Just Hula Hoop Your Way Through The Darkness

I went to the beach!! and had a lot of feelings about it every step of the way!!

The result is that they try to make some really deep and meaningful shit without knowing that it's been done before and done better by entries just barely below the surface level, and without knowing basic things about the inner workings of the engines of the medium itself that make them function.

If I want to make this observation into something actually constructive, I might say, like, instead of making your first very TTRPG something that you think has never even been attempted before and will blow everyone's fuckin minds instantly, your first TTRPG should probably be a really basic remake of Basic D&D (like, D&D1e) from the ground up with your own tools and knowledge. When they teach you video game design in college, they don't sit 101 students down and tell them to make something completely original, they tell them to make, like, really basic platformers and shit. You have to know how to make Super Mario Bros. before you can make The Game That Changes The Way You Think of Video Games Forever.

1: Does this post say “You have to like D&D?” Yes or No.

2: Does this post say “D&D is a good game.”? Yes or No.

3: Does this post say “Everything meaningful in TTRPGs has already been done by D&D?” Yes or No.

4: Does this post say “Every TTRPG should be a carbon copy of D&D?” Yes or No.

5: Does this post say “You are a Nazi if you don’t like D&D.”? Yes or No.

6: Does this post say “D&D is not racist.”? Yes or No.

7: Does this post say “Criticizing D&D for being racist is wrong.”? Yes or No.

8: Does this post say “Criticizing D&D for being racist and that alone is the same as considering it ‘degenerate art.’”? Yes or No.

Answer key under the cut.

It’s D&D marketing that has convinced you that any one product is the end-all of what you’d ever need or want in a piece of art.

You should really branch out and play multiple games.

“I don’t have time to learn another game.” But you think your GM has time to rewrite the rules of the game every time you want to play want to play 1920s Lovecraftian folk horror in D&D5e instead of high fantasy heroic combat?

Most TTRPGs are easier to learn than D&D5e. Even ones that are just as long or have just as many rules are easier to learn.

"I can't afford to invest in another game." Most TTRPGs are not as expensive as D&D5e even if you pay full price. Many of them you can get for free legitimately, and all of them you can get for free otherwise.

Unlike most people that make similar posts I’m not going to tell you to go play one-page RPGs if you don’t have a lot of TTRPG experience, because contrary to popular believe those can often actually be way harder to run and play than something with a hefty rulebook, because they are reliant on the skills and procedures you pick up from playing games with hefty rulebooks to pick up the slack for their own lack of rules text.

What i will tell you is, the thing is, you have to meet a TTRPG where it’s at. You can’t just bring the exact same character and campaign idea to a bunch of different TTRPGs and expect them to just work there. TTRPGs that have any rules at all are “opinionated” about the kinds of characters, environments, situations, etc. that exist in them.

You won’t get pacifist heartwarming found-family cozy inn keeping in D&D5e. You can try, but this requires overriding and ignoring the rules so much that you really might as well ditch the whole thing and admit you just aren’t playing D&D5e anyway. D&D5e is about “heroic” fantasy mercenaries who get in lots of very violent magical fights. This is the characters and situations that the rules favor.

There probably isn’t a literal perfect TTRPG for the independent idea you came up with in your head. But there are a lot of good TTRPGs that will give you a fun experience if you just follow their rules and go in for the experience they are trying to bring.

I’m gonna list a few that I like (or at least think that others might really like) along with a couple sentences about what kinda characters and situations they involve and maybe they’ll catch your eye too.

Mothership

Space travelers get into scary space horror situations akin to Aliens, Dead Space, 2001 A Space Odyssey, Event Horizon, etc.. Has a great library of adventure modules. (Adventure modules can be good and are not always just a linear scripted story, but that’s another post.)

Also if you want specifically Aliens, I hear the official Aliens TTRPG is pretty good too.

Call of Cthulhu

Everyday people get into scary supernatural situations and usually shoot their way out. The game uses the term “investigators” for the PCs but the actual gameplay is more like a dungeon crawl, which is not a bad thing, just set your expectations accordingly. Has an extensive library of hit&miss adventure modules.

