Your favorite PnP RPG system?

[PandaBreeder]

the one roll engine lets you roll a pool of d10 equal to attribute + skill, see how many sets you roll and keep one of those for effect. the width and the height of a set both have different meanings, for example in combat width is damage, height is hit location, while for normal skills one can be the quality of the result, the other the speed of execution.
it gets a bit more complicated in combat because defense sets let you use individual dice from them to knock dice off of attack sets... then you can have fun with different effects, for example using waste dice for something (waste dice are all the dice that didn't come up in a set), or having different dice (dice that you can set to a certain result before or after the roll, or ones that modify the set in some way, counting double under certain conditions, cancel each other out under others and whatnot). basically there is a fuckton you can do in ore to make individual rolls more interesting, and the success/damage/location mechanic is very elegant, but it has other problems, like cover and difficulty/adverse conditions being one and the same.

Meh, I didn't feel like this was much of a problem, at least in NEMESIS. You might want to check out Reign by Greg Stolze. It changes and adds some mechanics to the basic ORE, specially the company rules, which basically let you define any sort of organization. The system is also very independent from the setting which is a plus if you're trying to adapt it to another game.

 

[kris]

Didn't do anything innovative or awe-inspiring but what it did it did well.

lolwut?
rolemaster sucked hard.
allegedly generic system that is in essence a non-generic system for which someone was just too damn lazy to write a proper setting that contained more than "like, there was this kind of magic, and then something happened, and, like, it split into those kinds of magic, and that's it".
the only thing rolemaster did good was high fatality rates and being a spreadsheet powergamer's wet dream (so, when i pick this disadvantage, i get to start with one spell list up to level 50 AND a demon as my mentor?).

the combat sucked hard and was incredibly slow without adding any depth, character creation was slow which sucked hard because characters died fast (measured in in-game time, not so much real time), iirc you could friggin die from attempting to meditate because, grats, unmodified 66, something "found" you and you never ever wake up again.

You did it wrong. Following a system by the letter is pretty retarded to start with. In at least two roleplaying systems I played you were unbeatable in the right armour because pretty much nothing could harm you in any way.

First of all, I don't know why you talk about setting. I always played my own settings and it was a perfect system for that.

Second, powergaming is restricted by a game master if needed, although I was mostly lucky enough to not play with morons like that.

Thirdly, the combat system is only slow if you are unfamiliar with it. It is realitic and fun at the same time and those critical tables beats any "5 hit points" system there is. What was slow were the character creation and leveling, that could be a almost a nightmare.

 

[Raghar]

Rolemaster? I heard a death by encounter and pissing off a cat is rather common for a new characters.

I looked at it, and I disliked the idea of a new book for higher level skills.

 

[Andhaira]

D&D4e currently.

Honorable mentions = WFRP v2.0, L5R

 

[SuicideBunny]

You did it wrong. Following a system by the letter is pretty retarded to start with.

depends on the system. some systems don't need work, some need a little, some need a friggin lot and don't give anything in return. rolemaster is somewhere between needing a ton of work and not giving anything in return.

In at least two roleplaying systems I played you were unbeatable in the right armour because pretty much nothing could harm you in any way.

don't play using shitty systems.

First of all, I don't know why you talk about setting. I always played my own settings and it was a perfect system for that.

i talk about setting because rolemaster claims to be and is advertised as a generic fantasy system, while it also tries to, how would fox news put it, shove rather important setting elements down your throat, like the four magic types and how they relate to each other.
i'd even go as far as call it the worst generic system ever, beating d20 by a long run.

Second, powergaming is restricted by a game master if needed, although I was mostly lucky enough to not play with morons like that.

morons? powergaming is an excellent test of how balanced a system is.
"your gm should intervene" is not a viable defense of lazy authors including munchkin character options that have no right or reason to exist in the first place.

sure i can make rolemaster into the best pnp evah with house rules and tons of work, but that's a pretty stupid argument to make when you discuss the inherent qualities of a system, just like bringing mods into a discussion of the crpg qualities of nwn1, oblivion, or fallout 3.

