Has Hasbro Broken D&D for you? Let's suggest other systems for people to try!

[Lazer]

With the whole 'Wizards of the Coast attempting to gouge their player-base' thing going on, it seems to me that there will be quite a few people out there casting about for alternate systems, and so I thought it would be a good idea to provide some recommendations in one place so that those people could pick and choose what suits them best. I know there are a few other threads around (particularly HotsuSama's dream RPG thread) which have a similar idea, but I thought gearing this more towards people who have perhaps only ever played DnD5e and are only taking tentative steps out into the wider torrent of TTRPGs could be helpful.

So what systems do you like? What distinguishes them from other systems and, most importantly, how are they different from/similar to DnD5e?

Disclaimer I should also stress right here for those worrying about it; DnD5e is not going anywhere and can still be played indefinitely, no matter what Wizards of the Coast/Hasbro do with their licensing agreement. We have all bought the books and nobody is going to take them away from us. The problem is more in the way that the company plans to release future materials (including their upcoming One DnD system) and cut out third-party creators.

Originally Posted by Retry

I've quickly compiled most of the suggested systems for ease of discovery. I attempted to grab a landing page, if any, via searching and fell back on the DrivethruRPG page for the game if I couldn't find one.
Admittedly, I didn't give too much effort into finding landing pages because I don't want to lose too much time when I owe games posts

[Ladytron]

Play some OWoD / NWoD, much better

What about the Modiphius 2d20 system (Conan, Star Trek, Fallout, some others)? It's fun.

Cypher is OK and can re-create pretty much anything you put your mind to.

[Retry]

It really depends on the player and what they enjoy about 5e if they've never tried anything else.
Personally, I enjoy narrative over number crunching. So systems like Forged in the DarkFitD, Powered by the ApocalypsePbtA, and Cypher/Numenera fit my bill. Genesys can be tacked on as well there - however the custom dice tend to be a deal-breaker for many (psst, there is a discord bot to solve that problem!).

These system have been steadily gaining some traction (pbta especially) due to their often simplistic rulesets that allow more narrative freedom to the player. The trade-off is commonly a increased amount of back-and-forward between the group on how actions will shift the scene currently and going forward. This might be difficult for some to pull of in a pbp environment.

[orcbane]

Defiant is a really inventive game where you play god-like beings protecting your own little corner of society from the apocalypse while lavishing in night clubs and extravagant penthouses. Think the setting for the TV show Lucifer (sans the police procedural) with a touch of Queen of Darkness, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and the politicking of Game of Thrones.


Heart: The City Beneath may feel like a D&D-esque dungeon-crawler, but the big difference is that your characters are doomed to failure. They will never escape the dungeon with the treasure or their lives. But, that is built into the mechanics and fun-of-play component. That doom becomes a goal for the players, partially because their characters' demise unlocks the ability to use the coolest toys they have. It's a wild ride and a sequel to the equally morose Spire: The City Must Fall. It's a fairly lightweight system with unique classes and a quick action-resolution mechanic.


If you're looking for a crunchy game that plays like D&D, makes more in-game sense than D&D, and has equally confusing and arcane rules that are entirely different than D&D's, then I'd encourage you to try Earthdawn. This was FASA's fantasy game that came out alongside their cyberpunk offering Shadowrun. Earthdawn uses what was then an innovative step system of increasing dice values and focused on blurring the line between the game world and game rules. For example, your mechanical character level is also your in-game character level. If it says 3rd Circle Elementalist on your character sheet, your character would likely be known as a 3rd Circle Elementalist to their colleagues. The world is dotted with caverns full of treasure and monsters. This is because of events that transpired in the game-world's history. It's all integrated. The rules aren't easy, but the game can be quite rewarding and the book is a beauty (especially the first and third editions).

