Role Playing Games

I know most people refer to them as "fantasy" role playing games (RPG's), but not all of them are devoted to the fantasy genre. True, they are all fantasy in a way, in that they all use your imagination, but you can't tell me a Dune setting is the same genre as Conan. So here are my thoughts on each gaming system I have tried, organized by primary associative genre (some have attempted to break these walls down, but with limited or negligible success).
Fantasy Games
Science Fiction Games
Superhero Games
Horror Games
Alternate Genre Games

As I have played and run different games, I have come by some common etiquette rules and some common sense guidelines that help to enrich the game. Here I list some of the more important ones, sure to help out with just about any game:

Don't argue with the GM - Every rules book says it, but everyone ignores it. If a GM says something, it is the word of God. Do not quote the rule nor search endlessly through books to prove your point. If the GM seems in question or curious about your interpretation of a rule, search (for less than 2 or 3 minutes) and display the rule; if the GM does not seem interested, you have lost even if the rules book says you are right. Every gaming system proclaims loudly that the games are subject to the GM's modifications, so admit defeat and try to play the game instead of being a rules lawyer.
Show up early - The game can't start without you, or if it does, will drag when everyone else has to catch you up on the plot. This is especially bad when someone says "play my character for me, I'll be an hour or so late". Now they have no idea what decisions have been made based upon their own character's actions. Show, don't show, or have the character be a minor role played by the GM until the player arrives.
Play the character as if it were yourself - Don't attempt to long jump over a 50' wide pool of lava, don't challenge a giant robot with missile launchers to a one-on-one duel, don't jump around corners without looking first. Or if you do, don't complain when your character dies.
GM's: Don't be afraid to kill characters - If it's a circumstance that was unavoidable, inadvertent, and the character has been played well, allow for an escape plan. If the first level mage decided he would walk unarmed into the dragon's lair and wake the dragon by peeing on its face, do what you would do if you were the dragon.
Bring munchies for everyone - Nothing will drag a game like five people showing up with individual dinners. Try getting a game set up while juggling a taco and hot sauce. Agree to eat before you come, or that you will get food together during your session. A pizza delivered or a BK run halfway through a session gives the players time to think and talk about things. If you need munchies and nothing else, designate someone to bring a 12-pack of something and everyone else (except the person hosting the game session) brings a bag of chips or something. Rotate responsibilities each week.
Be organized - Find crucial tables in your rules book and put bookmarks there (the colored tape tabs are fantastic for this) that say what each mark is. Keep all your character's information in a folder, put in the same order for each character. BRING YOUR OWN DICE AND PENCIL. You won't always be able to mooch one off of someone else. Keep a notebook handy for frequently changed info (like combat stats: life left, temporary penalties, spell points, etc.).
GM's: Run an occasional "supercharacter" campaign. Let every player create an absolute monster, with the highest possible stats and with the best equipment they can carry. If you make it a mid-level (5th - 7th) campaign, you can sprinkle in some high-powered magic items. Then turn them loose on your fantasy world. The true role players are the ones who still attempt diplomacy, who have diversified secondary skills, and who are not guaranteed to survive combat (unless they run away from fights even with powerhouses). The group will naturally defer to an experienced role player most of the time without even realizing it, and that will make your job easier.
Finally, determine how serious your session will be as far as gaming. Some players will show up eager to get as far in the game as they can, others wouldn't mind just shooting the breeze the whole time. I've been in games where the GM couldn't go fast enough for any of us, and can vividly recall a session that grinded to a complete halt for the Miss Venezuela pageant (let me just say, Latin America pageants kick our beauty queen carnivals out the door). Frustrated players end up being bad players.

Follow the above and you'll be good to go, regarless of the system. Now to the real meat of this page:

Fantasy Games

By far the most popular of the styles of games, it is also the first one to have a target drawn on it when the media goes on a feeding frenzy. The lure of the game is easy to explain, with posters of fantasy art everywhere, movies like The 13th Warrior and Braveheart, and the coolest architectural achievements ever: castles. One system after another has come along and tried to be either so detailed that you need a PHD to play or so vague that you can only tell that your character exists and nothing more. Take a gander at my personal opinions of each of these systems and see where your opinion weighs in with mine.

