Inspired by Gameleaper's post about the Mythic GM Emulator here (http://grogheads.com/forums/index.php?topic=13467.0), I decided to give it a shot. Not only for playing solo, but to help eliminate most prep-time.
Then I realized the only modern tabletop RPGs I own are both futuristic sci-fi & cyberpunk, Shadowrun 5th and Star Wars: Edge Of The Empire. Those are great but I also wanted some fantasy or alt-history alternatives.
After much digging, I found a few titles that stood above the rest in my preference for a mix of interesting setting and equally interesting game mechanics & character options.
I ordered the core books for these to try out:
1) Victoriana (http://www.cubicle7.co.uk/our-games/victoriana/)
My most anticipated.
It's basically Shadowrun in the Victorian Era. Containing a good bit of Magic and the Occult, along with some light Steampunk, varied demi-human races (dwarf, Elderi/elves, Ogres, Beastmen, etc), and starting in 1856 London. Another thing I like is that it uses Dice Pools, with "exploding" dice and negative/opposing "black dice" for penalties, so there is less DRM Hell to keep track of. I just find the "bucket 'o dice' method more enjoyable and less of a hassle. It's not a terribly unusual dicing system but the genre still seems to be dominated by various d20, d10/100 systems I'd prefer avoiding.
Obviously the setting is in the same vein as the PC game Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magic, which I greatly enjoyed but experienced regular CTDs so much I never got too far.
Also.. been really enjoying watching Penny Dreadful lately so this definitely piques the mood.
2) Qin: The Warring States (http://www.cubicle7.co.uk/our-games/qin/)
This is something quite different for me. A tabletop set in the ancient Chinese Qin period.
Besides reportedly being a gorgeous book, the thing that really enticed me was the way the mechanics fit Eastern style philosophy & legend. For example, the usual character statistics (STR, etc) are replaced with such things as Wood, Iron, Fire, etc along with all the Magic and Fighting styles. Like a Wire-Fu movie but in a lower-powered way, not so over the top.
It's another unusual RPG from Cubicle 7. There was a trend in this RPG search. I need to keep an eye on this company in the future!
3) Ars Magica 5th Ed (http://www.atlas-games.com/arm5/)
Some of you are probably familiar with this one. I still have a 2nd Edition (IIRC) packed away somewhere, but I wanted to see how this oldie has grown. When I picked up the first edition, in my young years, I was infatuated with this thing. The Magic system was pretty damn awesome, and much else was good, too. I hope it's even better.
I had also taken a brief look around from the latest Pendragon stuff but it seems those are now Out Of Print. ::) Same with the latest Twilight 2013. I'll have to keep a wary eye out for decently priced (and probably used) copies. :-\ I definitely want to get some of the latest Pendragon eventually, as that was another of my favorite oldies. Fortunately Ars Magica is still in print.. and I'm a Motherfuckin Sorcerer! >:D
if you're OK with PDFs, then 5th ed Pendragon and T2013 are available at DriveThruRPG
Quote from: bayonetbrant on May 26, 2015, 05:10:46 AM
if you're OK with PDFs, then 5th ed Pendragon and T2013 are available at DriveThruRPG
Yeah, I saw those there and bookmarked.
I don't mind small supplemental PDFs too much. But 200+ page core books are just too much. The 63-page Mythic GME was about my preferred limit.
I definitely want all my RPG books to be printed. That's just how I roll with tabletop stuff.
DriveThru offers
some of the large ones via their own print services but others, such as Pendragon and T2013, aren't available for print - PDF only. So I have to assume that getting permission to have someone else professionally print the things isn't going to happen. :-\
If DriveThru offered printed copies, I'd be all over it.
Now that I think about it, pretty sure I still have a 3rd or 4th Edition Pendragon along with 'The Boy King' supplement. Somewhere.
Hopefully it's in good shape still.