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Favorite non-video, non-D&D RPG
...Here's one to drag out the old memories and throw them on the spin cycle, while giving us something else to...er, "talk" about besides what a scumbag Rick Olney is: What's your favorite Role-Playing Game that's *not* video-based, nor Dungeons & Dragons? Games can either be booklet or board-based, or both.
...In my case, there's three of them:
1) Flying Buffalo's Tunnels & Trolls. This is D&D for those who want to have fun and not get all caught up in a bunch of bullshit anally-retentive rules. The solitaire modules were some of the best "choose your own adventure" books, and certainly some of the funniest. The real attraction was the fact that the game was played with as many D6's as you could get your hands on. Experienced players had 44oz cups full of D6's to dump when a roll called for them, and it was hilarious trying to do so without scattering them across the room!
2) FASA's Star Trek RPG. This accurately captured what TOS was all about, and provided a more rational, logical and aesthetically pleasing expansion of TOS than Star Fleet Battles could have ever hoped to accomplish. The RPG was a prime example of why Richard "Melakon" Arnold is about as scummy as they come, because after several years of an excellent working relationship with Paramount and the Trek franchise department - one that even resulted in FASA designing the Bird of Prey for STIII - Ol'"Melakon" had the license yanked because he didn't like RPGs, and then lied about Gene not liking them either. Possibly the crowning moment of the game was the tight integration between the Klingons supplement and the late, great Mike Ford's The Final Reflection, which turned the Klingons into believable, understandable adversaries instead of a bunch of lame "Ming the Merciless" knockoffs.
3) SPI's Time Tripper. A simple fun little game where a stoned Vietnam radio operator accidentally, while doped to the gills, turns his radio pack into a time machine that keeps depositing him in the middle of battles throughout time and space. This was a game that was so small you could play it in the box, and was good for an easy two hours of time killing!
Honorable Mention:
1) Steve Jackson Games' Ogre and G.E.V.. Tank combat taken to new extremes, and proof that the microgame concept was viable and profitable, not to mention fun!
2) Mayfair Games' DC Heroes: Far superior to the Marvel RPG, it's primarily noted for a decent and adaptable combat system, and for a module that explained certain aspects about Watchmen that Alan Moore couldn't be bothered to include even in the GN.
3) Metamorphosis Alpha: The first accepted Sci-Fi RPG, and is considered The Starlost done right and without Harlan "Sexless Dwarf" Ellison around the fuck up the works. It was basically a dungeon crawl set on a big busted spaceship, and I think I still have my 1st edition copy around here somewhere...
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Originally Posted by D.Hibre
