# What kind of RPG is YOUR kind of RPG?



## Jbshare (Jan 3, 2009)

Which kinds of RPG's do you play, if any?

Personally I play single-player western RPG's, and I play D&D.

I've gotten into an MMO before, but I no longer have a PC to support it.


----------



## Erunanion (Jan 3, 2009)

I used to play Eve Online, a great MMO which is very different from the WoW-clones out there.  Sci-fi fans should check it out 

I'm not a fan of most JRPGs, I dislike the Final Fantasy style of battle, and while storytelling can be better than Western techniques, the writing and voice-acting in them can sometimes be terrible.  I've enjoyed the Elder Scrolls games, but didn't get on with Neverwinter Nights when I gave that a go - I think D&D is a bit too complicated to be fun for me.


----------



## Rahl Windsong (Jan 3, 2009)

Personally I enjoy a good story in an RPG more then combat or finding treasure, so for me the best RPG's out there are made by Bioware. NeverWinter Nights 1 & 2 and all their expansions, the Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 1 & 2 even though 2 was made by another developer, Obsidian Entertainment. The Baldur's Gate series, and their soon to be released Dragon Age: Origins. I also really enjoyed Mass Effect from Bioware even though it was a bit short in length.

Bioware games are all about story and thats what I like.

Edit: Forgot to mention Fallout 3 from Bethesda Softworks, a pretty decent RPG in its own right. Though Fallout fans of the past might not like it as much as I do, I still think its well worth mentioning. I also played Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion to death and enjoyed every minute of it even though its story is a bit weak.


----------



## devilsgrin (Jan 7, 2009)

I'd have to agree Rahl. Those are all games that i have loved!
Lets hope that Dragon Age lives up to Bioware's reputation.
Lets keep our fingers crossed that the KOTOR MMO is brilliant
And that ME2 rectifies the length issue that i also had with Mass Effect... all brilliant games
Bethesda does the best of the best RPGs... when it comes to freedom of choice... i mean how many games give the protagonist the option to Nuke a peaceful little town before your even level 5? (SPOILER btw, yes i Nuked Megaton... the view from Tenpenny Tower as the mushroom cloud bloomed was very satisfying for my evil Black Widow styled femme fatale of a character). All the Elder Scrolls games have been exceptional... though contrary to popular opinion, i much preferred Oblivion to Morrowind...


----------



## McMurphy (Jan 8, 2009)

I am all about story, story, story.  Although not always the case, the turn-based video rpgs seem to provide the most story.  It is a shame that the sub genre seems to be dying in the wake of action-rpgs and first person shooters.


----------



## Encephylops (Jan 12, 2009)

Sadly, I don't think that they make them anymore. RPGs for the SNES and PS were undoubtedly my all-time favorites. I'm a reader, so the bad (comparatively) graphics and fixed camera angles allowed for WAY more of my own imaginative input to the game.


----------



## Brett Howell (Jan 14, 2009)

KOTOR would be my favorite for sure (though I'm of 2-minds about the KOTOR MMO, since I have a pretty dark view on MMO RPGs like WOW and co)
The old AD&D games by SSI were favorites, since I use to play a little D&D

My favorite non-computer based RPG will forever and always be Paranoia though. Sci-Fi, sadistic, hilarious - how can you go wrong? Alas, there isn't much time to play it anymore, even if I could find a group.


----------



## Rahl Windsong (Jan 18, 2009)

Yes, I remember all the old AD&D games, some of my all time favorites as well and yes I do miss the turn based combat. One thing to take note of is that Bioware's Dragon Age: Origins has combat the same as it was in Baldur's Gate, where you get to pause the action any time you wanted, issue commands to your party, and then let the action roll again. So thats a bit of a throw back to turn based and I can hardly wait to see how that game turns out

Recently a Developer on their forums posted saying he got to take the game home over the Christmas hollidays and he played it from start to finish and he was actually quite blown away at how good it was. So thats saying a lot for the quality of this title.

Anyway here is the official forum for Dragon Age if anyone wants to check it out....

BioWare : Dragon Age : Dragon Age: Origins General Discussion


----------



## Lioness (Jan 18, 2009)

Something that doesn't involve reflexes and the ability to accurately aim, jump, or navigate a controller. 

I play D&D...I absolutely love it.


----------



## The Procrastinator (Jan 18, 2009)

I'm not a huge gamer but I was completely addicted to the Might and Magic series - I started many moons ago with M&M2 on a Commodore 64, on the old 5" floppy disks, and the imagination and scope of it (imagination was a must with graphics like that) completely sucked me in. Its the only game I have compulsively collected and played, and I was shattered when it died with M&M9, which sucked and I never bothered finishing. As the focus of the game became progressively more commercial (read cost-cutting) and less about fun for the player (shrinking size of game, shrinking number of quests, shrinking possibilities with characters) oddly enough sales shrank too.

M&M was a party-based, turn-based rpg, and if anyone could point me in the direction of anything similar (doesn't have to be new or recent), I would be most grateful.


----------



## Rahl Windsong (Jan 18, 2009)

I think the M&M series was replaced by the Heroes of Might and Magic series which was a Real Time Strategy type game more like Age of Empires then the original Might and Magic series of RPG's. 

What killed the series off in my oppinion, New World Computing the developer that started the Might & Magic series, sold the rights to 3DO and after that 3DO just made the RTS series and let the RPG series die.

I am not totally sure but I think the last game in the RPG series was done from work that was left over from New World and finished by 3DO so you can see why it was poor and The Procrastinator never did finish it. I hate it when I have games that I don't feel like finishing, I almost feel that a games warranty should include that if its too poor and boring to finish then a full refund will be given.

Also the creative people behind the M&M RPG's went away when they sold the rights to 3DO, those people were, John Van Caneghem, his wife Michaela Van Caneghem, and Mark Caldwell. Once they were no longer involved the creative inspiration that was the M&M series was gone and the RPG community felt the loss, no doubt about that.

