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There is a new Free League Humble Bundle.

It's slightly different from the last (?).

All Twillight 2K Books and most core books of the other systems included.

https://www.humblebundle.com/books/free-league-rpg-collection-books

I couldn't attend this year and would love to learn about everything I missed and what to keep an eye out for.

What excited you the most?

Link to video here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luHj-2BapME

Hadn't seen this posted on this sub yet, but thought there was some interesting things to discuss here: Like the DS Summoner class as a design, and how their funding to open license model works.

I have to say I think the Summoner class as a design is the most 'head-turning' of the classes they've come up with. There's a whole kind of mini-RTS going on there and it's impressive if they've managed to get that into a player turn without bogging the game down for everyone else at the table.

For context: I used to play and GM 5e exclusively but switched to PF2e a few years ago. It does everything that D&D does, but better. I'm realizing now that I want to do something a little different, though. Combat, as fun as it is, still takes up about 60-70% of any given session, and characters are built almost exclusively with fights in mind. I want to tip that scale in the other direction, at least a little.

I see Dungeon World recommended a lot, and it looks cool, but I'm not big into the "collaborative" storytelling thing. It seems like it'd be fun for a few sessions, but I like bearing the bulk of the responsibility to weave a narrative as a GM. I like writing D&D-style campaigns full of fantasy tropes and BBEGs to thwart. Frankly, I think my players like it that way too.

Basically what I want is a game that --

• Assumes a trad fantasy setting (and not much else!)
• Cares about D&D concepts like race and/or class (really, just expressive character options)
• Can support decently long, plot-driven campaigns
• Has fairly quick combat
• Has more non-combat rules and options
• Has a lower power ceiling

I'm agnostic on crunch, though easier to pick up is always better.

Anyways, I hope I'm not making any rookie errors here. I don't really pay attention to the "meta" side of the hobby, so feel free to let me know if I'm asking a dumb question. Thanks for reading!

I have seen many sources dunning on 5e for having the GM do all the work, but I don't really know what that means since I have limited experience with only 2 or 3 systems and I have only ever ran 5e myself but I'm looking to run a new system.

So my question is, what do people mean when they say that 5e gives more work to the GM? Do other games have systems in place to make it easier? Can you try to give examples of different games and the amount of work the GM needs to do?

Crosspost from: https://papercult.club/thread/738/blaster-head-which-official-star

Alright, Blaster placed to the head: which OFFICIAL Star Wars RPG do you run? Which one do you play?

Thread Rules:

• You can only pick Official Licensed Star Wars RPGs. You cannot pick, say, something like Fate Core or Black Star

• You answer both what you would RUN and what you would PLAY, as the two are different

• This part is iffy, but we are counting similar titles as one option. All of D6 is one option since its the same basic game (but one may have preference for 1e, revised, etc) as are D20 and D20R (since they are basically just editions, even if a lot change). But, SAGA is separate because it was not considered SWD20 3e, but a whole new game.

Your options:

Star Wars d6

Pros:

• THE original Star Wars system, built from the ground up for the franchise

• Light weight and fast.

• Easily hacked and modded.

• Vibrant fan community updating things after publication ceased back into this game as well as making new editions to improve on it.

Cons:

• Old School in a bad way, at times. Anyone want to spend 2 weeks healing in a bacta tank?

• Game Masters must police Jedi players to keep any semblance of balance.

• Everything is balanced around the OT so the PT stuff requires a lot of homebrew.

Star Wars d20

Pros

• Familiar d20 framework that many gamers will likely pick-up without any issue.

• Two distinct versions that are actually different and take some interesting swings (like Vitality and Wounds).

• Official support for all PT and OT content.

Cons

• You are fitting Star Wars into the D20 mold instead of making a Star Wars Game.

• While it was once-familiar, most gamers have moved onto 5e and may actually be confused by D20's clunkier elements.

• Jedi are OP for the same reason d20 Wizards are OP

• Pretty much feels like playing D&D 3.5e with a Star Wars paintjob

• Like all d20 games, making your own NPCs and enemies is an absolute nightmare as they are made the same way PCs are made & PCs chargen takes a long time

Star Wars Saga

Pros

• Possible one of the best versions of the d20 system.

• Tons of homebrew and fan support.

• Covers OT, PT, & KOTR official.

• High Powerlevel in a way that fits the EU at the time of the game's production.

Cons

• The tactical combat doesn't feel very "Star Wars."

• Still feels like stuffing SW into a d20 mold.

• Homebrew support pretty much ends in 2011 when FFG comes out.

• While more balanced than d20, Jedi are still very OP.

• Like all d20 games, making your own NPCs and enemies is an absolute nightmare as they are made the same way PCs are made & PCs chargen takes a long time.

Fantasy Flight's Star Wars Trilogy

Pros

• An original system built from the ground up for Star Wars (mostly, as Warhammer Fantasy 3e was a major inspiration)

• Design that mixes a narrative focus and tactical elements that tries to appeal to both narrative gamers and lovers of crunch

• Three distinct lines of games that split the core Star Wars experience into three elements (Scoundrels, Soldiers, Jedi) so that each title can focus on one of the franchise strengths. Each title is compatible for cross-system games.

