it’s been a few years and a lot of stuff has come out— what are y’all’s favorite non-dnd/pathfinder fantasy game systems? Preferably systems that have a similar mechanic structure / can support spell casting and combat (so not too rules lite) but hopefully also aren’t too complicated to learn? - ThreadSky

naladraws.com • 8 days ago

it’s been a few years and a lot of stuff has come out— what are y’all’s favorite non-dnd/pathfinder fantasy game systems?

Preferably systems that have a similar mechanic structure / can support spell casting and combat (so not too rules lite) but hopefully also aren’t too complicated to learn?

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ieatmycerealdry.bsky.social•8 days ago

onlyplaywizards.com•4 days ago

AGE by @greenroninpub.bsky.social
DCCRPG by @goodmangames.bsky.social

ttrpg-traveller.bsky.social•3 days ago

A couple I haven’t seen listed that are coming out that I’ve had a blast playing in playtests/beta that are D&D parallel: Legend in the Mist, Cosmere RPG, Break!!

arrowstormen.bsky.social•8 days ago

If I had to play a crunchy game on a grid, I'd probably try Draw Steel. If I wanted to play a more narrative game, I'd give Grimwild a whirl.

caelreader.bsky.social•4 days ago

Daggerheart is all the stuff I want out of D&D but faster and easier with more narrative and fluid mechanics.

dodobornepod.bsky.social•3 days ago

🙌🙌🙌

naladraws.com•4 days ago

Is it out yet? :0

caelreader.bsky.social•4 days ago

Not quite, full release in May, but I ran the playtest version and had a blast

solararray.bsky.social•4 days ago

His Majesty The Worm is incredible!

starocotes.bsky.social•2 days ago

Non-Pathfinder like in 1. Edition or general?

And I have have to agree with the #Daggerheart recommendation

sebastianyue.bsky.social•8 days ago

Genesys! It uses unique dice and it has talent trees so is highly customisable. I’d say it’s a similar level of crunch to D&D. I’m happy to answer questions about the system as I’ve been playing it on an AP podcast for a couple of years now!

markcsigs.bsky.social•6 days ago

So many good ones! But for me, Shadowdark is head of the class.

smartone.bsky.social•3 days ago

I love DCC RPG, and we’re about to start a Shadow of the Weird Wizard game. Otherwise, I’m a fan of old school retroclones like OSR, Hyperborea, etc. I’m also intrigued by Cairn.

nomadllama.bsky.social•8 days ago

Running Against the Darkmaster right now and that game is a hoot. Tons of tables and d100 rolls.

Shadow of the Demon Lord/Shadow of the Weird Wizard are great if you don't want to get too far from a d20 system and want to get a little grim dark.

katakemi.bsky.social•8 days ago

Fate Core is what I have been testing lately, because our group loooves heavy rp! It is a fun mix and really encourages that side of the game. So more describing kind of style in combat with simple set of dice

commanderpulsar.bsky.social•3 days ago

Fate does d&d style games so well! I've run an Eberron game with Fate Accelerated & it went very well.

tezrak.bsky.social•8 days ago

https://craighatler.itch.io/

I might be biased though.

Apart from my own, I'd argue Dungeon World, though it's getting a 12-year facelift soon and has been improved upon in other games such as Chasing Adventure.

chaphall.bsky.social•3 days ago

Will always love Old School Essentials, but a massive shoutout to Kevin Crawford’s Worlds Without Number. Its greatest strengths are its incredibly robust gm tools, some of the best I’ve ever used. Also I am incredibly excited for Draw Steel but that technically hasn’t officially come out yet.

kaybeangel.bsky.social•3 days ago

I've been running a Worlds Without Number campaign for the first time, for the last few months, and I wanna second this. It's a great system with a lot of really interesting GM tools. I haven't used them all yet but I've read through them and can see how I will in time.

chaosos.bsky.social•4 days ago

Draw Steel! Not quite out yet but it's really hitting all my favorite things

texaspoet.bsky.social•7 days ago

Dragonbane. Shadowdark.

unicyclegames.bsky.social•8 days ago

At the risk of tooting our own horn on a non-promo post (will delete if a party foul) but we have a fantasy PbtA game that supports both combat and casting, with a sandbox approach to creating your own settings so the fantasy vibes can be whatever you like. Focus is on the journey and fellowship.

alexrinehart.bsky.social•8 days ago

My favorite D&D clone is 13th Age! Each of the classes has a distinct vibe (fighters have tricks on certain die rolls, like disarm on a 16). It streamlines skills, and takes a lot of lessons from 3.5 and 4e. Plus the monsters all have goals and exploits!

