I had to vote for AD&D, because it's consumed more of my years. I did play RuneQuest a couple of times, and it looks like it was a really great system, but I always seem to come back around to AD&D.
My favourite RPG of all time, though, is one very few people have played: Flashing Blades, which was published by Fantasy Games Unlimited and set in the milieu of Dumas's Three Musketeers.
Not even a question. Even with all of the improvements to AD&D (although they're just calling it D&D now, methinks), RQ's system is infinitely more flexible, logical, reasonable, and expandable (and still going strong, in Call of Cthulhu). For gosh sakes, you can teach someone the entire RQ system in two minutes.* And, as cool as the Forgotten Realms and other AD&D settings are, ain't nothin' like Glorantha.
Now, if it's between RQ and the new bastard version Heroquest....
* Human characters have seven different stats, the score of each of which is rolled on 3D6. They also have a percentage score for any given skill. If you want to use a skill, roll percentile dice; equal to or less than the skill, you succeed. 01-05, you always succeed; 96-00, you always fail. If you're trying to deal with an opposing resistance -- say, lifting a heavy weight -- you figure out the stat score of that resistance and match it against the appropriate stat score of the character. If they're equal, the character has a 50% chance of success. Each point of difference between the two, for or against, modifies the chance of success by 5% or -5%. Again, percentile roll equal to or less than that chance of success, or 01-05 in any case, means you overcome the resistance. If you take damage equal to your CON points, you die. If you're using magic, you have a certain number of magic points, based on your POW stat. Each spell costs a certain number of magic points, and if you're casting a spell at a living being, the resistance roll is based on your POW vs. the target's POW. Magic points regenerate after a good night's sleep. Have fun.
I went with AD&D for nostalgic reasons, i.e. my dad and his girlfriend were close to Gygax and his second wife (who turned out to be something of a crook). Talk about a sad story...
Legend has it that Gygax hired an efficiency expert to find out what was wrong with TSR ... Gygax was told that he was the problem and that was the end of his time with TSR. This may not be true, but it's a damn funny story.
That's... insane. And, all of my best players, including my first real girlfriend and my longtime and current love, are not only gamers but RuneQuest players.
I've never played in a campaign that wasn't at least somewhat based on some version of D&D. Some of them have involved pretty extreme house rules. I'm still looking for a group more interested in making a good story than in the minutiae of the rules.
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Date: 2009-03-19 03:16 pm (UTC)My favourite RPG of all time, though, is one very few people have played: Flashing Blades, which was published by Fantasy Games Unlimited and set in the milieu of Dumas's Three Musketeers.
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Date: 2009-03-19 03:32 pm (UTC)Now, if it's between RQ and the new bastard version Heroquest....
* Human characters have seven different stats, the score of each of which is rolled on 3D6. They also have a percentage score for any given skill. If you want to use a skill, roll percentile dice; equal to or less than the skill, you succeed. 01-05, you always succeed; 96-00, you always fail. If you're trying to deal with an opposing resistance -- say, lifting a heavy weight -- you figure out the stat score of that resistance and match it against the appropriate stat score of the character. If they're equal, the character has a 50% chance of success. Each point of difference between the two, for or against, modifies the chance of success by 5% or -5%. Again, percentile roll equal to or less than that chance of success, or 01-05 in any case, means you overcome the resistance. If you take damage equal to your CON points, you die. If you're using magic, you have a certain number of magic points, based on your POW stat. Each spell costs a certain number of magic points, and if you're casting a spell at a living being, the resistance roll is based on your POW vs. the target's POW. Magic points regenerate after a good night's sleep. Have fun.
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Date: 2009-03-19 03:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-19 03:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-19 03:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-19 04:04 pm (UTC)No pun intended.
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Date: 2009-03-19 04:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-19 11:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-19 03:42 pm (UTC)of course, i've never heard of runequest.
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Date: 2009-03-19 04:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-19 04:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-19 04:22 pm (UTC)Before getting to game rules, you might find background material useful.
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Date: 2009-03-19 04:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-19 04:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-19 06:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-19 08:48 pm (UTC)