I second a voice for Blades in the Dark! Really good setting and the countdown clocks help shape Duskval session to session. If you love steampunk (and can find it), pick up Tephra. It is horribly underrepresented in the TRPG community.
I believe people should try Anima - Beyond Fantasy so people can appreciate the smooth line mechanics of pretty much anything else. It makes pathfinder look simple.
Rogue trader by fantasy flight games. Like a dark entrepreneurial star trek with good and deep ship combat and a skill buy system that allows deep customization it's very fun. I was a GM for a game but had to drop out for work reasons. The expansion book that helps you make worlds is honestly pretty fun and inspiring going to slot that in to other games in the future.
03:21 *Call of Cthulhu* (7th Edition) [Chaosium 2014] - Adventures vary from the Survival Horror of a slasher flick or monster movie to the nihilistic Existential Horror of the Cthulhu Mythos. Very high character mortality or "retirement" rate. A _Basic Role-Playing_ (BRP) System variant (D100 / Percentile dice system). The player must roll under the percentile score in a skill in order to succeed. POW is how many Spell Power points the character has and SAN is their Sanity level. (There is an inverse relationship between these; usually the higher your POW, the lower your SAN).
Great video! I came just for the fun and expected you to mention the other big rpg’s that are out there, but you actually mentioned a bit of everything!!! Keep up the good work!
01:26 *Legend of the 5 Rings* (4th Edition) [Alderac Entertainment Group (AEG) (1996-2015)] - Set in the Asian Neo-Feudal fantasy world of Rokugan that was originally designed for Dungeons & Dragons _Oriental Adventures_ / D20 System (3rd Edition). D10-based game with _dice pool mechanic_ (called "Roll and Keep": Roll a pool of dice and keep only some of the results; e.g. _5k3_ means roll 5 d10, keep 3 results of your choice) and _exploding die mechanic_ (player gets to perform an additional roll every time they get a result of "10" on a D10 and then add the value to the final result). Each character has 10 traits (Reflexes / Awareness [Air], Stamina /Willpower [Earth], Agility / Intelligence [Fire], Strength / Perception [Water]) split into the 5 elemental Rings (Air, Earth, Fire, & Water, plus Void). You can't raise a trait unless you also raise its elemental pair. *Legend of the 5 Rings* (5th Edition) [Fantasy Flight Games (2018-Present)] - A reboot of the lore and rules. The game now uses a variant of FFG's _Narrative Dice system_ (like Warhammer Fantasy Role-Play and Star Wars) that uses black 6-sided and white 12-sided symbol dice. The player rolls a pool of dice and the game master figures out the result from the number of positive (Success & Explosive Success), neutral (Opportunity) and negative (Strife) results. An Explosive Success allows the player to roll the dice again and add the results to the final pool.
Excellent suggestions! Perfectly timed too, because my group has run right into DnD burnout. If one is seeking pure simplicity, you can't get simpler than Fudge.
Exactly why I did the video actually! I love DND but it's nice to get a few other games to cleanse the palette so to speak! I have heard of fudge before but haven't looked at it! May need to haha
I'm currently running Shadowrun (3rd edition) for my players. I've always enjoyed the setting and amount of background events that can be used as things the GM tells the players are happening off screen (unless a GM wishes to involve his players in big and possibly world effecting events). I like the mechanics for 3rd edition more than the newer editions, so I've stuck with 3rd edition. Also owning most (if not all the 1st-3rd edition books) is another reason.
00:17 *Savage Worlds - Adventure Edition (SWADE)* [Pinnacle 2019] - The generic core rulebook has no campaign world, but there are a variety of gameworld series like Deadlands, Weird War, 50 Fathoms, Flash Gordon, etc. and lots of free One-Shot adventures online. Game has a Pulp-infused heroic style of play in which the character is a "Wild Card" who has amazing abilities and powers that mundane people lack. Polyhedron dice based (D4, D6, D8, D10, & D12) Universal System game with _exploding dice mechanic_ (player gets to perform an additional roll every time they get an "Ace", or highest roll on a die - like a natural 6 on a D6, and add its value to the result). A high die roll result that is 4 points over the set Target Number (difficulty of the task) is called a Raise (a Critical Success). A very good roll could have two or more Raises. Player Characters and "Named" Non-Player characters are called "Wild Cards". They roll an extra D6 called a "Wild Die" and add the result to the die roll (the "Wild Die" can also "explode" if the player rolls a "6"). If the player rolls a natural "1" on either die, they get a Fumble (Critical Failure); if they roll a natural "1" on both dice, it is a Snakeyes (Catastrophic Failure). Character generation is point-based. Characters start with a pool of character points (cps) that can only be used in character generation to buy Attribute and Skill levels. Character Attribute levels are based on a die type (Level 0 [D4] > Level 1 [D6] > Level 2 [D8] > Level 3 [D10] > Level 4 [D12]). An Attribute roll (like a D&D saving throw) would use the Attribute die type. Skills are broad (Drive rather than Drive [Car] or Drive [Mazda cars], although specialization bonuses/penalties are possible). A Skill roll die type is based off the purchased Skill level (Level 1 [D4] > Level 2 [D6] > Level 3 [D8] > Level 4 [D10] > Level 5 [D12]). There are also Edges (advantages) that can grant bonuses and Hindrances (disadvantages) that add penalties. Players can buy Edges during character creation by taking Hindrances. Wild Card characters get Benny chips (poker-chip tokens). The amount given depends on the character's experience level. Novices (Rank 1) get 1 chip, while Legendary (Rank 5) characters get 5. They can be used to add a bonus to a roll, re-roll a failure, soak damage taken, activate an Edge, or temporarily negate a Hindrance. A Fumble result can be bought off with a Benny Chip, but a Snakeyes is either permanent or requires 2 Bennies.
