[dude]

What is it?
Not necessarily fat nerds talking in "thou art" faux-medieval talk, and not an occult ritual - PnP RPGs is short for pen and paper role playing games. These are role-playing games played by groups around tables, with analog utensils and oddly shaped dice, that take place mostly in the players’ imagination. Each player will assume a character (usually, with one acting as a “game master”, and is in charge of the world and rules), and the game will be mostly verbal, though sometimes various aids like figurines are used for combat.
Role-playing in its current form as been a popular hobby since the 70’s, and in its basic form since probably ever. Despite negative stigma, role-playing is very different than its media representation of schizophrenic nerds in Renaissance attire - Come with an open mind and you might discover one of the most diverse and interesting gaming experiences available.
This thread aims to provide a place for seasoned players to exchange experiences, for old time players to check back on their old hobby (and maybe revisit it) and for new players to see what all the fuss is all about. This includes games, systems, LARPs and game books - Basically, anything RPG.

How do you play?
The best way to visualize PnP RPGs is to try and remember the games you used to play as a child, the sort of make-believe games we all played. PnP RPGs are not much different than those, they’re just the grown up version. While as a child objectivity and consistency was not of much concern, as adults we tend to need some common ground in order to play together - some rules and limitations to our make-believe world. These rules are what we call a “system”. These systems will try and emulate the world through statistics, numbers and parameters, with the “random” elements of life such as luck usually represented through the use of dice. These system can differ greatly from one another, because of different outlook, genre, philosophy etc. The World of Darkness games, for example provide a special “willpower” pool whereas D&D does not, because of the bigger emphasis WoD games place in horror. Some systems will aim to be “universal”, fit for any world or genre, while others will be more specialized and intended for specific genres or, sometimes, even specific settings. Each player will usually record the numbers that make up his character on a character sheet. The game master will usually keep track of the world and environment that are outside the player’s control, and he will also usually lay out the plot and story and play other characters the players meet. Games usually consist of a “campaign” which is an overlaying story with a beginning and end, that is broken down into “adventures” or “quests” which are smaller self-contained stories that eventually build the bigger plot, those usually consist of several play sessions. Terminology may change depending on the group or system.
While all the above is usually the case, these things can vary greatly from system to system. Some systems do not use dice at all and resolve everything through predetermined statistics, some do not use a game master and create the story and world through collaborative story-telling. And then, Some players prefer to even not use a system at all, and play free-form. RPGs are probably the most adaptable games in existence, all you have to do is find out what works for you!

Where can I play (and with who)?
Here’s a handy list of links that will help you find a group near you!
Meetup.com
nearbygamers.com
WoTC Event locator - http://ww2.wizards.com/StoreAndEvent...r/Default.aspx
Pathfinder Society locator - http://paizo.com/pathfinderSociety/events
ENWorld's Gamers Seeking Gamers - http://www.enworld.org/forum/gamersseekinggamers.php
PenandPaperGames player lookup - http://www.penandpapergames.com/forums/memberlist.php


If you prefer to play over the good old 'net, here are some helpful tools, by courtesy of piratepwnsninja:
http://www.fantasygrounds.com/
http://rptools.net/
http://www.rpgtonight.com/
http://www.battlegroundsgames.com/index.html

Wizard's official Virtual Table. (Thanks to Kritz.)

Tabletop Forge 2.o - seems like a rather cool Google+ app

UI flexibility. Most of the widgets in the application are both resizable and movable so you can layout things as you like them on your monitor. Resizable and movable video canvas. This let you see whoever is actively speaking and you can place it wherever you want and resize it. Windows can be minimized to bottom of screen or the title bar can be double-clicked to collapse the window. Theming support. A dropdown menu of various themes to change the color and style layout of the text and widgets. Map state, dice macros, combat tracker, and basic character info can be saved to the Google App Engine cloud and restored again in a later Hangout.

More info and screen at this post (Thanks Enduin, finally I have a use for Google+.)


