A Review of the Systems I have run to Date
Some time has passed since rediscovering my love for TTRPGS during the pandemic. I have played and run a bunch of different systems since then, and wanted to take a moment to reflect on the systems that I have actually run, and give a little bit of a ranking to see how they stack up. All of this is subject to change and just a snapshot of how I feel about these systems at this point in time.
- Shadowdark
This one takes the cake. It takes the best from 5e's mechanics and blends it with the attitude and mode of play of the OSR, resulting in a nigh perfect take on fast high stakes gameplay that puts the emerging story first and the mechanics second. Every rule matters and helps to add to a greater whole, but never overburdening the GM with bookkeeping or mechanical bloat. My favourite aspect is though how it allows for access to the excellent pool of adventures present in the OSR with minimal conversion.
- Cairn / Electric Bastionland
Even though these are distinct games, I will discuss them here together, as they are mechanically very similar but just assume different worlds. I first used Cairn to play some OSR modules spontaneously when players cancelled our regular game, and fell in love with its elegant simplicity. I then ran an extended play-by-post campaign of Electric Bastionland, which with its simple rules and great tools for world creation was absolutely perfect for the format. I adore the electrified world of bastion. Of everything I have played this is my favourite world to explore. It bristles with creativity but prescribes nothing concrete. It is fantastic. In terms of gameplay though I realized that I actually do like classes and the roles they prescribe and also the more traditional means of progression that give players specific things to look forward to.
- Dungeon Crawl Classics
Whenever I touch this system, it is just pure unadulterated fun. It is bleak, it is funky, it is insane. All in the best kind of ways. The system has taught me how attitude matters and that every minute of gametime should be full-on right from the start. No rats in the cellar quests here. Also, the art by itself has inspired me so much and is such an essential part of the DCC experience. I still have to get more experience running this outside of the funnel format, so I cannot rank this higher at this point in time.
- Call of Cthulhu
This one is special too, mechanically the largest departure from the other games but so well suited to what it is trying to do: enable investigations into the horrors of the universe and witnessing the slow decline of your PC as you steer it into ever darker corners of the world. Some things could be sleeker or cleaner in this system, but the core mechanic of d100 roll low just works. You just have to learn to use skill rolls sparingly when they matter, and not as a default list of player actions. Even if they fail, give some info to progress. Once I learned this I learned to love the system.
- D&D 5e
One of my previous posts goes into more depths of why I rank this last here, but to restate the essential ones: it is too much work for the GM to fix some of the systems issues. Namely, HP bloat and a spell list that breaks the game the further you progress. I have the feeling that I would have more fun with this system the less of its optional rules I allow.