Tell Me About These Three RPGS (D&D 5e being one)

bocaJnoJ wrote:

I can't speak to the ........r

I want this fucking expression banned. Its an abomination unless used in cases where you actually mean you are physically speaking to someone

eg.
I can't speak to the headmaster today as that twat is on his holidays.

you do NOT speak to the issue of this or that unless you are (in your own words) one of BGGS most influential reviewers

If you do not look like this, you should not be using fucking stupid constructions like "I can't speak to the issue of whether this game is too random or not",

AND THAT GOES FOR YOU TOO BARNES!

Agreed. While we're banning phrases/words, I'd also like to ban "epic," "fail" and any combination of those two words. Are you talking about The Iliad? Beowulf? Lord of the Rings? Are you using "fail" as an actual verb, not something that hangs between an adjective and sheer assholery? No? The fuck off. Using those two words literally makes me want to gut you.

bocaJnoJ wrote:

I can't speak to the ........r

I want this fucking expression banned. Its an abomination unless used in cases where you actually mean you are physically speaking to someone

I see what you're saying, I hear you brother. Feel me?

I've been getting into D&D 5e a little. It's good. Maybe great. I haven't decided yet. It has a really solid core, followed by like 300 pages of stuff. That's not bad, but in a world where you have Basic Fantasy and OSR stuff on one end and a lot of options on the other end 5e seems like it's doing a little bit of everything but not quite committing to anything. HOWEVER, it is a really fun game, so maybe WotC found the elusive middle ground. I'm having a lot of fun, the game is possibly just over hyped. I do appreciate not being hammered with supplements; I feel like I can keep up with the interesting stuff this time.

I also just picked up the Lone Wolf Adventure Game. This is really the beginner RPG I've been looking for. You can literally learn to play during the first adventure with a little background and explanation. But that's just the basic rules. The idea is that you then bring in all the extra rules at want for the second adventure. I have two major gripes: The core mechanic is so simple you might find yourself trying to think of ways to mod it, and once you do the two adventures in the box the game doesn't give you a ton of info for world building and branching out. Now the setting is pretty as amenable to anyone with a little creativity, but for a game designed around a setting I want more setting info. That aside though, I don't think you could ask for anything LWAG doesn't provide from a "sit down and play" angle. I hope to get more plays in and maybe do a proper review, because this game is not getting the amount of press it should.

Awesome! Lone Wolf Adventure Game is the one I really would like to know more about as it does seem like a great intro to rpgs for non-gamer. Plus, it's set in a unique, designed for gaming, setting. I just wonder how much support it's going to get. I enjoy running and tweaking pre-written modules/adventures. Not too into creating my own scenarios from scratch.

I bought the D&D starter box set, but gave it away after I read through the module. It's just too generic and the names to silly for me to really enjoy. It's not full on gonzo like DCC nor is the world cohesive like LotR or Lone Wolf (Magnamund?).

Mr. White wrote: Awesome! Lone Wolf Adventure Game is the one I really would like to know more about as it does seem like a great intro to rpgs for non-gamer. Plus, it's set in a unique, designed for gaming, setting. I just wonder how much support it's going to get. I enjoy running and tweaking pre-written modules/adventures. Not too into creating my own scenarios from scratch.

Cubicle7 has the PDF for Heroes of Magnamund out now, with the physical book "coming soon". It's basically a character options book with some cool stuff in it, but not really anything setting- or adventure-wise. They also have an adventure book, setting book, and bestiary in the pipeline. All these books were part of the Kickstarter (that I didn't get in on) and are being worked on with a release target of 2016. At the pace they're going I'd be surprised to see all four physical books before Q3 2017, but they are working to support the game. We'll see if they support it beyond the Kickstarter promises. C7 is not a large company and they already have the Dr Who and One Ring RPGs; I hope the Lone Wolf Adventure Game sells well enough to not be left too far behind.

Wade, can you elaborate on how advance the rules get? I mean, is this strictly a 'best with casual gamers' sort of ruleset or is there an advance set to the rules that make it worthwhile for old dogs?

Short answer: Casual. Long answer...

There are two levels of rules complexity: Initiate and Master. The Initiate rules are dead simple. Really for True Beginners that aren't interested in even the slightest amount of crunch, children, or if you want to play a completely story-driven game. These are the rules that the first adventure uses, but if you're creative you could expand the first adventure to use some of the Master level rules. The Master level rules are more akin to a true RPG, but are still a bit light. You basically have 3 stats, disciplines, skills, and much more interesting combat options.

The game starts Kai Initiates (players) at level 5 and they cap at level 10, with the recommendation that players gain a level after each adventure. The optional campaign player advancement rules take you across 15 adventures instead of 5 before level cap. I think the idea for the 5-adventure path is to build a quickly-ramping mini saga, while the optional campaign rules are designed to give you more breathing room. Naturally there's nothing preventing the GM from creating adventures that take several sessions to resolve and building a proper campaign. The included adventures can basically be run as one-shots though, so you'll have to get creative until we get a campaign book.

