Other RPGs

[Taran]

Funny, I've had the opposite experience. Starting with D&D 3 and Shadowrun taught me to trust my own homebrewing abilities above what's written in the books. I'm not perfect, but I'd have a hard time breaking those games harder than the core books do.

We nerfed lots of spells from the core books.  Any book that wasn't a core book wasn't usually allowed.  I found that , individually, the add-on books it wasn't too bad but when you start mixing and matching feats/powers and spells from different books you could find some really broken combination.

We home-brewed quite a bit but it was always to tone down powers and abilities.

[Magicpockets]

We nerfed lots of spells from the core books.  Any book that wasn't a core book wasn't usually allowed.  I found that , individually, the add-on books it wasn't too bad but when you start mixing and matching feats/powers and spells from different books you could find some really broken combination.

We home-brewed quite a bit but it was always to tone down powers and abilities.

We did It mostly the other way: most of the content we disallowed was from core, since that book is more unbalanced than the Nigerian constitution. We replaced martial classes with Tome of Battle classes and casting with Psionics (ignoring the fluff, it's basically mana based magic). Made the game more fun for everyone.

[Hick Jr]

We did It mostly the other way: most of the content we disallowed was from core, since that book is more unbalanced than the Nigerian constitution. We replaced martial classes with Tome of Battle classes and casting with Psionics (ignoring the fluff, it's basically mana based magic). Made the game more fun for everyone.

Basically the same with my 3.5 experience. I used a lot of homebrew stuff (a lot of stuff off the Giant In The Playground boards, notable the whole grammarie thing, which is awesome go look at it). The gradual ridiculousness of 3.5 as you added more books, along with hilariously bad base classes, was why I really enjoyed Pathfinder.

[devonapple]

Stared out with Champions and AD&D 2e. Some GURPS.
Moved into D&D 3.5, investing heavily. Got into LARPing around that time. Some bad experiences with Call of Cthulhu.
Played a lot of Mutants and Masterminds.
Started a Dresden Files RPG, which inspired me to get into Fate and other indie games. Invested in the Fate Core KickStarter.
Our LARP troupe eventually published a book called LARPS about how we run and build characters for our games.
Finished a 3+ year game of RuneQuest.
Have been playing other games here and there (Apocalypse World, Fiasco, Monsterhearts, tremulus, Trail of Cthulhu, and more).

Currently running Bulldogs, playing Champions, and about to try Mythender. I currently have a list of about 70 indie games I want to try.

[Sanctaphrax]

The premise of Eclipse Phase is cool, but the system is utterly clunky. You really need a spreadsheat when designing your character, as your skillratings etc will depend on what kind of body you have. The problem, is you are supposed to change bodies quite frequently..

Yeah. No idea what the authors were thinking...every other part of their operation is so professional, how can they be that bad at mechanics?

The d20 Heartbreaker. It's a game based on a rebalanced D&D 3.5, and for the most part, it's well done. Melee tends to have ludicrous range increases and bonuses, so fighting in enclosed spaces such as standard rooms means that the melee character won't have to move at all if he stands in the middle of the room.

Cool. I've read (and homebrewed a tiny little bit) that one, and I was pretty impressed. Not much chance I'll ever play it though.

We nerfed lots of spells from the core books.  Any book that wasn't a core book wasn't usually allowed.  I found that , individually, the add-on books it wasn't too bad but when you start mixing and matching feats/powers and spells from different books you could find some really broken combination.

We home-brewed quite a bit but it was always to tone down powers and abilities.

Huh. If you're willing to subtract, why not be willing to add?

Basically the same with my 3.5 experience. I used a lot of homebrew stuff (a lot of stuff off the Giant In The Playground boards, notable the whole grammarie thing, which is awesome go look at it). The gradual ridiculousness of 3.5 as you added more books, along with hilariously bad base classes, was why I really enjoyed Pathfinder.

Is Pathfinder really better?

My second-hand impression is that it's even more incompetently-constructed than D&D 3 was. But I've never really looked into it.

Our LARP troupe eventually published a book called LARPS about how we run and build characters for our games.

Got a link?

...about to try Mythender.

Let me know how it goes!

I read Mythender a while back and was impressed, but I'm seriously never going to play it. It's super niche, and I'd have to teach my friends a semi-complicated system, so...no.

[devonapple]

Got a link?

Sure - thank you!

Our troupe is Dreams of Deirdre. You can find more information about our book here. We sell in print and ebook formats!

[Hick Jr]

To me, Pathfinder fixed a lot of 3.5's more glaring issues while introducing a bevy of it's own unique issues. The base class fixes are all fairly good, but the prestige classes are rubbish. Their bestiary is OOROAGH SOOOO GOOD ASK ME ABOUT THE NEW DRAGONS, but the SRD is ridden with errors. I find it better for one shots and stuff, because the amount of campaign material in 3.5 is just absurd. I could do a reasonably good campaign with nothing but the PFSRD, but I can do a really damn good campaign with all of 3.5's gamebooks.

[g33k]

Thinking about picking C.J.Carella's Witchcraft and stealing some stuff to inject into my game...