D & D / AD & D

The granddaddy of them all, TSR has been on top of the RPG heap now for almost 30 years, though I can't say any more that it's from quality of product. After Wizards of the Coast (see the article on this evil group on the card games page) bought them, the usual TSR money grubbing went into overdrive. Instead of needing two jobs to buy the monthly turnout of products, WotC set the tempo so that only trust fund babies could keep up. Not that the stuff is quality, but quantity ensures that someone, somewhere will probably find something remotely like what they would like to buy.

I started with D&D in the early 80's and didn't get weaned off of it until about '95. I had tried other systems, but was most comfortable with the one I had grown up with. Even then, I was constantly tweaking the system, trying to find some semblance of a realistic world. Secondary skills helped, as did switching to a points system for spells, but the combat was still just too bad a system. If you have weapon specialization, you should not also have your chances to hit drop. The change from third to fourth level for a fighter is dramatic; between the weapons slot she is given and the +2 to hit bonus for the higher level, she now needs four less on her d20 to hit the same target she hit yesterday. I still don't mind the systems, but AD&D just requires too much time and D&D has too many required tweaks to make it fun anymore.

A moderately successful venture into sci-fi was attempted with the Spelljammer series, which lasted a while and was quite novel to players, but I never hear more about it. On the other hand, Ravenloft has always been very successful as a horror-based scenario world for D&D, and should continue to do well as long as we still psychologically need the monsters.

If you're into this game, there are some good resource websites out there, not the least of which are the Sage's Guild and this links site.

My own personal tweaks for this game and some recommendations for players and DM's are right here.

Middle Earth Role Playing

AKA 'Rolemaster Lite' - This has become my favorite role playing system. Character development is as quick and easy as basic D&D, magic is point-based with a good number of spells (and you can augment them with the Rolemaster books), and combat is the same as Rolemaster - one hit can end a fight. It also means a lot that the system comes with a fully developed background. The master (man, the Prof. was great!) undoubtedly created one of the most, if not THE most, detailed fantasy worlds ever. It wasn't just naming provinces and creating generalities about all of the people; it was an in-depth labor of love, and the Tolkien scholars at ICE have done their research well.
Not only did this system rekindle my love for the greatest fantasy epic of all, but it encouraged me to read the Silmarillion, a beast I could never conquer before. The reference materials are part research and part continuation, filling in the gaps Tolkien left. When I read the Valar and Maiar sourcebook, I discovered I was reading the meat of the Silmarillion; when I finished the gaming material, I went back and read the original book. Nothing is better than getting the story and then filling in the details; the full flavor of the text leaped out at me, and what had previously put me to sleep had me riveted. I can't explain how great that book is, but it's better than the Lord of the Rings series.
Back to the game... Skills are simple and somewhat generalized, but you can mix and match as much Rolemaster in as you want and it will work perfectly. There are about 15 character classes (when the optional classes are used), so character diversity is not a problem. Rules are fairly simple and straightforward, and the system is smooth to run. Some of the best fun during a session is when someone fails an attempt to do something so miserably that a "fumble" results; the fumble is a separate roll and has a chart for different weapons, actions, and situations. You could fall, hit your head, and enter a coma by stubbing your toe and tripping. Weapon-wise, you could do anything from dropping your weapon to flaying yourself to death. And my personal favorite, a fumbled spell, can be something as harmless as raising your hair on end to something as horrible as melting your brain. You've gotta love a system like that! I highly recommend this for beginning and experienced gamers.

Visit ICE!

My personal suggestions for this game are not posted at this time.

Rolemaster

Of all the RPG's I have ever experienced, this has to be the most balanced, detailed, cumbersome one. It takes a good day or two to design a good character, and even then there will be things you wish you could do with it. Magic is relatively subdued, and combat is deadly...ANY character or monster can be killed IN ONE HIT. Battle is not taken lightly. I do like that your stat scores are modified every time you change level; it's what would happen if you neglected study for physical training or vice versa. The system is complicated and will overburden most GM's, which is why ICE recommends distributing responsibility amongst the players. Development of new races is made easy, and for spell selection you can't beat this system. Although it takes quite some time to set up, a Rolemaster campaign is probably one of the richest FRP game systems you will ever experience.

