama between companions and restoring balance.
WEG Star Wars. Everyone knows the star wars universe, and the d6 system is super easy
For me, it depends. If the players are new and have never played a roleplaying game before, I'll whip out
Depends on the group I'm playing with: whenever we find time I'll play just with my gf and one of her best friends; I'll GM, our friend is a very enthusiastic newbie, and they have a great chemistry together - this all comes together in Mörk Borg which is just the perfect game in this combination..
The real answer is PF1e but I'll be a hipster and say Camp Myth: the RPG. So easy to run and play with plenty of options. It's essentially just a simplified version of Shadowrun. Plus the merit badges are great.
Any PbtA game, but specifically:
For me, savage worlds. Many settings, or it's easy enough to make or convert a setting over.
5e
Use 3d6 down the line for whatever stats we use, and opposed 2d6 if we need arbitration
I have a few games that basically cover 95% of my games: blades in the dark, because it's simply that good of a narrative game. D&d 5e, although it's probably the least played of my most played games nowadays. For classic fantasy games, we use Chroniques Oubliées (forgotten chronicles), it's a French rpg, made to introduce players to the hobby. It's a simple and very effective version of d20 rpg. Nowadays we specifically use a beefed up version created for the lands of Arran (the setting of the comic books Elves, and Dwarves, which are available in English). It is a shame there is no English version of the rpg, I think many people would enjoy it. Lastly, we play Infinity rpg, a 2d20 game by modiphius, a terrific futuristic setting and a very good system (the best 2d20 game by far imo).
Arpg, open world (or semi open world), looting, story and lore rich game, have a good character creation would be a add-on too
Been leaning more and more into OSE. Kickstarted the last OSE box sets. recently got a hold of a bunch of AD&D 2e books and some settings boxes for really cheap, so now I'm learning it so I can run it. I've always wanted to try pre-WoTC D&D.
Usually a pbta game is a good sell for a quick session or campaign.
Sentinel Comics RPG! I can't say enough good things about it.
When I don't know what to play / run, we go back to the comfort of Blades in the Dark. After having been in a dozen of campaigns set in Doskvol I can whip up something seemingly out of nowhere and have a good session with 'zero prep' (even though I don't like to formulate it this way).
Palladium games. Basic question to someone saying they want to roleplay "What do you have in mind? I can run anything with these." The variety of game worlds/genres that all use the same base system lets me run almost anything almost anywhere with a system that lets it all work together.
Cypher System for most people - but especially people that want more freedom to create the characters they want and don't want to slog through hour long character creation or bother with exact distances.
PbtR games or FATE.
DCC all the way.
Knave, specifically with A Rasp of Sand