[Kaigen]

Originally Posted by Retry

It really depends on the player and what they enjoy about 5e if they've never tried anything else.
Personally, I enjoy narrative over number crunching. So systems like Forged in the DarkFitD, Powered by the ApocalypsePbtA, and Cypher/Numenera fit my bill. Genesys can be tacked on as well there - however the custom dice tend to be a deal-breaker for many (psst, there is a discord bot to solve that problem!).

These system have been steadily gaining some traction (pbta especially) due to their often simplistic rulesets that allow more narrative freedom to the player. The trade-off is commonly a increased amount of back-and-forward between the group on how actions will shift the scene currently and going forward. This might be difficult for some to pull of in a pbp environment.

I'll second this. As D&D started feeling stale for me and I cast about looking for more narrative systems, games like Fantasy Flight Games' Star Wars (Genesys), Mouse Guard, Cypher, and various PbtA (especially Masks and Thirsty Sword Lesbians) have really caught my attention. The need for back-and-forth is a feature, rather than a drawback, for me, because I often find myself alienated by PbP groups that plug out posts in isolation and never talk OOC.

That said, if what you like is a bit of tactical crunch, then you owe it to yourself to check out Pathfinder Second Edition. There are three areas where it particularly excels over D&D in my opinion: The three action combat turn, which allows for variation and flexibility in combat; adventure writing, with multiple adventure paths spanning the full sweep of levels (which actually play well across the board, unlike D&D); and world-building. If WotC's neglect of setting and lore in recent years has frustrated with you, then check out some of the Lost Omens world books.

[Ladytron]

Originally Posted by orcbane

If you're looking for a crunchy game that plays like D&D, makes more in-game sense than D&D, and has equally confusing and arcane rules that are entirely different than D&D's, then I'd encourage you to try Earthdawn.

I've GMed this a bunch in RL, it's a good system and setting; I fully recommend this game but it will have a learning curve if you're not used to it. It's a fair bit different from D&D though in both setting and mechanics (I think better in both), which people will either love or hate.

[Inuvash255]

D&D has been grating on me for a bit.

There's mechanical issues that I have with the game. It feels hard to balance for, and there aren't enough 1st-party DM aids out there for the game I (used to) like to run, which was basically vanilla+ D&D, with minimal homebrew.

I tried a bit of the OD&D playtest with one group, but between... my players not liking some of the new changes in the playtest... the absolute flop of Spelljammer... and me kinda burning out on kitchen-sink fantasy... I dumped that campaign in favor of a M+M2e campaign, merging Savage Worlds' East Texas University setting and the world of My Hero Academia.

My last remaining D&D5e game is a monthly affair; back to low levels where I've tilted the gameplay towards solving a multi-stage mystery (see: The Alexandrian's 5 Node Mystery) and mini-megadungeon exploration (literally all the dungeons I've been making are physically linked). We had our first session earlier in the month, and there was lots of exploration, puzzle-solving, roleplay, and investigation - just one combat, and it wasn't a slog.

All this to say, once a month is all I really want to do with D&D right now.

As for my other games:

On VTT, I've been running Cyberpunk Red (quite good), and that Mutants and Masterminds 2e game (got a huge bundle of pretty much everything on the cheap, though the system is definitely showing its age).

I've done 1/2 offs with MORK BORG and CY_BORG, both are quite good.

I've also been a player in two Discord-based Star Wars Edge of the Empire / Age of Rebellion games. Very fun systems!

It's hard to say which of these games would translate well to PbP though. Of them, The 'Borg games might be easiest. I've been mulling over starting a game using one of those two myself.

[FCastor]

Let me see...

So, the vast majority of my PbP gaming for several years involved Pathfinder (well, Pathfinder 1st Edition) over at the Paizo forums. I did eventually need a break, which lasted more or less until I came here (I had first discovered RPG Crossing some time ago, but had not actually played). Admittedly, I very much liked Pathfinder 1E, especially since I really liked D&D 3.5 as well. I liked the sheer plethora of options and builds and all the mechanical stuff, though I did generally avoid min-maxing and such. At some point though the system started feeling a bit too bloated for my taste, so I kinda sorta took the aforementioned break from it. And it was near that break and my being a bit tired from PF1e that Pathfinder 2nd Edition came out. Thus, I did not really look too much into it. However, the current... ahem... kerfuffle has made me take a second better look at it. And I rather like what I am seeing quite a bit. I especially find the multiclassing -or lack thereof... in a way- pretty interesting. And the consensus from GMs and players does seem to be that it is a system which is nigh impossible to break (which may be a good thing or a bad thing depending who you ask, I guess). Now, if only I could find a game to give it a try...