• Support for OT, PT, & even some ST

• The Talent Tree system is the best implementation of Genesys, the generic system that followed these titles, and help keep every character very "Star Wars"

• The Force Rating/Force Die mechanic actually makes Jedi balanced for the first time with all other character types. Even comes with official support for Dark Side games, which technically required fudging the Dark Side Point mechanic all prior titles used.

• Genuinely great enemy making rules that make GMing easy.

Cons

• Proprietary dice that will eventually (and have frequently) gone out of production, making the game a chore to play in-person. Digital dice rollers mitigate the issue, but those apps/servers may eventually go dead. While official support for using normal dice are in the book, that method is tedious and time consuming. Practically unplayable. Thus, in a few years time, if you don't have a set of dice/fans do not maintain adequate digital dice rollers, this game will become extremely difficult to run.

• An identity crisis that exists between its attempt to do both Narrative-heavy dice mechanics and tactical combat. Fans often house rule more narrative elements into the combat, but RAW the combat locks down most of the narrative mechanics and kind of harshes the vibe of the narrative gamers. Mixed with the intense gear porn and chargen/charops, the game feels like something trying to appeal to many people and, while accomplishing a lot in its own right, leaves some saying "would it have been better to just focus on one demographic?"

• While the three separate lines are great for gamers who want to focus on one experience, a lot of the material in the corebooks and even the supplements overlap. The basic systems are the same and a lot of Gear/Planets/etc. overlap in the supplements of the three lines. The game line even dropped the whole separation eventually and released cross-system setting books, specifically for the Dark Times (between Episode 3 and 4, to tie into the Star Wars Rebels cartoon) and the Clone Wars. Which further makes a push for owning all three lines, despite the overlap. When one considers that the talent trees aren't even fully balanced (EotE are too generalist and have trouble with AoR characters and both still have to compete with the slight edge the Force gives FiD players) makes one wonder if they should have just made a single game line from the start. And the entire thing starts to feel a bit like a cash grab.

• This is the only title to lack official stats for iconic characters as a terms of their licensing required them not to release any stat blocks for said characters. You need to go to supplements to find stats for, say, Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, Han Solo, Princess Leia, etc. Which can be wonky.

• Space combat rules are pretty weak, to the degree some recommend simply grabbing the official Star Wars Space Tactical Game from the same company to resolve such combat instead.

My Picks

To Play:

Fantasy Flight's Star Wars Trilogy

My Reasons:

• In-depth character creation rules

• I love the Force Die Mechanic and how it models the dark side of the force perfectly

• The narrative dice mechanic genuinely works and is easy to make more narrative during tactical combat, even if you have to break RAW

• The Gear Porn is overwhelming, but can actually be easily ignored by simply not making a Gear focused character. Talents are strong enough that you can focus on those and care less about Gear. Though, it was fun once making a "General Grievous" cyborg character

• Character creation actually focuses on making the party have a reason to be a group.

• There are mechanics to tie characters to the world and adventure (Obligation for EotE and Duty for Rebellion), but I will admit that one (Morality for FiD) is weak and actually best kept to Jedi characters and given as a secondary system behind one of the others.

To Run

Star Wars d6

My Reasons:

• I am getting older and bogged down in real responsibilities. I rely more and more on improv and simple rules/enemy making to get by when I run. Fitting in the time to spent 1-3 hours making an adventure is just less feasible between a full time job, family obligations, my love life, and other hobbies. I also am just more fatigued nowadays in general and lack that youthful spark to push through.

• I went off on the elements that didn't age well, but fans are well-aware of those issues. There are options to mitigate those factors. They aren't perfect, but they are there. Also, balance matters in a TRPG, but, when the TRPG is more rules light and you have players you can trust, you can fudge it more. It matters more on the dev side because you need to make for every group, including those who can't be trusted to share spotlight. Or for more tactical games where imbalance will ruin the entire experience.

• I actually prefer the grounded power level of the early OT when compared to the EU, PT, ST. So, those limitations are a plus to me.

So, with the options laid out, what is everyone's pick?

I was looking for D100 games or BRP games that can run sci fi, saw M-space, anyone played it? Is it good?

Looking for a deadly, combat-heavy dungeon crawl system with easy character creation and moderate mechanical complexity. Should be the type of game where the first thing you do is buy a hooded lantern. Thanks in advance!

This title may even be lacking in terms because I'm not sure which ones to use here but I'm looking for sci-fi/space games and settings that have a very distinct 80s-2000s feel to them.

Id like to run a game with space travel but locked into our solar system. Hard (mostly) accurate science is a big bonus here.

Ideally it has space mechanics but also options for many on plant concepts.

Sort of like a lower tech SWN maybe? But not wwn. I'm going to check out traveller. I also have orbital blues to read.

I'm creating a few campaign settings where dungeons are spontaneously created and place by chaotic gods, and I want them to have a wide range of themes. (Bonus points if there's a system for room-by-room treasure generation and/or a method for predetermining the size of the dungeon based on how much playtime you have).

I want a method that ensures my adventures fill the entire play time. (I'm worried about having extra time leftover in my sessions)