Along with Call of Cthulhu, the Star Trek Adventures game that Modiphius cranked out a couple years ago is one of my current favorites to run with my group. It does a great job of incentivising roleplay and thinking outside the box with personality-specific mechanics, being built around the idea that most PCs by default are explorers/diplomats/scientists/etc and encouraging non-violent solutions to conflicts. The rules aren't the easiest to understand at first glance but I loved it once I dug into it.
Great suggestions! I’ve been a dedicated D&D player for several years now and have wanting to branch out. I’ve been particularly interested in Call of Cthulhu but also quality superhero rpgs! I happened upon your channel on Twitter and I’m glad I did! You’re almost in the 500 subscribers club! I just hit than myself.
Hey good to hear you liked them! I run a ton of DND but I love trying different systems and branching out as I love game design so more than happy to suggest games! Call of cthulhu is such a fun game for sure it's very very different when moving to that from DND it's refreshing! Nicely done! I am trying to work to 500 by June and keep the content coming for sure. Congratulations!
@@HollowTale Yup, there must be a hundred different settings between Pinnacle's own and third parties! Solomon Kane, Flash Gordon, Rifts and I think you'd get a real kick out of Low Life.
04:16 *MASKS: A New Generation* [Magpie Games 2016] - The characters are members of the newest wave of heroes (there have already been Golden, Silver and Bronze Ages) and their efforts will either bring a grim and cynical Iron Age or a renewed and optimistic Platinum Age. Gameplay is very emotion-intensive and relies on improvisational and method acting techniques. If your player would be uncomfortable roleplaying a virtual group therapy session, then this isn't for them. A _"Powered by the Apocalypse" hack_ that mostly relies on narrative gameplay. Characters play teen hero personality archetypes mapped out in Playbooks (The Beacon, The Bull, The Doomed, The Innocent, The Janus, The Legacy, The Nova, The Protégé, The Reformed, The Star, The Transformed, etc.). The chosen Playbook sets up the basis of who the character is and what their goals are. This makes it easier to do a quick shakedown session to introduce new players or throw together characters for a quick pickup game. Handing out a Playbook to each player makes it so there is only one character archetype per team. This eliminates duplication (like Bloodsport and Peacemaker in The Suicide Squad) and reinforces how special and "shiny" each character is. Rather than fixed Attributes, there are 5 Labels (Danger, Freak, Savior, Superior, & Mundane) that are rated from -2 to +3. Danger indicates how risk-taking or risk-adverse the character is. Freak (unique weirdo) vs Mundane (ordinary and normal) and Savior (self-sacrifice) vs Superior (self-centered confidence) are opposing Labels. Which Labels are prominent define their personality and grant modifiers. The character's actions (and the success or failure of those actions) affect their Labels. Getting the key to the city may improve a character's Superior or Savior Label and lower their Freak or Mundane Label. Failing to save an old lady from a burning building may lower a character's Savior or Superior Label and increase their Danger Label - especially if their nemesis uses their feelings of self-recrimination against them. Skills and Powers (called Moves) have to be used in gameplay in order for the character to unlock proficiency in them. The more a character uses their Moves, the more skilled they become. Master-level skills and abilities are called "Adult tier" and can only be unlocked when the character has matured or had a Playbook-specific epiphany. Conditions are imposed emotional states (fear, anger, anxiety, sadness, etc.) that affect heroes and villains. Combat and contests of skill or might are decided on which person cracks under the weight of the imposed emotional Conditions. You don't defeat a villain by knocking them unconscious. You undermine their self-image or ego or have them come to grips with the true motivation for their crimes. Recovery from Conditions is effected by Comfort or Support actions from others or the hero's or villain's Team Moves (group activities or interventions by teammates).
Hey! Thank you so much! I was not before (at least it slipped my mind) but it certainly is now on my list. Don't know how I could have forgot the OSR it's a cool one. I need to read into the books more though!
@@tzununm7867 it's really good. You have to get past the fact that you're playing as a kid. But once you've done that, the game itself and mysteries are great.
I can't recommend L5R any more highly! It has a wonderful setting, I do recommend having DM's and players alike do research into various eastern cultures if you want to play it. While the game does focus largely on a Japanese influence, there are plenty of things to keep in mind. The Unicorn Clan in the north of rokugan has a very Mongolian Horde aesthetic to them that I loved a lot more after playing Ghost of Tsushima. Characters that are not from rokugan are all called Gaijin by locals no matter what other in-game location you are from; whether that's the India-inspired Ivory Kingdoms, the vaguely undefined Mongolian-themed place to the north that the unicorn clan explored for a long time, or if you want your character to be an African or European inspired foreigner to the land. It is a game that relies much more on roleplay than D&D typically does. If you do make a samurai, unless you make a Ronin, your character is already a noble, complete with the responsibilities and duties of such a rank. You're expected to represent your clan in just about everything you do and it is emphasized by the Honor and Glory scores. For people who are not familiar with the setting already, I'd generally recommend the starter box, but either the starter box or core rules can work as an initial purchase.
Wow! Unhallowed Metropolis in the wild! I love UnMet's setting but felt the game would have made a great setting for the old game All Flesh Must be Eaten.
