# Recommend a tabletop RPG **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** rpg-dnd-wargames\ **Created:** [October 10, 2024, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tabletop-rpg/1008626 "2024-10-10T06:50:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2024, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tabletop-rpg/1008626/41 "2024-10-31T03:11:14Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > On the subject of inviting players, you would think that somebody into improvisational theatre would be interested in RPGs, but apparently this is not always the case. Though they admitted having played D&D a couple of times in the past, so my guess was not completely wild. The theater nerds were playing Vampire in the 1990s. ---
**Author:** ![Jebbilene](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jebbilene/32/3414_2.png) [@Jebbilene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jebbilene)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2024, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tabletop-rpg/1008626/42 "2024-11-03T05:41:19Z")
If it is for someone who is into improv, I would definitely go with a more rules-light game like Monster of the Week, or Masks, for a modern-day setting (Masks is teen superheroes) or Into the Odd, Trophy Gold or Mausritter for fantasy. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2024, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tabletop-rpg/1008626/43 "2024-11-03T16:00:24Z")
I will at least spread the word among that crowd; worth a try. btw anyone know anything (has played?) about the [Forged in the Dark](https://bladesinthedark.com/forged-dark) game system, advertised as a Creative Commons-licensed system for (apparently) one-shot action-type games? ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2024, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tabletop-rpg/1008626/44 "2024-11-03T16:43:22Z")
I’m sure someone else here has real experience but I’ve seen the Blades in the Dark system referenced positively enough times that I’d be interested in playing a game with it. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2024, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tabletop-rpg/1008626/45 "2024-11-03T17:01:37Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > But you dont hear much GW hate, as it is not #1. Only if you don’t spend much time around people who play their games. I’ve never yet met a WH40K fan who didn’t have an extensive rant about how shit Games Workshop is, and was eager to share it. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2024, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tabletop-rpg/1008626/46 "2024-11-03T18:30:54Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Only if you don’t spend much time around people who play their games. I’ve never yet met a WH40K fan who didn’t have an extensive rant about how shit Games Workshop is, and was eager to share it. Hmm, but they still keep buying and playing, eh? ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2024, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tabletop-rpg/1008626/47 "2024-11-03T18:53:27Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > I’m sure someone else here has real experience but I’ve seen the Blades in the Dark system referenced positively enough times that I’d be interested in playing a game with it. I’ve played several games with it, and it’s…fine? The key mechanic is that only the players roll dice, and bad things happen to you when you don’t roll high enough. It’s not a system that gets int he way of good gaming, but I don’t remember any moments where the system really improved the game, if that makes sense. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2024, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tabletop-rpg/1008626/48 "2024-11-03T19:01:15Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > It’s not a system that gets int he way of good gaming, but I don’t remember any moments where the system really improved the game, if that makes sense. Yeah, I think so. I suppose my “hearing about it” is mainly it getting recommended when people say “Give me a non-d20 style system because we’re tired of those” and people saying “We’re doing a BitD game” without anyone making gagging noises. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2024, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tabletop-rpg/1008626/49 "2024-11-03T19:03:11Z")
I didn’t hate it, either. I just am not the giant fan of it that some other folks are. The Gumshoe system used by _Swords of the Serpentine_ is more my style: it’s got awesome points that players can earn by doing cool shit, and it’s got a point-pool economy that I find really fun, and it’s got funky storytelling mechanics that steer the player into doing things that match their character. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2024, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tabletop-rpg/1008626/50 "2024-11-03T19:13:49Z")
And I thought you were asking about table top [Rocket-Propelled Grenades](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocket_propelled_grenade) and was wondering how this would turn out in the Dope! Well, you can’t always get what you want. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2024, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tabletop-rpg/1008626/51 "2024-11-03T19:56:30Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Only if you don’t spend much time around people who play their games. I’ve never yet met a WH40K fan who didn’t have an extensive rant about how shit Games Workshop is, and was eager to share it. As a Warhammer 40k player, I feel as though GW doesn’t respect me at all as a customer. It’s to the point where I’ve decided I’m just not going to play their games anymore. > [@DrDeth](#): > > Hmm, but they still keep buying and playing, eh? Over the last thirty years or so I’ve seen the following table top war games come and go. Warzone, Chronopia, Clan Wars, Battletech,\* Fairy Meat, Battlelore, Warmachine, X-Wing, Star Wars: Armada, and I’m sure there are others I can’t think of. At one point I had a lot invested in Warzone, Chronopia, and Battletech not just in the amount I had spent on miniatures and books but in time spent painting. Of all the games, Warhammer has been the only one I could consistently play for hte last thirty years. This is one of the reasons people continue with GW games. \*Battletech has made a recent comeback over the last few years. But for quite a while, it was essentially dead. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tabletop-rpg/1008626/52 "2024-11-05T13:27:21Z")