+1 !   Recently began a DFRPG game, and almost asked the GM if I could play a straight-up Bast (from Witchcraft) as my DF character... 8^)

But really, it strikes me that one can mine virtually any modern-urban-fantasy RPG -- or novels, or movies -- for material for any other.  LKH's "Merry Gentry" (and most anything from her 'verse) would be right at home in the Dresdenverse; same for Anita Blake.  And, of course, Harry could visit Merry or Anita and mostly get along fine (except for snarking with the short jokes ;-)  Some of the over-the-top games (OTE, anyone?) or uber-powered ones (Nobilis?) might need to be approached with a ... delicate touch. 

But I think Blackstaff67's choice -- CJCarella's Witchcraft -- is probably the RPG closest do DFRPG in overall setting/scale, and that most elements will 'port relatively freely back and forth between the two games...

[Leeder]

I have started playing in 2001 with D&D 3.0, but there were lots of other games in the past decade. I think, it was the Classic World of Darkness that greatly influnced my likings and shifted them from D&D-like heroic fantasy to more grim and contrast urban fantasy settings.

[PirateJack]

Currently playing:

Worm
Desolation

Played:
Dresden Files
Spirit of the Century (Homebrew setting)
Unknown Armies
DnD 3.5
New World of Darkness

There are probably a few others that I've played a session or two of, but those are the only systems I've played campaigns in.

[Silverblaze]

I stole an edited Ulfgeir's list.  Thanks to him for doing the work

* (Advanced) Dungeons & Dragons (1st, 2nd (Ravenloft, Dark Sun, Spelljammer, Plansescape, Forgotten Realms, Greyhawk, Red Steel, Council of Wyrms), 3.x, 4rth edition)
* BESM
* Buffy the Vampire Slayer
* Call of Cthulhu
* Changeling 2nd edition (more accurately a Changeling char in a mix of all WoD-systems availible at the time. I believe we had 1 western changeling, 1 asian vampire, 1 mage and 1 werewolf).
* Cyberpunk
* D20 modern
* Dresden files
* Dungeons & Dragons (basic version)
* Exalted 2nd edition
* Fate Core (oneshot in Dresden Files campaign)
* GURPS (3rd, 4rth edition) - Various settings
* Marvel Super Heroes
* Mutants and Masterminds (2nd edition, DC Universe)
* Pathfinder
* Runequest (played once on a convention)
* Savage Worlds
* Shadowrun (1st-4rth edition)
* Star Wars (d6 + D20: revised edition + Saga edition + Edge of Empires)
* The Dying Earth
* Vampire: the Masquerade
* All other Old World of Darkness Systems.
*Mind's Eye Theatre. The Old World of Darkness LARP
*MechWarrior
*SOIF RPG (Song of Ice and Fire)
*Everquest D20
*Dragon Age
*Hercules and Xena Role Playing Game
*Battlestar Galactica - was a dismal failure
*World of Warcraft TT D20 I'm pretty sure, only played once
*Palladium
*Star Trek - was a dismal failure
*Scion
*New World of Darkness (pretty much all of it)
*MEGS superhero system (Originally called DC Heroes)
*Champions
*Hackmaster - which is just a cross between Original D&D and AD&D with a humorous bent and a few new rules
*Too many homebrews to count

As far as playing now. 2nd Ed. AD&D. A MEGS system.  Soon to be D20 Star Wars. Then likely more SOIF and Dresden Files RPG.

Of course playing other games effects how you play other games.   People who prefer story or narratives to dungeon crawls will play games that are traditionally dungeon crawls more like a drama.  People who prefer dungeon crawls and hack n slash will play narrative games with more combat.

I'm certain our DFRPG is a little more combat and action heavy than others, but my group still likes a good long roleplaying and narrative session.  In my mind we cultivate3d a pretty happy medium.  Not every group wants or likes that. 

When you have been gaming in this fashion for a long time - I'd say in excess of five years and have a well defined and diverse palette, you will game differently.  It compounds when you have been doing it for decades.

[Keryth]

OK, here comes the list:
D&D
AD&D
D&D 2nd Ed
D&D 3rd Ed
D&D 3.5
Pathfinder
Star Wars WEG
Star Wars WOTC
Star Wars SAGA
Star Trek The Role Playing Game (FASA)
Shadowrun - all versions
Mechwarrior
Runequest
Mutants and Masterminds
D20 Modern
Deadlands
Savage Worlds
Gamma World - all versions cept latest

[Blk4ce]

I detect a decided lack of DnD 4e/Next.

Not that I ever played them....

[InFerrumVeritas]

I detect a decided lack of DnD 4e/Next.

Not that I ever played them....

I graduated High School just before 4e came out.  This meant that my old D&D group dissolved.  I enjoyed that 4e was less work than 3x to run, but at the point where I was learning and playing a new system, I thought "Why not a new genre?"  Thus, the drastic change in system pushed me to pursue other RPGs.  It had nothing to do with quality or any other type of commentary.  Just that I had left my comfort zone anyway, so I had no problem stepping a bit further out.

Fate Core is by far my favorite system though, not in the least because it's so easy to "wing it" and get a new player up to speed on playing a character in about 15 minutes..