Is Cypher System just not known? What I have learned about Cypher System: It came 2015, year later of D&D 5e and is based on Numerals. It is simpler then D&D 5e in my opinion and the whole TTRPG is designed to fit all gender almost naturally. You can do Fantazy, Murder Mystery, Skifi or even almost your D&D game using Cypher System. The beauty of Cypher System is Game Intrusion which is GM's tool. GM Does not roll at all, instead he can introduce game intrusion which challenge players and give them xp as reward. Players make all the rolls so GM does not need to roll anything. When enemy attacks players roll Defense roll like they would roll Attack roll. Which is nice. Players can use XP to level up while game goes on but they can also pay XP to refuce Game Intrusion and they wont get then any xp from it. XP can also be used to reroll a failed dice roll. GM give task difficulty from 0 to 10 which then is x3 which is the number player's must roll using d20 to succeed. Ofc task lvl 10 would require roll of 30 which is impossible with d20, that is why you can lower the task. Your skills can lower the task difficulty by 2, you can also have up to two assets to lower it another 2 and you can spend your "hp (stat pools)" to insert Effort lowering the task difficulty. Technically at the end game you can lower any task by 10 and could in theory do task lvl 16. Task lvl10 is something that does not break reality and physics. So something like Cthulhu might be taks lvl 17 monster ^_^ I love the system how flexible Cypher System is.
World of Darkness. I know it's one of the more popular role playing games that aren't DnD or Pathfinder, but even my friends who are crazy about role playing games haven't played them.
World of Darkness isn't a Role-Playing game, it's White Wolves setting FOR nearly all their Role-Playing game... not the same. All of White Wolves stuff was AWESOME BUT my favorite one will remain The Exalted :3 // And yours friends haven't role-played for long or didn't try much.
@@fredericleclerc9037 I know it's the setting. I was just lumping them all together. My friends play a lot, but I had a specific friend a mind. They play a lot of ttrpgs but the closest thing the a World of Darkness game was only using the system. Not the setting.
I recommend looking into f.a.t.a.l it's a robust system with a well developed character generation system. Combat is rather lethal and the magic rules are a bit complicated but there is so much fun to be had.
02:32 *Unhallowed Metropolis* (Revised) [Eos Publishing (2007-2011; Original Edition Hardback), Atomic Overmind Publishing (2011-2016; Revised Edition Hardback), Strix Publishing (2016-Present; Revised Edition Hardback)] Steampunk Neo-Victorian post-Zombie-apocalypse set in London. A plague broke out in 1905 that turned infected animals and people into zombies and created urban wastelands called Sepulchres. This is paired with The Blight, a fungal infection that leaves land infertile and tainted. People with means wear gas masks because between the fumes from the pollution in the Thames and the thick coal smoke from the chimneys and smokestacks, the air in London is poisonous and caustic. The world is set 200 years later, after the humans have turned the tide slightly. 2d10 based game system. Roll 2d10 and add positive or negative modifiers to figure out success or failure. Use an appropriate Attribute or Skill as the base versus a difficulty rating (or opposed roll if using it against a creature or NPC.) Combat is _SLA Industries_ tough and splatterpunky, so it's wise to avoid it in play unless it's necessary. Character Classes are called Callings and explain how your character is involved in the adventure world and what their social class, profession / skill sets, strengths and weaknesses are. They can have Stunts (skill-based Feats) and Qualities (advantages) that cost points and Impediments (disadvantages) that grant points during character creation. Every character starts with a point of Corruption. There are three types: _Physical_ (corporeal ailments, disabilities or mutations), _Desire_ (spiritual malaise, paraphilia or psychological illness), or _Drive_ (obsession). The player can use a Second Chance (a result re-roll) per session as many times as their highest Corruption level. If they have a level of 5 in Corruption, they are irredeemably corrupted and must be "retired".
I want to give both the Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40k RPGs a go sometime for sure! I tried a Chaos Space Marine based game years ago but the GM unfortunately had to stop!
4:20 "And is simple, quick and fun to pick up and play." Yet for the entire system your voice is as serious as a manager presenting business strategies to get his company out of a devastating crisis xD I mean your style of narration perfectly fits all the dark and deep systems on the list but just not the lighthearted "Masks: A New Generation" if you know what I mean. And I know this video is kind of old by now but the disconnect between the tone of your voice and the tone of the last game is so comedically large that I just had to tell you 😅
Five none D&D system great games for me are: Cryptworld, Chaosium's Magic World/ Stormbringer, (I never did go for Runequest much), Mongoose's Classic Traveller, Frontierspace and maybe HARP or VS Darkmaster. In saying that the Call of Cuthulhu is great and I always enjoyed the Original Gangbusters but that's way past 5 games. I never enjoyed hero points, drawbacks and edges and the like. Hero points for me is just a way of cheating on a dice roll and Drawbacks and edges for me is little more than superman and his kyptonite. We still end up playing overpowered unrealistic characters with paper thin depth and buy advantages with the payments made of weaknesses aka "game balance", so we end up with supadupa heroes again just in a disguised way.
Some solid suggestions there! I have played a few of those for sure, not true out the magic world/storm ringer stuff or cryptworld! But I did get the chance to play a live game of Vs Darkmaster which was great fun!