The two included adventures really do hand-hold you; they're designed to introduce people to RPGs. The Initiate level rules back that up. It's nearly "story game" territory. The Master level rules are less complex than something like Basic Fantasy, but they're all closely tied to the important aspects of a Kai character so they do work really well. The core mechanic is basically a single D10 system with variable target values; essentially a simplified percentile system. It's easy to modify or pick and choose Master level rules if that's your thing too.

The game isn't a lifestyle RPG. It's centered around creating great stories rather than 20 levels of advancement, giant spellbooks, lots of class options, etc. It's more akin to games like Mouse Guard where the mechanics are there to support the story rather than give you a massive toolbox. I haven't gotten any players to level 10 yet, but when I do the best option is probably for those characters to return to the Kai Monastery to teach the new Initiates, to be available for new characters to learn from, and to perhaps come out of retirement if a great enough threat surfaces.

You haven't got players to level 10...? So you're actually playing it? Very cool.

I liken the idea of characters retiring and teaching a new generation. It was an idea I dreamed about all the time back in my ad&d second edition days, but it never happened. Levels went too high and too many interesting settings came out making it hard to stick to one.

I've got to say, this lone wolf rpg sounds great.

The only RPG I've ever really played is D&D 5e, and I really enjoy it. As my first roleplaying experience, it took about a session and a half for the rules to fade into the background for me (mostly), and our last session was a really good one. I'm excited to see where it goes from here.

I do agree that the D&D setting is a little generic. I don't really care much about codified settings within the franchise either. One of the guys in our group is a D&D lifer, and he had all sorts of questions about whether this was in Forgotten Realms, etc. Those were questions I didn't think of before we started, and if I were DMing I'd probably just not worry about hewing very closely to that.

I'm really interested in The One Ring. I've been curious about a good Tolkien RPG for a long time. How difficult is that one to learn and manage in terms of complexity?

I haven't played it, but from what I've read it hews very closely to the themes of Tolkien. The game focuses more on fellowship, their journey, and the struggle to choose right over wrong far moreso than killing monsters and taking loot. Flipping through the book, it's very evocative and I've considered picking it up as a piece of art. This is the game I would play with adults. As it stands, I'm not likely to play an rpg with adults anytime soon but competitive games like BB.

This is why I'm really liking this Lone Wolf game. I can play with the younger set, but there are advance rules on the off chance role-playing with adults seems possible. I think I'm going to buy a few cheap copies of Book 1 of the 80s Lone Wolf CYOA (Flight From the Dark) and pass them out to some kids during the summer break. Then maybe this fall we'll play a little of the rpg. Seems like a good idea.

wadenels wrote: Now the setting is pretty as amenable to anyone with a little creativity, but for a game designed around a setting I want more setting info. That aside though, I don't think you could ask for anything LWAG doesn't provide from a "sit down and play" angle. I hope to get more plays in and maybe do a proper review, because this game is not getting the amount of press it should.

The many Lone Wolf books have been around for over 30 years. You can check them out for free right here at Project Aon. Maps and adventures galore.

If you need more readily accessible world info, you might want to track down the D20 LW roleplaying game from a dozen years ago, although I don't know how easy that hunt will be nor how much it goes for on the used market.

wadenels wrote: I think the idea for the 5-adventure path is to build a quickly-ramping mini saga, while the optional campaign rules are designed to give you more breathing room.

This idea can be traced directly to the game books themselves. Lone Wolf started with 5 Kai disciplines in the first book, and gained a new one after each book, until he reached the rank of Master after book 5. Book 6 saw him start continue his adventures as a Kai Master with 3 Master disciplines, on his search for the lorestones of the Kai in order to rebuild the Kai order. Once that's done, in book 13 he's now a Grand Master and there's more adventuring to be done. Past book 20, Joe Dever realized that you could only take the same character so far, so the story focused on one of the new Grand Masters of the Order.

The long-running series is continent-spanning and explore many different regions and even other worlds. Companion series Grey Star is in the same world, but at the other end of the continent and with a wizard character. Fun stuff.

Columbob, know anything about this? A good sourcebook for rpging or strictly for the CYOA books?

www.amazon.com/Complete-Guide-World-Lone-Wolf/dp/0425107590

That's a really old sourcebook from the 80's. It was adequate at the time, but I think you'd find it sparse on the details now considering all that's been added to the world.

Once again you can check it out for free at Project Aon .

Except after looking over that project aon pdf....I can see it's full of beautiful 80s fantasy art by Gary Chalk and Co.!

Dude, looks like something I'd like to physically flip through...

I don't think it's worth $50 on Amazon though. Try eBay, that's how I got mine 15 years back or so.