My Top Ten TTRPGs

Happy 2026. Dusting off the old blog and dropping one that a lot of Dungeon Tubers are doing. In spite of being a Caucasian Male TTRPG player over the age of 50, I have yet to set up a Dungeon Tube of my own, so I'm dropping it here. For my dozen or so I hope you are all doing well. I can't believe I had over a hundred views on the last Astroprisma one. I haven't played it in a while now, but it remains a fun game that I enjoyed and it makes the list.

10. Deadlands (Pinnacle Entertainment Group): This one is weird west setting and a lot of fun. Unfortunately, I didn't play it enough for it to go any further up the chain. I remember a few characters I ran--"Stone Cold" Ken Masters who was me doing a piss-poor Steve Austin getting blown away by a rifleman is very memorable and there was a gambler I played at a convention one time when I lived out in the UAE--for me the best mechanic was using the poker cards. I never tried the D20 or Savage Worlds version, so I can't speak to those but the original was fun.

09. Vampire: The Masquerade (White Wolf): For a time there in the 90's, this was the go to. My group played in a lot of the old World of Darkness and the various supplements. Dice pool system, but it felt like an easy one compared to some of the things I've encountered today. I still have the first edition of the core rule book and may revisit it someday. 08. Heroes Unlimited (Palladium): It's a super hero game with the Palladium engine. I also had plenty of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the various supplements. I remember reading the books like crazy and playing a few games in high school and as a recent graduate, but not enough to place it any higher on the list. Nowadays when I want rules light and just can't keep up with what characters can do even in 5th edition, I just don't think Palladium books can make the cut. 07.Marvel Super Heroes (TSR): You know and love FASERIP. This is the main supers game we played at a time in my life when Marvel was doing now wrong. I recently re-acquired them and hope to play again soon. My Mandela Effect affected brain doesn't remember if I started with this or with some half-hearted attempt at D&D, but as I remember it today, this is what started me on the journey. 06. Ryuutama:Natural Fantasy RPG (Kotodama Heavy Industries): For quite some time this was the number one RPG in Japan. It was billed as "Miyazaki meets The Oregon Trail" and that pretty much covers it. Two unique elements to this game: 1. Travel is the focus 2. The GM has his own character--a dragon called a Ryuujin. It grows along along with the players and tries to help them succeed. It's very rules light and a lot of fun. (I put two newer games on my list which may prove to be usurpers as time goes on. I used to proselytize for Ryuutama all the time. It's a really light-hearted fun game worth a shot. I'm sure it would be a great one to solo) 05.Cyberpunk 2020 (R. Talsorian Games) I don't want to separate things by edition too much, but RED--the current edition--could be up here in about the same spot. RED is a little easier to learn as I understand, but I really haven't played or run it, so 2020 it is. A lot of fun to be had here and I have both played and run online. The setting is what makes this game for me. Everyone should watch Edgerunners if they haven't. 04.Astroprisma (Crescent Chimera) another new one which is kind of a sister game to Shadow Dark in my mind. It has a similar creation backstory and creator--another young woman who jumped on the shoulders of giants and surpassed them streamlining some of the tedium of games that came before. It was a successful Kickstarter...it just didn't quite break the bank like Shadow Dark did. This is Sci-Fi space exploration geared for solo play with later expansion for groups to play together. Build a ship, explore a sector and get into trouble with various factions in the dystopian future. 03. The Roleplaying Game of the Planet of the Apes (Magnetic Press/West End): I love the ruleset, the supplements and the setting. This is a new one and I haven't been able to run one for the group. This is a variant of the D6 West End games like Star Wars. It looks so good and I'm working on my campaign/one shot planning now. The little solo part in the book was more like a Choose Your Own Adventure, but a more complex Solo expansion is on the way. 02. Shadow Dark (Arcane Library): I've run this a few times. I haven't quite gotten a continuous campaign out of it, but it's fun to read, has interesting art, and is supported by a growing community. Everyone in the Dungeon Tube audience has to know about it unless they've been living under a rock. 01. D&D 5E (WOTC 2014): Unpopular opinion in these circles, but for better or for worse, I've played it more than anything else. The mechanics are solid and easy enough for anyone to play who has an interest. I prefer Shadow Dark. I honestly had more fun with 4E and I grew up with 2E and played in a cool OSRIC campaign just before Wuhan Flu, but at the end of the day, I've played more 5E with more people in person and online than I've ever played in any of the other games over the previous 40-ish years of playing. It comes down to who is running the game and who you're playing with as far as the cringy/woke bits are concerned and the 2024 update is a bridge too far, but this version has been the most popular for a reason.