There are two different versions depending on which publisher you use. The AEG version uses a base d10 dice system, while the FFG version uses a unique variant on their symbol-based Narrative Dice system. *The AEG version* was in 4 different editions, is out of print, and will have to be bought used. The 1st and 2nd editions were designed to be compatible with Dungeons & Dragons (3rd Edition), but this was dropped from _Lot5R (3rd edition)_ onwards when _D&D v3.5_ came out. Each character has 10 traits (Reflexes / Awareness [Air], Stamina /Willpower [Earth], Agility / Intelligence [Fire], Strength / Perception [Water]) split into the 5 elemental Rings (Air, Earth, Fire, & Water, plus Void). You can't raise a trait unless you also raise its elemental pair. Skills are tied to a trait and its Ring. There are also 7 major Clans: Crab, Crane, Dragon, Lion, Phoenix, Scorpion & Unicorn which have different personalities, reputations, abilities and stat bonuses. It is different from Dungeons & Dragons, but the dice system is concrete and easy to figure out at a glance. If you've played a role-playing game before, this version will be easy to pick up. *The FFG version (5th edition)* uses different mechanics and relies on a set of Narrative Dice (black D6 for untrained Ring-based rolls and white D12 for trained Skill-based rolls). Rolls are based on the 5 Rings. Each Ring now represents an "elemental themed" approach that can be used in particular circumstances (like the Approaches in the FATE Accelerated Edition [FAE] system). For instance, Fire is "passionate and driven" and Air is "graceful and cunning". Ring ranks are from 1 to 6 and Skill ranks are from 1 to 5. Like other Narrative Dice games, you roll a D6 Ring die for every rank you have in a Ring when making an unskilled roll (i.e., not having a rank in it). A D12 Skill die exchanges for each D6 Ring die in the dice pool for each rank you have in that skill. The results are symbols (Success, Explosive Success [roll again and add the results], Opportunity, and Strife [reduces Composure]) rather than flat numbers and must be interpreted. It has a high learning curve for players, who have to get how the abstract Narrative dice system works. The game master must have a good memory and imagination and be able to think on their feet to interpret the results in a fluid fashion. *Availability* Neither game is available in PDF and must be bought in softback or hardcover. If you don't want to buy unique new dice that might be hard to get in a few years, go with the AEG version (and make sure all the books are from the same edition). If you want to buy books at cover price rather than EBay markup and want to try out the new Narrative Dice system, give FFG a try.
Cataclysm RPG... while I can bitch about the 18+ month Kickstarter delay and shotty communications they had the game itself has a simple elegance.... The cool thing is you can set the cute level to your own tastes. It can be played as viscous as any type of RPG out there. It can also have the violence toned down a but and the cute turned up in order to try to "lure in the innocents into RPGs". Like getting your kids or senior citizen parents to play. It's about playing evolved fantasy cats in a post apocalyptic world after the humans left! Not anthropomorphic cats but cats that evolved to have thumbs, talk, and stand on two legs.... .... my complaint is the mismanagement of the kickstarter not about the game itself. I believe there is a test drive of it available on drivethrurpg.
@@HollowTale not sure if it will flag the link as spam but will zap you the full version link... I know they had the testdrive version on rpgdrivethru as well
I would recommend to play these systems and look for interesting mechanics that you then incorporate into DnD. I often have new players and for them it's super easy to understand everything because the basics is still DnD. But I changed a lot, we are playing in a system without classes, levels, super dangerous and rare magic, realistic healing, wounds and with hero's that are on the same power level as your average bandit. Also, I added the wises system from burning wheel, allowing players to find creative solutions because of their characters past Lifes.
GDI Jackson stop with the babe haha On a side note though I do want to revive it at some point! The old 2 full scale campaigns were fun but I want to do a more full conversion.
@@JoelFeila hey there welcome to the channel. I used savage worlds with some heavy homebrew to make the system (mainly the powers) fit the chakra system. I then just edited the skills to include things like "chakra control" "ninjutsu" "genjutsu" Fighting became taijutsu and your parry was controlled by either that or the "weapons" skill I added which ever was higher (assuming you used weapons) as that reflects the manga more. I then wrote an extensive list of kekei genkai creation edges and changed a few core rules ever so slightly to make it work. It did the job for a full year campaign. I may do a video on it sometime :)
Wake up people this is not external than us. This is conciousness coming through as a fractal version of our same self. We are one! And we are creators! Pure bliss
![Why Should You Play Ryuutama? [ft. LittleCuppaJo]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/vnPg07z6zy0/mqdefault.jpg)
I second a voice for Blades in the Dark! Really good setting and the countdown clocks help shape Duskval session to session. If you love steampunk (and can find it), pick up Tephra. It is horribly underrepresented in the TRPG community.
I LOVE blades in the dark and the whole forged in the dark system overall. Its become a favorite.
I believe people should try Anima - Beyond Fantasy so people can appreciate the smooth line mechanics of pretty much anything else. It makes pathfinder look simple.
That game is a bit mental numbers wise for sure!
Woah, you stalk his UA-cam channel too?
@@Tectonix26 I'm the OG stalker honey XD
Old School Chivalry & Sorcery
Rogue trader by fantasy flight games. Like a dark entrepreneurial star trek with good and deep ship combat and a skill buy system that allows deep customization it's very fun. I was a GM for a game but had to drop out for work reasons. The expansion book that helps you make worlds is honestly pretty fun and inspiring going to slot that in to other games in the future.
We had so much fun with RT back in the day!
03:21 *Call of Cthulhu* (7th Edition) [Chaosium 2014] - Adventures vary from the Survival Horror of a slasher flick or monster movie to the nihilistic Existential Horror of the Cthulhu Mythos. Very high character mortality or "retirement" rate.
A _Basic Role-Playing_ (BRP) System variant (D100 / Percentile dice system). The player must roll under the percentile score in a skill in order to succeed. POW is how many Spell Power points the character has and SAN is their Sanity level. (There is an inverse relationship between these; usually the higher your POW, the lower your SAN).
Great video! I came just for the fun and expected you to mention the other big rpg’s that are out there, but you actually mentioned a bit of everything!!! Keep up the good work!
Hey thank you so much! Super happy you enjoyed it! Can't wait to bring more content you hopefully enjoy!
01:26 *Legend of the 5 Rings* (4th Edition) [Alderac Entertainment Group (AEG) (1996-2015)] - Set in the Asian Neo-Feudal fantasy world of Rokugan that was originally designed for Dungeons & Dragons _Oriental Adventures_ / D20 System (3rd Edition).
