Interesting responses

Its neat to see the differences and similarities.

Cool.

Quote from: CyberzombieIron Heroes is so crunchy it won't get soggy in milk!  

So crunchy it's like that damn breakfast cereal commercial.

Three things huh?

1. Highly tactical game play based around maneuver and option choice.

2. The ability to play the full life cycle of the character, generational games is where it's at for me in a fantasy setting.

3. The ability to easily and naturally handed adventuring parties of dissimilar experience/power levels.


There's three. I have lots more. I'm rather demanding about my fantasy settings.

1. A simple, but flexible, resolution mechanic.

2. An overall system that allows player characters to develop, but still remain challenged within a traditional fantasy framework (a bit to the grim and gritty side).

3. A flexible magic system that allows for creativity without getting overly complex or so high powered it strains credulity in the setting.

I still haven't found what I'm looking for, but maybe True20 will come close.

1. Strangeness. I like strange alien races and magical technology. The setting itself should be a little off kilter with weird landscapes and mysterious locales. Bizzare cults and the like would also be appreciated.

2. Fast and brutal combat. Yep rock&roll man. Quick fights with all those funky moves one sees on tv and the movies.

3. Magic. Extremely flexible. I would like each character or npc who uses "magic" to use it differently, unless they belong to the same cult or whatever.

Regards,
David R.

1. Something that is not Fantasy.
2. Something that is so Fantasy-lite, Star Wars would have trouble being ran in it.
3. Something that magic is an option, one that doesn't drastically affect the way the game is ran.

Okay, so you can probably tell, I'm not a big Fantasy fan.  Regardless to the above, which is how I truly feel, I will attempt to be a boon to this thread, as opposed to the opposite (which is what I'm told is what opposed really means - the opposite).

1. Something that magic is an option - one that doesn't drastically affect the way a game, any game, is ran in that setting.  I don't know how many times I've ran a fully non-magic D&D game and the party got TPK'd, resurrected, and TPK'd again.  D&D is hinged on magic.

2. Something that doesn't follow this exact formula: Travel, fight, treasure, level up, repeat.  While it isn't bad, I just think too much of the current D&D line of thinking is COMBAT (which could have something to do with my suspected WotC's "Back to the Dungeon" attitude), as opposed to getting experience for all manner of other options - such as exploring, settling disputes with words, etc.  Yes, I know there are rules for this, but they feel...limiting (mind you, I have not picked up DMG II, so I may be out-of-date here).  Also, I need to state that I am not against combat - far from it, I like to try to kill my PCs (anyone who knows me, knows this to be an undeniable truth) - I just like options.

3. More options to classes.  I mean, come on, it just feels so limiting to use only the "core" classes, and what the hell is the deal with Prestige Classes?  You can't even get them until 7th+ level!  That's what I love about d20 Modern - 4th level, baby and you're in, if you want.  Also, why can't you freely multiclass - or at least, why is it such a stiff penalty?  (In case you haven't noticed, I'm talking solely about 3.0/3.5 d20 D&D - since that's the only Fantasy system I've ever played.  Ever.)  Enh.  I'm done now.

Just weighing in.

Peterson

1. Inspire mad and fun ideas that me and my friends can use at the table during play that will give birth to even more mad and fun ideas.

I think that is all.

1. the system must be story centric.  i could care less how big my AC can get, its the story that matters.  As such the setting much be interesting and inspiring.  i've seen WAY too many " Blue fighter" type PCs for my own good...

2. no levels, no classes.  make some stats, choose your skills and special abililities and there ya go.  levels and classes are far too limiting on the flexibility of the character.  a character should be defined by thier skills, what they can do, not by their job.

3. a system that accomidates characters who rely on being skilled, as opposed to gear whores.  +45 platemail of DOOM is all fine and dandy, but what happens if you lose it?  most likely a slow, painfull death at the hands of whoever stole your bling.

EDIT:  well, having re-read my post i have realized that i just put down what i DONT want in a fantasy rpg... hmm... ill try this again

1. there must be a solid and well thought out setting.  Role playing is about just that, playing the role of a character in an  imaginary world.  to do so effectively and enjoyably, for me at least, you have to know where you are, whats going on, what your characters motivations are and such.  it also requires a certain amount of emotional attachment to the characters, both PC and NPC.  if you dont have these things all you end up with is a dungeon crawl, which can be fun in its place, but should really serve as only a small portion of the RPG experience in genreal.

