toml@oliveb.UUCP (07/29/83)
Does anyone out there know of a rpg that satisfies these points?
1] pretty much classless
2] magic system without specific spells (if not frp, scrap)
3] realistic combat without lack of playability
4] lack of very large "level" gaps
5] anything else that might endear one to the game
Thanks in Advance,
Dave Long
{ucbvax|decvax}!decwr!ios!oliveb!tomlsteven@qubix.UUCP (Steven Mauer) (08/11/83)
Here is a list of the (in my opinion) best FRP games which
meet your criteria:
Runequest : By far the best Fantasy RP game that is out
on the market today. It is so good, referees rarely
have to resort to kludges to make the game work. It
works mainly by listing all skills a character may
be capable of seprately, and keeping track of them
seprately. (This is a job that each player has, not
the referee, so the game does not slow down unless a
referee is unprepared).
Scenario Packs Available: Snakepipe Hollow (20 pages),
Apple Lane (20 pgs), Broken Tree Inn (20 pgs), Griffian
Mountain (160 pgs), Questworld (120 pgs), Borderlands
(130 pgs), Trollpak (200 pgs), Duck Tower (100 pgs),
have I missed any??
Cost $20.00 from the Chaosium.
Champions : The only Superhero FRP worth considering. (At
least until Superworld comes out). It has a complete
list of skills, powers, power modifiers, and character
advantages and disadvantages from which you build your
character. (You don't roll up your character in this
game, you make him or her up).
Scenario Packs Available: Island of Dr. Destroyer, and
a two more I can't think of right now.
Cost $16.00 from Hero Games
Call of Cthluhu : A brand new type of FRP, based upon the
works of HP Lovecraft (father of ALL modern day horror
stories/movies/etc). In this game, you play charac-
ters from the 1920's. You are trying to do only one
thing: survive. This isn't as easy as it sounds because
in the game (and in Lovecraft's stories), the world is
being taken over by the Old Ones: Slime filled monstrosities
which put ALIEN to shame. (Call of Cthuluhu won a whole
bunch of designers awards).
Cost $20.00 from the Chaosium
Espionage : Basically a toned down Champions. This one is in
"very very good" category, instead of my "the best" category
because it lacks the Scenario Packs that Top Secret has.
Other than that, Espionage has a better combat system, a
better description on how to run agencies, no character
classifications, is actually readable and understandable,
and is better than any other Secret Agent FRP game.
In 2-3 years it will have more SP's, written for it just
because the people who write them like playing this game
better than Top Secret.
Well, thats it. Any other opinions??
Please feel free to write.
Steven (Captain Hyperspace) Maurer