I also played most of the old M&M RPG's, great games and very addicting. I should also mention that I did play some of the Heroes of Might and Magic series, I think the first two, and they were not to bad, but the RTS genre is really not my type of game so after a while I just lost interest. They were not really bad games though and quite good for RTS games I suppose.


----------



## The Procrastinator (Jan 19, 2009)

You are so right about the van Caneghems and their creative team, Rahl. The heart went out of that series when New World sold to 3DO. Not that M&M6 was a disappointment, that one was excellent, but from that point on it was like the death of a thousand cuts.
Heroes didn't replace M&M at first, it ran parallel for ages as a turn-based strategy game set in the same world (I love turn-based - plenty of time for cups of tea). I confess I collected it too, such was my M&M compulsion. I never bothered getting the latest instalment though, because of what they did to M&M9. Or wait: was it M&M10? I think it was 10, as in X marks the spot where they broke my heart, the swine! Chuh! I spit upon them.


----------



## gothsis30 (Jan 25, 2009)

the Final Fantasy series is my fav. and it irritates me that it will not be available until April 2010


----------



## Althain's Warden (Mar 24, 2009)

I did enjoy the early might & magic and heroes of m & m were okay. Spent about 3 years on Star wars Galaxies but then sony screwed it up more than i could accept ! i mean it was never perfect but i forgave it cos it was star wars ! But it got silly. The best game of all however is proper dungeons & dragons, i am lucky enough to still have a group to dm for  life is good at times !
are their many other d & d players knocking around these forums?! Give a shout if there are, in particular and dm's?


----------



## dustinzgirl (Mar 24, 2009)

I've tried to get into online rpg's mmos or whatever. I just can't get into it. I hate WoW with a passion, its irritating to stay within a particular setting and have no control over that setting. 

I did play online back when it was txt files, having a cousin in college helped, back before we had things like graphics cards and high speed internet. 

I'm old school. Give me a handful of dice, some good old fashioned maps, a monster manual, and I'm happy. I like to DM, not that much but since I don't get much away time its usually just me and the kids. My favorite games are definetly D&D and Shadowrun. I love making up stories as we go and seeing how my kids find their way thru a dungeon. Its awesomely fun. 

I used to, pre kid days, play in a lot of big groups. I tried that wierdo Vampire game for a while but everyone that plays that game that I knew was just wierd....like running around parkinglots trying to bit each other wierd....creeped me out, when peeps can't distinguish between fantasy and reality!


----------



## Althain's Warden (Mar 24, 2009)

lol sounds like some people i tended to avoid, yep its got to be classic d & d Gary gygax was a legend, sadly he is no longer with us  mostly 1st edition rules and yet because there were holes in them i have modded plenty of rules in my years as a dm, did you ever play any official modules dustinzgirl? temple of elemental evil maybe? the slavers? etc i'm currently taking a party through the temple and it is hard core !


----------



## dustinzgirl (Mar 24, 2009)

We've played some expansion sets, back in the day with my ex husband (over 10 yrs ago) we used to play a lot of them, Dark Sun was my FAVORITE.....but, I have to keep it pretty simple since my oldest is only 13---well he will be 14 next month and my youngest is 9 so I try to just keep it classic monster/treasure hunting with base original characters (dwarf, elf, human, ect). 

We don't get to play as much as we should, life gets busy. Thankfully, this thread has reminded me that I should totally start making more time!

My oldest boy does try to DM but, he's still pretty young so it gets into more a test of wills than a structured game, lol---he's got his dad's arrogance as a DM which drives me nuts!


----------



## Althain's Warden (Mar 24, 2009)

lol my first dm was a complete control freak ! he's the reason i became one myself to avoid his game and actually have some fun. We all knew he just had one set of rules for us and another for everyone else, it was laughable really. I know what you mean though about life getting busy, i've had about 4 breaks from d & d each lasting at least 1 year but every so often i just know its time to dig out the 1st ed books !  arguably the pride of my book collection ! MY best friend has a dmg signed by gary himself ! i couldn't go to the convention myself  gutted cos now i'll never meet him !


----------



## ManTimeForgot (Mar 30, 2009)

I don't play Massively Multiplayer Online Adventure Games (because despite being called role playing games the amount of actual role playing that goes on is approximately equal to the limit of X as X approaches zero).  This mostly has to do with my intense dislike of Pay to Play gaming.  I will not shell out 300 dollars to play a game for as long as I like.

Diablo 1 (2 embraced the "time waster" quality of diablo while forgetting about ambiance and story events, something that 3 seems to be re-remembering) and Guild Wars are the closest things to the MMO genre that I like and that is because they are adventure games of the highest caliber (They have some roleplaying elements too which is always a perk).


JRPG's ala Final Fantasy peaked on the Super Nintendo as far as I am concerned.  Final Fantasies have all been going slowly down hill for me.  Final Fantasy 12 has a great story... if you are willing to slog through 30 minutes of monster bashing and grinding to get to it!  Shameful.  Final Fantasy 6 found the right balance of monster to cut-scene & story vista/dialogue (something that even action games like Resident Evil 4 are now incorporating into the game play itself).  I think I played Final Fantasy 6 for close to 2,000 hours.  Some of my games went over 99 hours of gameplay.  Just for kicks my brother and I tried to beat it as quickly as possible and managed to beat it in just under 38 hours (that's a barebones approach; basically if an RPG doesn't have at least a movie's worth of story to go with the 30 some hours of monster bashing, then I am _NOT_ interested in it.  FF6 comes through in spades though).


Deus Ex as far as FPS games was awesome because it incorporated elements usually only found in RPGs and had a great story.  Still an FPS though.


