Recently I asked the titular question on Twitter and Facebook. Everyone must be too busy playing RPGs to reply as I have only received three responses and one of them was in regards to rocket propelled grenades; I guess I should have been more specific.
One of the actual responses that I received (thanks Eric) was a vote for Dungeons & Dragons red-boxed Basic set from the 80’s. It is hard to argue with that as it is a classic, got many people into role-playing games, had easy to learn rules so players could jump right it, and left many decisions up to the group so that it didn’t feel restrictive. This vote was qualified that since games have changed so much since then, his new favorites are D&D 3.5 Edition or possibly Call of Cthulhu.
The other serious response I received came from Heidi who likes White Wolf’s Vampire. I also find it hard to argue against this vote. I spent many hours playing White Wolf games back in high-school. Although, personally, I always preferred Mage to the other games.
As for myself, the version of Rifts from the 90’s has to be my all time favorite RPG. It contained a good mix of modern setting and fantasy elements to allow for a very flexible playing experience. Player characters were extremely customizeable so it didn’t feel like e very character was picked for you; this is one of the few complaints that I have with D&D 4th Edition by the way. There was an extensive library of add-on material describing different locales in which to set campaigns including Europe, Mexico, and Atlantis. Rifts worked with every other game in Palladium’s system for even more extensibiltiy; thankfully the rise of D20 helped to move this feature into other games. Finally, the story lines in the published material were extremely well developed.
So, for all of you that missed the initial question – it’s not too late. What do you consider the best role-playing game of all time, and why?
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My two favorites are the one I cut my teeth on, and game called DragonQuest produced by SPI in the 80s, and I am currently loving Dragon Age from Green Ronin. DragonQuest because it offered an intriguing alternative to D&D, and it had no classes! Plus, the idea of magical colleges (where members of different colleges have different spells and abilities) is still a great one. Dragon Age is the Red Box for a new generation. Simple to learn, fun to play. I am playing the game with three new RPGers and they love it.
Are these magic colleges similar to specialized wizards in D&D?
From a pure rules elegance perspective, I would go with WEG Star Wars 2nd Edition. Moreover, some of my favorite gaming memories come from that system. Yet, I’m not inclined to pick it. Let’s just say that events that have nothing to do with gaming have both massively decreased the number of players who want to play a Star Wars role playing game, and have somewhat sapped my love of all things Star Wars.
So I’ll go with D&D. I don’t like to pick between editions; I have great memories of them all.
Sometimes it can be hard to pick a favorite. I’m sorry to hear that you have bad experiences that make you avoid Star Wars. 🙁
I know as an older gamer I should say something like AD&D, Star Frontiers or Call of Cthulhu, but the truth is Pathfinder. I just enjoy playing that game more than any other. Now in terms of nostalgia AD&D would be top spot just because that’s what I cut my teeth on, but for actual play it is Pathfinder.
I’ve been hearing a lot of good things about Pathfinder in the last several months. I will definitely have to check it out soon.
Favourite of all time would be Ars Magica. Favourite of the moment is DeathWatch. Then perhaps DnD, Shadowrun, and Rifts.
I haven’t heard of DeathWatch before. I’ll have to check it out.