D10-based game with _dice pool mechanic_ (called "Roll and Keep": Roll a pool of dice and keep only some of the results; e.g. _5k3_ means roll 5 d10, keep 3 results of your choice) and _exploding die mechanic_ (player gets to perform an additional roll every time they get a result of "10" on a D10 and then add the value to the final result).
Each character has 10 traits (Reflexes / Awareness [Air], Stamina /Willpower [Earth], Agility / Intelligence [Fire], Strength / Perception [Water]) split into the 5 elemental Rings (Air, Earth, Fire, & Water, plus Void). You can't raise a trait unless you also raise its elemental pair.
*Legend of the 5 Rings* (5th Edition) [Fantasy Flight Games (2018-Present)] - A reboot of the lore and rules.
The game now uses a variant of FFG's _Narrative Dice system_ (like Warhammer Fantasy Role-Play and Star Wars) that uses black 6-sided and white 12-sided symbol dice. The player rolls a pool of dice and the game master figures out the result from the number of positive (Success & Explosive Success), neutral (Opportunity) and negative (Strife) results. An Explosive Success allows the player to roll the dice again and add the results to the final pool.
Excellent suggestions! Perfectly timed too, because my group has run right into DnD burnout.
If one is seeking pure simplicity, you can't get simpler than Fudge.
Exactly why I did the video actually! I love DND but it's nice to get a few other games to cleanse the palette so to speak!
I have heard of fudge before but haven't looked at it! May need to haha
I recommend Pathfinder 1st and second edition, GURPS, and Open Legend
I'm currently running Shadowrun (3rd edition) for my players. I've always enjoyed the setting and amount of background events that can be used as things the GM tells the players are happening off screen (unless a GM wishes to involve his players in big and possibly world effecting events). I like the mechanics for 3rd edition more than the newer editions, so I've stuck with 3rd edition. Also owning most (if not all the 1st-3rd edition books) is another reason.
00:17 *Savage Worlds - Adventure Edition (SWADE)* [Pinnacle 2019] - The generic core rulebook has no campaign world, but there are a variety of gameworld series like Deadlands, Weird War, 50 Fathoms, Flash Gordon, etc. and lots of free One-Shot adventures online. Game has a Pulp-infused heroic style of play in which the character is a "Wild Card" who has amazing abilities and powers that mundane people lack.
Polyhedron dice based (D4, D6, D8, D10, & D12) Universal System game with _exploding dice mechanic_ (player gets to perform an additional roll every time they get an "Ace", or highest roll on a die - like a natural 6 on a D6, and add its value to the result). A high die roll result that is 4 points over the set Target Number (difficulty of the task) is called a Raise (a Critical Success). A very good roll could have two or more Raises. Player Characters and "Named" Non-Player characters are called "Wild Cards". They roll an extra D6 called a "Wild Die" and add the result to the die roll (the "Wild Die" can also "explode" if the player rolls a "6"). If the player rolls a natural "1" on either die, they get a Fumble (Critical Failure); if they roll a natural "1" on both dice, it is a Snakeyes (Catastrophic Failure).
Character generation is point-based. Characters start with a pool of character points (cps) that can only be used in character generation to buy Attribute and Skill levels. Character Attribute levels are based on a die type (Level 0 [D4] > Level 1 [D6] > Level 2 [D8] > Level 3 [D10] > Level 4 [D12]). An Attribute roll (like a D&D saving throw) would use the Attribute die type. Skills are broad (Drive rather than Drive [Car] or Drive [Mazda cars], although specialization bonuses/penalties are possible). A Skill roll die type is based off the purchased Skill level (Level 1 [D4] > Level 2 [D6] > Level 3 [D8] > Level 4 [D10] > Level 5 [D12]). There are also Edges (advantages) that can grant bonuses and Hindrances (disadvantages) that add penalties. Players can buy Edges during character creation by taking Hindrances.
Wild Card characters get Benny chips (poker-chip tokens). The amount given depends on the character's experience level. Novices (Rank 1) get 1 chip, while Legendary (Rank 5) characters get 5. They can be used to add a bonus to a roll, re-roll a failure, soak damage taken, activate an Edge, or temporarily negate a Hindrance. A Fumble result can be bought off with a Benny Chip, but a Snakeyes is either permanent or requires 2 Bennies.
Have you tried Blades in the Dark? Or the Spire/Heart RPGs?
Along with Call of Cthulhu, the Star Trek Adventures game that Modiphius cranked out a couple years ago is one of my current favorites to run with my group. It does a great job of incentivising roleplay and thinking outside the box with personality-specific mechanics, being built around the idea that most PCs by default are explorers/diplomats/scientists/etc and encouraging non-violent solutions to conflicts. The rules aren't the easiest to understand at first glance but I loved it once I dug into it.
Couldn't get into the whole 2d20 system.
Great suggestions! I’ve been a dedicated D&D player for several years now and have wanting to branch out. I’ve been particularly interested in Call of Cthulhu but also quality superhero rpgs!
I happened upon your channel on Twitter and I’m glad I did! You’re almost in the 500 subscribers club! I just hit than myself.
Hey good to hear you liked them! I run a ton of DND but I love trying different systems and branching out as I love game design so more than happy to suggest games!
Call of cthulhu is such a fun game for sure it's very very different when moving to that from DND it's refreshing!
Nicely done! I am trying to work to 500 by June and keep the content coming for sure. Congratulations!
And... if you want to play Savage Worlds AND Call of C'thulhu, try out Realms of C'thulhu, a Savage Worlds setting book also on RPGNow/Drivethru.
Wait... this is a thing?! Immediately going to look this up.