True RPG's are hard to find not just on console but also on computer.  Planescape Torment and Fallout rock houses (not just one house; it takes multiple houses to contain just how hard they rock).  Arcanum and Baldur's Gate are above average.  I have a love hate relationship with Temple of Elemental Evil and the Neverwinter Nights games (TOEE lacked the story to go with its amazing adaptation of the D&D combat rules & NWN bugged the holy hell out of me whenever I wanted to do something but couldn't or an option that was supposed to be allowed suddenly wasn't or didn't work).  As far as open-ended games go, Oblivion sacrificed story for open-endedness and ended up with "Cave Crawl Forever."  I played until I glitched the cave with the highest loot level (monsters no longer spawned but the chests refilled) and then raided that every 2 game days.  Eventually my character was so powerful that I would have to kite enemies to get a challenge and the boss was so easy at the end that it wasn't even funny!  Am I the only one let down by the fact that a 500 foot tall fiendish monstrosity proved less than apocalyptic in proportion?!


As far as PNP goes: I have played D&D for most of my life.  And I have a love hate relationship with it too now.  Cashing in on D&D's popularity doesn't even begin to express my disdain for recent company decisions.  Moreover the quality of third party products approaches shoddiness the more of them that get produced.  Lastly, I have yet to find a good stand alone campaign setting that isn't already D&D mainstream (I can only play dragonlance or Ravenloft so many times before I want something else.  Planescape's great wheel is more cosmology than campaign setting, and Eberon and I don't get along.  And my own efforts to build campaign settings are usually wasted since I spend so much time building them; by the time I am done most people have lost interest).

I used to play Rifts whenever I wanted good soldier/war time post apocalyptic roleplaying with no limits.  Basically anything goes is the rule of Rifts.  If you think you can do it, then you do it; because when you are facing down hordes of extra-dimensional magic wielding technomantic alien demi-gods if there is *anything* that you are holding back now is the _wrong_ time to do that.  And the Rifts class system is a hodge-podge of High Fantasy (including eastern flavored), Sci-Fi, Super-Hero, and War-Simulation archtypes.  The setting is high-powered and we always played with ultra gritty/realistic rules where you had to use tactics and strategy or get slagged in the first couple battles (medics are really handy; and instant healing is miraculous.  D&D characters just don't appreciate how useful having your intestines put back in is!  D&D damage doesn't actually represent "health" loss... )  I ended modding quite a bit of the game, but haven't played in years since not many people play this anymore.  This saddens me somewhat.


White-Wolf's Mage and Exalted are my two consolation prizes turned real gems.  Mage has forever altered the way I approach magic systems in RPGs and Exalted has forever altered the way I approach world/story building... epic in scope just doesn't quite do justice to the way Exalted is played.  I happen to like both of the campaign settings (world features as it were when it comes to the current WoD); some people don't like the whole "Atlantean heritage" thing that the current Mage hints at, but the reality of it is that that amounts to saying ET fathered my children.  It's so far out there that anything could be true, and even the stuff that is supposedly "Atlantean" in origin pretty much supports the theory that anything that could explain it is just as likely to be true...  Very zen.  I love it.


MTF


----------



## HareBrain (Mar 30, 2009)

I really liked Planescape Torment for its characters, setting and story, and I'm annoyed with myself for not quite finishing it. Final Fantasy VII was my favourite JRPG, for the characters and story - the scene with the photograph blew me away, I'd never encountered an emotional twist like it in a computer game. My other favourite is the original Summoner - despite the awful fogging, load times and general jerkiness on the PS2 version, I thought it had great story, setting and mechanics (plus the joy of an animated version of the Dead Alewives' D&D session skit - "Roll the dice to see if I'm getting drunk!").

PNP, it has to be Runequest.


----------



## the smiling weirwood (Mar 31, 2009)

I always enjoy JRPGs, they have such wonderful operatic stories. But...once you play through you've pretty much seen everything there is to see if you did it right. 

The replay value and open-endedness of Western RPGs is something I enjoy for its own sake, but the lack of a good story and characterization have ruined some for me. 

Oblivion was beautiful but kind of a waste of time in my opinion since you could never really get a sense of accomplishment since enemies were always the same level or thereabouts. After a certain point wolves and rats should no longer present even a tiny hint of a challenge. 

Actually I think BG2 has been my favorite RPG so far, but I have very high hopes for Dragon Age:Origins.

As for PnP I've only actually played two games of AD&D, but I had extensive experience with Vampire:The Requiem and it was really a lot of fun. Although I suspect that has something to do with my awesome friends I played with. We were mostly members of the creative writing staff with some drama club members and poetry nuts thrown in.


----------



## Urlik (Mar 31, 2009)

I used to play a lot of PnP (AD&D, WHRP, Traveller, Stormbringer, CoC {and modern CoC using GURPS} and a fair bit of Cyberpunk)
those were games where the player characters really were characters and the NPCs could really come to life if the GM was good enough (I was lucky to be in a group with several really good GMs)

IMO what is needed for a PC or console RPG is a party system that allows the players to fully customise their characters in the traditional PnP style, then set out on a campaign that has all the breadth and scope of a JRPG.


----------



## thepaladin (Mar 31, 2009)

I started out playing (well I did a session or 2 of D&D but moved to AD&D right away) first edition AD&D. I DMed for years (this was about 78). Then as everyone has noted life ran over me and for years I had (literally) no leisure time activities. A few years ago I got back into pen and paper AD&D. Quit when 3rd edition lasted about 2 weeks and we were all supposed to buy NEW books to play 3.5. 

I had gotten my first pc around 15 years ago and found Baldru's Gate, loved it. Baldur's Gate II was even better and is my favorite to this day. I've played others since a few console based ones, but prefer single player pc games. Playing Never Winter Nights II (Mask of the Betrayer expansion) now. Liked Dungeon Siege, Sacred is ok, as are Gothic, even Devine Dininity isn't too bad. Didn't get Titian's Quest finished yet and still have Fable on my shelves.