Overview of Popular RPGs




D20 - Dungeons & Dragons
D&D is easily the best known, most influential and arguably the first PnP RPG. Usually the first experience with RPGs, D&D is often the gateway drug in to the hobby.
It is an almost universal fantasy game, as despite the books usually presenting some “default” setting (currently an hodge-podge of various fantasy worlds), it can be easily adapted into various fantasy settings. This versatility resulted in many worlds, or “campaign settings”, published officially for the game - covering the full spectrum of fantasy sub-genres - From the high-fantasy Forgotten Realms and Krynn to the dying-world post-apocalyptic Dark Sun. From the fantastical astronomy of Spelljammer to the surrealist plane-traveling of Planescape. This is not to mention the infinite worlds created by various game masters for their games.
D&D was released in the 70’s and was owned by TSR, which released its first editions, up to the second edition of the Advanced Dungeon & Dragons (a split of D&D intended to be more elaborate and strategic). It later ran into difficulties and was bought by Wizards of the Coast in the late 90’s, who continued releasing content for the game. With the release of the 3rd edition, WoTC discontinued the “basic” D&D line and removed the Advanced from the brand, renaming it back into Dungeons & Dragons. They also further streamlined the system and made it more accessible. This system would later be called the D20 system and released as a universal system, used for various genres and games, such as Star Ward, D20 Modern, Call of Cthulhu and more.
D&D is currently in its 4th edition, released in 2008, which is the most streamlined and beginner friendly yet. It has also recently been announced that work has begun on the 5th edition - Not much details are available yet, but it seems it's going to be simpler and modular in nature - making you choose how complicated you want the system to be. You can find most of the info here.

D20, including the basic D&D rules, were licensed under an Open Game License, meaning anyone could use the basic ruleset and some chunks of text for free, no strings attached. This lead to several other games using systems based heavily on the d20 rules, the most notable of these, I think, are Pathfinder, which is a modified version of the 3rd edition of D&D, and the True20 system, which is a simplified and more streamlined take on the D20 system.





Storyteller/Storytelling system - World of Darkness, Exalted
The Storyteller system was White Wolf’s system used in the old World of Darkness world. It was later replaced by the basically identical Storytelling system. It is the basis of pretty much all of White Wolf’s games and, as the name implies, places much emphasis on storytelling. The Storyteller system uses only 10 sided dice in gameplay.
As I mentioned, the system was used in the various WoD games, the best known of those is Vampire: The Masquerade, in which feature the players as vampires in the Final Nights dealing with the complicated politics of kindred society. The old World of Darkness setting was discontinued after a metaplot apocalypse event, but was followed by the new World of Darkness games with a slightly different setting and a tweaked system (Though the old WoD was recently revived through White Wolf’s on demand printing service). Both World of Darkness versions are well loved and acclaimed by the RPG community.
The Storyteller system is also used in White Wolf’s Exalted - an epic fantasy game, inspired mostly by Japanese anime and comics. The game lets you play a mighty Exalt of an anciet god - The Unconquered Sun. Characters in Exalted are sort of demi-gods, much more powerful than any human, so the game is often very epic and grand in scale. Exalted had two editions released so far.





GURPS
Designed by Steve Jackson Games, GURPS was one of the first systems designed to be truly universal. GURPS is short for Generic Universal Role-Playing System.
The system tend to be very reality-based and pretty heavy on the statistics - GURPS is probably one of the most realistic of the popular systems. GURPS uses only six-sided dice.
The system has a seemingly infinite amount of supplement books helping Game Masters adapt the system to any setting or genre they wish to set their game in.





Superhero RPGs
Early days of superhero RPGs were dominated at first by Villains and Vigilantes and Champions. They had a small dedicated audience that was soon eclipsed by TSR's Marvel Super Heroes (1984), by Jeff Grubb and Steve Winter. Later joined by Mayfair's DC Heroes, these two games both dominated the genre and defined it for years to come. Both eventually died off while Champions has continued through the years. Various Marvel and DC games came out but never had a big effect on the RPG audience.