2.  the system should be simple and intuitive, so it doesnt interfere with the presentation of the story.  i have SR and battletech to more than satisfy my craving for gaming complexity.

3. um, thats basically it, all the other stuff i crave in a good fantasy RPG depends on the players, the DM, and the type and tone of the story we create.

Quote from: Paka1. Inspire mad and fun ideas that me and my friends can use at the table during play that will give birth to even more mad and fun ideas.

I think that is all.

This is what I want in RPGs in general. But i dig what you are saying. I have read a lot of your posts on RPGNET, and have always liked your contributions to the discussion at hand.

Regards,
David R

Quote from: David RThis is what I want in RPGs in general. But i dig what you are saying.

I guess I dig many different kinds of fantasy RPG's and I'm not sure what I can distill between them other than that.

Quote from: David RI have read a lot of your posts on RPGNET, and have always liked your contributions to the discussion at hand.

Thanks, David, I appreciate you saying so.

Quote from: The Good AssyrianHere goes my fantasy RPG wish list:

1.  My favorite kind of fantasy is Sword & Sorcery (Howard, Lieber, etc.), so I want a game that is quick, gritty, and deadly.  Life is cheap and the PCs are not neccessarily the biggest sharks in the tank.  Social connections and conflict should be a big emphasis.  No world-saving heroics, just ass-saving ones.

2.  A magic system that treats magic as a strange, unnatural force rather than as technology (ala D&D).  It should be vast in power, unreliable, terrible in cost, and largely out of the hands of the PCs.  In the end, the main baddie (a wizard, natch) should be vulnerable to being run through with a PC's sword during the complicated ritual that is required for the terrible doom to be unleashed.

3.  I like very light rule systems.  I don't want or need a crunchy tactical emphasis in combat resolution.  I play a lot of wargames, so I get my fix there.  I just want something dramatic and cool to happen.  Preferably sooner rather than later.

No need to post mine, Good Assyrian did it for me

Quote from: Name LipsWhat you're describing sounds very much like Iron Heroes - you should check it out.

Except he said rules lite.  Iron Heroes is at least as crunchy as D&D 3.x.

Quote from: TechnomancerNo need to post mine, Good Assyrian did it for me

Glad you liked it!  If you are ever in Austin we should get together to compare mighty thews and run through an evil wizard with our swords...that doesn't sound quite right, does it?  

Quote from: TechnomancerExcept he said rules lite.  Iron Heroes is at least as crunchy as D&D 3.x.

Well, on the advice of serveral people on this thread I stopped by my FLGS this weekend to check out Iron Heroes.  Very interesting, indeed!  Sadly, as Technomancer and others have already pointed out, it was way too crunchy for my purposes.

Here is a brief breakdown of the systems I have tried for Sword & Sorcery fantasy games:

Crunchy   ---------------------------------------------------------->  Not Crunchy

GURPS, D20 Conan, Epiphany (BTRC), Chris Engle's Matrix Game (nothing to do with the movies, btw)

I have also thought about using True20 and Chaosium's Prince Valiant.  Right now True 20 is a big contender, but it is *still* too crunchy for my tastes.  What can I say, I am a bitch to please...:heh:

TGA

First, I want rules that allow for fast paced play.  I like the others to play, but waiting 30 minutes to play again is boredom.  Why should they be patient with me also?

Second, I want my character as I see him, not as the character larva.  Most games don’t last 15 'levels', so I prefer not to wait.

Third, I would like much variety.  To smite orcs is good, but maybe we would rather smite the four-armed green men of mars.  Maybe we want to trade with the green men.  Maybe we want to rocket to mars and back.  Maybe sail the void to Orion instead.

I don’t care is I roll d20 or 3d6.  Levels?  Why not, but also why?

1. Awesome character archetypes, whether they're character classes or pre-builds. Shadowrun (while not fantasy) had me at the words "street samurai."

2. Fun combat rules with lots of choices and an easy to use, flexible core mechanic.

3. Cool monsters. I don't want to fight rats and wolves. I want to fight rats with acid blood and fire breathing wolves bred in the pits of Hell itself.

1) Hot

2) Elf

3) Chicks