Although the primary emphasis is fantasy, it doesn't take much to allow for this game to be vamped up for sci-fi or, thanks to some supplemental manuals, modern adventuring.

I found a really good link for some excellent Rolemaster links.

My personal recommendations for this game are not posted at this time.

Warhammer

Gimme a break. If your character survives being created, he/she is gonna die from a brain annurism the first time it sneezes. I'd like a fantasy system that allows me to live long enough to hear what the scenario is about. This system is entirely combat-based, which means after a while it's all about number-crunching, being a rules lawyer, and figuring out the best way to get a cheap shot in from the enemy's rear.

Science Fiction Games

Even though I love sci-fi movies and tv shows, the games have always left me a little limp. Maybe it's just been bad experiences, but the game is never as exciting nor as thrilling as the scenarios the pros like Roddenberry and Asimov dream up.

Gamma World

I used to be really hooked on the concepts of this game, pretty much because of the Mad Max movies. In a post-apocalyptic world, survival is the name of the game. Face down fellow survivors, mutated humans and animals, and leftover technological weapons which are self-aware. Sounds like fun, and designing scenarios isn't bad, but the game never really held anyone's interest for too long. Guns for some reason just don't make a game fun. I'm surprised this hasn't had a resurgence in popularity with the whole Y2K thing, but not that surprised.

Men In Black

The movie the first time around was a let-down after all the hype, but I can watch it now and be totally entertained. Same with the game. First look made it seem a little too close to GURPS (later touched upon), but after getting a little more in-depth with the game I actually started to enjoy it. Yeah, the scenarios can get pretty goofy, but that's what the game is designed around. The rules book is written tongue-in-cheek, and you are encouraged to spend your entire session being a wise ass. You are actually required to be one at the end of the adventure; the GM (Zed) receives from you a briefing of your adventure, and the character is rewarded with experience and development based upon how entertaining you make the report. Fun as hell, but tough to find a group.

Star Fleet Battles

OK, so this is a strategy game. So what? I love it. Even if you just take a stock ship as is and see what you can blow up, it kicks much ass. It takes very little time to learn, but masterful manipulation of fine points to become a champ. A hex map is an absolute must for this game, and the mini-figures can be cool, but all you really need is a battle plan. Turns are broken up into 32-interval rounds, and the combat system is what I assume the computer game Master of Orion II is based upon. The game can sometimes be slow, but if you put a time limit on the rounds it feels more like command decisions under pressure. Anyone wants a piece of me, bring on the cruiser class; my D-6 Bird of Prey will be waiting for you with overloaded disruptors.

Star Frontiers

I don't know if TSR still produces this game, and if they don't it's not really a loss. D&D in outer space, this game is fairly simple to use and has some fun weapons, but a clunky combat system and lack of detail on secondary skills kill this puppy. After the novelty of the races wears off, you start to wonder how to incorporate them into your fantasy games. Beyond that, I wouldn't recommend busting your wallet buying into this defunct system.

Star Trek

You know, I loved the show and even a couple of the movies. But I just never got into it enough to care what it means when a Ferengi wears a yellow sash. The game is an enormous chassis pulled by a small engine. For purists, this game can be fun. Although I like that it is character-driven, there needs to be enough action to keep driving the story on. Although diplomatic suspense-stories make for a great tv show, it really gets tough to drag the plot out over a gaming session; you end up doing stupid skill checks, like successful use of the turbolift. And character generation and playing come entirely too close to real life for petty squabbling between characters ("I scored a perfect 100 in astrophysics at Star Fleet" "As did I, although I answered all the questions in Romulan"). My personal opinion is that this system needs a little more overhaul.

Superhero Games

You would think that with comic sales skyrocketing, with movies and tv shows left and right based on these characters, with the sheer numbers of people playing RPG's, that someone would be playing some of these games. Well, not where I am. The genre just hasn't caught on, and with the systems available, I'm not really shocked by that.