Thirdly, the combat system is only slow if you are unfamiliar with it. It is realitic and fun at the same time and those critical tables beats any "5 hit points" system there is. What was slow were the character creation and leveling, that could be a almost a nightmare.

the combat system requires you cross reference your weapon(type) with your target's armor(type) and your attack result on a stupid table in arms law, then roll criticals, if applicable, which in turn all have their own result tables based on severity and type. no amount of familiarity short of actually memorizing the tables is gonna make it less of a time-waste, especially when you only have one copy of arms law and didn't copy all the tables for all players.
it's not very realistic either, in terms of how combat flows, it's just "grittier" and more lethal than the inane dnd-esque "i hit you for x hitpoints, you hit me for y" bullshit, which it still has below all the crit tables.
compare rolemaster combat to riddle of steel (or fate, coz fate is as realistic as you make it) and tell me again that it's realistic... not to mention that realistic doesn't mean "better" or "more fun" ('cept in the case of riddle of steel, as it is both).
l5r has generic hp and is way less realistic, but it's better and more fun than rolemaster due to being just as deadly while having more tactical depth and being a lot quicker.

 

[kris]

It really didn't need tons of work. Ignoring usually don't.

I never seen "riddle of steel" system, ever. Only heard about it here.

 

[His Dudeness]

Any D&D edition prior to 3.x.

From that lot, I like Moldvay Basic/Expert set.

Fuck feats, skills and monsters that need a CV to detail hp and attack.

I'm wanting to give the new essentials thing a try though, it seems simpler than 4e and no superpowers for the fighter which is good.

I still have to get around the most anoyinng expectation of the system: the gm must have a story in mind and everything should be done to advance the story.

 

[SkeleTony]

Rolemaster / MERP, for the awesome critical hit tables with built in "weapon type vs armor" that made melee combat much more interesting.

Charts are a pretty good mechanic really, they can play quite fast once you know what you're doing. Typically each person would have a photocopied version of each of the critical hit tables that they'd need to use for their PC.

AD&D and 3rd edition D&D were fine too, but...

I feel like a lot of the fun I had with D&D was caused more by the fact that P&P roleplaying with your friends is an inherently fun activity than by anything unique to the D&D mechanics that is "extra fun".

This is it exactly as far as D&D. Was a terrible game design all around and was only recently dragged into the 1980s(almost) in terms of keeping up with better designs. But as I often say when RPGs are good they are REALLY good and when they are bad they are...still pretty fun.

 

[SkeleTony]

Didn't do anything innovative or awe-inspiring but what it did it did well.

lolwut?
rolemaster sucked hard.
allegedly generic system that is in essence a non-generic system for which someone was just too damn lazy to write a proper setting that contained more than "like, there was this kind of magic, and then something happened, and, like, it split into those kinds of magic, and that's it".
the only thing rolemaster did good was high fatality rates and being a spreadsheet powergamer's wet dream (so, when i pick this disadvantage, i get to start with one spell list up to level 50 AND a demon as my mentor?).

the combat sucked hard and was incredibly slow without adding any depth, character creation was slow which sucked hard because characters died fast (measured in in-game time, not so much real time), iirc you could friggin die from attempting to meditate because, grats, unmodified 66, something "found" you and you never ever wake up again.

I have not played ANY P&P rpg since like...the 1980s(but I do keep in interest in game designs and such) so I may have forgotten a few things.

However, most of what you wrote above is either absurdly overstated or just so propped up by unqualified assertions and opinions(again without qualifying them) that I can't take it seriously. Keep in mind that I did not say Rolemaster was even one of the better game designs but simply that it did what it did well(compared to a LOT of other more popular designs such as D&D, Warhammer FRP, etc.).

I understand you don't like tables. I would even agree that too many tables(as Rolemaster has and many of them are not well thought out or could have been better) can bog a dame down but I don't buy this sentiment that "fast" = "more fun". Keep in mind also that AD&D also had weapon vs. armor type comparisons in combat.

As for setting...who the fuck cares?! The setting is not any worse than "Forgotten Realms" or "Greyhawk"(and is certainly no "Glorantha" or "Jorune" or even as good as Warhammer's "Old World") but really this should be the last criticism leveled at a game design as anyone worth their salt can create a world setting to their liking(unless you are using D&D because the mechanics are so bad in that one that you end up kind of forced into making a crappy world where mages forget spells as they cast them and an elderly wizard becomes a musclebound powerhouse of indestructibility by gaining levels).