> [@Jebbilene](#): > > Mausritter for fantasy Mausritter is awesome. ---
**Author:** ![Jebbilene](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jebbilene/32/3414_2.png) [@Jebbilene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jebbilene)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tabletop-rpg/1008626/53 "2024-11-05T21:37:31Z")
I’ve played a one-shot of it. It gives the players a lot of flexibility and control, and keeps the action happening. FitD games are meant to be more fiction forward, storytelling focussed games. There are a lot of different versions, for different genres, and some are better than others. A lot of them are designed for longer campaigns, not just one shots. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2024, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tabletop-rpg/1008626/54 "2024-11-07T00:34:43Z")
This may well be what happens, then (for at least one session). We may now have enough players, barely. ---
**Author:** ![Jebbilene](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jebbilene/32/3414_2.png) [@Jebbilene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jebbilene)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2024, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tabletop-rpg/1008626/55 "2024-11-07T03:56:03Z")
Forged in the Dark games typically run better with smaller groups, like 2-4, plus GM. I’ve heard a|state recommended for its rules clarity; it has a dystopian sci-fi setting. ---
**Author:** ![vislor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vislor/32/5933_2.png) [@vislor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vislor)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2024, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tabletop-rpg/1008626/56 "2024-11-07T21:36:03Z")
Late to this and I like participating in TTRPG talk. All IMO, of course. > [@DPRK](#): > > This may well be what happens, then (for at least one session). We may now have enough players, barely. I hope it goes well! Have fun! > [@Jebbilene](#): > > I’ve only played up to 3rd. edition Shadowrun but most people agree that the latest editions (6th and 7th) are a bit of a mess. The 4th edition Anniversary rulebook seems to be well regarded. Great game, but lots of rules. I like Shadowrun over Cyberpunk because I can strip the magic out of SR and play a cyberpunk style game but it would be harder to add magic into Cyberpunk. I disagree that it’s shamanistic magic as it does have mages as well as shamans. Really, it’s more about description. I think 6E with a newer book is better than the first printing of 6E. (I watched a YT channel try to play 6E first printing RAW and they had to quit because of the contradictions it did to the characters they had. Bummer as I liked the story.) I like 5E ideas with 6E skills. The only bad thing about SR is hacking can still cause a game to grind to a halt for all but the GM and decker. There is a starter set for this and it has four starter characters with a fifth free online. There is a decker but the adventure doesn’t seem to contain anything to hack. The decker has skills to pick locks, which can be used in the adventure. Mechanically, I find it pretty easy, but then I have had it since 1E, which was convoluted, IMO. > [@Jophiel](#): > > I had a similar thought about [Vampire: the Masquerade](https://www.paradoxinteractive.com/games/world-of-darkness/about). The World of Darkness (and variants) setting is pretty popular and not hard to pick up but the last I played was in the 90s and couldn’t speak for the latest versions. Looking now, I see there’s a 5th edition and a D20 edition with factions supporting each. D20 sounds easier mechanically but some people like the 5th Ed setting better as the players aren’t constantly overshadowed by Uber-Vampires dating back to the Egyptian empire. Vampire was sold as gothic horror but even through Requiem, is “super heroes with fangs.” That’s from a poll I took on the Onyx Path forums years ago. Running out of mana, er, blood in the previous editions was barely a hindrance and most groups didn’t deal with it, as they said in feedback. Same for Werewolf. Mage was different from that standpoint. The newest editions, V5, finally got mechanics to simulate hunger. It’s a counter that could make the _player_ nervous and maybe that is role played in character. Vampire the Requiem did a decent job of removing older vampires being uber gods. I have the D20 version to see what they did with it but it definitely is a gothic adventure game due to the mechanics of D20. A lot of games mentioned, IMO, require a bit of background to play. Call of Cthulhu, for example, requires a bit of knowledge of HP Lovecraft’s writings to get the flavor/theme of it. I think the same for Eclipse Phase, Vampire, SR, M&M, and others mentioned. DND 5E is generic high fantasy that can be used well for that but don’t look for rules of social engagement. That’s not a bad thing, I’m merely saying that games are usually made with a specific play style in mind and knowing that is important. > [@by-tor](#): > > The easiest game to learn IMO is Basic D&D, as in the Basic set. You could start with it and then move on to other editions once you craved