Tabletop DnD alternatives

Sapps

New Member
FCN Regular
So I think a lot of us learned about tabletop roleplay through DnD, and for a while it was synonymous to me with the genre as a whole. I didn't even know other systems existed. What other ones have you tried that you like and why?

Our group learned we love lots of numbers and strategy, and Pathfinder 2e has been perfect for that!

On the other end of the spectrum, I also was able to run a game of dread for halloween last year and plan on doing it again.
 
I believe critical role has its own system now. Candela obscura. Quite fun and worth checking out.
Besides that I think if you explore more Lovecraftian horror, you'll see plenty other systems
 
There are a lot that’s out there and I haven’t been able to check them out yet. I’d enjoy a list if possible.
 
White wolf have a couple good games, Vampire and Werewolf.

Savage worlds is quite good as a generic system for a romp, has multiple settings

Call of Cthulhu is a simple system and great if you like Lovecraft and having the odds stacked monumentally against you (Pulp Cthulhu can ease that somewhat)

Forged in the Dark is supposed to be streamline, can be good with the right players but requires them not to be weasels

Stars without number is supposed to be good for crunchy, never played that myself.

Traveller is old but a really excellent game if you don't go deep into the astro-physics side

Legend of the Five Rings sounds complex but it's actually quite an elegant system with a few tweaks, great setting too, Matt Colville says it's the best story ever told

Old school Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay is fun (don't know what it's like now but you used to be able to start the game as a rat-chatcher, mule-skinner or laborer among other things)

In fact, Matt Colville is a good source for roleplay if you're into it, and gaming in general, he's mainly DnD so would have a good point of reference for you.
Or Drive Thru RPG and BoardGameGeek are good sites just to peruse all the different options, or Zatu games

There's myriad games and systems, it's about finding ones that suit you

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It gets a lot of knee-jerk hate, but for an all-around system, GURPS is my go-to. The basic framework is simple, and optional rules can provide as much or as little detail and crunch as you want, or fine-tune for the genre or vibe you want to play.
 
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