In recent years, the game changer that was d20 brought about Silver Age Sentinels (2002), and more importantly Mutants & Masterminds (2002). M&M specifically has gone through 3 major editions, and spawned the licensed DC Adventures (2010). A major player in the new Supers renaissance was Steve Kenson, who has also brought out the excellent RPG-lite Icons (2010), which harkens back to the old TSR Marvel FASERIP system. Margaret Weis Productions just released the new Marvel Heroic Roleplaying Basic Game (2012) and has a full line of support planned.



Savage Worlds
Savage Worlds is a "newer" universal system that is a simplified modern version of the classic Deadlands rule system (which itself has been relaunched as a setting for Savage Worlds). Rather than a more realistic stats heavy approach to a universal system, SW instead is a fairly fast & loose system. Character creation takes minutes. The mechanics are all fairly uniform and geared towards never bogging players and GMs down in unnecessary rolling. Even the more advanced mechanics are simple enough to where you can easily teach a fresh group of players how to play the game and have everybody up to speed in little time.
The system also usually has a very low price of entry, with the Savage World Explorers Edition (a softback that features the ) being priced at a very fair $10. Sadly, it's presently out of print as Pinnacle is in the process of revising it, but you can still find copies around the market for the usual price. The hardback full sized version of the book is readily available at $30, which is still a low cost of entry. (thanks to Nairume for the summary)



Call of Cthulhu
It was dark and stormy one Friday the 13th in November, 1981, appropriately marking the release of the first ever Horror RPG, based on the story of the same name. The setting is the Mythos created by H.P. Lovecraft and some other contributors, commonly using the 1920's as the primary time period, but also the 1890's, and present day. Humans are but a minor speck in the history of the universe, and there are much older things, more terrifying than we can believe or comprehend. As an investigator, it is your role to uncover clues leading to those crazy enough to worship or summon such creatures, or even the creatures themselves. You will accomplish your task and are likely to either die, or go insane trying. Don't worry, there's plenty of fun to be had here.

Call of Cthulhu uses the Basic Roleplaying (BRP) percentile system in a way which is meant to realisticly portray man's confrontation with unimaginable horrors. Call of Cthulhu is an excellent system which rewards intelligence and planning over brawn and bravado. It is great for running both one-shots, and long campaigns such as the legendary 'Masks of Nyarlathotep'. At over 30 years of age, up to its 6th Edition, it is still incredibly well supported and has spawned similar BRP-based settings such as The Laundry and Delta Green, not to mention the GUMSHOE-based Trail of Cthulhu. There are numerous scenario books by original creators Chaosium, Pagan Publishing, Arc Dream Publishing, Goodman Games, Miskatonic River Press, and more. There is set to be a new 7th Edition rulebook in 2012, and as with all other editions, every Call of Cthulhu product remains compatible. (Thanks to Danoss for the great summary!



Other Games
There are still many other games and systems - Shadowrun, Rolemaster, Basic Role-Playing, SRS, OmniSystem, Advanced Fighting Fantasy, Palladium... The list could go on forever.
Some are older and established, with a strong and devote following, while others are made by independent publishers. The basically non-existent cost of production and ease of reaching an audience in the Internet age means that indie and smaller publishers can flourish. Some are nothing more than generic, others truly push the boundaries of your imagination and redefine RPGs - Games like Life with Master, Nobilis and Polaris, that will make you rethink everything you expect from an RPG. So even if fantasy is not your thing or you don’t really care about statistics or numbers - D&D is only one very specific aspect of RPGs, there’s surely one out there that’s right for you, you just need to find it.


Many writers have have harnessed the potential of the strong RPG comunity and opened Kickstarter pages, This tumblr features most of them: http://rpgkickstarters.tumblr.com/ (thanks krypt0nian!)

I would like to give a very special thanks to krypt0nian, who wrote both the Superhero RPG section and compiled the helpful Where to Play list. Thank a lot!

