Anyone want to help me out and recommend some roleplaying games to put on my christmas wishlist this year?

I have bought all the EotE books and the FnD Core already, and I`m not all that interested in AoR, I leave that to my brother who absolutely is:)

My preferences:
I love loose and freeform games that have elegant mechanics you can do anything with, like PDQ, especially Truth & Justice where you can make any kind of superhero character you could think of.
I own Fate Core and Accelerated already, but I am more into PDQ (at the moment at least...)
For crunchy games I like the Edge of the Empire kind, where it is all very tangible, rubust and tight and not all over the place like crunchy games often tend to be. Savage Worlds is good too..
I like the mechanics and idea behind dungeonworld, but I want more original character options to play around with...
Same with Marvel Heroic RP, I love the rules and idea, but want to create my own characters. I guess you can make your own, but I want something my players can grasp fast.
I actually loved parts of 4e too, like all the races and classes you could combo together to make something interestingand awesome, and the narrative skill challanges.
I got tired with the long combats and game crunch focus though, and I`m not a fan of tactical grid combat. 5e is fun, but still not what I`m looking for, and in some minor ways characters feel more restricted than before, like druids not being able to be animals all the time like cantrips. Maybe I don`t know what I`m talking about yet Still have fun with it of course, like I have had with all the editions since I started with 2nd ed. .. But yea, dnd or d20 is not what I`m looking for right now...


I have already put down Feng Shui 2 and I`m concidering Kerberos Club(fate ed) and Barbarions of Lemuria. I think they`d fit my taste(?).

Do you have any hidden gems for me or even obvious choices I`m missing?
Charactergen options or freeform character building seems to be reoccuring themes in games I like.
I like open settings I easily can make my own and do varied campaign concepts in, like Star Wars and Discworld or systems that incourage or even have tools for making a homebrew setting to fit the game.

Edit: I also like tools that support improv and storytelling and less prep time.

I grabbed a copy of Fantasy A.G.E system from Green Ronin while at Gen Con. It's the same system they used from their Dragon Age RPG but for a more generic fantasy setting. I haven't had a chance to run it yet (still trying to wrap up my current Star Wars game). It's a pretty simple 3d6 mechanic that's easy to pick up. The stunt system offers a similar feel to SW RPG Advantages and Triumphs.

The biggest con to it is that the book is pretty lite. You'll need to fill in a lot of gaps when creating your adventure. But if you've played a lot of FATE core, that shouldn't be new to you.

Sounds cool. Thanks!

I really like the new Firefly rpg by Margaret Weiss, it is a Cortex plus system variant and really seems to work well. I have run Firefly, Babylon 5 and Rocketship Empires 1936 with it and it is freeform enough to be hacked into a lot of settings. I am thinking of trying to make a Battlestar Galactica hack for it, I have the hackers guide to cortex plus which gives suggestions as to how to make it work in other settings. The only real downside for me is the layout, some of the fine detail for the rules is explained using an episode guide approach, all of the firefly episodes are listed with specific rules being explained that way.

I grabbed a copy of Fantasy A.G.E system from Green Ronin...

What can you tell me about chargen options like races?

Ps. if you like the system, check out Titansgrave, both the Wil Wheaton actual play show and the game:)

^{It's basically Fate, and the books are pricy, but the Dresden Files is a great game... and the books its based on ain't too shabby, either.}

I really like the new Firefly rpg by Margaret Weiss, it is a Cortex plus system variant and really seems to work well. I have run Firefly, Babylon 5 and Rocketship Empires 1936 with it and it is freeform enough to be hacked into a lot of settings. I am thinking of trying to make a Battlestar Galactica hack for it, I have the hackers guide to cortex plus which gives suggestions as to how to make it work in other settings. The only real downside for me is the layout, some of the fine detail for the rules is explained using an episode guide approach, all of the firefly episodes are listed with specific rules being explained that way.

I have actually bought both the Firefly and Serenity games for my brother last christmas. Looked good. Rules explanations presented in firm examples like that, that all fans are familiar with seems like a feature more than a downside(?).

Cortex + is what Marvel Heroic is, right? I like those mechanics.

^{It's basically Fate, and the books are pricy, but the Dresden Files is a great game... and the books its based on ain't too shabby, either.}

Yea, the books are pricey and split into two. I am a fan of all-you-need-in-one-book systems... However, FFG tricks me into buying all their books, those evil, talented marketing geniuses. Curses!

I grabbed a copy of Fantasy A.G.E system from Green Ronin...

What can you tell me about chargen options like races?

Ps. if you like the system, check out Titansgrave, both the Wil Wheaton actual play show and the game:)

I've watched Titansgrave. That's been a darn good game. I also purchased the Titansgrave: Ashes of Valkana adventure book while at Gen Con. I haven't had a chance to go through that yet.

Keep in mind that I have poor memory and I haven't picked up the book since I read through a month or two a go.

As for character generation.