complexity. > > For an easy learning curve and lots of SF fun I would recommend Gamma World 1st edition. It is a goofy blast. > > But I am old school and I do not like the newer editions of most games. Many of them are rules-heavy and math heavy. Not my thing. If that works for anyone, great! I’m happy with whatever works for people. Myself, I cannot fathom handing the Moldvay boxed set, D&D Rules Compendium hardcover, or the 1E PH to a group as a starting point. This isn’t me being down on those versions. I played them a lot. This is me preferring the newest version for modern game design. Moldvay breaks new grounds because it was the first one written. Newer starting boxed sets help new groups better, IMO. As I have said elsewhere, I would rather have rules over rulings for a generic group or a game at a game store, although 5E does well enough. I would be fine with rulings with a GM I know and trust. This has been a digression, though. My own thoughts. Shotgun Diaries is an interesting game. It’s meant for a one shot and it’s about zombie survival, a la Dawn of the Dead or Walking Dead. The idea is that the players are given some opening spot (mall, farmhouse, office building) and can do as they like to fortify it to survive the night. Every so often, could be ten minutes or a half hour, the GM adds another die to his pile, representing more zombies. The group tries to find and use resources and when they are ready, or if they aren’t because there are too many zombie dice, they jump to the horde and defend as best they can. My favorite game is still Alternity. It’s a game written for modern to future games but alas is OOP and not a game I would recommend to a new group. Both editions of Pathfinder have boxed sets that also come with premade characters, dice, maps, and an adventure as well as rules to get to third level, IIRC. Then it’s asking what you want from your high fantasy RPG. Rules (pathfinder) or rulings (DND 5E). Neither is better or worse than the other. It’s different styles of play and good to know/learn what a group prefers. I hope whatever the OP picked and the group does, they have fun! It’s nice to see new people entering and enjoying a hobby that I have loved for over four decades! Thanks for the discussion! Take care! ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2024, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tabletop-rpg/1008626/57 "2024-11-15T20:27:58Z")
> [@vislor](#): > > A lot of games mentioned, IMO, require a bit of background to play. Call of Cthulhu, for example, requires a bit of knowledge of HP Lovecraft’s writings to get the flavor/theme of it. I find _Call of Cthulhu_ is pretty easy because players don’t really have to know a lot about Lovecraft to enjoy the game. In many ways, it’s much more fun if they don’t know what a Deep One or a Fungi from Yuggoth is. The default setting of the 1920s is familiar yet just different enough to offer a unique experience. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2024, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tabletop-rpg/1008626/58 "2024-11-15T20:42:59Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > I find _Call of Cthulhu_ is pretty easy because players don’t really have to know a lot about Lovecraft to enjoy the game. I We now prefer Pulp Cthulhu . ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2024, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tabletop-rpg/1008626/59 "2024-11-15T21:12:31Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > We now prefer Pulp Cthulhu . That’s a good one too. _The Two-Headed Serpent_ is a pretty fun Pulp Cthulhu campaign. I’d be happy to run new players through it. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2024, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tabletop-rpg/1008626/60 "2024-11-15T21:48:31Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > I find _Call of Cthulhu_ is pretty easy because players don’t really have to know a lot about Lovecraft to enjoy the game. In many ways, it’s much more fun if they don’t know what a Deep One or a Fungi from Yuggoth is. The default setting of the 1920s is familiar yet just different enough to offer a unique experience. Generally speaking the characters in the world don’t know anything about the ‘Cthulhu Mythos’ when they start out; they are just investigating some strange goings on, so it is perfectly fine for the players to not really know what is going on, too. Most games and even campaigns tend to center around one or two major threats because more than that is just unwinnable, and there really aren’t a lot of linkages in the literature between most of the horrors aside from being mentioned by _The Necronomicon_ or other references. In the vast majority of Lovecraft’s stories there was just one threat or horror. Although the default setting for _Call of Cthulhu_ is 1920s America (and typically New England or New York, although there is setting material for New Orleans and West Coast cities) it is easy enough to set it anywhere in the world and at any period with some minimum of research, and just ignore or even embrace anachronisms. One of the best campaigns I’ve heard of (but didn’t play in) was set in the Gaslight era (1890s) but with some steampunk-ish technology (before that became a popular alt-history thing), and globetrotting from South America to Boxer Rebellion-era China to Antarctica with the Dundee Whaling Expedition discovering Elder Things. The challenge of running _Call of Cthulhu_ isn’t players having to learn lore or background, nor the rules of the system, but convincing players that their characters are not invulnerable heroes and that they need to put more focus on investigation and interaction than combat and randomly burning down warehouses and mansions. Stranger [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tabletop-rpg/1008626.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tabletop-rpg/1008626.md?page=4)