[tsef]

Nice thread :)
I really want to go back and play some rpgs but I need to find some players :x

[thetrin]

My friends and I don't play D&D anymore because of one dude that just fucking ruined it for all of us. Now they're all sour on playing. It's one thing that can be awesome, or shitty about PnP games. One shitty player can ruin it for everyone, and it's so hard to get people to start playing again after that. But if you have a good group, it's real memorable.

Oh well. Hopefully we'll get a group together again.

[dude]

Nice thread :) I really want to go back and play some rpgs but I need to find some players :x

That's exactly why we have the handy, Krypt0nian compiled list of group-finding resources. If you live anywhere near a major area, you'll probably find someone to play with :)

and thanks!

[Cystm]

Nice OT. I am down for GAF meet ups should we get enough people interested.

[golem]

Oh nice, liberated from the slums of The OT.. jk. Haven't played in a while, guess I should see what the group is up to now that everyone is capped out on SWTOR. Any good links to whats going on with 5th edition?

[dude]

Oh nice, liberated from the slums of The OT.. jk. Haven't played in a while, guess I should see what the group is up to now that everyone is capped out on SWTOR. Any good links to whats going on with 5th edition?

Here you go.
So far, it sounds very good - They're taking a model I and my friends have been rooting for for years - A modular system, where you can pick and choose elements you like. Don't like feats? Don't use them. Want 4e powers? Here you go - Or if you don't like them, just play without them. Basically, it's an edition that lets you play the kind of D&D you want to play - Be it 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th edition.
Hopefully they pull it off well.

EDIT: I added some info on the 5e to the OP.

[Riposte]

Nice OP. I got to do some reading on 5e.

Love enworld, one of my favorite websites. Remember when it was just called Eric Noah's 3e something something website. w/e.

[Negator]

We haven't played D&D since our DM pissed everyone off and the group fell apart.

Kind of miss it

[Riposte]

Monte Cook is the lead designer of 5e? Sold.

[thetrin]

We haven't played D&D since our DM pissed everyone off and the group fell apart. Kind of miss it

One of our players pissed off the DM, and we fell apart. :\

[Mattakuevan]

My group goes back and forth between DnD-like campaigns and Shadowrun campaigns. I prefer Shadowrun but some of the DnD settings can be cool (Dark Sun is really neat).

[dude]

My group goes back and forth between DnD-like campaigns and Shadowrun campaigns. I prefer Shadowrun but some of the DnD settings can be cool (Dark Sun is really neat).

Lately my group has stayed away from D&D, but I love Dark Sun. One of the the better fantasy worlds.

Shadowrun is pretty neat, I enjoy the setting - but FASA's mechanics always left a sour taste in my mouth. It's way too complicated and cumbersome for me. I always hoped someone would adapt it to a more streamlined system.

My group is currently in the middle of an adventure in a fantasy world my friend and I created, with a system we adapted from the Fabled Lands RPG.

[Mr_Appleby]

Aww I haven't pnp'd for a decade or more. Used to play palladium (tmnt and other strangeness ;)), the non-d20 call of cthulu, white wolf, paranoia, and cyberpunk. Dabbled with the Amber game based on roger zelazny's fantasy series, but the group was dissipating by that point. Oh and HoL. I loved HoL.

the shame of it is some years ago all my books ended up with an old housemate somehow (including my graphic novel collection) and i recently found out that he'd put them in a box under his house and when he moved recently it turned out the box was completely wet, moldy and rotten :(

[Tomat]

I've always wanted to try a PnP RPG before, never played any of them.

There's no proper way to play online is there?

[Ebris]

Monte Cook is the lead designer of 5e? Sold.

This.

Color me interested; if worse comes to worse, it's not as though Paizo will suddenly disappear.

Though, my favorite RPGs have been the Warhammer 40k RPGs from Fantasy Flight Games, primarily Dark Heresy, Rogue Trader and Black Crusade. Combines really neat game mechanics with absolutely incredible lore and storytelling.