Delta Green

Secret government agents get into scary supernatural situations and usually shoot their way out. Very similar to Call of Cthulhu except it’s more like the PCs work for the GOC of the SCP Foundation universe. Has an extensive library of hit&miss adventure modules.

Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy

Regular everyday people, some of which may also be a vampire or something, investigate mysteries that may or may not be supernatural. This one has the best actual investigation gameplay on the market. Also for full disclosure, I’m lead writer on this one, and also it’s in beta technically even though it’s more finishes and polished than most TTRPGs on the market in terms of its actual rules, it just doesn’t look super fancy right now. It does have a small library of great adventure modules though.

Silk & Dagger: A Sensible Drow RPG

A sexy, brutal, and probably clueless Drow Mistress and her bumbling, hapless servants try to keep up appearances in a strict caste-based and reputation-based society. It’s also funny. I also am lead writer for this one and it’s in alpha stage. It’s playable, but messy.

GREED

Goofy mercenaries team up and often betray each other for scraps in a, like, nightmare capitalist Americana world that’s hard to describe? This is an OSR game that is, like, also a parody of OSR games.

D&D5e

(I don’t actually like this one but it’s such an elephant in the room that it’s worth mentioning just so it can be compared to some of the other games on the list.)

Heroic fantasy heroes fight and kill bad guys magically in a kitchen sink fantasy world.

D&D4e

(I don’t like this one either but it at least an alright game.)

Heroic fantasy heroes fight and kill bad guys in a kitchen sink fantasy world, except with better, more fun rules for that fighting and killing.

Pathfinder 1e

(Don’t like this one either but it’s not terrible)

Heroic fantasy heroes fight and kill bad guys in a kitchen sink fantasy world, a lot like D&D3.5e but better designed.

Pathfinder 2e

(Don’t like it personally, but it’s not terrible)

Heroic fantasy heroes fight and kill bad guys in a kitchen sink fantasy world. Has some stuff in common with D&D4e but a bit more generalized.

AD&D1e&2e

(I actually DO like these.)

Not-so-heroic fantasy mercenaries plunder boobytrapped tombs for loot and often but not always fight bad guys. Much more “grounded” than later editions of D&D and Pathfinder, with more emphasis on situational tactics than character builds. Very wargamey in a good way because it knows it and is honest about it.

Lancer

(I also don’t particularly like this one personally but I respect it for its gameplay. Just don’t take its lore too seriously.)

Sci-fi mech pilots fight mech bad guys in mechs.

Monster of the Week

(Also don’t like personally but think it’s worth mentioning.)

This RPG creates episodes of, like, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Very strict archetypical character creation which I hate personally but is great for people who want that.

Monster Hearts

(Don’t like personally but worth mentioning, I’m really trying to diversify the list for the benefit of more people who don’t have my exact taste in RPGs.)

Messy teen monsters get into messy teen drama while also being monsters. Very strict archetypical character creation like most PbtA games but I think this serves it well because it doesn’t really use an ‘adventure’ format it’s about each of the PCs clashing dramatically.

FIST

(I had to stop putting the full fancy links because it kept crashing tumblr, just click the title from now on.)

Heroic paranormal mercenaries go on covert missions against villainous paranormal mercenaries in a sci-fi Cold War. Very reminiscent of Metal Gear Solid.

Edge Hedge Arena

This isn’t really a conventional TTRPG, more like a short party game, but people keep calling those TTRPGs anyway so what the hell. Also I wrote it. You pick a Sonic OC from Google images that shares the same name as you and everyone semi-collaboratively rates/stats them based on several attributes. Then they battle for supremacy.

TOON

Cartoon characters do looney toons type shit to each other. There’s not really any more of an objective than that it’s just recreating that kind of comedy scene by scene.

Maid RPG

I haven’t played or read this one but I hear it’s kind of like the Japanese anime equivalent to TOON. Anime maids (which could mean anything) get into wacky comedy anime situations.

Blades in the Dark

Gangs of fantasy thieves plan and execute heists. Has a cool “flashback” mechanic that emulates the “flashback to how the gang planned this out” trope of heist movies.