7. RPG with 'good form'
I'll say Sherpa by Steffan O'Sullivan. [Click!] The rule book is digest-sized. The rules can be condensed to an index card. The character sheets can be written on business cards. Nothing is required to play except a single randomizer: a digital stopwatch, a dice app on your smartphone, a single d10, or a deck of cards (minus face cards). It can be played anywhere. It has great form.
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6. RPG that is easy to use
Several RPGs or RPG systems that are easy to use:
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5. RPG with great writing
Three RPGs immediately spring to mind as being enjoyable to read and clear (the most important factors in considering RPG-writing greatness in my opinion):
There are others that qualify, of course. These are just a few examples.
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4. RPG with great art
I am less concerned with the art in an RPG than I am with game design, writing, editing, typography, and layout. I want great rules with great writing, great legibility, and great organization. There are many RPGs with great art even if you exclude those that use the art of the original source material (as in the case of games adapted from comic strips). I cannot imagine how I could narrow it down, so I won't. I'll just say I prefer any art or an absence of art over a.i. "art."
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3. Most often played RPG
The RPG I have played most often in my life is Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition.
The RPG system I have played most often in my life is Chaosium's Basic Role-Playing (with an emphasis on Stormbringer, Call of Cthulhu, Ringworld, and Superworld).
The RPG I have played most often in the last few years is Mutant Crawl Classics RPG, followed by Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG and Ghostbusters: A Frightfully Cheerful Roleplaying Game.
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2. Most recently played RPG
The most recent RPG I've played is Mutant Crawl Classics RPG published by Goodman Games. Today, if all goes well, I'll be running the MCC RPG adventure, Assault on the Sky-High Tower. It will be my first time as an MCC RPG judge.
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1. First RPG bought this year
I haven't purchased any this year, but if Gallant Knight Games launches its Kickstarter project soon enough, my first RPG bought this year will probably be D6 System: Second Edition.
Update! I just noticed Kevin Sherry's Scales & Tales 2nd edition (ISBN 978-1524885564) has been released, so that will probably be my first RPG purchase of the year.
Another Update! I ordered Scales & Tales and then discovered that the D6 System: Second Edition Kickstarter project is live! I backed it, of course. So, S&T 2e beat D6 2e by a matter of hours as my first RPG bought this year, but we're all winners in the end, aren't we?
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RPGaDay2024 begins in a few hours minutes, and I have decided that I will be participating in it. This is the eleventh year of RPGaDay, and although many of the topics have been recycled, I have been persuaded by a certain article to be involved, albeit in a manner conducive to concise responses. In previous years, I used the social medium formerly known as Twitter and compiled them here in Applied Phantasticality. Last year, I simply posted them here daily. This year, I shall be using Threads and compiling them here again. [Edit: On second thought, I've decided to post my answers daily both here and on Threads.]
For this year's event, two lists of prompts have been provided by the organizers, and a third list of prompts has been offered here in Barking Alien. I shall be drawing from whichever list inspires me at the moment or substituting my own.
Be seeing you...
In the very near future (possibly next week), I will be running my first Mutant Crawl Classics RPG adventure. I've played a fair amount of it (and have even playtested a few adventures), but I've never run it. It will also be my first experience with MCC RPG in person, as I have previously only played it via Zoom.
Before the funnel begins, I will be implementing the following house rules, optional rules, and acts of whimsy:
At the moment, there are two players for this particular campaign, so I will be letting them run eight 0-level characters each for the funnel. I haven't yet decided whether I will have them choose one character each to level up (and possibly give them some non-player character assistants for support), or let them choose two characters each to level up. Probably the former.
Oh, and the funnel in question will be Assault on the Sky-High Tower from the first printing of the MCC RPG rule book.
When I run a role-playing game, I have a standard operating procedure when it comes to a player-character taking an action that requires a roll. Before the player commits to the action, I will offer an accurate estimate of its difficulty: easy, moderate, hard, etc. Once the player commits, I reveal the actual numerical difficulty or armor class. As I see it, once the risk is undertaken, the odds are revealed. There is no point in punishing the player in the name of immersion. I contend that not revealing the odds is a violation of verisimilitude. Once you attempt something, you can usually gauge your chance of success with a reasonable amount of accuracy simply by being aware of your own capabilities and the challenges you face in the moment. Furthermore, if you withhold the odds, you are withholding knowledge of the character's environment that a player-character needs in order to make meaningful decisions. It is frankly an infringement of player agency, and that, as far as I am concerned, is a breach of the role-playing social contract.
Withholding the odds can be even more consequential if a role-playing game employs a meta-currency such as luck. Why would anyone be motivated to use a scarce resource without knowing the odds? It makes game play less meaningful and, in my experience, less enjoyable. It makes more sense not to engage with that aspect of the rules at all, especially if the resource is rarely, if ever, replenished. But where is the fun in that?
The person running the game already has a vast informational advantage. In the name of good sportsmanship, at least let the players know what their chances are.
