Re: [DL] only a little OT, or not even, really.

["Erik Weissengruber" <epweissengruber@hotmail.com>]

Top 5 RPG's

We are ready for some prime flamewar materials here, we should probably keep 
this OT but ...

1) Runequest (beyone class/level into skill based)
2) Call of Cthulhu (characters that actually get MORE messed up as they 
"progress"? -- unbeatable monsters? -- it'll never sell, never)
3) Deadlands
4) Traveller:TNE (death to the Imperium!!!!, monolithically boring and 
authoritarian as it is.  Taking the good stuff out of Twillight 2000, 
Brillian Lances and Battle Rider were two GREAT wagames that were closely 
integrated to the RPG)
5) Bushido (FGU) WHY?  Everything was resolved w. a d20 roll, and damage 
assessed by d6.  If you roll a 10, and your skill was @ 17, you generated 7 
Task Points -- this simple mechanic allowed you to resolve ANY task.  
Cracking a lock -- gotta generate 25 Task Points or something total before 
the baddies whack you.  Writing a synthesis of Budhist and Shinto cosmology, 
same deal (slightly different time scale).  PLUS great rules for resolving 
PC downtime, PC involvement w. battles, discrimination between Lethal and 
Non-Lethal damage, synthesizing abstract character classes graded by "level" 
a la D&D with skill-based systems, point-system character design.  Like most 
early RPG's the game was poorly laid out and presented -- like a wargame it 
gave you movment and time scales before proceeding to tell you what kind of 
STORIES the game was oriented to telling.  Plus the game mechanic was shared 
with Daredevils.  FGU had a great "multi-genre" system -- too bad they never 
made it the standard with all their games.
>
>I was just wondering what everyone's Top Five RPGs of all time might be (in
>order or not).
>
>Here's mine (explanations to follow when less painkillers in my system), in
>no particular order for the same reason:
>
>1. Call of Cthulhu (and will be looking to add Delta Green to that list as
>I explore it shortly).
>2. Deadlands (of course).
>3. Mage: the Ascension (I did a LOT of great stuff with WW games before
>burning out on them but good).
>4. Traveller (in earlier versions only!).
>5. Ars Magica (though it is a LOT of work these days...).
>
>
>Y'all?  (I also had a soft spot for the first version of Twilight: 2000,
>but it wasn't a real great 'campaign' game and shortly got bogged down in
>supplements, so it's not on the list per se.)
>
>
>Ross
>
>
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>

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