RPGs You Should Try · 2:48pm Sep 26th, 2016
Recently one of my friends and me got into a bit of a quarrel about the state of modern RPGs. While he thinks that RPGs are at their lowest with D&D 5, the new 7th Sea being disappointing and FF games losing Warhammer, I personally think that we are in an golden age of Roleplaying with sites like DriveThruRPG and the like allowing us to find games that would have never seen publishing alone.
I stand by my point and since I know that a few people here might enjoy them too, here are 5 suggestions for homebrew or indie RPGs that you might want to try. And no, I won't include Ponyfinder. If you haven't looked that up, you are already dead.
5. Small Towns
Small Towns is the perfect intro RPG for people who have never played Video Game RPGs or little more than boardgames. It has very simple (not simplistic) rules, great tables for the GM to create a new adventure each time and a lot of suggestions and tricks to get players into it. Its all about mystery and exploration, duplicity and intrigue and a decent GM can turn it into a great cluehunt. PDF is open source, give it a go.
4. Poison'd
Do you like Pirates? Do you like being a raping, heartless cutthroat that lives to spit in the eye of god and sell the victims of your violence and anger into slavery? Well, then give Poison'd a try. The game focuses on the dark side of piracy along the Spanish Main and the constant state of emotional and spiritual exhaustion that a truly barbaric Pirate must have felt. One of your stats is literally called "Devil" and the game rewards your willingness to give up parts of your soul for the sake of your selfishness. At least until you go too far.
3. Maid RPG
Do you know harem anime? Do you want to play a maid in this anime?
Maid RPG allows you to create all the character you have ever seen in harem anime and play them. No, I'm serious! There is a table and with it you can create EVERY character you have ever seen in harem anime. All in the same setting! It is a great piece of fun and has lots of ways to play fun and silly maids in a cute setting. Fun ideas: Cleaning is literally a battle against the floor, waking up master can take several checks and maybe sempai will notice you. Its on Drivethrurpg. Give it a look
2. Adeptus Evangelion
If you ever wanted to see what had happened in Neo Genesis Evangelion if Shinji Hikari was not the least appealing thing since an Ebola warning, look no furter. Adeptus Evangelion provides conversion rules for Dark Heresy (WH40k) that allows you to create your own pilot, Evangelion and Nerv branch. There are great tables to build characters and Evas, nice ideas for new characters and a guide to design angels and meta plot. There is a lot of love in this system. Downside is that you will need a battle-map and a lot of paper to keep track of numbers. Still, give it a look, it is great fun to have a giant robot trip and fall onto a school for the blind. Google it, its free.
1. Wizkid The Cheapening
Off to happier places: Have you ever wondered how Harry Potter would have played out if Herminia was a nymphomaniac dynamo and Ron liked boys just as much? No? GOOD! Now you can literally play this scenario in Wizkid. A parody of Mage: The Ascention, Wizkid is about a bunch of horny teenagers forced to live together in a school for wizards. It has a system for making your uniform look good as well as a fun spell selection and some of the funniest merits and flaws in the industry (Examples: Furry, Boring Parents, Small Wand). Wizkid is pure, unbridled sillyness and it's glorious to basically replay the plotpoints of the Harry Potter books with a band of completely inept dolts who suffer from acne as well as completely unhinged libido. Get this game and support the makers. Its on Drivethrurpg
Give them a try
I can attest to the fun of Adeptus Eva. Especially since I set my session at NERV Boston and has the pilots attend Miskatonic Prep. Plus, designing Angels is almost unfairly enjoyable.
Tell your friend he's out of his goddamned mind :P
This is the greatest rpg time in history. ... Yknow, for consumers. Notsomuch for publishers.
And if he doesn't like D&D 5, there are official and unofficial ways to play any edition he wants! Like D&D 2 or 1? OSR, bitches!
Oh, btw, Godbound! Best ever!
4227604 Sounds like a really good time. I love designing angels too, though what I also do it make a real city map and tell players what exact building they have just flattened. Always fun to step on a school for the blind.
4227694 I already told him. Suffice to say, he is not one of my best friends :P
His argumentation is that "Big RPGs take customers away!" and "People don't play -RIGHT- when they start with D&D!". He is just the kind of idiot who lives in a past that never was -_-
I haven't heard of Godbound, but I'll give it a look. I also wanted to stress really small RPGs.
4227720 Sine Nomine Publishing is one dude, so that qualifies, i think :D
Unless you mean small in terms of book size.
4227781 Ok, I just saw the production value on that thing and thought it was a bigger studio. Gotta take another friendship lesson from Zecora then. I'll give the trial version a read when I get the chance but I haven't heard of it before
4229554 Kevin doesn't screw around.