So, I guess the answer is I like single player pc based rpgs.


----------



## Hilarious Joke (Mar 31, 2009)

Easy. _World of Warcraft_. Love it.


----------



## Shadow Trooper (Mar 31, 2009)

Wow, thinking back to yesteryear, it was RPGs that were my first love on the Commodore Amiga (before RTS).

The 2 games that come to mind were Bard's Tale 2 (to this day when I hear a Human League song it reminds me of the hours spent playing with the music on in the background on a repeat loop (as I wouldn't/couldn't get of my backside to change it! ))

A drogonlance game 'Dragons of Krynn' I think, was the second. This game seemed to have a more satisfying storyline.

I would love to get back into the RPG world on the PC, but really need a well presented game (Graphics, Sound, Storyline etc). I know, I want the world


----------



## Hilarious Joke (Mar 31, 2009)

> I want the world


 
...of warcraft.


----------



## Shadow Trooper (Mar 31, 2009)

World of Warcraft has always worried me as I am one to get easily hooked. I know someone who was totally hooked night and day on Everquest(?). Don't know how his partner put up with it.

I just wish there was a group locally that was into D&D. I think it is the social interaction (over a few beers etc) that made the D&D experience what it was.


----------



## Urlik (Mar 31, 2009)

Shadow Trooper said:


> World of Warcraft has always worried me as I am one to get easily hooked. I know someone who was totally hooked night and day on Everquest(?). Don't know how his partner put up with it.
> 
> I just wish there was a group locally that was into D&D. I think it is the social interaction (over a few beers etc) that made the D&D experience what it was.


 
more total agreement

for me, WoW is too expensive and too time consuming with far too much chance of becoming totally addicted.

on your second point, it might be possible to play PnP online using video conferencing software.


----------



## thaddeus6th (Mar 31, 2009)

Best rpgs I'v ever played were Phantasy Star IV (for the Mega Drive), and probably Final Fantasy IV (played the re-release for the Playstation). The stories are much stronger than most modern rpgs. 

Mind you, some good recent stuff has been about. Valkyria Chronicles is pretty damn good, as are the first two Shadow Hearts. The New World was a let-down.


----------



## Shadow Trooper (Mar 31, 2009)

Urlik said:


> more total agreement
> 
> for me, WoW is too expensive and too time consuming with far too much chance of becoming totally addicted.
> 
> on your second point, it might be possible to play PnP online using video conferencing software.


 
I think I've seen a clip either on one of those 'half hour comical clips shows' or Youtube that is similar to what you describe.

Difficult to describe the scene but essentially a group of about 8 people were voice linked and playing a RPG where they were about to go into a cave or something where they knew there was a massive challenge. One guy (I think Malcolm) took it upon himself to take lead and proceeded to give an extensive brief on support, flanking manoeuvres etc. After about 4 mins he finishes his brief and they all enter the cave. You merely see the action on the computer screen.

All hell brakes out and they last about 20 seconds before being annihilated . Malcolm then proceeds to give a 6 min debrief about how they went wrong and how although they failed he appreciated their efforts. There is complete silence for about 10 seconds until one, thoroughly pissed off person, just utters the words 'Malcolm, your a w**ker!'

Obvious I can't capture the full emphasis and utter dispair, yet venomous delivery made, but I laughed my socks off and watched the clip at least 3 more times


----------



## misscousins (Mar 31, 2009)

I like games like The sims, second life, rome total war.


----------



## Rahl Windsong (Apr 4, 2009)

Shadow Trooper said:


> Wow, thinking back to yesteryear, it was RPGs that were my first love on the Commodore Amiga (before RTS).
> 
> The 2 games that come to mind were Bard's Tale 2 (to this day when I hear a Human League song it reminds me of the hours spent playing with the music on in the background on a repeat loop (as I wouldn't/couldn't get of my backside to change it! ))
> 
> ...


 
The Amiga brings back some troublesome memories of the computer company known as Commodore. I remember back when I owned a store and sold computers and I was a Commodore dealer and they brought out the Amiga. They invited all the dealers in the area to a conference to introduce the Amiga to us and proceeded to show us, at the time, a truely inovative new computer that would have taken the home computer market by storm and perhaps given even Microsoft/IBM a run from their money and market share. 

Instead of achieving that however, Commodore, near the end of the meeting, dropped the ball completely when they told us that the only dealers who would be able to sell the new Amiga were their "business dealers" and all us dealers selling the Commodore 64 would not even be able to purchase Amiga product to sell.

It was a mistake that ended up costing them their company and at that meeting my brother and myself made a point of standing up and telling everyone there how much of a mistake this was and that it would, in the end, be the death of their company. We also, at that meeting, ended our ties with Commodore and so did many other dealers....


----------



## Shadow Trooper (Apr 4, 2009)

Rahl Windsong said:


> The Amiga brings back some troublesome memories of the computer company known as Commodore. I remember back when I owned a store and sold computers and I was a Commodore dealer and they brought out the Amiga. They invited all the dealers in the area to a conference to introduce the Amiga to us and proceeded to show us, at the time, a truely inovative new computer that would have taken the home computer market by storm and perhaps given even Microsoft/IBM a run from their money and market share.
> 
> Instead of achieving that however, Commodore, near the end of the meeting, dropped the ball completely when they told us that the only dealers who would be able to sell the new Amiga were their "business dealers" and all us dealers selling the Commodore 64 would not even be able to purchase Amiga product to sell.
> 
> It was a mistake that ended up costing them their company and at that meeting my brother and myself made a point of standing up and telling everyone there how much of a mistake this was and that it would, in the end, be the death of their company. We also, at that meeting, ended our ties with Commodore and so did many other dealers....