[Riposte]

Monte Cook says: "...this sounds so crazy that you probably won't believe it right now—we're designing the game so that not every player has to choose from the same set of options. Again, imagine a game where one player has a simple character sheet that has just a few things noted on it, and the player next to him has all sorts of skills, feats, and special abilities. And yet they can still play the game together and everything remains relatively balanced.

This sounds like a nice solution, but not exactly practical. I'm mainly concerned with the speed of things. I don't like how long combat lasts in both 3e/pathfinder and 4e and I love combat.

As per usual a lot of DnD ideas could be applied intelligently to videogames as a whole.

Magic items no longer part of essential progression mathematics.

I like.

[krypt0nian]

Good to finally have a proper home. ;)

Here's to getting more new players playing and returning players back to the fold!

[disappeared]

Sooooo many good memories of playing D&D 3.5E drunk and high as fuck. We had campaigns that took us to 3 or 4am sometimes. Rogues for life.

[dude]

This sounds like a nice solution, but not exactly practical. I'm mainly concerned with the speed of things. I don't like how long combat lasts in both 3e/pathfinder and 4e and I love combat. As per usual a lot of DnD ideas could be applied intelligently to videogames as a whole.

I think it's a great idea. Think of it like this - You have the basic system, which is simple and easy to learn, probably close to the 1st edition in simplicity. Then, you have "add-ons", want feats? Here's how to add them to your game. Want Vanacian magic? Here it is. Want skills? Powers? Martial Arts system?
You can pick and choose how complicated or simple you want your game to be. If you want a speedy game you can just choose only the aspects of the system that are quick.

Sounds exactly like what D&D needed. The problem is doing it right...

Good to finally have a proper home. ;) Here's to getting more new players playing and returning players back to the fold!

Amen.

I've always wanted to try a PnP RPG before, never played any of them. There's no proper way to play online is there?

There are! You can play via Skype, IMing or post-by-post in message boards/forums...
I found that Skype and message boards work the best.

[exhume]

My friends and I don't play D&D anymore because of one dude that just fucking ruined it for all of us. Now they're all sour on playing. It's one thing that can be awesome, or shitty about PnP games. One shitty player can ruin it for everyone, and it's so hard to get people to start playing again after that. But if you have a good group, it's real memorable.

Did he have really long, filthy thumbnails, that he'd grown out for the express purpose of using as replacement DS styluses? He ruined our group too.

[Alextended]

It's really weird nobody has made a proper video game version of any PnP RPG. The real deal, not with weird modified semi real time adaptations or with limited single/co-op predefined campaign stories on top of complex and clunky modding systems that take ages to complete something good with and what not. Just a good, simple to use PC (and other platforms) interface that could play exactly like the real thing but with conveniences that make it even easier to play, as there'd be no need to manually keep track of rules, whose turn it is, what dice to roll, the current stats, or clumsily hide what the DM is up to, or have trouble setting the mood with appropriate themes and sounds... It could even be done by the publishers themselves as a digital version of their games, rather than wait for some video game company to get the rights and attempt it. With a simple but cool visual style like Card Hunter and of course the ability to easily import your own content, rules, etc, it would be amazing, and probably less costly to develop than a "normal" RPG.

[VanillaCakeIsBurning]

I remember I used to play DND with a group of friends pretty much every week during High School. But since then almost everyone has left and I don't have the drive to really find a new group. We did have a lot of fun while it lasted though.

[DigitalDevil]

I would love to be able to actually use all the pnp books I bought as a kid, but alas, it has always eluded me. I still keep them all, though.... just in case.

[TheSeks]

Isn't there a webbased table-top application that is Wizard's sanctioned for D&D/d20 system games? I thought that was in the planning along with Magic:tG:Online 3.0's GUI overhaul?

[DeadPhoenix]

There are! You can play via Skype, IMing or post-by-post in message boards/forums... I found that Skype and message boards work the best.

