Hello everyone!
I’ve had some issues with D&D 5E lately and would like to try something else. I’ve thought a bit about what I actually want from a new system and came up with this:
The RPG should
- be universal a.k.a. adaptable to different settings
- be able to include magic of some kind, preferably already offering that option by its default rules
- be balanced between different character archetypes/classes (if such exist)
- guarantee smooth and fast combat (specifically less complicated than D&D 5E)
- guarantee smooth play in general, no constant looking up rules
- encourage role-playing (not necessarily via rules, but IMO D&D 5E neglects RP by its rules being overly focused on combat)
- still offer as much customization options as possible
- be easy to modify if needed and easy to create homebrew content for (e.g. items, monsters)
- be suitable for one-shots as well as longer campaigns
- have an online tool or a clearly structured index to look up rules/other stuff
- already have some homebrew content available on the internet, as well as a platform to discuss rulings
Using the criteria above, I put together a list of potential candidates:
- Adventurers!
- AGE
- Apotheosis
- Cortex Prime
- Cypher
- Dungeonslayers
- Fate (Core, Accelerated and/or Condensed)
- Freeform Universal
- Fudge
- Genesys
- Hero System
- HeroQuest
- Ironsworn
- Low Fantasy Gaming
- Mini Six
- Old School Essentials
- PbtA (and/or more specifically Dungeon World)
- Prose Descriptive Qualities
- Risus
- Savage Worlds
- The Black Hack
- World of Dungeons
- Worlds Without Number
- Whitehack
However, I only read about each RPG briefly… and as you can see, the list is still very long. Do any of the systems named don’t fit what I’m actually looking for or meet the requirements listed above especially well? My goal is to bring the list down to 2-3 RPGs, ultimately choosing from them. Oh, and if you think there is another RPG that I haven’t named, but fits my needs better than all the others: Recommend away!
Many thanks for all your help!
EDIT: added suitability for longer campaigns as a desirable quality
I have been where you are (although I left DnD at 4e).
I ended up switching to Savage Worlds. For me it hits the sweet spot of crunch and narrative freedom. The combat is grid based like DnD (or Theater of the mind if you prefer), but even max level characters don’t take more than a minute or 2 to resolve their turn. It’s dead simple to learn well enough to run and play but offers a great variety of more in depth mechanics if you want to spice things up. (IMHO it has the best system for mass battles of any published system and one of the best chase mechanics, two things that are severely lacking in e.g. DnD).
As for settings:
Sounds great! By mass battles, do you mean larger monster groups of like 20-100 entities or actually entire armies? I’ll stick to fantasy for the most part like you said, but it’s good to have a system that’s generally adaptable to different settings. Does the Pathfinder version run on Pathfinder rules, too, and if so, can it be used for the Savage Worlds rule system instead?
I generally use the mass battle rules when you have at least 20 combatants on each side, because at that point I can’t be bothered with miniatures anymore. The mass battle rules actually abstract the number of combatants away. The large side has strength 10, the smaller one has a corresponding fraction, so there is no upper limit to how large the involved armies can get.
The rules for Pathfinder in Savage Worlds are completely separate from the original Pathfinder rules. The original Pathfinder stuff can’t be easily converted to Savage World’s, because the d20 System of PF is very different to the dice chain savage worlds system. SW is also not attrition based like DnD or PF (as in, challenge is increased by using up PCs HP, spell slots etc), which requires a different style of adventure design.
IIRC the PF for Savage Worlds Game Masters Handbook has pointers for converting other PF material, but it’s not a straight forward process.
All that said: I’d encourage anyone coming from DnD to switch to something non claasic-Fantasy when first trying SW. By changing the setting it’s easier to get used to a new set of rules and style of adventure.