 
Wow, I only have fond thoughts of the Amiga and the half meg upgrade I purchased to make it a monster busting *1 meg* 

I can't remember how much money I spent on games that looked great on the screen shots shown on the covers. Only to find they were shots from the PC version


----------



## Sonshu (Apr 7, 2009)

I first started RP Games at aged 8 and am now 33, sadly usually GM these days as I have been running them since I was about 13-15 or so up until now.

I mostly play D&D or Cyberpunk with some Marvel Super Heros and a bit of Warhammer 40k tabletop stuff.  

I have been running the same campaign world since about aged 15 and its on the 3rd generation of characters soon to be the 4th so this colourful time has given me many great tales to tell.

Cyberpunk is a low down dirty game and fantastic for story and action.  I have also played MERP, Rolemaster, DC Hero's, Torg, Shadowrun the list goes on and on but D&D + Cyberpunk are the ones for me.


----------



## ktabic (Apr 7, 2009)

I've played quite a few.
Pen& Paper: Started with D&D, then some AD&D. Also did Traveller, CoC, Shadowrun, Warhammer FRPG and Paranoia (my favourite for GMing). Frequently think about trying to get back into P&P rpgs, but none of the old crowd are around any more.

Tabletop:
Warhammer FB & 40k, plus Necromunda (undisputed master of the Cambridge Hive)

Computer:
Started with some dodgy AD&D licensed game. This was on an Amstrad CPC464, so quite some time ago. Can't even remember the name of it now. Nethack, Baldurs Gate, Baldurs Gate 2, Icewind Dale, Neverwinter Nights, NWN 2.

Online:
Various MUDs that no longer exist. Asherons Call, Asherons Call 2 (really miss this one), lotro, WoW, AoC (so much potential spoiled), WAR (disappointing).

Hmm, thats quite a list of wasted weekends


----------



## Esioul (Apr 11, 2009)

Probably my favourite RPG is KOTOR, I really should replay that at some point. I also like Baldur's Gate. 

Ktabic, I played some random D&D game called Wizards and Warriors I think it was, long, long ago...


----------



## Hilarious Joke (Apr 13, 2009)

Anyone ever play Blood & Magic? I used to love that game.


----------



## Michael01 (May 18, 2009)

I've tried quite a few free MMOs (*Rappelz*, *Flyff*, *Sword of the New World*, *Perfect World*, *Cabal*, etc.), and even enjoyed them up to a point, but I always get bored with them after a while. I just feel like I'm doing the same thing over and over with no real goal in sight, so I lose interest.

To date, my favorite console RPG is *.hack//G.U.* There are a lot more that I like, but I will never forget the experience of playing that game, and will play it again after I've had my fill of some other games...


----------



## Rahl Windsong (May 26, 2009)

Actually now that I am thinking of RPG's I had to come back and mention the old Ultima games from Origin Systems, and specifically Ultima 6 the False Prophet, Ultima 7 The Black Gate, and Ultima 7 part 2 The Serpent Isle. Those games were with out a doubt some of my all time favorites, in fact I liked them so much I recently bought a DVD with all of the old Ultima games on it but I am having trouble getting them to work in XP.

I did find a good website to help me with this problem but it seems like I still need to figure out how to install their patches to get the games working....its just been so long since I have worked with DOS. Anyway here is the site if anyone else is trying to get those old Ultima games working on modern computers....

Ultima: The Reconstruction


----------



## ManTimeForgot (May 31, 2009)

That's right I completely forgot about Telnet...  I probably wasted a thousand hours playing MUDs over Telnet.  Godwars proved... too simple for me, but like a tool I've devoted more hours to Godwars and its derivatives than any other I think (I think this is partly why sloppily implemented vampires and werewolves bug me so much in games).  ROT and ROM are both solid (love tier based class systems and percentage ability systems).

But the CIRCU and DIKU muds (and whatever other ones they've come up with that are classless/skillless systems) that are basically "type what you do" disappoint me.  Its like playing a PnP game only it has lag time, takes longer to adjudicate, and "interrupt actions" require cracker jack timing and/or the immediate attention of a GM who may not actually be present at the time...

But boy my brother and I had lots of fun breaking people's homebrewed class systems on Telnet... So you think vampires having 200 "low powered" abilities that you haven't play-tested the interactions of is *less* powerful than some hyped adrenaline powered werewolf with 5,000 Atk and Def?  We'll see about that...

MTF


----------



## Heinleinaddict (Jun 11, 2009)

To be honest I really like JRPGs, I played them since my teens, games like secret of mana, chrono trigger, and Final Fantasy 3(U.S. numeration) all bring great nostalgia for me.


----------



## Cayal (Jun 14, 2009)

I like the traditional turn based RPGs (usually jRPGs) or the ones by Bioware where you have choices to make (though I do wish they were not so clear cut good or bad choices).  But the most essential thing is that it has a good story. It has to be a story driven game and not a graphics driven one.


----------



## Gandalf (Jul 23, 2009)

I loved Planescape Torment - an immortan character with a hard as nails floating skull as a sidekick was very entertaining.

Neverwinter Nights & the handful of decent expansions I've played have kept me hooked for a while when I played them as did the Baldur's Gate games (event the one they released for the the consoles wasn't so bad).

The Monkey Island games, although not strictly RPGs, were a good playing experience, as was the Broken Sword games (sorry for going off topic there).

Deus Ex 1 & 2 were superb games and I managed to fished them both eventually 

For me, any RPGs that keep track of your conduct and reward you for playing to your alignment etc. is welcome, Fable tried to introduce a strong moral underpinning but there was something about the game I quickly disliked (and I still can't put my finger on it)!

Anyone remember the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings on the Speccy? Now they were flipping tough!!

And Zork? Any of you guys fancy a challenge and haven't had the pleasure of playing these text-based crackers should go to infocom-if[dot]org since Zork 1,2 and 3 are now freely available.