I actually started GMing(first time) a Pathfinder game on Skype a few months ago, works well enough, but battles are really slow. Also, GMing is fucking hard and I'm terrible at it, but its still fun, though I'd kill to just be a player again, unfortunately I don't think anyone else is gonna start GMing soon.

[metamonk]

what are some good play by post boards?

[Qwomo]

what are some good play by post boards?

Myth-weavers, maybe? Or Something Awful?

Anyway, good thread. Though it needs more mention of Savage Worlds. :P

Also, speaking of 5E, it seems like everything I've heard about it so far alternates between sounding utterly awful and quite promising. I'm not holding my breath that it will amount to anything worthwhile, I've long since moved away from D&D anyway.

[HK-47]

Needs more Paranoia

[CrunchyFrog]

Is there a good client for facilitating P&P DnD over the internet? I've got a group of old HS friends that would love to try it out but we're scattered all over the states.

[RyanDG]

Is there a good client for facilitating P&P DnD over the internet? I've got a group of old HS friends that would love to try it out but we're scattered all over the states.

Awhile ago my friends and I did a D&D campaign via Skype and used OpenRPG for the graphing/tables. Worked out pretty well, but OpenRPG at the time was pretty clunky. As the DM, I had to make sure I had everything worked out well in advance. Took a lot of time to organize, but I had fun with it.

To be honest, I had a much better time running Call of Cthulhu BRP over OpenRPG than D&D though, just because it was a lot smoother and nowhere near as stat dependent/combat heavy (combat heavy was probably my fault though for trying to run store bought modules online rather than taking the time to create my own).

[piratepwnsninja]

I'm really hoping that 5e ends up good. I really wanted to like 4e, but the focus was taken away from the RP aspect too much for me. Recently though, I've been running really random stuff and having a good time. Like Monsters and Other Childish Things, Eclipse Phase, Alpha Omega, and a game that is mostly about RP entirely called Fiasco.

The new Marvel Supers RPG sounds good http://www.robotviking.com/2012/02/2...ew-marvel-rpg/, but I've had fun with Mutants & Masterminds recently.

Glad to see this post on GAF though. For those wondering about programs to facilitate playing PnP over the net, there are a few newer options that work well.

http://www.fantasygrounds.com/

http://rptools.net/

http://www.rpgtonight.com/

http://www.battlegroundsgames.com/index.html

Quite a few options.

[ShdwDrake]

I'd be wayy down for a Colorado meetup and play some DnD.

[Qwomo]

Is there a good client for facilitating P&P DnD over the internet? I've got a group of old HS friends that would love to try it out but we're scattered all over the states.

Skype + OpenRPG as the other guy said work great, but you might also be inclined to just throw up a thread on an open forum like myth-weavers and play with them there. I think play-by-post is the best format for tabletop games, honestly. It allows the DM to establish a much richer and literary narrative, and the players can do their own research on lore (if it's being played in an established setting) as they go - it all adds together to make a much more involved experience IMO. Plus, in real-world settings, you can pretty much use google maps as a constant reference/game map! Further still, it works great for people with erratic schedules, since instead of having to buckle down and plan an actual play session you can just have everyone post whenever at a steady rate.

[Pinko Marx]

It's really weird nobody has made a proper video game version of any PnP RPG. The real deal, not with weird modified semi real time adaptations or with limited single/co-op predefined campaign stories on top of complex and clunky modding systems that take ages to complete something good with and what not. Just a good, simple to use PC (and other platforms) interface that could play exactly like the real thing but with conveniences that make it even easier to play, as there'd be no need to manually keep track of rules, whose turn it is, what dice to roll, the current stats, or clumsily hide what the DM is up to, or have trouble setting the mood with appropriate themes and sounds... It could even be done by the publishers themselves as a digital version of their games, rather than wait for some video game company to get the rights and attempt it. With a simple but cool visual style like Card Hunter and of course the ability to easily import your own content, rules, etc, it would be amazing, and probably less costly to develop than a "normal" RPG.