@@HollowTale
Yup, there must be a hundred different settings between Pinnacle's own and third parties!
Solomon Kane, Flash Gordon, Rifts and I think you'd get a real kick out of Low Life.
I love Cthulhu, just got Savage Worlds and i look forward to getting Ryuutama one day
All REALLY fun plays haha hope you enjoy them!
@@HollowTale Thanks mate!
04:16 *MASKS: A New Generation* [Magpie Games 2016] - The characters are members of the newest wave of heroes (there have already been Golden, Silver and Bronze Ages) and their efforts will either bring a grim and cynical Iron Age or a renewed and optimistic Platinum Age. Gameplay is very emotion-intensive and relies on improvisational and method acting techniques. If your player would be uncomfortable roleplaying a virtual group therapy session, then this isn't for them.
A _"Powered by the Apocalypse" hack_ that mostly relies on narrative gameplay. Characters play teen hero personality archetypes mapped out in Playbooks (The Beacon, The Bull, The Doomed, The Innocent, The Janus, The Legacy, The Nova, The Protégé, The Reformed, The Star, The Transformed, etc.). The chosen Playbook sets up the basis of who the character is and what their goals are. This makes it easier to do a quick shakedown session to introduce new players or throw together characters for a quick pickup game. Handing out a Playbook to each player makes it so there is only one character archetype per team. This eliminates duplication (like Bloodsport and Peacemaker in The Suicide Squad) and reinforces how special and "shiny" each character is.
Rather than fixed Attributes, there are 5 Labels (Danger, Freak, Savior, Superior, & Mundane) that are rated from -2 to +3. Danger indicates how risk-taking or risk-adverse the character is. Freak (unique weirdo) vs Mundane (ordinary and normal) and Savior (self-sacrifice) vs Superior (self-centered confidence) are opposing Labels. Which Labels are prominent define their personality and grant modifiers. The character's actions (and the success or failure of those actions) affect their Labels. Getting the key to the city may improve a character's Superior or Savior Label and lower their Freak or Mundane Label. Failing to save an old lady from a burning building may lower a character's Savior or Superior Label and increase their Danger Label - especially if their nemesis uses their feelings of self-recrimination against them.
Skills and Powers (called Moves) have to be used in gameplay in order for the character to unlock proficiency in them. The more a character uses their Moves, the more skilled they become. Master-level skills and abilities are called "Adult tier" and can only be unlocked when the character has matured or had a Playbook-specific epiphany.
Conditions are imposed emotional states (fear, anger, anxiety, sadness, etc.) that affect heroes and villains. Combat and contests of skill or might are decided on which person cracks under the weight of the imposed emotional Conditions. You don't defeat a villain by knocking them unconscious. You undermine their self-image or ego or have them come to grips with the true motivation for their crimes. Recovery from Conditions is effected by Comfort or Support actions from others or the hero's or villain's Team Moves (group activities or interventions by teammates).
Dude I love your channel! Keep making awesome vids! Also will you be making any videos on the OSR?
Hey! Thank you so much!
I was not before (at least it slipped my mind) but it certainly is now on my list. Don't know how I could have forgot the OSR it's a cool one. I need to read into the books more though!
Great video man. My recommendations would also include Call of Cthulhu, Tales from the Loop, Forbidden Lands, Blades in the Dark, Vaesen
How is tales from the loop?
@@tzununm7867 it's really good. You have to get past the fact that you're playing as a kid. But once you've done that, the game itself and mysteries are great.
Great suggestions, Savage Worlds sounds so interesting, will try. Thanks!
I can't recommend L5R any more highly! It has a wonderful setting, I do recommend having DM's and players alike do research into various eastern cultures if you want to play it. While the game does focus largely on a Japanese influence, there are plenty of things to keep in mind.
The Unicorn Clan in the north of rokugan has a very Mongolian Horde aesthetic to them that I loved a lot more after playing Ghost of Tsushima. Characters that are not from rokugan are all called Gaijin by locals no matter what other in-game location you are from; whether that's the India-inspired Ivory Kingdoms, the vaguely undefined Mongolian-themed place to the north that the unicorn clan explored for a long time, or if you want your character to be an African or European inspired foreigner to the land. It is a game that relies much more on roleplay than D&D typically does.
If you do make a samurai, unless you make a Ronin, your character is already a noble, complete with the responsibilities and duties of such a rank. You're expected to represent your clan in just about everything you do and it is emphasized by the Honor and Glory scores. For people who are not familiar with the setting already, I'd generally recommend the starter box, but either the starter box or core rules can work as an initial purchase.
Wow! Unhallowed Metropolis in the wild! I love UnMet's setting but felt the game would have made a great setting for the old game All Flesh Must be Eaten.
Love TTRPGs, that's how I found the channel, subbed because you sound exactly like Daniel Radcliffe 🤔🤨😁
Is Cypher System just not known?
What I have learned about Cypher System: It came 2015, year later of D&D 5e and is based on Numerals. It is simpler then D&D 5e in my opinion and the whole TTRPG is designed to fit all gender almost naturally. You can do Fantazy, Murder Mystery, Skifi or even almost your D&D game using Cypher System.
The beauty of Cypher System is Game Intrusion which is GM's tool. GM Does not roll at all, instead he can introduce game intrusion which challenge players and give them xp as reward. Players make all the rolls so GM does not need to roll anything. When enemy attacks players roll Defense roll like they would roll Attack roll. Which is nice.
Players can use XP to level up while game goes on but they can also pay XP to refuce Game Intrusion and they wont get then any xp from it. XP can also be used to reroll a failed dice roll.