Let us know how you get on 

~G~


----------



## Lioness (Jul 23, 2009)

ktabic said:


> Paranoia (my favourite for GMing)



Oh that would be fun


----------



## mushroomyakuza (Aug 4, 2009)

I do love Final Fantasy, but for what it used to be rather than what it is eg. FFVI to FFIX. Outside of FF, I'm not much of a JRPG fan. They're extremely formulaic. 

No one seems to have mentioned Zelda!?! Sure it's not an RPG in the sense of character choices etc but still...it's epic, and I love Zelda with every fibre of my gaming being - only the console ones though, I could never really engage with the handhelds.

Fallout 3 is fantastic, one of my favourite games of all time. 

Knights of the Old Republic is also excellent, and as a Star Wars fan it was like being given the Holy Grail. I'm disappointed by their decision to make the next game an MMORPG though. Sigh.


----------



## Althain's Warden (Aug 4, 2009)

Mushroom why are you dissapointed with a star wars mmorpg ? I play SWG galaxies and although i left when they nerfed it 2 years ago i'm back now cos they've fixed it !! For me a star wars mmorpg is just a plain winner  Are you just against they style of game in general ? Or are you refering to the forth coming KOTOR mmorpg? Not looked into that one much but the trailer is really cool !


----------



## duckyboy1975 (Aug 17, 2009)

When is the North American version of the new Dragonquest happening? How hard is it to translate the text and release it in the States?


----------



## Dimentio (Aug 17, 2009)

Jbshare said:


> Which kinds of RPG's do you play, if any?
> 
> Personally I play single-player western RPG's, and I play D&D.
> 
> I've gotten into an MMO before, but I no longer have a PC to support it.



Sometimes, I organise Balance of Power games.

Balance of Power is a strategy role-playing game where all play as leaders of different governments.


----------



## Hilarious Joke (Aug 18, 2009)

Sounds pretty hard to organise! I'm intrigued...


----------



## Dimentio (Aug 18, 2009)

Well, each country has a set of stats which changes for each turn. Each turn represents a span of time (most often six months).

I am going to organise one in six months which is occuring in a dystopic noir future, where the USA has splintered in a second civil war.


----------



## Hilarious Joke (Aug 18, 2009)

Oooh! What triggered that?


----------



## HareBrain (Aug 18, 2009)

Health reforms?


----------



## Tef9 (Aug 18, 2009)

On the pc I played a game called Loom, it was brilliant!  Not only did I play but also my mother and father.

I have had problems with RPG's on the PC as they just dont seem to represent an RPG (for me), Bauldurs gate was good., and planescape but the ones I prefer are:

Eye of beholder series
Dungeon master
Loom
Pagan

When I did play D&D (pnp) I played with great people who loved to enrich the story, I think that colored my view of modern RPG's.  Sadly I moved to oxford and I lost contact.

First post, so hi everyone!


----------



## Dimentio (Aug 18, 2009)

Hilarious Joke said:


> Oooh! What triggered that?



In the 2030's, global warming has caused a famine which has caused enormous food shortages, even causing problems in developed nations. The USA has centralised in order to meet the crisis, which has caused libertarian secessionist movements to grow. In 2041, following a disputed election, almost half of America seceded.


----------



## Rodders (Aug 23, 2009)

Anyone looking forward to "The Old Republic" (TOR)?  The new Star Wars MMORPG from Bioware?


----------



## Hilarious Joke (Aug 24, 2009)

I am. Although I'm also excited about the latest World of Warcraft expansion: Cataclysm!


----------



## Lioness (Aug 24, 2009)

I have a new favourite RPG - Baron Munchausen!

Basically, you get asked a difficult (and possibly embarrasing) question and you have to invent a dramatic, glorifying, and amusing tale to answer the question.
SOme questions are:
'Tell me, lord X, Why it is that you always ride naked during thunderstorms?'
'Would you tell us about the time you showed the Queen of Finland's underwear to the town of Neebop, whilst she was wearing them?'
'How you single handedly managed to garner the swords of every man in the French army and melt them down into wheelbarrows, all in one night?'

etc.

So much fun to play. We play the non-adult version, which doesn't involve alcohol, but I imagine it would be even more fun if it did.


----------



## thepaladin (Sep 2, 2009)

I began D&D back in '78. I was the DM and have played since as both DM and player. Hopefully I'll be starting a new campaign soon. (Same world I've spent the last 30 years building only with a new group of players and we'll be trying D&D 4th edition. I'm trying not to start with a negative attitude, but so far I've been disappointed with the editions since second). I have a large collection of pewter miniatures I've painted and use in the games.

Could go into more, but I'd soon reach the point where you'd stop reading.

When I bought my son his first Nintindo I found electronic RPGs...Final Fantasy (1) and a few of the sequels, several varations on these games, but then I got my first PC. I still don't really get into MMORPgs but do like single players. I guess Baldur's Gate 2 and the expansions are still my favorites. I like some hack and slashers to....Diablo 2, Titan's Quest..their expantions.

Has anyone else played Hellgate London? It got savaged pretty baddly on line because the company went out of business and the on-line option went by the way side. It wasn't too bad a game as a single player goes though.

There are a lot of these, Dungeon Seige and also DS 2, Gothic...Devine Divinity...other Diablo 2 clones and so on.


----------



## Dornish First Sword (Sep 2, 2009)

I used to play ad&d back in high school but that was many moons ago, am thinking lately of getting to know the folks in the sci fi fantasy club at uni, I'm pretty sure they play. I lack the time to meet up with them very often however as its a 2 hour train trip to uni for me so i generally don't hang around I just go to class then leave. From the looks of things they play a lot of games including magic and so forth I shall endeavor to get the time to go along to a meeting one time. 

Electronic rpgs that I have enjoyed most in the last years were the KOTOR games both were addictive and amazing games.


