The BEST Alternatives to D&D!

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[MrElliptific]

I came back to RPG with D&D 5E and played it for three years, but as time progressed I felt the rules were taking over player's agency and DM's creativity. I played an entire campaign at level 5 knowing that whatever the encounter, my character would probably never die. I sold most of my 5E books.
It's been two years I am playing with other game system and I am not looking back.

[midnightgreen]

I absolutely recommend Dungeon Crawl Classics. It's a d20 system, that has the critical hit and fumble tables but it does them really well so they aren't clunky. It's very much influenced by the classic Appendix N books. Goodman Games also makes Mutant Crawl Classics, which is Gamma World but with the DCC system and they can cross over really easily. Fantastic system that has a ton of fun adventures.

[dillenbeck]

A game you are not going to find easily, but one I find quite unique and really wish I could have run more, was _The Morrow Project_ - specifically the 80s edition where the world ended with the Cold War going hot and ending the world. One man, Mr. Morrow, was able to project himself into the future and see the ruined world - and so this businessman (what else would you do with the ability to look into the future - and most likely even travel into it physically) created a project to rebuild the world. You could be a Mars team sent to do the heavy lifting during conflict, a science team there to do research, or more commonly a Recon team meant to wake up and gather intel to send back to Prime Base.... but something went wrong, and you wake up 150 years after the bombs fell as your cryo systems fail. Gathering your gear and abandoning your bolt hole, you emerge with your mission FUBARed and in an uncertain world.

Another rare and hard to find game is _Skyrealms of Jorune_ - what a crazy setting that was. Settlers on an alien world where the indigenous race has access to what is best described as magic; this is allegorical to the pioneer days of 19th century America, and is a fairly unique Science Fantasy setting.

In Science Fiction, I actually like the Mechanoids Trilogy from Palladium games. You are on a world when a North American continent sized ship appears in the sky and starts sending out insane drones to attack the planet. Cut off, can you survive this hostile world with an overwhelming alien force? I'd say this one is a good for those coming from D&D.
Oh, and Fantasy? Palladium Fantasy Role Playing 1st edition is a little tricky to hunt down but this pre-MDC/pre-RIFTS book (like the above) is a wonderful take on fantasy character classes and diversity of races. I think the book does a good job giving you a rich feel for the game world, with illustrations of different kinds of coinage and information. I have fond memories of this one even if the whole Palladium system isn't the greatest.
Thing is there are thousands upon thousands of RPGs? The one I really always wanted to run and never got to? _Behind Enemy Lines_ was like _Boot Hill_ in that is was half a miniatures wargame and half an RPG, and growing up on _Combat!_ reruns I always wanted to GM this one. It is cheap on DriveThruRPG and might be a cool alternative for some.

[vaele]

Great list! I especially agree with Runequest and Classic Rolemaster (The reprint of the 2nd edition.)

I will add one more to the list though: Mythras (Runequest 6). It's basically RQ (it used to be), but without the Glorantha setting. It's practically a generic fantasy system using modified BRP mechanics. Apart from the Big Gold Book, it's my favorite of the D100 family.

[bedeodempsey]

Thought this was going to be alternative fantasy RPGs. I too began playing 1980-81 with D&D. Today I like HackMaster 5E and Pendragon 5.2. Last played AD&D in the 2E version.

[Radiotomb]

2:35 Yes! Would love to see more in depth videos from this channel for Rolemaster.
Please and thank you. 🙂

[weirdguy]

Best games I recommend are these. 1. Palladium RPG's. There are so many, only one is fantasy, but they share a single rules set. 2. Pocket Fantasy. It is four pages in the base form, and FREE. Get the free class compendium and you get fourteen classes, and the game plays surprisingly well for a game that is only six pages long. It even has a dungeon builder, and a bestiary list. 3. Dungeons and Delvers Dice Pool. Hate 1D20 vs Armor class? This game uses incremental dice for attributes and skill. Everything starts as a 1D4 and goes up. Hit points don't, and neither does armor. It is also very customizable for characters, so your paladin won't be like my paladin. 4. Mini-Six Bare Bones (also free). It is Star Wars D6 rules, simplified a tiny bit, and can be used to do anything, but has settings for Star Wars, Willow, Firefly, cops and robbers, and even Victorian Ghost busters. 5. Olde Swords Reign (also free). This is a D&D clone, but a mashup between 0D&D and good parts of 5E as well. Yup, 5E bits. And free.

[ElwoodShort]

Yes please make a video about the BRP system, played many worlds with variants of it... amazing system.... and very easy for players to grasp [in fact I had players who barely knew the system, and happily trusted me to tell them what they needed to roll any time they wanted to do anything]. It’s so flexible and well thought out and logical. I love it.

[consimworld]

Great video for someone like me who doesn't have a big history in RPG but I have an interest in the genre as something to involve my son in to introduce him to RPG gaming. I like the recent Fantasy Trip games from Steve Jackson Games as an FYI for a throw-back to a classic game. I don't know if you have those games.

[multieyedmyr]

Savage Pathfinder. The 2d6 Iron Kingdoms/Unleashed.

[dannylampron]

runequest is a GREAT rpg... but dont think you will master it easily. Actually Ive done DMing for over 20 years and the lore and the universe of Glorantha is a little bit overwhelming for beginners. But I also think Runequest is by far the best RPG in those you mentionned. Great rules set and the greatest and the richest universe ever made for Roleplaying.

[pm]

Haven't played RPG in 25 years ... but I'm happy to see Ars Magica still going strong. ... and RuneQuest.

[alimargaming]

I'm relatively new to tabletop games and I started with D&D 5e in 2019. Recently I've been moving away from it in favor of other games, including OSR style games.

I've been playing Call of Cthulhu, but also been moving toward the new Fallout 2d20 RPG by Modiphius, as well as some Free League products such as Symbaroum and Mork Borg. Still waiting to get my hands on Coriolis as well as it sounds a bit like Traveller, just with different character creation and established lore

[multieyedmyr]

Rolemaster! Haha gotta love those crit tables!

[davek.]

Hârnmaster is a wonderful, more realistic and grown-up alternative.

[agrayday]

Thank you! I noticed you had Power & Perils on your shelf, did you ever run it? Its currently open source, a lot of material and support is online now.

[mdrnhl]

I'd like to request a summary video of Zanzibar Mohammed's Rolemaster achievements :D

[MisterMac]

Some very solid recommendations, but they're all on the 'heavy' side of the RPG sub-genre. Do you have any suggestions for 'lighter' RPG systems (e.g. FATE Accelerated/Core, Mix-Six, etc)?

[Gnarrkhaz]

Mongoose 2nd Edition Traveller gets tremendous support by the publisher? HAHAHA! They can't even release core rulebooks that are ready to play! Traveller 2nd ed is chock-full of errors, unplayable without significant development from the players (not house rules, DEVELOPMENT!). It's outrageous how Mongoose disrespects the IP and their other IPs as well from what i've heard.

I'm pissed because i do like the rules conceptionally and the general feel of Traveller a lot, and these books aren't exactly cheap either. Why no one ever deems the lackluster quality of the books important enough to mention i wonder.