Champions

I dunno. I tried this on a couple of occasions, but just couldn't get into it. The system uses point costs for all sorts of different powers, and these costs are modified based upon strength, range, natural ability or item-based, etc. Sure, you can limit a character by the number of points allowed for development, but the limitation means nothing without limiting the number of focii. Green Lantern could be a cheap, cheap character because everything is focused through the ring; meanwhile, Rage would cost almost twice as much because his strength and speed are inherent abilities. You can't tell me Rage would stand a chance...
An even better example: The Faceless Wonder is a hero created by ingestion of an alien stone. He has the Hulk's strength, Superman's invulnerability, Flash's speed, Cyclops' eye beams, can fly, doesn't need to breathe or eat (hence, no face), and is immune to electrical, biological, and audio-based attacks. The stone is the focus of the powers, so you can make them super-high power and they're cheap because the stone can be dropped or lost. But consider this: swallow the stone, the mouth disappears. Until the rock passes, no one can oppose him and survive. A little ridiculous.
Although this game is also able to be used as fantasy-based adventuring campaign, it just becomes ridiculous with how players manipulate the point system.

Marvel Super Heroes

I really am not impressed with this system. TSR did the original production pre-WOC buyout, and it left a lot to be desired. You modify your ability scores to get them where you want them for your character concept and work the powers in around them, but the powers are a little too cartoonish for the comic-based adventures. It seems like every time someone gets punched, they get thrown back four city blocks and through at least a couple of walls. Poor skill support and little development options for characters like Dr. Strange left me longing for the end of the game session.

Horror-genre base games

Although there is really only one company in this particular medium at this point, they have expanded to four games, all of which are completely compatible with each other and with a good GM can actually add some interesting kinks to the systems.

Vampire: The Masquerade (also Werewolf, Wraith, and Mage)

A good job is done making these systems compatible, and the free-reign style of character development is nice. But something about the structure of it is just a little too loose and open-ended to suit me. This all came about at the time of the height of the "Gothic" subculture, and is extremely GenX-oriented. Trust me, this was derived from the vampire series Anne Rice wrote. And the movie Blade was what the makers of this game were trying to envision with the chic predesigned characters included in the books and modules. I don't know that I'd recommend the game, except maybe to experienced gamers looking to get out of a rut, but the resource books are an entertaining read and may eventually get you hooked into the game.

Alternative / oddball RPG's

These are games that don't really fit with the traditional genres, or are designed to be obtuse enough to be molded into anything. The result: a bunch of stuff I'm sorry I paid money for.

GURPS (Generic Universal Role Playing System)

For the record, I will start with this statement: the system is as attractive as the abbreviated name sounds. This is a point-based character development system with such open-ended rules and development options that you want to burn your character sheet. You are left to your own devices to conceive some skills, and the result is that you can make the system into anything; of course, it's a piece of crap in any form, but you can call it whatever you like. When games are left this wide open, it's somewhat refreshing for GM's who like to scale rules to their own tastes anyway; it's also maddening that you have to create the rules to modify later. Avoid this stinker.

Indiana Jones - the role playing game

It's not all the trumpet fanfare and fun of a Harrison Ford movie. Instead, it's a game set in a different (but not too different) time that lacks proper descriptions and summarizations of the technologies of the day and political climes. Result: you run an explorer through caves or buildings, avoiding traps and snagging treasure, while being pursued by either angry natives or Nazis. Unless you are well-versed in the thirties and forties, find something to create a small, controlled environment where your limited knowledge won't be as glaringly obvious as it is when someone points out that this plane or that actress didn't exist in 1938. Rather clumsy combat system that is coming to be a trademark with TSR.

James Bond

You know how elegant and suave the movies are? Forget it. This game gives you the opportunity to have a character that gets to play with Q's toys, but the system really goes nowhere with character growth or skill development and usage. It makes many generalizations, and assumes far too much knowledge on the gamer's part. On the other hand, the resource materials actually contain some pretty cool factual information and somewhat useful maps on the major cities of the world.

Fantasy Games
Science Fiction Games
Superhero Games
Horror Games
Alternate Genre Games
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