----------



## ktabic (Sep 2, 2009)

thepaladin said:


> Has anyone else played Hellgate London?



I liked Hellgate: London. Fun, fast and furious, but then you would expect that from the people who created Diablo (in their pre flagship days they where part of Blizzard). Still play the single-player mode now and again.


----------



## ktabic (Sep 2, 2009)

Lioness said:


> I have a new favourite RPG - Baron Munchausen!



Now that sounds like fun. If only because I have a soft spot for the Baron.



Lioness said:


> So much fun to play. We play the non-adult version, which doesn't involve alcohol, but I imagine it would be even more fun if it did.



My first thought was needs alcohol.


----------



## Lioness (Sep 2, 2009)

thepaladin said:


> we'll be trying D&D 4th edition. I'm trying not to start with a negative attitude, but so far I've been disappointed with the editions since second)



Don't want to make your attitude even more negative...but I've heard it's pretty unrealistic. a low level party can take on a fairly high level monster with low casualties.

Still, I'm a 3.5 girl. It's all I've ever played, and it works for me.


----------



## Lioness (Sep 2, 2009)

ktabic said:


> Now that sounds like fun. If only because I have a soft spot for the Baron.
> 
> 
> 
> My first thought was needs alcohol.



One day...when we are actually legal, we will play it with alcohol.

It's a scary thought really, we're random enough already.


----------



## thepaladin (Sep 2, 2009)

I just bought the core D&D 4th edition books (Players Handbook, DM Guide, and Monster Manual). I intend to do a lot of "tweeking" and I'll transfer monsters and such from my other editions. You had to do a little of that all along (example..some of the earlier editions Dragons, supposed to be the epitome of the deadly apponient could be taken down by a good fighter... example was that a bite did 1 D 12. Look at the size of a dragons mouth compared to the size of a human...poor damage rating so i adjusted the damage by dragon age...maybe 1 D 12 times 4 for a mature dragon or times 10 for an acient...etc.) I'm trying to go with edition 4 as it would be difficult to ask the players (all of whom but one are knew) to pick up other editions of the players handbook. 

By the way, the one experinced player has also sent word she heard that 4th has been "dumbed down". Hopefully as the DM I can moderate that and still give a good game. Always remember the one main rule of D&D...the DM is always right.

By the way, I noted the reference to AD&D above. That was what first edition was called once it went to hard back books.


----------



## thepaladin (Sep 2, 2009)

Don't you love "fast typing typos" sorry, I'm self taught and sometimes type the wrong word without noting it... case in point..."knew" for "new"... sorry.


----------



## Lioness (Sep 3, 2009)

Yes, my DM said that it has been very dumbed down, and that's the main reason he doesn't like it. I have the feeling that if he tweaked it, we'd end up playing 3.5 again ^_^

On another note...we tried Simple D&D the other day. It hurts! Oh it hurts so much.
Made for people with an Int of 8 or less, I swear...


----------



## Hilarious Joke (Sep 3, 2009)

Sounds like my sorta thing!


----------



## thepaladin (Sep 3, 2009)

We'll just have to live with it I suppose. The "bean counters" have really damaged D&D..I can only hope they don't "improve it to death". Like I said I decided to go to 4th so players could get the books without going on Ebay or something and paying a fortune for the books. f I had my "druthers" we'd be playing 2nd edition, I still have all my books, just can't run down enough for everybody else. And beside that, I've spent the $100+ on the 4th editon volumes...


----------



## Lioness (Sep 4, 2009)

Our local D&D shop sells a lot of 3.5, but I think most of the D&Ders in this city are devout 3.5 followers. The shops runs games, and they have more 3.5 than anything else.


----------



## thepaladin (Sep 5, 2009)

My local game shop still has some 3.5 stuff, but you can't get it from a mfg. now. the stuff still out there is existing stock or used things traded in. The frustration never ends. Intring new people to the game it's hard to get past edition stuff. That's what I mean about "improving the game to death". Sooner or later to get core rule books you have to move up to the "new version" or have some kind of outlet for older material. Then everyone around you is playing one version while you play another and it is slightly more difficult to incorperate new players in who have been olaying the "new version". 

I just went ahead and surrendered. Hopefully I can put together a good game out of it.


----------



## Lioness (Sep 6, 2009)

That's fair enough.

We have a party dilemma unfortunately...our tank and our cleric are having in-game manliness fights, to determine who is most important or more strong or whatever. It's really really starting to annoy me, because it really really doesn't matter. DM has noticed though, and as it's the cleric starting most of it, he is targeting him...we got him down to -9HP yesterday, but we do need the cleric to heal. DM also dissolved the tank's ******* sword (which is the only weapon he's proficient with) and armour...if they start fighting again I'm casting some kind of non-lethal spell on them. Make them shut up. 

Or perhaps I'll use the new spell I'm planning to make. We have an annoying but important NPC (he's a pompous ass), and I'm planning to embarrass him. The spell will enchant a chair so that it moves whenever he tries to sit down on it. It wont move for anyone else, just him. Hehehehe.


----------



## thepaladin (Sep 6, 2009)

In group fighting can be...interesting  to say the least.

I love to watch how people play their characters. Some do it well, others fail to get the point at all. Some years ago I had a guy in the group who wanted to be a ranger...and promptly started gathering up armor...multiple swords, etc. After a while (the group was together about 5 years) he was basicly a tank in (green) armor barreling through the wood. I basicly made him a knight who for some reason hung out in the woods a lot. A sort of "green Knight" I suppose...(pun intended)

A couple of my favorites have been a cowardly rouge who wouldn't ever take his part as burglar or spy till he'd nagotated a larger share of whatever treasure the the party got, once going so far as to have himself made immaterial (literally) so he could sneak up, place his sword in a young White Dragon and then materalize with sword already planted in the Dragon's back.

I also had a player who when rolling up his fighter got an intelengence of 3 and decided to play the character...he named him Biff and did a pretty good job.

