Other Tabletop Games

BESM (Big Eyes, Small Mouth)

Jonathan Holding (Jonno):

   Like anime? If you want a system that captures that particular 'feel' of anime and manga, then Big Eyes Small Mouth, or BESM, as it's always known by, is your obvious choice. The major selling point of BESM is the endlessly entertaining character generation lists, which allow the construction of anything from a schoolgirl with a crush on her teacher to an alien starship captain in command of a planet-destroying super-weapon. What will usually happen is a potential GM will watch a load of anime, then say "Hey, wouldn't it be really cool if I ran a game where the players were all magic girls / mecha pilots / biomechanical supermen / school kids / tentacled monsters". They will then pick up the BESM rulebook and find only further inspiration.

   (Note that attempting to run a game that features school kids and tentacled monsters has been tried before and it is frowned upon...)

   It's worth noting that, despite its appearance, it possibly should be run by a GM with a little experience of running other games as the system is a bit on the light side. Also, a firm hand will be needed to control any powergaming that is unfortunately very possible in character creation.

   (Webmonkey's note: I recall the tale of the bumblebee that amped up his psychic powers to stupid levels by taking as much of the small size disadvantage as he could. He wiped the memories of the rest of the party every time they noticed him, so they wouldn't for any reason squish him, causing them to forget critical plot points.)

   On a final note, BESM is the sort of system that gives explicit rules for the eventuality of the party wanting to destroy a planet. Have fun!

Conspiracy-X

Tom Lynch:

   The aliens are all around us. Someone has to keep the public safe, and keep the knowledge quiet. That someone, backed with all the resources of your cover employment within the US government, is you.

   You are a member of a secret government conspiracy which aims to protect the world from aliens, keep the alien threat quiet until mankind is considered ready, and develop weapons and tactics to take the fight to the enemy. The conspiracy, AEGIS, has been doing this since Roswell.

   Sadly, there’s another conspiracy within the US government, born out of the same event. This one works with aliens, exploiting them for personal gain. While it too wishes to keep alien involvement on Earth secret, it’s only so the Black Book and its xenobiological allies can seize power on Earth and consolidate it.

   As one of a network of AEGIS cells, you’ve got your work cut out for you.

   PCs work for one of a number of government agencies, pulling strings within their departments for favours and trying to maintain the delicate balance.

   The original game system’s clunky and outdated; the last time LURPS saw a Con-X game it used a conversion to Unknown Armies, keeping only the better bits of the original. A new version relying on Unisystem (All Flesh Must Be Eaten, Terra Primate, Witchcraft, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) is due from Eden Studios soon…

Cyberpunk 2020

Dan Meyer:

   Cyberpunk 2020 may be set in the future, but it was written in the 80s. That should give you a good idea of the sort of style the world has. Mirrorshades are in, as are big leather trenchcoats. The corporations effectively run the world, and employ assassins and thieves to get one up on their competitors.

   The human body is too frail and weak for many people, so combat junkies enhance it with robotic limbs and enhancements. Want an arm that can punch through a foot-thick concrete wall? No problem, just put your puny flesh arm here, and let me go and get my chainsaw... Want claws like Wolverine? Also not a problem, just don't ever expect to be allowed onto any public aircraft, or through metal detectors anywhere...

   Not a combat junkie? Well, these people always need medics, and engineers (for their robotic parts as much as for the vehicles and weapons they use). The world of the future also allows specially teched up 'Netrunners' to interface their minds directly with computers, and hack into rival systems to obtain vital information. Just don't forget, when they kill you in the net, you can die in the real world too.

   Some groups are even followed around permanently by TV reporters, in the hope (or, more accurately, certain knowledge) that they will do things that make for great news (albeit sometimes with titles like 'MASSACRE IN CENTRAL NEW YORK').

Exalted

 Tom Lynch:

   Ten thousand years ago, the children of the Unconquered Sun – demigods in all but name – ruled Creation. Their lovers and generals, the children of Luna, stood beside them; the servants of the Maiden Stars guided their hands in judgement, and the Dragon-Blooded, beloved of the elements, were their footsoldiers.

   And, for a time, mankind knew true peace.

   Then came civil war. Some would tell you that the curse of the Solar Exalted made them finally unfit to lead, and the Dragon-Blooded took over, guided by the Sidereal Exalted, the children of the Maiden Stars. The Solars were crushed utterly and their Lunar brethren driven into the wilderness. Now, they are returning, some with their essence twisted in the fires of hell, becoming the feared Abyssal Exalted. At the same time, the mechanical Exalted of Autocthon roam across Creation.

