Edythir
The Cold One
- One on One
And that goes for Pathfinder, too. Pathfinder is basically just "What if DnD had game designers passionate about their work".
I find people are over-eager to Ship of Theseus DnD into whatever other genre or type of game instead of learning to play another system which is purpose built for the style. So, to help encourage people to gain a passion for systems that may be lesser known but definitely still good enough to warrant a check, what are your favorite systems, why do you like them and what do they excel at?
For me it's LANCER. It's a mecha based TTRPG that solves almost all problems that DnD presents, at least for me. Take for example Skill Proficiency. It is up to the DM what skills you roll and when. Too too many times i've had proficiencies in Nature, Investigation, Medicine or similar but the DM is adamant that Perception is apt. No matter if I am checking a bookcase for a hidden switch or a lever, if I am looking for healing herbs to make a salve or if I am searching for a specific type of plant, etc. Instead of skills that more reflect it (Investigation for the bookshelf, Medicine for salves, Nature for plants, etc) the DM is adamant about only Perception. Lancer fixes this in making you pick what skill you roll, and then has you justify how that can be used. The book even encourages you to make up your own custom skill proficiencies. Say for example there is a radio you need to send a message back to command but it's not working. If the DM was in charge, only Hack of Fix would be allowed to be rolled, since that seems to be the one that fits the best. But you can absolutely make the argument that Putting Fists to Faces can be used to repair it. But the DM is encouraged to say "You can roll that, but it is going to be a Difficult and Risky check. If you fail, you ruin the radio. If you success, you can send one message out before it shorts and destroys itself before you hear a reply". So here, Hack of Fix is the ideal skill, but Putting Fists to Faces, which usually means anything from a bar brawl to a flying kick, can be used to fix the electronics, but with a heavy downside.
On on that note. There is no roll that maintains the Status Quo. In DnD when running a module exactly as written (The Ravnica storyline), the party moves through a sewer and exits through a manhole. This manhole cover can be lifted with a DC 15 Strength Check. There are no consequences for failure, it can be attempted an infinite amount of times and this is the only way to continue the critical path. The Barbarian in the group failed the roll 4 separate times until I had someone on the outside see the manhole cover slightly move several times before they helped them open it. In LANCER, the book tells you "If there is neither a time pressure nor a consequence for failure, the roll automatically succeeds". For example in this instance, if you fail the roll, the status quo is maintained. Then you try again, and again, and again. Because you have no other option than to win this dice check. In LANCER, you only roll if there is a failure state. And if you lose the roll, there are always consequences. No ifs, no buts, no exceptions. There are also checks which are "Risky". Meaning that upon success, you trigger both the Success and Failure states at the same time, or alternatively, a lesser form of the Failure State. Say for example you are hacking a door through a panel. If you lose, the alarm gets triggered and the door stays closed. If you win, the Alarm gets triggered and the door opens. You can also retry any roll that isn't already Risky by making it so, so even if you fail once, you trigger the failure state either way, but have a chance of success. However, if you roll 20+ (after bonuses) a Risky check is a Pure Success with no downsides.
The mission design is also different. DnD has it's roots in Wargaming. It's ancestor are games such as Warhammer Tabletop. As such most of the obsticles are combat related. Even a "Retrieve the McGuffin" is challenged with a Boss Fight or a dangerous Monster 9 times out of 10. In LANCER, combat is the obsticle to the goal, not the challenge. In DnD, you are rarely getting the McGuffin without defeating the enemy first, 9 times out of 10. But in LANCER, the goal may be "Be in Control of areas A, B and C after 8 turns have passed". Sure, you could eradicate any living thing with extreme prejudice. But you can also use harpoons and grapples to pull enemies out of the areas and then use an Energy Barrier to prevent them from coming back in. There are also objectives such as Escort a Target in which the obsticle is keeping the target alive instead of killing everything in the way, which can be done either with shields or with eradication, etc.
It is also more Book Authoritative more than DM Authoritative. That is to say, DnD gives you all of these rules and then tells you "Ignore whatever you want, idk". While LANCER comes straight out and says "The DM cannot change this" or "No rule in this book or any other supercedes this". Backgrounds are also rather fun, in which either you or the DM can "Invoke Background". Your DM can do it to give you the equivolent to Disadvantage while you can do it to give yourself Advantage. Let's say for example your background is "Frontier Colonist". If you need to talk to the local folks of a backwater planet, you can Invoke Background and say "I know how these people think and operate so I can better talk to them". But let's say you have the Spacer background, you grew up on a space station, any interaction with untamed nature your DM is allowed to Invoke Background and give you Disadvantage. If you and your DM disagree on whether or not Invoking Background is valid in that situation, the ball is passed to the rest of the party and they make the arbitration, instead of the DM being a unilateral be-all-end-all.
And to preface, the most common rebuttal I hear is "Just find a good DM" but I would counter, If your game is only fun if you find someone who knows what to ignore and what to change about the game's core design philosophy, it is not a good game, it is a good game designer and game runner. In the same instance, "It is run with friends" can be said about anything. A pair of dice can be fun with friends, it isn't the dice that are fun, it's your friends.