Does this count?
http://www.fantasygrounds.com/

[Lancehead]

It's really weird nobody has made a proper video game version of any PnP RPG. The real deal, not with weird modified semi real time adaptations or with limited single/co-op predefined campaign stories on top of complex and clunky modding systems that take ages to complete something good with and what not. Just a good, simple to use PC (and other platforms) interface that could play exactly like the real thing but with conveniences that make it even easier to play, as there'd be no need to manually keep track of rules, whose turn it is, what dice to roll, the current stats, or clumsily hide what the DM is up to, or have trouble setting the mood with appropriate themes and sounds... It could even be done by the publishers themselves as a digital version of their games, rather than wait for some video game company to get the rights and attempt it. With a simple but cool visual style like Card Hunter and of course the ability to easily import your own content, rules, etc, it would be amazing, and probably less costly to develop than a "normal" RPG.

I think Temple of Elemental Evil done the turn-based comabt very well. The combat part only, though.

[Ri'Orius]

I'd be wayy down for a Colorado meetup and play some DnD.

Ooh, GAF could be a great way to find a D&D group. Surely there are a good amount of Seattleites here? Anyone? I've already got a 3.5/Pathfinder game, but I've been really hoping to try 4E in a real campaign before 5th comes out...

[aett]

I played D&D with two of my oldest friends for a couple of years, until the one guy who was able to host the sessions got married to an awful woman. She would watch direct-to-video Disney movies and Sex & The City in the same room as our game, and she banned the guy from playing D&D for six months after they got married. When I got married and finally had my own place, I wanted to start hosting the games, but the whipped guy didn't want to drive (like the rest of us had been doing), so the group just fell apart.

[dude]

I'm really hoping that 5e ends up good. I really wanted to like 4e, but the focus was taken away from the RP aspect too much for me. Recently though, I've been running really random stuff and having a good time. Like Monsters and Other Childish Things, Eclipse Phase, Alpha Omega, and a game that is mostly about RP entirely called Fiasco. The new Marvel Supers RPG sounds good http://www.robotviking.com/2012/02/2...ew-marvel-rpg/, but I've had fun with Mutants & Masterminds recently. Glad to see this post on GAF though. For those wondering about programs to facilitate playing PnP over the net, there are a few newer options that work well. http://www.fantasygrounds.com/ http://rptools.net/ http://www.rpgtonight.com/ http://www.battlegroundsgames.com/index.html Quite a few options.

Thanks for those tools! Added to the OP :)

I agree with you about 4e - I really couldn't get into it... But 5e is sounding good so far. Exactly what D&D needed.

Needs more Paranoia

I really like Paranoia (though I think it's slightly overrated in RP circles), and originally I wrote a small paragraph on it, alon with Nobilis and some other games - But I decided to stick with the more high profile names...

[Syph Medwes]

Never played a PnP RPG but I've always wanted to try one; subscribed.

[cj_iwakura]

I think this is more of an off topic thread myself, but depends on the mods I guess.


I've been storytelling WoD games for a while(first V:TM, then only NWoD: Mage, then Geist... and uh, Mage again).

NWoD's great for personal freedom. You lose a lot of V:TM's brilliant fluff, but in place of it, you get a framework to do whatever the storyteller imagines.

(And I can imagine a lot. :P)

I'm a big fan of Mage: The Awakening, personally. Sorcery, modern politics, and the Guardians of the Veil just being awesome.

[narcosis219]

Need an emphasis on a GOOD GROUP

It doesn't matter what system you are using. A good group will be fun no matter what.

Finding a good group is the single most difficult thing about PnP gaming. It only takes one person to ruin everything. I am positive almost every PnP player has experienced this.