waderockett.bsky.social•7 days ago

Same! 13th Age is phenomenal, both from a player and GM standpoint. As a GM I love the ease of building battles and running monsters, the PC-focused storytelling mechanics, the Escalation Die that keeps combat from dragging, and the Big Damn Heroes approach to player characters. Plus DIY monsters!

ennn.bsky.social•3 days ago

This is THE question. I hope to find my answer within the next couple years - hopefully without spending too much time, energy, and money.

imhal.bsky.social•6 days ago

Shadowdark, Dragonbane and Dungeon Crawl Classics. All easy to learn, dynamic and roll to cast for magic.

xiombarg.bsky.social•3 days ago

Cairn 1e is a great choice, and free. Another excellent choice is Weird North.

aleshakills.bsky.social•8 days ago

I haven't actually been able to play it yet, but I've wanted to try out Quest for a while now.

wolfgangbaur.bsky.social•4 days ago

Tales of the Valiant from @koboldpress.com does why 5E does, but with a great Luck system and major improvements to ritual casting etc.

koboldpress.com•2 days ago

vouch

naladraws.com•2 days ago

is TotV out yet? :0

richardrdotson.bsky.social•2 days ago

Yes

trebormills.bsky.social•3 days ago

There are lots of OSR games, including my own Greymarsh. But for less DnDish systems try;

Tunnels and Trolls
The One Ring
Sanction (with a genre setup)
Runequest/Mythras
Questworlds
Pendragon
Harnmaster
Dying Earth
Dragonbane
Daggerheart

abekin.bsky.social•3 days ago

Dragonbane! It's heroic fantasy with tactical combat. It's classless and thanks to being roll under, you'll never have to figure out a DC. Monsters have a table of moves to keep them exciting.

thatgamerajax.bsky.social•4 days ago

At the moment, Fantasy Age 2e has been my favorite. It has a lot of what I want and I feel like it could be easy to adapt as needed, while not being too fundamentally different than D&D/Pathfinder

felischaotica.bsky.social•3 days ago

Shadowdark is a perfect mix of a streamlined system that does not sacrifice the fantasy vibes I crave

commanderpulsar.bsky.social•3 days ago

Swords of the Serpentine from Pelgrane Press is my favorite. Magic feels big & consequential, players have a lot of authority to describe their actions & contribute to the world. The built in setting is one of the best I've ever seen, but it's flexible enough to homebrew a world, too.

commanderpulsar.bsky.social•3 days ago

I like that it uses the same system for Mental & Social conflict as for Physical. A courtier with Sway can be just as deadly in a ballroom as a Warrior on the battlefield. Or can be intimidating on the battlefield, too.
“Did you see my friend kill those guys? Surrender & I’ll put in a good word.”

nightnoongames.bsky.social•6 days ago

Shadowdark, all day, everyday.

There is a free quickstart to go from levels 1 though 3 with a radical dungeon included!

https://www.thearcanelibrary.com/collections/shadowdark-rpg/products/shadowdark-rpg-quickstart-set-pdf

meaningofnight.bsky.social•8 days ago

I’ve been playing a bunch of the Daggerheart open beta rules (officially coming out late May) and really loving it! Has been easy to teach people coming from D&D but is also more narrative/flavor focused.

davepaters.bsky.social•3 days ago

Beyond the Wall is a huge recommendation. D&D adjacent and superb generation and crew mechanics.
Simply wonderful.

brianbloodaxe.bsky.social•3 days ago

Beyond the Wall is a perfect suggestion for a D&D alternative. It's has all the things people play D&D for (fantasy adventure, magic, combat, character options, zero-to-hero coming of age stories...) but it's like a tenth the word count.

davepaters.bsky.social•3 days ago

I have found it's also a brilliant game for moving straight from session zero to play - everyone becomes invested in the creation of the group and even scenarios. I absolutely love it.

brianbloodaxe.bsky.social•3 days ago

Full agreement. It's like a magic trick how it creates a world the players care about.

profmurder.bsky.social•3 days ago

Warhammer Fantasy way back holds a special place in my heart.

orchidrabbit.bsky.social•8 days ago

fantasy AGE is my go to, theres only 4 classes but you customize them with individual specialties (kind of like subclasses, but theyre not always restricted to certain classes) and spellcasters pick the arcana(s) they specialize in, which could be like fire or ice but also fate and death.

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