 

[SkeleTony]

Some of the things RQ did first which are now standard in RPGs/CRPGs:

4)Hit Points not increasing with exp/levels but instead rooted in actual physique of the character/creature.

I wish it really was a standard in CRPGs.

The first 3 I listed ARE standards. That 4th one was more of a convention rarely seen but always appreciated when it does pop up in a game design(like JA2 and such).

 

[SkeleTony]

You did it wrong. Following a system by the letter is pretty retarded to start with.

depends on the system. some systems don't need work, some need a little, some need a friggin lot and don't give anything in return.

What is this system that does not need any work? I have not yet seen such a system.

First of all, I don't know why you talk about setting. I always played my own settings and it was a perfect system for that.

i talk about setting because rolemaster claims to be and is advertised as a generic fantasy system, while it also tries to, how would fox news put it, shove rather important setting elements down your throat, like the four magic types and how they relate to each other.

Most of the early "generic" systems required a lot of work to use for various genres. Even RQ's mighty system had to be tweaked a bit to work for Call of Cthulhu, Superworld etc. Also compare Rolemaster to D&D/AD&D which were also marketed as "generic fantasy systems" and Rolemaster looks like a glowing gem-encrusted scepter of game design!

i'd even go as far as call it the worst generic system ever, beating d20 by a long run.

And you should fucking shut up right now. If that were a troll then it is a poor one and if you are serious then no one should even listen to a damned thing you say about game design. I mean really kiddo...

Also, false analogy. D20 is supposed to be a "Generic SYSTEM" whereas Rolemaster was a generic FANTASY system. See the difference?

Second, powergaming is restricted by a game master if needed, although I was mostly lucky enough to not play with morons like that.

morons? powergaming is an excellent test of how balanced a system is.
"your gm should intervene" is not a viable defense of lazy authors including munchkin character options that have no right or reason to exist in the first place.

The problem here(I suspect since your statement above is rather ambiguous) is that well done character development options in a RPG are often called "munchkin" by gamers who, for some inexplicable reason cringe anytime there are nonhuman races/species in a RPG(especially if they are not elves, dwarves and hobbits). Some people take offense at having robust options that appeal to the non-conformist RPGers whether it be "classes", races or what have you.

sure i can make rolemaster into the best pnp evah with house rules and tons of work, but that's a pretty stupid argument to make when you discuss the inherent qualities of a system, just like bringing mods into a discussion of the crpg qualities of nwn1, oblivion, or fallout 3.

The thing is that Rolemaster does not really need much work at all. It is not MY preferred system but I would(if I were still playing PnP) grab Rolemaster WAYYY before settling for D&D or some such crap.

Thirdly, the combat system is only slow if you are unfamiliar with it. It is realitic and fun at the same time and those critical tables beats any "5 hit points" system there is. What was slow were the character creation and leveling, that could be a almost a nightmare.

the combat system requires you cross reference your weapon(type) with your target's armor(type)

Just like AD&D and just as most of us did with AD&D, many Rolemaster players probably ignore it OR they do not share your revulsion of such. To cite THIS as your primary criticism against a game design though...that is kind of silly don't you think? I believe they simplified a lot of this in MERP so maybe that is more your speed.

and your attack result on a stupid table in arms law, then roll criticals, if applicable, which in turn all have their own result tables based on severity and type. no amount of familiarity short of actually memorizing the tables is gonna make it less of a time-waste,

One man's "time waste" is another man's "AWESOME!".

especially when you only have one copy of arms law and didn't copy all the tables for all players.

Don't blame the designers for your laziness ;D

Okay I was trolling you there but really guy you could post the above argument against ANY game out there.

"AD&D requires you to consult tables for how many spells a magic-user of level 'X' can memorize and if you only have one players' Handbook..."

"Warhammer FRP requires you to consult critical hit tables adn if you only have one copy of Warhammer FRP..."

GURPS requires you to consult a shit load of tables for various things and if you only have one copy of GURPS..."

it's not very realistic either, in terms of how combat flows, it's just "grittier" and more lethal than the inane dnd-esque "i hit you for x hitpoints, you hit me for y" bullshit, which it still has below all the crit tables.