GM give task difficulty from 0 to 10 which then is x3 which is the number player's must roll using d20 to succeed. Ofc task lvl 10 would require roll of 30 which is impossible with d20, that is why you can lower the task. Your skills can lower the task difficulty by 2, you can also have up to two assets to lower it another 2 and you can spend your "hp (stat pools)" to insert Effort lowering the task difficulty. Technically at the end game you can lower any task by 10 and could in theory do task lvl 16.
Task lvl10 is something that does not break reality and physics. So something like Cthulhu might be taks lvl 17 monster ^_^
I love the system how flexible Cypher System is.
I’d recommend iron kingdoms and unleashed. Really fun dynamic system with one of my all time favorite settings.
World of Darkness. I know it's one of the more popular role playing games that aren't DnD or Pathfinder, but even my friends who are crazy about role playing games haven't played them.
World of Darkness isn't a Role-Playing game, it's White Wolves setting FOR nearly all their Role-Playing game... not the same. All of White Wolves stuff was AWESOME BUT my favorite one will remain The Exalted :3 // And yours friends haven't role-played for long or didn't try much.
@@fredericleclerc9037 I know it's the setting. I was just lumping them all together. My friends play a lot, but I had a specific friend a mind. They play a lot of ttrpgs but the closest thing the a World of Darkness game was only using the system. Not the setting.
I do love some world of darkness!
I recommend looking into f.a.t.a.l it's a robust system with a well developed character generation system. Combat is rather lethal and the magic rules are a bit complicated but there is so much fun to be had.
Strongly reccomend the mutant year zero line of games for post apocalypse and for more sword and sorcery go with forbidden lands same core system
02:32 *Unhallowed Metropolis* (Revised) [Eos Publishing (2007-2011; Original Edition Hardback), Atomic Overmind Publishing (2011-2016; Revised Edition Hardback), Strix Publishing (2016-Present; Revised Edition Hardback)]
Steampunk Neo-Victorian post-Zombie-apocalypse set in London. A plague broke out in 1905 that turned infected animals and people into zombies and created urban wastelands called Sepulchres. This is paired with The Blight, a fungal infection that leaves land infertile and tainted. People with means wear gas masks because between the fumes from the pollution in the Thames and the thick coal smoke from the chimneys and smokestacks, the air in London is poisonous and caustic. The world is set 200 years later, after the humans have turned the tide slightly.
2d10 based game system. Roll 2d10 and add positive or negative modifiers to figure out success or failure. Use an appropriate Attribute or Skill as the base versus a difficulty rating (or opposed roll if using it against a creature or NPC.) Combat is _SLA Industries_ tough and splatterpunky, so it's wise to avoid it in play unless it's necessary.
Character Classes are called Callings and explain how your character is involved in the adventure world and what their social class, profession / skill sets, strengths and weaknesses are. They can have Stunts (skill-based Feats) and Qualities (advantages) that cost points and Impediments (disadvantages) that grant points during character creation.
Every character starts with a point of Corruption. There are three types: _Physical_ (corporeal ailments, disabilities or mutations), _Desire_ (spiritual malaise, paraphilia or psychological illness), or _Drive_ (obsession). The player can use a Second Chance (a result re-roll) per session as many times as their highest Corruption level. If they have a level of 5 in Corruption, they are irredeemably corrupted and must be "retired".
My 5 favorite systems:
1. GURPS
2. Savage Worlds
3. Extreme Vengeance
4. RIFTS
5. Marvel Super Heroes/Marvel Universe
Sometimes is better to try something a little SIMPLER! In my case. Lol.
What do you think about 40k RPG's?
I want to give both the Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40k RPGs a go sometime for sure!
I tried a Chaos Space Marine based game years ago but the GM unfortunately had to stop!
A system I strongly recommend to people is Pendragon. // Any systems NOT using levels is better by default than systems that do.
I have been so curious about pendragon for so long!
Try Rifts if you like post-apocalyptic-sci-fi-multi-dimension-fantasy-lovecraftian-steampunk-role-playing-games.
4:20 "And is simple, quick and fun to pick up and play." Yet for the entire system your voice is as serious as a manager presenting business strategies to get his company out of a devastating crisis xD I mean your style of narration perfectly fits all the dark and deep systems on the list but just not the lighthearted "Masks: A New Generation" if you know what I mean.
And I know this video is kind of old by now but the disconnect between the tone of your voice and the tone of the last game is so comedically large that I just had to tell you 😅
I aim to present all light things in the darkest tone possible!
@hollowtale what about lone wolf
Five none D&D system great games for me are: Cryptworld, Chaosium's Magic World/ Stormbringer, (I never did go for Runequest much), Mongoose's Classic Traveller, Frontierspace and maybe HARP or VS Darkmaster. In saying that the Call of Cuthulhu is great and I always enjoyed the Original Gangbusters but that's way past 5 games.
I never enjoyed hero points, drawbacks and edges and the like. Hero points for me is just a way of cheating on a dice roll and Drawbacks and edges for me is little more than superman and his kyptonite. We still end up playing overpowered unrealistic characters with paper thin depth and buy advantages with the payments made of weaknesses aka "game balance", so we end up with supadupa heroes again just in a disguised way.
Some solid suggestions there!
I have played a few of those for sure, not true out the magic world/storm ringer stuff or cryptworld! But I did get the chance to play a live game of Vs Darkmaster which was great fun!
Great video.
I fucking love L5R it is one of my favourite RPGs of all time
I'm really considering picking legend of five rings up. Anyone who has played it or ran it can tell me some pros and cons?
There are two different versions depending on which publisher you use. The AEG version uses a base d10 dice system, while the FFG version uses a unique variant on their symbol-based Narrative Dice system.