Races: Elves, Orks, Humans, Dwarves, Gnomes and Halflings. But you can mix and match to make half-breeds of any thing. (Titansgrave also adds in Saurians). Each race has bonuses that you can either randomly roll for, or pick based on a watered-down point-buy system.

3 basic classes: Mage, Warrior, and Thief, but depending on your specializations and talents, you can tweak them into something unique.

Backgrounds that define social standing and wealth: Outsider, lower class, middle class, or upper class

Finally you select a background based on your social class.

Magic is based on a mana-like system.

By default, you select race and class, but everything else is randomly rolled (including some of your racial features), so it's possible that you can make a character that is a poor fit for the character concept you may have had in mind. However, there are rules for picking and choosing bonuses and traits.

Finally, the combat system is "theater of the mind", but it's easy to translate the rules to a map and minis style of play.

Incidentally, the guy who wrote Rocketship Empires 1936 is a high school friend of mine. We used to game a lot back in the day (mostly D&D and his Gamma World variant). The last time I talked to him on the phone, which was quite awhile ago, he hadn't released RSE yet, but was telling me all about it. I still haven't actually looked at it, but Ed is an extremely creative person, so I have no doubt it's a very cool alternate history campaign setting.

Ed was also the DM in probably one of the most fun AD&D games I was ever in. One of the guys in my current SW campaign also played in that game (we're talking early 80's) and still remembers it and still remembers what I did in it Ah, fun times before I had any actual responsibilities...

Anyway, I now return you to our regularly scheduled discussion...

I have actually bought both the Firefly and Serenity games for my brother last christmas. Looked good. Rules explanations presented in firm examples like that, that all fans are familiar with seems like a feature more than a downside(?).

Cortex + is what Marvel Heroic is, right? I like those mechanics.

I would have preferred to have the rules in one specific chapter as the way that they arranged it made the thing feel a little fragmented to me. I don't have a problem with the examples but the amount of pages that took seemed to increase the size of the book unnecessarily. System wise, Cortexplus has a number of versions tailored to the setting. Marvel had attributes based on how well you worked with other supers, Firefly has Physical, Social and Mental.

Finally, the combat system is "theater of the mind", but it's easy to translate the rules to a map and minis style of play.

Meh.. Not into grid and map combat. Theatre of the mind rules the show!

....

I've watched Titansgrave. That's been a darn good game. I also purchased the Titansgrave: Ashes of Valkana adventure book while at Gen Con. ..

Wait a minute! Titansgrave isn`t a standalone book with all you need to play? :-/

I've watched Titansgrave. That's been a darn good game. I also purchased the Titansgrave: Ashes of Valkana adventure book while at Gen Con. ..

Wait a minute! Titansgrave isn`t a standalone book with all you need to play? :-/

If it makes you feel better, compared to FFG Star Wars, the books are pretty cheap. Cheaper still if you purchase the PDFs.

I've watched Titansgrave. That's been a darn good game. I also purchased the Titansgrave: Ashes of Valkana adventure book while at Gen Con. ..

Wait a minute! Titansgrave isn`t a standalone book with all you need to play? :-/

If it makes you feel better, compared to FFG Star Wars, the books are pretty cheap. Cheaper still if you purchase the PDFs.

I was going to buy Titansgrave for my girlfriend this christmas, since she likes the show. Guess I`ll buy AGE fantasy too then, even if she has no ide what that is:p....

I like the Cypher System Core Rule Book from MonteCookGames.

The big draw for me with that system is the GM rolls zero dice in that system - you can focus less on stats and more on story. I get overloaded with minutiae when I run a game.

It is class based, but focuses a lot on customization. The gist of the system is you have various ways to lower the difficulty. This can be through gear, skill, or attribute points to lower the difficulty - possibly to the point where no roll is necessary. It is not. Perfect system by any means, but for someone like me who rolls mediocre at best (usually pitiful and statistically unlikely) as a player, and nothing short of constant criticals and killer rolls as a GM, it is a good fit for me.

Incidentally, the guy who wrote Rocketship Empires 1936 is a high school friend of mine. We used to game a lot back in the day (mostly D&D and his Gamma World variant). The last time I talked to him on the phone, which was quite awhile ago, he hadn't released RSE yet, but was telling me all about it. I still haven't actually looked at it, but Ed is an extremely creative person, so I have no doubt it's a very cool alternate history campaign setting.

Ed was also the DM in probably one of the most fun AD&D games I was ever in. One of the guys in my current SW campaign also played in that game (we're talking early 80's) and still remembers it and still remembers what I did in it Ah, fun times before I had any actual responsibilities...

Anyway, I now return you to our regularly scheduled discussion...

Yes, Ed is a good guy. I did some writing for him when he was publishing Rocketship Empires as a system less game, sadly it was never published. I still chat to him when I can and I hope that he will bring Rocketship back out. I have never been able to meet him in person but would love to some time.