But it is a thousand times more "realistic" than D&D. Wearing bulky plate mail does not and should NEVER make you harder to hit with a weapon. it should reduce damage(unless you land a critical that ignores the armor like a rogue stabbing someone between the plates with a dagger).

compare rolemaster combat to riddle of steel (or fate, coz fate is as realistic as you make it) and tell me again that it's realistic... not to mention that realistic doesn't mean "better" or "more fun" ('cept in the case of riddle of steel, as it is both).

Realistic always means "better" and "more fun". See how easy it is to just spout unqualified opinions based on nothing but subjective taste?

l5r has generic hp and is way less realistic, but it's better and more fun than rolemaster due to being just as deadly while having more tactical depth and being a lot quicker.

Bullshit.

 

[SkeleTony]

You did it wrong. Following a system by the letter is pretty retarded to start with.

depends on the system. some systems don't need work, some need a little, some need a friggin lot and don't give anything in return.

What is this system that does not need any work? I have not yet seen such a system.

First of all, I don't know why you talk about setting. I always played my own settings and it was a perfect system for that.

i talk about setting because rolemaster claims to be and is advertised as a generic fantasy system, while it also tries to, how would fox news put it, shove rather important setting elements down your throat, like the four magic types and how they relate to each other.

Most of the early "generic" systems required a lot of work to use for various genres. Even RQ's mighty system had to be tweaked a bit to work for Call of Cthulhu, Superworld etc. Also compare Rolemaster to D&D/AD&D which were also marketed as "generic fantasy systems" and Rolemaster looks like a glowing gem-encrusted scepter of game design!

i'd even go as far as call it the worst generic system ever, beating d20 by a long run.

And you should fucking shut up right now. If that were a troll then it is a poor one and if you are serious then no one should even listen to a damned thing you say about game design. I mean really kiddo...

Also, false analogy. D20 is supposed to be a "Generic SYSTEM" whereas Rolemaster was a generic FANTASY system. See the difference?

Second, powergaming is restricted by a game master if needed, although I was mostly lucky enough to not play with morons like that.

morons? powergaming is an excellent test of how balanced a system is.
"your gm should intervene" is not a viable defense of lazy authors including munchkin character options that have no right or reason to exist in the first place.

The problem here(I suspect since your statement above is rather ambiguous) is that well done character development options in a RPG are often called "munchkin" by gamers who, for some inexplicable reason cringe anytime there are nonhuman races/species in a RPG(especially if they are not elves, dwarves and hobbits). Some people take offense at having robust options that appeal to the non-conformist RPGers whether it be "classes", races or what have you.

sure i can make rolemaster into the best pnp evah with house rules and tons of work, but that's a pretty stupid argument to make when you discuss the inherent qualities of a system, just like bringing mods into a discussion of the crpg qualities of nwn1, oblivion, or fallout 3.

The thing is that Rolemaster does not really need much work at all. It is not MY preferred system but I would(if I were still playing PnP) grab Rolemaster WAYYY before settling for D&D or some such crap.

Thirdly, the combat system is only slow if you are unfamiliar with it. It is realitic and fun at the same time and those critical tables beats any "5 hit points" system there is. What was slow were the character creation and leveling, that could be a almost a nightmare.

the combat system requires you cross reference your weapon(type) with your target's armor(type)

Just like AD&D and just as most of us did with AD&D, many Rolemaster players probably ignore it OR they do not share your revulsion of such. To cite THIS as your primary criticism against a game design though...that is kind of silly don't you think? I believe they simplified a lot of this in MERP so maybe that is more your speed.

and your attack result on a stupid table in arms law, then roll criticals, if applicable, which in turn all have their own result tables based on severity and type. no amount of familiarity short of actually memorizing the tables is gonna make it less of a time-waste,

One man's "time waste" is another man's "AWESOME!".

especially when you only have one copy of arms law and didn't copy all the tables for all players.

Don't blame the designers for your laziness ;D

Okay I was trolling you there but really guy you could post the above argument against ANY game out there.

"AD&D requires you to consult tables for how many spells a magic-user of level 'X' can memorize and if you only have one players' Handbook..."