Plan to start sometime maybe around the first of Oct. hope it works out.


----------



## Lioness (Sep 6, 2009)

I get annoyed at people who refuse to take part in combat because they're scared. Our tank was a rogue before he died, and he had a fairly low AC, and a bad BAB. He stayed in the corner and did absolutely nothing for the whole battle. He may as well not have been there. I guess I see it that way because now I'm a wizard. I have an AC of 16, and thankfully don't have to rely on BAB. That doesn't stop me from stepping up to a gigantic centipede and touching it, in order to deliver a touch spell. If it had tried to hit me, there was a very very low chance of it failing (what with its +13 bonus...) and if it had hit me, I likely would've died. Perhaps I'm being slightly naive, in assuming that it is normal to try risky things, but oh well.


----------



## paranoid marvin (Sep 6, 2009)

The Baldurs Gate series , and always with the mighty Minsc and Boo dispensing their own inimitable style of justice to their foes. Rangers and hamsters everywhere - rejoice!


----------



## thepaladin (Sep 6, 2009)

I love the Balduer's Gate pc games...


I never minded the cowardly roug because he had made it clear that was part of his character's persona. When I'm a player I generally play a Paladin so...you know no hanging back for me. Of course sometimes it can annoy some of the other players because if we run on certain things, say a human sacrsfice (as happened in one game) I "must" intervien. To the rest of the party it was sort like..."here we go again" happily my character was powerful enough that they were willing to "go along'...for a good share of loot of course. After a couple of years of gaming of course I'd ammased the 10 magic items a Paladin is allowed (above his sword and armor) so it was rare that I even took part in the division...(unless there was a Paladin specific item or something that seemed custom made for my guy.) Then I'd have to trade off. At one point I had rings of protection from lightening, fire and ice...but couldn't keep them as other things came along. I passed a couple of them over to a wizard who (when a door to an unknow space had to be bashed or some otherwise possibly deadly charge into an unknow space was called for) would "loan" them back...


----------



## Quokka (Sep 7, 2009)

Squad based tactical rpg's. All the Black Isle games are great but for most time spent playing my vote still has to go to the old Shining Force games.


----------



## thepaladin (Sep 7, 2009)

You mean the ones that came out on the old Sega Genesis?


----------



## Quokka (Sep 7, 2009)

That's them, Shining Force 1 and 2 then they changed the format. There was a third in the series released on the sega saturn but I've never played it, I'd have bought a saturn long before now just for that game but only one out of the three discs was ever translated into english (as far as I know).

They're favourites mainly from nostalgia, that's what was around when I was playing a lot of games but I'd still argue that they are excellent games considering the limitations of the megadrive/genesis. 20 years later and a few bars from the battle music would still make my wife cringe .


----------



## Lioness (Sep 7, 2009)

More reandom D&D stuff...on saturday we proved that the D&D gods do exist, and that they have a very good sense of humour.

Someone needed more dice than they had for a spell, and we were all trying to get him to use our dice, because they were better (of course). The DM leans over, says 'here, use my 5D6. They roll well.' and proceeds to roll 5 ones. First time. It was firstly shocking, and then after we all recovered it was very very amusing. Just thought I'd share it.


----------



## thepaladin (Sep 7, 2009)

I loved those old shining force games...sort of like moving your pieces on a board. I to played them to death. i've been trying to find a pc disc with them on it or a down load service that has them...no luck so far.


Everyone has their dice stories. I suppose you have the requsite bag of dice...far more than you ever actually need? I know I do. I have a crystal blue D20 that seems (to me and players I've played with at least) to roll 20 more often thena normal. the problem is...the 1 also comes up more often. Do you do the "reverse critical" on a 1 thing? I once broke a magic sword because of 2 bad rolls....


----------



## Lioness (Sep 7, 2009)

Sort of. A 1 is an instant fail on pretty much anything, however, if the DM really wants us to pass it (so we don't all die) we get a reroll.


----------



## Quokka (Sep 8, 2009)

thepaladin said:


> I loved those old shining force games...sort of like moving your pieces on a board. I to played them to death. i've been trying to find a pc disc with them on it or a down load service that has them...no luck so far.



That was the one, like Archon with a storyline . If you own a ps3 there was a fairly decent retro pack released (sega ultimate collection) that had both Shining Force games along with Phantasy Star 4 which was another favourite RPG from the megadrive/genesis days.

I played it a few years back via emulation and thought that it had aged fairly well. It should be easy enough to find them but if you try it and have any hassles feel free to give me a pm.


----------



## thepaladin (Sep 8, 2009)

I play mostly PC games. Only console I have is a PS 2.


----------



## Lioness (Sep 8, 2009)

Haha...I play only Tabletop RPG...the only games my computer has is Sims 1&2, and the only console I have is a super nintendo. And that's my sisters'


----------



## Delvor (Oct 14, 2009)

I believe I started off with Pools of Radiance on the PC, after the gaming books where you choose different options and progress through the books (Ian Livingstone perhaps?)

Got into D&D of course and played that, loved Neverwinter Nights and the sequels, Need to load NWN2 and the add ons onto my laptop I think and get the newest expansion.

I had Knights of the old republic and loved that along with the sequel. Used to play on Guild Wars but mine and my friends computer went and broke at similar times and when we returned the guild we had created had dissolved. I'm trying to get back into WoW as I'm looking forward to the Cataclysm storyline.

Can no longer RP table top as the groups I played with have gone so I play on a messageboard which does most games plothook.net - Powered by vBulletin its a different experiance than tabletop but you get more story line and writing done


----------



## thepaladin (Oct 15, 2009)

Thinking of forming a new group here. i've already got interest from 5 to 7 players...may be too many have to watch that. Never played edition 4, have to go over it and get all the "newness" down and tweek it so i can use my own world.


----------