*The AEG version* was in 4 different editions, is out of print, and will have to be bought used. The 1st and 2nd editions were designed to be compatible with Dungeons & Dragons (3rd Edition), but this was dropped from _Lot5R (3rd edition)_ onwards when _D&D v3.5_ came out. Each character has 10 traits (Reflexes / Awareness [Air], Stamina /Willpower [Earth], Agility / Intelligence [Fire], Strength / Perception [Water]) split into the 5 elemental Rings (Air, Earth, Fire, & Water, plus Void). You can't raise a trait unless you also raise its elemental pair. Skills are tied to a trait and its Ring. There are also 7 major Clans: Crab, Crane, Dragon, Lion, Phoenix, Scorpion & Unicorn which have different personalities, reputations, abilities and stat bonuses.
It is different from Dungeons & Dragons, but the dice system is concrete and easy to figure out at a glance. If you've played a role-playing game before, this version will be easy to pick up.
*The FFG version (5th edition)* uses different mechanics and relies on a set of Narrative Dice (black D6 for untrained Ring-based rolls and white D12 for trained Skill-based rolls). Rolls are based on the 5 Rings. Each Ring now represents an "elemental themed" approach that can be used in particular circumstances (like the Approaches in the FATE Accelerated Edition [FAE] system). For instance, Fire is "passionate and driven" and Air is "graceful and cunning". Ring ranks are from 1 to 6 and Skill ranks are from 1 to 5.
Like other Narrative Dice games, you roll a D6 Ring die for every rank you have in a Ring when making an unskilled roll (i.e., not having a rank in it). A D12 Skill die exchanges for each D6 Ring die in the dice pool for each rank you have in that skill. The results are symbols (Success, Explosive Success [roll again and add the results], Opportunity, and Strife [reduces Composure]) rather than flat numbers and must be interpreted.
It has a high learning curve for players, who have to get how the abstract Narrative dice system works. The game master must have a good memory and imagination and be able to think on their feet to interpret the results in a fluid fashion.
*Availability*
Neither game is available in PDF and must be bought in softback or hardcover. If you don't want to buy unique new dice that might be hard to get in a few years, go with the AEG version (and make sure all the books are from the same edition). If you want to buy books at cover price rather than EBay markup and want to try out the new Narrative Dice system, give FFG a try.
Starfinder, MAID, and GURPS
Cataclysm RPG... while I can bitch about the 18+ month Kickstarter delay and shotty communications they had the game itself has a simple elegance....
The cool thing is you can set the cute level to your own tastes. It can be played as viscous as any type of RPG out there. It can also have the violence toned down a but and the cute turned up in order to try to "lure in the innocents into RPGs". Like getting your kids or senior citizen parents to play.
It's about playing evolved fantasy cats in a post apocalyptic world after the humans left! Not anthropomorphic cats but cats that evolved to have thumbs, talk, and stand on two legs....
.... my complaint is the mismanagement of the kickstarter not about the game itself. I believe there is a test drive of it available on drivethrurpg.
Not one I have heard of!! Thanks for this suggestion I will check it out!
@@HollowTale not sure if it will flag the link as spam but will zap you the full version link... I know they had the testdrive version on rpgdrivethru as well
If you are looking for a truely terrifing experance i would recomend little fears especally happy birthday little fears.
Tiny d6, fate, mutants and masterminds, doctor who RPG.
I would recommend to play these systems and look for interesting mechanics that you then incorporate into DnD. I often have new players and for them it's super easy to understand everything because the basics is still DnD. But I changed a lot, we are playing in a system without classes, levels, super dangerous and rare magic, realistic healing, wounds and with hero's that are on the same power level as your average bandit. Also, I added the wises system from burning wheel, allowing players to find creative solutions because of their characters past Lifes.
Runequest is best.
STILL WAITING FOR THAT NARUTO SESSION TWO (Don't rush it tho babe, I know you're busy ❤️)
GDI Jackson stop with the babe haha
On a side note though I do want to revive it at some point! The old 2 full scale campaigns were fun but I want to do a more full conversion.
@@HollowTale What system did you use for a naruto game.
@@JoelFeila hey there welcome to the channel.
I used savage worlds with some heavy homebrew to make the system (mainly the powers) fit the chakra system.
I then just edited the skills to include things like "chakra control" "ninjutsu" "genjutsu"
Fighting became taijutsu and your parry was controlled by either that or the "weapons" skill I added which ever was higher (assuming you used weapons) as that reflects the manga more.
I then wrote an extensive list of kekei genkai creation edges and changed a few core rules ever so slightly to make it work. It did the job for a full year campaign.
I may do a video on it sometime :)
Classic Marvel Super Heroes and West End d6 Star Wars
I feel like a horrible person... I just liked the video when it was at 666 likes, and this the 70th comment. It feels good to be bad!
Cortex Prime
Never gave two shits about 5e.
You never had to play D&D 1st, 2nd, 3rd/3.5 and 4th. It's way better than them. 4th was a waste of trees, but did lead to Pathfinder (1e).
Heh heh, birb.
Open legends
I hate the Savage Worlds system, fight is sooo annoying. Fate is much better.
Isn't call of Chtulu Fate???
@@OjoRojo40 No, very different systems. But there is a FATE adoption of Lovecraftian Horror.
@@TheddunTOSS ah ok, thought it was based on Fate Core, thanks.
@@OjoRojo40 Cthulhu is one of the most popular and oldest systems around. There are good videos about it here on UA-cam.
@@TheddunTOSS (y) thanks, I was confusing it with Achtung Cthulhu. Thanks for the info. Usually cosmic horror is not really my cup of tea.
Wake up people this is not external than us. This is conciousness coming through as a fractal version of our same self. We are one! And we are creators! Pure bliss