"Warhammer FRP requires you to consult critical hit tables adn if you only have one copy of Warhammer FRP..."

GURPS requires you to consult a shit load of tables for various things and if you only have one copy of GURPS..."

it's not very realistic either, in terms of how combat flows, it's just "grittier" and more lethal than the inane dnd-esque "i hit you for x hitpoints, you hit me for y" bullshit, which it still has below all the crit tables.

But it is a thousand times more "realistic" than D&D. Wearing bulky plate mail does not and should NEVER make you harder to hit with a weapon. it should reduce damage(unless you land a critical that ignores the armor like a rogue stabbing someone between the plates with a dagger).

compare rolemaster combat to riddle of steel (or fate, coz fate is as realistic as you make it) and tell me again that it's realistic... not to mention that realistic doesn't mean "better" or "more fun" ('cept in the case of riddle of steel, as it is both).

Realistic always means "better" and "more fun". See how easy it is to just spout unqualified opinions based on nothing but subjective taste?

l5r has generic hp and is way less realistic, but it's better and more fun than rolemaster due to being just as deadly while having more tactical depth and being a lot quicker.

Bullshit.

 

[Dire Roach]

But it is a thousand times more "realistic" than D&D. Wearing bulky plate mail does not and should NEVER make you harder to hit with a weapon. it should reduce damage(unless you land a critical that ignores the armor like a rogue stabbing someone between the plates with a dagger).

Having a high AC in D&D (at least in 3rd Ed.) does not necessarily mean you are harder to hit, though. Some attacks, like touch attacks, roll against AC but ignore bonuses granted by armor.

Star Wars d20 took the armor = damage reduction route, but that meant giving every class its own level-based AC bonus progression just like the attack bonuses.

 

[Kaanyrvhok]

Among the more or less recent stuff, my fav is D&D 4th ed. *Runs away*

I'm not going to jump on you. I'm honestly curious.

 

[Kaanyrvhok]

Pathfinder. With my additional houserules.

i'm with you. That and the Marvel Super Hero RPG.

 

[SuicideBunny]

What is this system that does not need any work? I have not yet seen such a system.

fate, for example. generally, the more abstract a system is, the less work you need, unless you want to mod it to make it crunchy, which is kinda against the purpose of abstract systems.

Keep in mind that I did not say Rolemaster was even one of the better game designs but simply that it did what it did well(compared to a LOT of other more popular designs such as D&D, Warhammer FRP, etc.).

maybe if you compare it to crap like wfrpg, but why would you do that? comparisons should be against the norm and the best, not the worst.
although i cannot comment on the norm, since i only play all the weird niche, soon to die out games.

I understand you don't like tables. I would even agree that too many tables(as Rolemaster has and many of them are not well thought out or could have been better) can bog a dame down but I don't buy this sentiment that "fast" = "more fun". Keep in mind also that AD&D also had weapon vs. armor type comparisons in combat.

between two otherwise equal systems, the slower one will be less fun. it doesn't mean that all fast systems are more fun than slower ones, it just means that in pnp speed of execution is one of the factors that contribute to the enjoyment.
slower systems can be better if they offer something in return to offset the loss of speed, for example tactical depth. rolemaster, in my opinion, doesn't offer anything that would excuse the loss of speed you get from having to navigate arms law and having most attacks consist of multiple rolls each of which need to be looked up on a table. it's not the fact that it has tables, it's how they are used.

As for setting...who the fuck cares?! The setting is not any worse than "Forgotten Realms" or "Greyhawk"(and is certainly no "Glorantha" or "Jorune" or even as good as Warhammer's "Old World")

there is no rolemaster setting. there isn't supposed to be a rolemaster setting. it is supposed to be a generic (setting-independent) fantasy system. despite this, it tries to force a lot of setting elements on the player. because of this and because of the work needed to get rid of the stuff they try to force upon you, it is a bad generic system. since being generic is one of the things it is supposed to do, it does not do it well.

 

[SkeleTony]

Pathfinder. With my additional houserules.

i'm with you. That and the Marvel Super Hero RPG.

