RPG Wanderings

Reflections on a Year of One-Shots (Part 2)

Part two of the one-shots reflections. In part one, I wrote reflections for the first 4 systems listed below.

In this second part, I'll write some reflections on the last five games I GM'ed.

Savage Worlds

First, I want to say that I liked Savage Worlds. It felt very akin to D&D... maybe even AD&D. I think it was the way we had little separate rule systems that are kind of bolted together for all kinds of situations. But each of the rule systems was kind of cool (chases, initiative, magic) and fun. I ran a group through the Eye of Kilquato adventure, which is like Indiana Jones, but with none of the false idealism about "museums".

I think it showed off that Savage Worlds is flexible and adaptable. I made some extra pre-mades and had more fun creating Savage Worlds characters than I do with D&D characters -- the customization is excellent. Even with the core rulebook edges, it felt like I could lean far into whatever kind of character type I wanted. As a general system, it's very easy to see how it adapts to different settings. Exploding dice are awesome. This was, I believe, the first RPG I read about that had intensity of success figured into the mechanics, through raises. I think the D&D dice mechanics are banal, mostly because of the rich depth of combat and the comparative derth of rules outside of combat, and rules systems like Savage Worlds are just better at keeping everyting interesting. I also, now, like rule systems where combat is more or less the same mechanics as non-combat checks. I think it encourages a better variety of play and makes different types of characters viable. Savage Worlds ticks that box.

Another key characteristic of Savage Worlds for me: I know the rulebook says you can use theater of the mind, but it really doesn't feel right. For me, it's absolutely a miniatures and combat grid kind of game. I'd use it when we want to get into tactical positioning, but still want combat to feel fast.

Why I would not play this again

  • The prep work involved in miniatures and grid combat
  • The rule system has a lot of the D&D "different rule system for situation X, Y, and Z"

Why I would play this again * Character creation and setting hacking is a huge strength * Bennies and what they encourage is super awesome * Combat just feels fun

The One Ring RPG (2e)

I ordered the starter set for the One Ring RPG because my wife, who has never played RPGs with me, said she'd be willing to play as a Tolkein elf. Naturally, when the starter set arrived, it's almost all Hobbits as premade characters. No elves. Alas.

I don't have much to say about this -- I GM'ed for a group of people for whom it was mostly their first time roleplaying, so the game was greatly about teaching them how to do that. The feel of the game really captured the whole Tolkien Lord of the Rings genre for me, or rather, this particular area of the fantasy genre. It was a great example of fitting the skills to the kinds of stories that the system wanted to tell. While we didn't get much of a chance to make use of it, but I thought the travel system looked great, better than any other travel system I've seen and fitting with the types of quests and journeys we saw from the Tolkien stories.

However, this one-shot taught me that I'm sort of done with heroic fantasy unless it's way different than what D&D has become lately. But if I had a group absolutely in love with this system, you could do a lot worse than living through the stories that are the system supports here.

Why I would not

  • Plenty of awesome fantasy RPGs already that improve upon the standard Middle Earth

Why I would

  • With the right group of people, it would be super fun to just go back to Middle Earth and have epic adventures

Genesys (Queen Vicky's Sneakabouts)

You won't find "Queen Vicky's Sneakabouts" anywhere online, because it's my personal Genesys setting. So this is obviously cheating, a bit. I've played the Star Wars RPG by FFG and I love it. I love Genesys as a generalization of that system. It's my favorite system. I also won't brag about this setting I've written for it -- I'm still having trouble deciding how to present it and how to write it. It's hard work, and I'm just not good at it, as it turns out. It's interesting how much harder setting creation is when you try to set it down in a digestible format then just sort of jot down notes about it. Regardless, having used Genesys in Star Wars (sort of), cyberpunk (recently, and outside of these one-shots), and Victorian England, it is fairly general purpose. But wherever it is, I think it's fairly adventurous! It has huge rewards for player creativity as long as the GM is on-board (I am, I think). Of course, that's true of most RPGs.

One of my players said that he forgot it was my setting, and would have thought it was a real published adventure. While I don't believe him, I'm treasuring that compliment until the day I die. I love my friends. A reminder, I guess, that all these systems are meaningless without having people you really enjoy playing with. In my mind, system matters (with a million caveats), but people matter way more (Awww).

Why I would not

  • The dice system, while powerful and interesting, makes every roll into an event of interpretation

Why I would

  • This is a cheat. I'm going to play it and will start setting up a campaign soon

Magonomia

Magonomia was the first RPG I bought set in an actual historical period. Previously, I had thought I was completely uninterested in settings based on the real-world. Yet something about the book and setting drew me in. If nothing else, Magonomia opened my eyes to the fun possibilites of a more historical RPG. In addition to playing it with friends in a one-shot, I've also participated in some playtesting with the creators and backed their newest kickstarter. I think it's a fun setting, with loads of potential for interesting stories. Everyone should at least try it!

This one-shot was actually the first time I played Fate. I had trouble grokking Fate properly, but I think Magonomia actually did the more to explain Fate to me than the Fate core rulebook. I also reached out to some of my friends who are writers, because I thought they would have fun creating aspects, and indeed they did! They made some fun characters, and did a great job compelling aspects to their character's detriment but the good of the story.

I can see why people like Fate, and I feel like if I mastered it, it would be among my favorite systems. It feels less like a stringent RPG and more like storytelling. I know that's sort of cliche at this point to say about Fate, but the way good aspects are two-edged, engaged players make really fun things happen. It just felt like the group was learning the story together, including me! I'll also be playing this again with my in-person group, at least for a few sessions.

Why I would not

  • Potentially not having players sufficiently interested in the time period
  • Fate requires extra player buy-in (but with extra rewards!)

Why I would

  • Fate is awesome
  • Elizabethan England is awesome (to have adventures in)

Achtung! Cthulhu

I had wanted to play Acthung! Cthulhu so much for so long. Cthulhu monsters and punching Nazis in the face? There is nothing to not love about that kind of formula. I spent ages trying to decide if I wanted to play it using Call of Cthulhu, Savage Worlds, or Fate rules. And then came the 2d20 Achtung. Given I had tried all the other rule systems, I figured, why not? So the year (or so) of one-shots concluded with 2d20 Acthung Cthulhu.

I wanted to like the system, and I know I'm repeating something someone else said, but the amount of metacurrencies did feel like too much. But, I think with more system familiarity, Momentum, Threat, Fortune, would not have felt like they dominated the gaming table. Maybe they would have become our friends. For a first time though, it was, if not overwhelming, certainly something we had to constantly deal with. So it was fun, but I feel like for pulpy, quicker action Genesys does a better job of offering varied outcomes from the basic die mechanics, and Savage Worlds felt like faster pulp action (and also, Fate embodies interesting tropes more easily). I will probably continue to grab a few A!C adventures, because I love the vibe and like mining it for material.

Why I would not

  • The "metacurrencies" (as I've seen someone call it), felt like too much going on
  • For some reason I'm not as interested in a WW2 setting

Why I would

  • Punching Nazis. Nothing else needs to be said.

Part Two Conclusion

I'll leave off for now, and try to write up a summary of some general observations in a final post.

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