[dude]

I think this is more of an off topic thread myself, but depends on the mods I guess. I've been storytelling WoD games for a while(first V:TM, then only NWoD: Mage, then Geist... and uh, Mage again). NWoD's great for personal freedom. You lose a lot of V:TM's brilliant fluff, but in place of it, you get a framework to do whatever the storyteller imagines. (And I can imagine a lot. :P) I'm a big fan of Mage: The Awakening, personally. Sorcery, modern politics, and the Guardians of the Veil just being awesome.

EviLore has stated PnP threads should go in the gaming section before.

Personally, I love both cassic WoD and new WoD - But even when we play classic WoD we tend to diregard all the railroaded stuff and just take the setting to wherever we want... I really don't care what WW says Gehenna is or when it happened.
I didn't really like Vampire: The Requiem, maybe because it had some rather large shoes to fill, but I loved most of the other nWoD games - I especially liked its take on Changeling.

But I'm very excited classic WoD is back! They're both wonderful games and have the right to exist side by side :)

Need an emphasis on a GOOD GROUP It doesn't matter what system you are using. A good group will be fun no matter what. Finding a good group is the single most difficult thing about PnP gaming. It only takes one person to ruin everything. I am positive almost every PnP player has experienced this.

Yeah, as most social activities - Who you do it with is the most important thing. The group is the core of the game, and finding a good one can tough... But I believe most people in the RP community are good guys (over here, at least), and finding a decent group is usually just a matter of looking.
Though I'd argue the system does matter to an extent - a cumbersome or complicated system can make playing a lot harder than it should. The first thing that comes to mind is D&D character creation, it takes hours and keeps away a lot of people. (Which is why 5e sounds good - the potentiall to cut away hald the crap they shoved into the Character Sheet is incredible.)

[speedpop]

Used to play D&D when I was growing up. Had a friend who loved everything about it, was a great DM, and got a few of us hooked through it. We all kinda grew up and stopped playing for a while to concentrate on studies or chasing skirts and such. My sister's ex-boyfriend played a bit now and then and it had been a few years since I played so I just watched a few campaigns but never got back in to it.

Never understood the stigma about it all. Some of the players I've had the pleasure of playing with had amazing imaginations and it was always a great escape, sometimes getting drunk while playing and sessions would go for hours on end.

Keep hearing good things about Pathfinder and considering getting back in to it with a new group who play every week or fortnight at my old Uni.

[dude]

BTW - Speaking of World of Darkness, there's this kickstarter that might interest some of you. It's for the V20 Companion Deluxe edition. The books sounds rather interesting and if you're big on Vampire, should include some cool info.

[cj_iwakura]

Requiem and Forsaken(Werewolf) don't appeal to me much, but Geist, Mage, and Changeling are good stuff.

I always wanted to get V:TM 20th, but seeing how I own 2E and a ton of clan books, I really don't plan on paying $100 for it.

[Dennis]

Used to play PnP RPGs but when the friends and I got spread to corners of the world due to college, jobs etc., I stopped playing.

[thetrin]

I'd be wayy down for a Colorado meetup and play some DnD.

Where in CO? I live in Boulder County.

Need an emphasis on a GOOD GROUP It doesn't matter what system you are using. A good group will be fun no matter what. Finding a good group is the single most difficult thing about PnP gaming. It only takes one person to ruin everything. I am positive almost every PnP player has experienced this.

Yep. In fact, that was my very first post in this thread.

[Moss]

I've never actually played a game of it, but the Eclipse Phase sourcebooks are amazing and available for free under a creative commons license, I think.

[dude]

Requiem and Forsaken(Werewolf) don't appeal to me much, but Geist, Mage, and Changeling are good stuff. I always wanted to get V:TM 20th, but seeing how I own 2E and a ton of clan books, I really don't plan on paying $100 for it.

This is actually a whole new book - The V20 Companion. According to the Kickstarter it will detail "additional topics such as Titles within vampiric society, the effect of technology on modern Kindred, terrifying locations around the world, and the clanless Caitiff." Sounds like interesting stuff to me.
I really wanted this to break the 100K milestone for the annonated PDF... But that doesn't seem very likely right now.