I hope you don't mean the original MSH or the "Advanced Marvel Superheroes" by TSR? That had a few cool ideas(the 'Adjective as score' for attributes, karma etc.) but there were some abysmal design errors in that one. A superhero with "Excellent" strength could lift & press 800 lbs. IIRC, would punch someone for 20pts. of damage. A superhjero with "Remarkable" Strength could lift one ton(over twice was the 'exxcellent' guy could do) and punch you for 30 pts. of damage. Spiderman had "Incredible" strength and could lift TEN TONS(ten times what the "Remarkable" guy could do) but would only punch someone for 40 pts. of damage. Then Rogue, with her "Amazing" strength could lift 50 tons(5 x what Spidey could do) and punch you for 50 points.
The Thing, having "Monstrous" Strength could lift 75 tons(not even twice what Rogue could do) and punch you for a whopping 75 pts.

To call that inconsistent would be too kind.

 

[SkeleTony]

What is this system that does not need any work? I have not yet seen such a system.

fate, for example. generally, the more abstract a system is, the less work you need, unless you want to mod it to make it crunchy, which is kinda against the purpose of abstract systems.

I have a feeling that by "abstract" here you mean something akin to the 'free form' crap and/or diceless systems and so forth. In any case your assertion is wrong because I can find people right now who will say the same thing of disastrously bad game designs(that they need no work or tweaking to play well) so what you really mean to say is that "Fate" suits YOUR purposes well enough and possibly that YOU cannot imagine a better system.
I have a strong feeling I would have to put in some real work to make such a system work for me.

Keep in mind that I did not say Rolemaster was even one of the better game designs but simply that it did what it did well(compared to a LOT of other more popular designs such as D&D, Warhammer FRP, etc.).

maybe if you compare it to crap like wfrpg, but why would you do that? comparisons should be against the norm and the best, not the worst.

What IS this "norm" and "best"? How do you even qualify that assertion? Rolemaster was n above average system in that the 'average' stuff was D&D, Warhammer FRP(yes that game was once quite popular), Gamma World,etc. Palladium/Robotech/RIFTS would be a game design I would put in the same class as Rolemaster for different reasons. Both were pretty popular game systems and both had imperfections & bad design elements and both had GOOD design elements(probably more so for Palladium I think) and both were better than the more popular D&D and Warhammer stuff.

I understand you don't like tables. I would even agree that too many tables(as Rolemaster has and many of them are not well thought out or could have been better) can bog a game down but I don't buy this sentiment that "fast" = "more fun". Keep in mind also that AD&D also had weapon vs. armor type comparisons in combat.

between two otherwise equal systems, the slower one will be less fun.

False.

it doesn't mean that all fast systems are more fun than slower ones, it just means that in pnp speed of execution is one of the factors that COULD contribute to the enjoyment.

Fixed that for you. I would also add that realism/logical consistency is a more important factor in how 'fun' a RPG is. I never played in 'speedy' RPG sessions where we had to squeeze in as many combats as we could in under an hour or some such to have fun. When I played a simple bar-room skirmish that took 2 hours to resolve was EPIC! Most of the RPGers that I knew were of like minds.

I am not at all saying that all CRPGs should be hyper-realistic in their mechanics. Tunnekls & Trolls was about as fast a system as there was back in the day and the entire character sheet could be written on a standard index card. But as simple and not-serious as that game was it was still logically consistent(compared to D&D) and was 'fun' for a different reason than Runequest/Call of Cthulhu was fun. Same would apply to Ghostbusters/Toon/Paranoia I think.

slower systems can be better if they offer something in return to offset the loss of speed, for example tactical depth. rolemaster, in my opinion, doesn't offer anything that would excuse the loss of speed you get from having to navigate arms law and having most attacks consist of multiple rolls each of which need to be looked up on a table. it's not the fact that it has tables, it's how they are used.

And again, I disagree. I think whatever one loses in simpler/more abstract systems in terms of tactical depth is too high a price for the 'fun' of a 'fast' system. RM may not have succeeded in every table that was included(and many of those tables were not needed really) but I would rather consult a GM's screen full of tables for critical hits and/or a rulebook full of such a thousand times as long as it gave me something to consider when combat was imminent(such as possible critical effects of a fireball or halberd or crossbow vs. clubs & chain armor or what have you).

