RPGs I’d Like to Try
First, I’d like to play Fantasy Wargaming. Check out my page on Fantasy Wargaming for more info on that.
I’d really like to try Mazes and Minotaurs. It is a new game, with old-school style, with a setting like mythic Greece. And it’s completely free for download here. Yes, it started out as part of a big practical joke, but the game itself is no joke. It is surprisingly polished and looks very playable.
I’d also like to try Totem. It is an RPG with very light rules, set during the ice age. The characters are ice age hunters in a world teeming with animistic spirits. I know, it doesn’t sound like that could be taken very far. But, after I read the rules, I was surprised at the adventure possibilities. It is also free for download here.
I just bought Castles & Crusades. This is the game Gary Gygax was working on at the time of his death. Does it need any more cred than that? It is a d20 game with the feel of 1st edition AD&D. I think that I might hybridize it with D&D 3.5 to get the best of both worlds, but it looks really cool. The Castles & Crusades web page is here.
I’ve been looking at The Princes’ Kingdom, which appears to have a very unique premise. The players are all children — princes and princesses sent out into their father’s kingdom to come of age. It appears to have very light rules. The wife seems enthusiastic, so I’ll probably end up purchasing it. The home page is here.
I just picked up Zenobia. It’s a fantasy RPG set on the frontier of the Roman and Persian empires in the 3rd century AD — a time when the eastern provinces broke away from Rome for a short-lived period of independence. The books can all be downloaded for free here. The game system has some unique features, but the real selling point is the huge amount of information on the setting. Even if you never run Zenobia, the books provide a unique new setting for any fantasy RPG.
Crimes People Play was slated for release by Marquee Press in the 90s, but was still unreleased when that company folded. The owner of the rights to the game has made it free for download here. It’s a game about solving mysteries — Sherlock Holmes stuff. I’m interested mostly because I’ve been working on a similar concept using the d20 system.
I’m kinda intrigued by Red Box Hack, another fantasy RPG. It’s very rules-light and abstract. Not sure if I’m intrigued enough to actually play it, but maybe. It can be downloaded for free here.
Other RPGs I Like
I have a Marvel Superheroes campaign — using the old, TSR rules — on indefinite hiatus. I could probably only get one of my original players back. My wife really wants this re-started, though, so there is a good possibility. You can download the old Marvel game here. Yes, I know that this is, technically, not legal. But Jeff Grubb, the author of Marvel Superheroes gave the guy his permission to post these books — he wants to see his old game played. So, this is ethically and morally OK by me, even if it isn’t legally OK.
I’ve always been a fan of the Star Wars roleplaying game, either in its original incarnation or as a d20 game. I’ve played it a lot (never the current d20 edition, though), but it’s always enjoyable, and I’ve always got campaign ideas, particularly for Rebellion-era or Age of the Jedi games. I’ve also been working on a D&D setting that attempts to capture the feel of an Age of the Jedi Star Wars game, in a strictly fantasy setting (No, really. Quit looking at me like that. Once it’s polished, it’ll be perfectly OK.).
Two games I’ve run a lot are White Wolf's Mage: The Ascension and Dark Conspiracy. I really think that both of these would benefit immensely from conversion to the d20 system, so I’ve been working off and on on that. Once Mage is converted to d20, it’s magic rules could be used for any wizard-centric game — even D&D-style games.
Board Games
I’m not going to actually propose a board game campaign in place of an RPG. But they are fun. Sometimes, you have to cancel game, even though most everyone is available. Sometimes, you just want to hang out with your gaming friends, even though it isn’t game night. This is when the board games come out.
Djarhun is a clone of Talisman. The difference? Talsiman will cost you hundreds of dollars. Djarhun is free to download. I’d really like to try it. I’ve also been developing my own Talisman clone off and on over the years. Of coure, I’m always willing to play Talisman, if someone else is paying for it.
A lot of the gamers in my group are interested in Settlers of Cataan. It doesn’t look great to me, but Charles just bought it, so I’m willing to give it a try.
My wife and I got her parents’ old copy of Kingmaker. It’s good, cutthroat fun — if you don't mind stabbing your friends in their backs. It’s ostensibly about intrigue during the War of the Roses, but it’s really about ruining your friendships and/or marriages with bitter rivalry.
I'd like to try Henry VIII, which is free to download here. It requires 5 or more players, and is really, really intrigue-heavy. So, I don’t know if I’ll ever get a game together.
I just got a copy of 1st edition Boot Hill. It isn’t really an RPG — it’s a miniatures wargame on a very small scale, where figures represent Old West gunfighters instead of armies or whatnot. I think it would be a fun thing to do one evening.
City of Brass is another fun-looking and treachery-filled game. The subject is a French party of explorers, lost in Africa at the end of the 19th century and desparate. It can be downloaded here for a donation. (I’ll confess that I haven’t donated yet, but I will when I actually get to try the game out.)