ADnD

[lord of the mark]

I played for about 15 minutes when i was in high school - just long enough for someone to help me set up a character. Then the party ended (or whatever) and i never followed up.

Didnt touch DnD again till I played BG, last year.

One of POTM's friends plays DnD, shes 14 (the friend). I hear tabletop RP is not uncommon. POTM and her friends play a "run around" RP theyve made up - id call it just playing pretend, they use no dice, etc but they DO have specific characters, magic items, powers, dimensions, etc. They have a whole club geared around this, theyve been doing it for over a year.

Once when I was in my BG phase I had POTM and another of her friends along in the car, and had to stop at the dentist to pick up some paperwork. To get them moving along, and in the RPG spirit, i suggested that this was a quest, and we could get experience points. Next thing I know ive been cooerced into playing DM for a quick. more or less made up, tabletop session. I made the combat rules, XP up as I went along. Fortunately they had to move on in about 30 minutes, and theyve forgotten to ask again.

[Jon Miller]

Originally posted by GameGeek

Rifts (by Palladium) - another good setting setting, but, while I've only played this one once or twice, the system seems to suffer from the same number-crunching hazard as Shadowrun, and also seems to have a huge power gap between one character class and another (e.g. compare the 1st level Rogue to the 1st level full-conversion cyborg or dragon).

problems with palladium (and I include Rifts with that, we went to the rifts earth for a bit...) are these

a combat made character (who ouldn't really do anything but combat) did less damage and was less useful in combat than the Mages (one regular and one telkinetic) (And Witch, who was incredibly powerful)

I actually was a Paladin, which is heavy combat and slight skills in paladium, and was a minor player in all combats (and it turned out my skills were rarely useful)

the wizard skills were useful all the time, and they leveled up faster, and got better abilities at level up

there was a rogue type character that was absolutely worthless (but some of that is the fault of the guy who rolled up the character)

there was the GM, who played a monk and was the only nonmagic character which did close to as much damage as the mages (and as consistent, the combat only character (soldier or something) would do a good bit of damage when he hit (like myself) but it wasn't that common for us physical combat characters to hit, while the mages hit everytime)

actually the telkinetic mage character was more ballanced, he did as much in battle as the other mage, but his skills weren't always in demand like the other mage and the witch

(there was also a lot of PvP put into it by the GM (The Witch versus the Paladin) and the Witch was helped by the only active god/demon and was given the regular mage as a servant (And the regular mage was a minotaur))

Jon Miller

[Jon Miller]

and of course, when we traveled to Rifts earth, all nonmage characters suddenly grew very weak

Jon Miller

[Tuberski]

DragonQuest was better than AD&D but it was bought out by TSR in the 80's.

ACK!

[Urban Ranger]

DragonQuest is a good system. The only problem is combat takes hours to resolve, but it's fun moving minatures on a hex grid.

[duke o' york]

Originally posted by GameGeek

As some of you may recall, back in the 80's, there was a big backlash against D&D, accusations of devil-worship, drug use, etc.

Devil worship and drug use!
Damn, I wish I hadn't given my box of dice away.

[Urban Ranger]

I still have my tin of dice, a memento for my RPG days.

[Aabraxan]

I didn't play Rifts long enough to know which classes leveled up faster, or how one class stacked up against others in terms of what benefits they got with each new level. What I do remember, though, is the (potential) imbalance created by the SDC/MDC system. If, as GM, you allowed characters to play whatever they wanted, without guidance, you could wind up with a party with a City Rat or Rogue Scientist who had, let's say, 30 SDC, alongside a full conversion Borg who has something like 300 MDC, the equivalent of 30,000 SDC! Not to mention all of the other bonuses that 'borgs, Juicers, mages, and the like get. So you sort of have to decide on the front end what category your party wants to play in: Ordinary Joe, Heroic, or Superheroic. I found this to be markedly different from most other games, in which characters of the same level are all more or less on a par, in terms of power. As an example, in most games, 1st level characters, regardless of class, are usually slightly, and only slightly, more powerful than your average butcher, baker or candlestick-maker. In Rifts, though, even the 1st level mage, psychic or 'borg is far and away more powerful than these people, and some classes appear to be enormously more powerful than other classes of the same level. I realize that a character's "power" varies with the situation (e.g. a full conversion Triax 'borg may not be much use in rescuing the kitten which has climbed onto that frail, rotten tree limb overhanging the canyon), but it's been so long since I played that I don't remember how most of the game mechanics other than combat worked.

[Dis]

Originally posted by GameGeek


Well, a "good one to play" is awfully subjective, but here's my take on a variey of games:

AD&D - Always a great standby: basic, but fun. This is what I've been playing (1st ed) for about the past year and a half.

Shadowrun - a very good setting with the potential to be a number-crunching nightmare in terms of game systems, especially in 3rd ed. I ran a 1st ed campaign for a couple of years.

Rifts (by Palladium) - another good setting setting, but, while I've only played this one once or twice, the system seems to suffer from the same number-crunching hazard as Shadowrun, and also seems to have a huge power gap between one character class and another (e.g. compare the 1st level Rogue to the 1st level full-conversion cyborg or dragon).

Vampire/Mage/Werewolf/Changeling - I like the systems in the Storyteller series (again, without having played them much), as it appears to be really flexible and easy to learn. I've listed the games in the order I'd rank the settings. I think each game has one modern setting and one past-era one, medieval, wild west, etc.

Gamma World - very fun, but only if you get the right gamemaster. Easy to get the mood all wrong and totally hose a campaign from the gm's perspective.

Tales from the Floating Vagabond - sort of cartoonish and amusing. Probably not great for an extended campaign, but a great break from something more serious.

gamma world? Is that still around? That was arond in the early 80's.

[Dis]

I wouldn't mind getting into a group (if only to get some new friends). with a city with well over 1 million people, I would expect some players here. I'm not sure where to find them though. I've heard of game shops. Like in comic book stores and such. I never messed around with comic books since I couldn't afford them as a kid, plus they never interested me much. So I never got into that scene.

[Tuberski]

Originally posted by Dissident


gamma world? Is that still around? That was arond in the early 80's.

It's morphed into Fallout. Dave "Zeb" Cook wa one of the creators of Gamma World. He also had a lot to do with Fallout 2.

Watch the credits.

ACK!

[Aabraxan]

Originally posted by Dissident

gamma world? Is that still around? That was arond in the early 80's.

Gamma world is indeed still around. It's been revised for d20, but you can still find copies of the old stuff around.

[Dis]

anyone ever hear of a game called top secret? I never really played much. But I just liked all the guns in it.

[Aabraxan]

Originally posted by Dissident
anyone ever hear of a game called top secret? I never really played much. But I just liked all the guns in it.

Yes, years & years ago. came w/ two 20-siders, each numbered 1-10 twice, I think. I think I played it once. Very James Bond-ish.

[DarkCloud]

Once when I was in my BG phase I had POTM and another of her friends along in the car, and had to stop at the dentist to pick up some paperwork. To get them moving along, and in the RPG spirit, i suggested that this was a quest, and we could get experience points. Next thing I know ive been cooerced into playing DM for a quick. more or less made up, tabletop session. I made the combat rules, XP up as I went along. Fortunately they had to move on in about 30 minutes, and theyve forgotten to ask again.

Great idea LOTM!