As for another system I can suggest, the Fantasy Flight Games Star Wars Roleplaying Game comes to mind. I have only dabbled in it, but I like several aspects of it, the talent trees and the dice mechanics being two among them.

[jr1v3]

Originally Posted by Kaigen

I'll second this. As D&D started feeling stale for me and I cast about looking for more narrative systems, games like Fantasy Flight Games' Star Wars (Genesys), Mouse Guard, Cypher, and various PbtA (especially Masks and Thirsty Sword Lesbians) have really caught my attention. The need for back-and-forth is a feature, rather than a drawback, for me, because I often find myself alienated by PbP groups that plug out posts in isolation and never talk OOC.

That said, if what you like is a bit of tactical crunch, then you owe it to yourself to check out Pathfinder Second Edition. There are three areas where it particularly excels over D&D in my opinion: The three action combat turn, which allows for variation and flexibility in combat; adventure writing, with multiple adventure paths spanning the full sweep of levels (which actually play well across the board, unlike D&D); and world-building. If WotC's neglect of setting and lore in recent years has frustrated with you, then check out some of the Lost Omens world books.

HEY! I tried mouse guard and I loved. Sadly the group I was playing with died fast because IRL but I loved the system and the roleplay that let you do!

ABout the Other systems, I have seen many people trying Pathfinder 2e to replace D&D5e. The have some similarities but I found the character building a bit overwhelming for the a lot of options you have! :P

[Ladytron]

Originally Posted by jr1v3

HEY! I tried mouse guard and I loved.

I have never played mouse guard and have always wanted to try it

[ShadowcatX]

Deviant is a new world of darkness game, based around people being turned into basically minor (or not so minor, it has rules for varying power levels) super heroes. The super powers are tied to flaws all Deviants possess. It's also a NWoD line, so it's compatible with other NWoD products.

[Birched]

A ton of people on the site have copies of the Fragged Kingdom game and expansions from this year's and past RPG Crossing charity drives. I'm guessing some people on site have a LOT of content for it. Any of you tried playing it here?

This year was pretty D&D 5E heavy, but in previous years I've given away a fair amount of 3PP content. Check out the Orcs Unlimited games that have been in the mix every year for a bit of quick fun. Last year we also gave away some Champions Complete, Wanderhome, Masks, Runequest.... I know you some of you folks are sitting on piles of games to try.

[Saratek]

I can attest and confirm that if you took part in previous years' charity drives, you will have ended up with a plethora of 3rd Party Content/Systems.

[Unko Talok]

Yeah, to the extent that I have much interest in TTRPGs at all anymore, I've been trending towards lighter systems. Hasbro's / WotC's behavior is just the cherry on top.

Highly recommend SIGMATA: This Signal Kills Fascists and Brinkwood: The Blood of Tyrants. Many others have already been mentioned in here, though, like Mork Borg and Thirsty Sword Lesbians.

[Demandredd]

I feel like crying.... What's happened with WotC has left a bad taste in my mouth, but I also can't throw away the hundreds of pounds I've spent on 5e material. So although I'm going to continue with 5e in the short term, longer term then yes I'd like to look at alternative systems.

The question I would like to throw out there is which systems do people feel are most suited to PbP play, since this is pretty much my primary and only form of role-playing? Things to consider would be which systems streamline combat to such an extent that running them in PbP format can be done without having to mess about with the rules too much to get them to fit, or alternatively place the focus more on the narrative rather than the dice-rolling?