My Five Favorite Role-playing Games

Gamma World: TSR's Basic Dungeons & Dragons was the game which introduced me into ttrpg's but it was Gamma World which really opened up the endless fun to be had with the role playing format. While D&D channeled my love for Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, Gamma World allowed me to play out my passion for comic books. Kamandi and TheWarlord specifically. There was a certain freedom in world building and character creation which I could not embrace with D&D. Not that there was anything wrong with D&D, I just felt, as a kid, Gamma World asking more imagination from me than a game concerned with High Fantasy.

Champions: I love, love the role play potential built into comic books and Champions got my attention with the promise of custom character builds for your superhero, and by extension, your supers game world. Issues of Marvel with Dr. Doom and Iron Man battling it out in King Arthur's court and the ubiquitous future science fantasy woven in most comics of the day made it apparent in a supers role playing game I could fold in any genre trope into the campaign. The stacks, racks and boxes of used comics throughout comic book stores told me I would never be short of adventure material for my game. The breakdown with Champions came with the self same tools for custom builds prohibited breezy world building. As a Game Master I made the mistake of using the crunchy game mechanics as the method for game prep. I bogged down and just couldn't do it anymore. But Champions holds the number two spot because I did run it more than any other superhero game. And nailing down an important Game Master realization; the mechanics are for the PC's, not the GM!

Stormbringer/Elric!: Blood and souls for my lord Arioch. Not only did this game introduce me to pulp fantasy beyond Conan, it turned me on to another way to break from the level/class scriptures of Dungeons & Dragons. The ability to build a fantasy character as I see fit was liberating.

Why can't a PC wield a sword, wear power armor, fire a gun and use magic? My favorite stories and comics all have these polyglot type of characters. Why are my games restricting me? Obviously they are not. I was just too hidebound, narrow in my thinking and only as good at gaming as I was going to be. I find indie games and their popularity similar to the popularity of paint by numbers. Create a Van Gogh, in the comfort of your own comfort zone! Just follow these easy step by step instructions. Yeah this is fun to do, but this isn't art. This is not a challenge. But Chaosium's d100 system met my young person's ability half way and gave me a system which justified my belief the depth of role play was real. Any failings in the game where not a result of system, but within myself. Made me believe that if I didn't want a bad game just don't suck.

Renaissance: A smart polish on Chaosium's venerable d100 system Cakebread & Walton's black powder era game does all the right things for those who want to tap into this historical time period for fantastic gaming. Rules for Alchemy and Witchcraft add the right amount of fantastical for adept players and game masters to hit any high note they want. Humorous and cinematic, realistic and gritty grimdark and grotty. Renaissance will do it. It is my current number two favorite role playing game of all time because it is what I am running right now. At two and a half years the system has not only satisfied myself, it has kept the same group of online players invested since the first opening adventure!

USR Sword & Sorcery: Yes my favorite role playing game of all time is the one I built from the ground up using Scott Malthouse's (U)nbelievably (S)imple (R)oleplaying game mechanics. USR is a simple set of resolution mechanics balance against a PC having few attributes while at the same time offering an extremely player facing, flexible way for character customization. I used this generic role playing system to try out a deliberate approach to a game I though Gary Gygax and D&D first challenged and thrilled me to apprehend. Pulp fantasy; Howard, Moorcock, Carter, etc. was source material which I always envision when I daydream about role playing games. Why not just rely on these stories and tropes when running a game? Shouldn't I just let the rules and mechanics lie in the background waiting to be used when required? This may be rote for better gamers than me, but I had always relied on game mechanics to deliver the package, and this is exactly contrary to what original role playing games promised. USR gave me an opportunity to approach the art fresh with young expectations and seasoned eyes. The result was USR Sword & Sorcery and it was sufficient to run, after being out of gaming for 25 years, a swingy, blood soaked pulp fantasy campaign with a dedicated group of strangers on line for three years. Mission accomplished.