So. What are your favorite Non-DnD TTRPGS? And what do you love about them?
I find people are over-eager to Ship of Theseus DnD into whatever other genre or type of game instead of learning to play another system which is purpose built for the style. So, to help encourage people to gain a passion for systems that may be lesser known but definitely still good enough to warrant a check, what are your favorite systems, why do you like them and what do they excel at?
For me it's LANCER. It's a mecha based TTRPG that solves almost all problems that DnD presents, at least for me. Take for example Skill Proficiency. It is up to the DM what skills you roll and when. Too too many times i've had proficiencies in Nature, Investigation, Medicine or similar but the DM is adamant that Perception is apt. No matter if I am checking a bookcase for a hidden switch or a lever, if I am looking for healing herbs to make a salve or if I am searching for a specific type of plant, etc. Instead of skills that more reflect it (Investigation for the bookshelf, Medicine for salves, Nature for plants, etc) the DM is adamant about only Perception. Lancer fixes this in making you pick what skill you roll, and then has you justify how that can be used. The book even encourages you to make up your own custom skill proficiencies. Say for example there is a radio you need to send a message back to command but it's not working. If the DM was in charge, only Hack of Fix would be allowed to be rolled, since that seems to be the one that fits the best. But you can absolutely make the argument that Putting Fists to Faces can be used to repair it. But the DM is encouraged to say "You can roll that, but it is going to be a Difficult and Risky check. If you fail, you ruin the radio. If you success, you can send one message out before it shorts and destroys itself before you hear a reply". So here, Hack of Fix is the ideal skill, but Putting Fists to Faces, which usually means anything from a bar brawl to a flying kick, can be used to fix the electronics, but with a heavy downside.
On on that note. There is no roll that maintains the Status Quo. In DnD when running a module exactly as written (The Ravnica storyline), the party moves through a sewer and exits through a manhole. This manhole cover can be lifted with a DC 15 Strength Check. There are no consequences for failure, it can be attempted an infinite amount of times and this is the only way to continue the critical path. The Barbarian in the group failed the roll 4 separate times until I had someone on the outside see the manhole cover slightly move several times before they helped them open it. In LANCER, the book tells you "If there is neither a time pressure nor a consequence for failure, the roll automatically succeeds". For example in this instance, if you fail the roll, the status quo is maintained. Then you try again, and again, and again. Because you have no other option than to win this dice check. In LANCER, you only roll if there is a failure state. And if you lose the roll, there are always consequences. No ifs, no buts, no exceptions. There are also checks which are "Risky". Meaning that upon success, you trigger both the Success and Failure states at the same time, or alternatively, a lesser form of the Failure State. Say for example you are hacking a door through a panel. If you lose, the alarm gets triggered and the door stays closed. If you win, the Alarm gets triggered and the door opens. You can also retry any roll that isn't already Risky by making it so, so even if you fail once, you trigger the failure state either way, but have a chance of success. However, if you roll 20+ (after bonuses) a Risky check is a Pure Success with no downsides.
The mission design is also different. DnD has it's roots in Wargaming. It's ancestor are games such as Warhammer Tabletop. As such most of the obsticles are combat related. Even a "Retrieve the McGuffin" is challenged with a Boss Fight or a dangerous Monster 9 times out of 10. In LANCER, combat is the obsticle to the goal, not the challenge. In DnD, you are rarely getting the McGuffin without defeating the enemy first, 9 times out of 10. But in LANCER, the goal may be "Be in Control of areas A, B and C after 8 turns have passed". Sure, you could eradicate any living thing with extreme prejudice. But you can also use harpoons and grapples to pull enemies out of the areas and then use an Energy Barrier to prevent them from coming back in. There are also objectives such as Escort a Target in which the obsticle is keeping the target alive instead of killing everything in the way, which can be done either with shields or with eradication, etc.
It is also more Book Authoritative more than DM Authoritative. That is to say, DnD gives you all of these rules and then tells you "Ignore whatever you want, idk". While LANCER comes straight out and says "The DM cannot change this" or "No rule in this book or any other supercedes this". Backgrounds are also rather fun, in which either you or the DM can "Invoke Background". Your DM can do it to give you the equivolent to Disadvantage while you can do it to give yourself Advantage. Let's say for example your background is "Frontier Colonist". If you need to talk to the local folks of a backwater planet, you can Invoke Background and say "I know how these people think and operate so I can better talk to them". But let's say you have the Spacer background, you grew up on a space station, any interaction with untamed nature your DM is allowed to Invoke Background and give you Disadvantage. If you and your DM disagree on whether or not Invoking Background is valid in that situation, the ball is passed to the rest of the party and they make the arbitration, instead of the DM being a unilateral be-all-end-all.
And to preface, the most common rebuttal I hear is "Just find a good DM" but I would counter, If your game is only fun if you find someone who knows what to ignore and what to change about the game's core design philosophy, it is not a good game, it is a good game designer and game runner. In the same instance, "It is run with friends" can be said about anything. A pair of dice can be fun with friends, it isn't the dice that are fun, it's your friends.
So. What are your favorite Non-DnD TTRPGS? And what do you love about them?
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