   Any of the Exalt types may be the heroes, depending entirely on the group’s interpretation. The White Wolf rules (similar to those used in The World of Darkness) are surprisingly capable of scaling to represent the godly power wielded by the Exalted, and the game world is designed to let the players tip the balance in whichever direction they choose…

Fading Suns

Richard Cowen:

   Set far into the future, Fading Suns posits a galaxy-spanning human empire that has collapsed into a dark age of superstition and ignorance. Technology is tightly controlled by the noble houses, the Guild of Engineers and the Church. Conquered aliens are barely tolerated by mankind, the priesthood wield mystical powers and the feuding of the noble houses constantly threatens the stability of the empire.

   What's more, the stars appear to be dying, and no one knows why.

   Fans of Frank Herbert's Dune novels or Games Workshop's Warhammer 40,000 range of games will immediately find the feel of Fading Suns familiar, and the system can be used to represent either, with only minor modifications.

Feng Shui

 Tom Lynch:

   If you’ve seen action movies in the last ten years, you know how to play Feng Shui.

    Character generation can take only minutes once you know the basics. Each character starts off as competent as the lead in an action movie, and that’s precisely what Feng Shui is set up to represent.

   The default setting includes some bizarre magical time travel as a way to bring characters from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon into The Matrix if necessary, as well as providing solid settings for either a Crouching Tiger or modern action movie vibe, but the rules translate easily into any setting – I’ve seen excellent Star Wars conversions and even a good He-Man setup.

   For a dose of over-the-top cheesy action goodness, there’s no better game.

Godlike

Richard Cowen:

   Godlike can probably best be described as Marvel Comics meets Saving Private Ryan.

   In 1936, a man flew, with no visible means of propulsion, into the Berlin arena to light the Olympic torch, before standing alongside a proud Hitler as the first of the ubermenschen. Three years later, and the world is at war. At first, it seems that only the Nazis have supermen, but gradually, they appear in the armies of every nation. They fight for the causes in which they believe, and die in their thousands.

   You might be faster than speeding bullets, but landmines still hurt. What does it matter if you can pick up a car, when a machine gun burst tears you in half?

   The Godlike system uses a dice pool mechanic that incorporates the order of a combat round, whether an action succeeds, and how significantly it succeeds, into one dice roll.

   Godlike has customisable rules for almost every power seen in comic books provided in the main rulebook, as well as a 150-page alternate history timeline from the Berlin Olympics until the start of the Cold War, as affected by superhumans.

   However, if superpowers aren't your thing, an extensive armoury and equipment section, plus rules that excellently portray  the horror and danger of combat, mean that you could conceivably use Godlike to run a conventional World War II game with no sign of the paranormal.

GURPS

Richard Cowen:

   Standing for the Generic Universal Roleplaying System, GURPS is a system used to support a vast array of settings, including fantasy hack and slash, spy thrillers, superhero adventures, action movies, war stories, science fiction, horror and even Terry Pratchett's Discworld.

   GURPS 3rd Edition (it is currently on its 4th) can be found in the LURPS library, along with the following setting books: Cliffhangers, Cthulhupunk, Illuminati, Magic, Space, Supers and Swashbucklers, which should give new GMs a good range of genres to work with.

Kult

Paul Tipper:

   Kult is a game of dark, often urban, horror and plenty of occult magic. It was originally a Swedish game but has translated well, with the first edition being published in 1993 by Metropolis, and a subsequent edition being published by 7th Circle. It enjoys a healthy fan-base who continually release material for it, as well as official supplements from 7th Circle.

   Kult is based around the idea that reality as we see it is a lie, an illusion created to keep us from realising our true potential and awakening to god-like powers. The Illusion of reality is a thin covering over reality and our earthly cities are pale mirror images of the true home of humanity, Metropolis. Since, in Kult, Humans are potential gods then to quote "Death is only the beginning" and after you die your soul is tortured until it forgets itself before being reincarnated back into the illusion.

   The Illusion however is starting to wear a little thin, its creator the Demiurge has vanished, his citadel in metropolis stands empty, our jailers the Archons conspire against each other for power in his absense. Astaroth, lord of Inferno has searched the whole of reality looking for the Demiurge and returned empty-handed to lead the damned souls on a war into our world.

   Kult is a game designed rather for extremes, where characters who strive for enilghtenment are faced with a choice of either the dark or the light path, either of which leads to potential madness and brings you to the attention of the Archons, who will wish to kill you, or worse, to prevent you from reaching awakening.

Joel:

   Choose horror. Choose philosophy. Choose the world being built to imprison you. Choose realising that its you screaming. Choose waking up in a sewer and wondering what the hell that thing is. Choose wondering why your freezer is filled with human body parts. Choose being manipulated by strange forces. Choose running as the only sane option. Choose forgetting the weird stuff as the only sane option. Choose being a cog in the system as the only sane option. Choose realising that the sane options are the wrong choice. Choose fighting forces that you have no hope in defeating. Choose realizing that the strange force was you all along. Choose finding that death is not the end but another beginning and grab your true power by any means necessary.