As for setting...who the fuck cares?! The setting is not any worse than "Forgotten Realms" or "Greyhawk"(and is certainly no "Glorantha" or "Jorune" or even as good as Warhammer's "Old World")

there is no rolemaster setting. there isn't supposed to be a rolemaster setting. it is supposed to be a generic (setting-independent) fantasy system. despite this, it tries to force a lot of setting elements on the player. because of this and because of the work needed to get rid of the stuff they try to force upon you, it is a bad generic system. since being generic is one of the things it is supposed to do, it does not do it well.

There were world settings for Rolemaster(IIRC details of one were included in "Character Law & Campaign Law" or one of those books) but in any case I fail to see what you are getting at here. How were setting elements forced on you? Remember the game was NEVER supposed to be a truly generic system like GURPS or HERO. Just a system for gaming in whatever fantasy world/setting you chose and, like every other 'generic' fantasy system(AD&D, RQ, T&T, Palladium etc.) that was not GURPS or HERO, you had to tweak it for your specific setting. It worked well enough for more or less standard fantasy settings and that was all it was supposed to do. Same could not be said for D&D for example.
So if you wanted to have a world where people had to prepare for poetry readings by memorizing specific numbers of poems they wanted to recite and would forget such memorized poems as they were read...then RM is not for you and D&D might be more your bag. But if you want more or less standard fantasy stuff where wizards know and do not forget what they know through usage then Rolemaster worked.

 

[oscar]

I'm trying to recall the name of an rpg someone on the Codex mentioned a while ago.

Plots were randomly generated based on a few sentences, and seemed low fantasy and Howard-esque. Each player had conflicting goals depending on the character they were.

 

[LeStryfe79]

1st ed AD&D with 2nd ed Campaigns and Kits + Player's Option: Combat and Tactics

Basically homebrew AD&D.

 

[particle man]

Haven't actually played any PnP for several years, but if I were to get a chance to again, Pathfinder looks interesting. Been thinking about trying to get something going online, even been writing down some ideas. At first I thought D&D3.5 & its offshoots were crap, but after playing some of the computer game versions, it's kinda growing on me.

The only ones I have much experience actually playing are AD&D (2nd ed.) & GURPS- mostly AD&D (ran a campaign for a couple years, quite a few house rules & tweaks). I really liked the GURPS system, but I never got as familiar with it.

Call of Cthulhu always had my interest as well, but the people I played with weren't really into it.

As for the fast vs slow discussion, I think slow can be just as fun. Of course, this is down to individual taste, but I think the higher level of detail that comes with the weapon vs armor type and that sort of thing can be fun. I'm nerdy like that though, and I can see how it might be too much for some people. I guess this pretty much sums it up:

One man's "time waste" is another man's "AWESOME!".

 

[darkling]

Pathfinder is great but bookkeep-y and slow. I like it a lot and it works great for my game, but I can see why people are drawn to simpler/faster systems!

I'm quite fond of the system Green Ronin made for the Dragon Age RPG. There's some excellent campaign materials made for it by others, including a detailed fan conversion of the Mystara setting (the basic D&D (red box) campaign world) and a ton of published material by the Open Design/Kobold Press people for their Midgard campaign setting. It's a good system with plenty of room for customization while remaining fairly simple. If I was starting a new campaign today, instead of being 2.5 years into one, I'd totally have used it. Oh and don't let the Dragon Age license fool you! Everything is based on the world but it's not the same system.

 

[Awor Szurkrarz]

Codex Martialis
The Riddle of Steel
Cyberpunk 2020
GURPS

Just from reading the manuals. I never had an opportunity to play any of them.

 

[Blaine]

GURPS. It's not perfect, but it's close enough. Second-favorite would be BRP, mainly because of Call of Cthulhu/Delta Green.

I've always wanted to play Blue Planet, which is a high-tech ocean planet setting with its own core rules (as well as an official 3rd Edition GURPS conversion). I own all of the books, but have never had the opportunity to play.

 

[suejak]

I don't really like pnp, but I'd say D&D 3E is the most fun system I've come across. AD&D (2nd ed) was so linear and unexciting. You locked into a path and that was it; there were few good choices to be made. 3E was so much more dynamic and made it easier to design any cool character you wanted, while retaining the transparency and Christmas-morning feeling of the AD&D class system.