   Choose Kult.

   Kult a game of existential horror and nihilistic terror. Less of a role-playing game and more of a meme which will infect your mind and change how you think about the world around you.

TORG

Luke Butcher:

   The world is invaded, not by any terrestrial or alien threat but by other worlds! Each led by a mysterious force, worlds collide as reality becomes the ultimate prize. Players may come form any of the factions warring for the realm or perhaps, normal people fighting to reclaim their own Reality.

   - Nippon Tech – A world ruled by the corporations where steel and flesh are fused and the minds of the masses are for the highest bidder.

   - Living Lands – The dinosaurs never died out here. A land filled with amazing races of insect people, cavemen and secrets of the primordial world.

   - Nile Empire – Egyptians gods rule a land of amazing powers, high speed chases, tomb raiders and adventures.- Orrosh – Victorian horror where the mist shrouded streets hide terrifying monsters.

   ...and many more.

   In a world where you can play forgotten races of a hollow earth, pulp superheroes, cybernetic ninjas and empowered mages – anything is possible.

Unknown Armies

Richard Cowen:

   Currently going through something of a vogue at LURPS, Unknown Armies is set in the world we know, except that the PCs are members of (or have just discovered) the 'occult underground', the loose community of spell-slinging magickal adepts (the 'k' is deliberate, by the way), avatars of archetypes created by human cultural consensus, old-style ritualists, and the associated weirdoes that hang around with that crowd.

   It's a quest for power, but with the full knowledge that with great power comes great consequences. Is being able to kill your enemies with a touch really worth that much if your wife walks out on you because you keep coming home with ritual cuts in your arms and chest? Maybe you decide it is, or maybe not. It's your choice.

   Aside from having a series of excellently written rule and setting books (plus a novel where even the inhuman characters are noticeably human), Unknown Armies boasts what is arguably one of the most flexible, yet simple, systems of any roleplaying game yet written.

   Although the default setting is large enough to encompass many different game styles, the Unknown Armies system can handle most roleplaying settings where humans are the most commonly encountered beings. On one occasion, elements of the Cthulhu Mythos were brought into a game. LURPS has also seen the Conspiracy X setting (UFOs, Atlanteans and ghosts, oh my...) applied to the Unknown Armies rules.

Jonathan Holding (Jonno):

   Unknown Armies is a game of modern occult horror, in a setting where the most powerful force in the world is the way that humankind perceives it. You can ride along with the global collective subconscious, and reap the benefits of what the cosmos knows Should Happen Next, or set yourself against it, with an obsessive worldview so strong that it can alter reality.

   The weird stuff takes place in a culture of the clued-in known as the Occult Underground: a sort of loose global network of the freaks and weirdoes who have seen that there is more to the day to day world than meets the eye. The Occult Underground is dangerous, enticing, and above all secret place. The people who inhabit it are strange, dedicated, and rare. Depending on the sort of game that is run, a group of players may just be brushed by the Occult Underground, or they could well be a group out to take it over.

   The system is played a lot more fast and loose than many, yet provides an excellent framework for the GM to improvise around. The character generation is flexible, yet precise. The background is very thorough and self-consistent, yet it allows a GM to take or leave bits of it depending on his/her worldview.

   The game can be run as a fast pace, action movie-esque affair, as a mysterious and visceral investigation of horrors, or anything in between, as influences can be drafted in (and given stats) from all sorts of places. In fact, while the game has many and various influences, none affect the game more than how the players and the GM think it should be played, which is all kinds of appropriate.

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay

Richard Cowen:

   Based on Games Workshop's Warhammer miniature wargame, WFRP has traditionally been seen as the insane, bastard, evil twin of Dungeons & Dragons, not least for the gleeful way in which limbs and entrails are scattered about  in combat, or the insanity system that eventually turns even the most noble-hearted adventurer into a traumatised shell of a person. The world of WFRP is dark, brutal and dangerous, where only the desperate or foolhardy become adventurers and where you're just as likely to be stabbed in the back as in the front.

   Warhammer is dark, occasionally blackly humorous, fantasy, with the world on the brink of destruction at the claws of the daemonic gods of Chaos. In many ways it's derivative, openly borrowing archetypes and concepts from history, but this only makes the setting more complete and believable. All the fantasy stereotypes are here (dwarfs, elves, dragons, zombies etc.), but with a darkness to them that makes them seem somehow fresh. Except for the zombies of course, who still smell bad.

   None of this is to say that WFRP can't be played as high fantasy. It has been, successfully, just last year.

   Summer 2005 saw the release of a long awaited 2nd Edition of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (nearly 18 years after the release of 1st Edition, probably a record of some kind), and there are regular new releases for the game, chief among them the excellent Old World Bestiary.