Take care...hopefully, I won't make it a complete ghost town in here in 2026..Also, Happy Year of the Horse...CNY is on the way you know!

RPG a Day 2023: The 10th Anniversary Edition--Day 27 & 28 New Edition Wishes and The Scariest Game

08/27 I skipped yesterday because I have nothing to say on the matter except there are too many games and too many editions of existing games already. I think even WOTC is realizing this and apparently is only revising 5E from now on rather than going full 6E. If a new edition of a game was truly innovative or if the previous edition of a game was truly broken, then maybe a new edition would feel warranted,  but most of the time edition updates feel like money grabs.  Supporting games with supplemental materials or updating an out of print game would be worth while. 

08/28 I've never played a TTRPG that truly had me scared. I enjoy Ravenloft setting and other horror scenarios, but nothing has left me feeling fear. The closest thing to it was years ago when the first Resident Evil came out and the dogs break through the window. Back then it really sucked me in. Today it just sucks. It's clunky, moves slow and  looks like crap. It was a different time. I recently backed a fun game supplement called 'Grizelda's Cursed Curiosities' by Scoundrel Game Labs. It's for 5E but for my purposes I run it using Shadowdark rules instead. It reminds me of the old  Friday the 13th TV show. This system features a special gimmick called a haunt. I'll copy and paste an excerpt from the free pdf below.  The KS is over, but you can still preorder the supplement or it's prequel. It still didn't scare me but it's creepy and fun.

APPENDIX A: HAUNT RULES

Haunts are visceral scenarios where adventurers are trapped in a dangerous location plagued by supernatural phenomena. To escape the haunt,

adventurers must neutralize the dark energy or exorcise whatever curse, spirit, or phenomenon they are actively fighting against. This is done by making use of diverse skills and abilities, giving each adventurer a potential path to victory. Since haunts make use of the initiative system, they

serve not only as potential encounters but also as exciting arenas for other combat. Combining haunts with various monsters or even other haunts can create an exciting, thematic, and fresh experience for any table.

RPG a Day 2023: The 10th Anniversary Edition--Day 26 Favorite Character Sheet

This year I think Shadowdark has won me over as far as my responses go. It may be flavor of the month ultimately if some new, new hotness--as the kids say--comes along. Today, it is the most refined and streamlined version of D&D 5E that you can get. It's simple and effective. It also allows me to paraphrase the old English teacher's joke about essays--

How long should a "character sheet" be? 

It should be like a lady's skirt, long enough to cover everything, but short enough to keep things interesting. 

For a level 1 character, this is it. Maybe the talents/spells might expand by level 10--I would probably use cards of some kind for spells--but one sheet with everything in front of you is all that is needed. The gear is always going to be limited and there really isn't a 'bag of holding' type thing using Shadowdark RAW. I've really gone into K.I.S.S. mode for now, if a character sheet can be short and sweet like this  one, it should speed up the process of players--and GMs for that matter, when they decide what to do. 

This picture is based on the original Shadowdark character sheet and was generated at

 https://shadowdarklings.net/

At the time of this entry, the only drawback I have is that nobody has put one on Roll*20 yet.  

RPG a Day 2023: The 10th Anniversary Edition--Day 24 Complex/Simple RPG that you play

The most complex game that I play has to be Cyberpunk:2020. I can't see myself taking on any more complex games than this. Playing the role of a Netrunner and running games based on the net is far more complex than it ever needs to be. I ran a network takedown RAW successfully one time. The Runner and I enjoyed it but the rest had to be bored out of their wits. I'd cut back to them once in a while, but the main game was just myself and either one or two other players--can't remember how many runners were in that group. After that, I made a rule that Netrunners would be NPC only unless a player wanted a one on one session. 

I call the new Shadowdark game the best simple game I've played. I realize it's the newest internet darling, but I'm really digging it. I've also played/run these rules light games: Index Card RPG, Ryuutama, and EZ D6. I've liked them all at various points, but the magic system, magic user class or Cleric/Priest class always tends to go against the simplicity inherent in the rest of the system. With Shadowdark--at least so far--the magic system is easy and yet the game feels at least as robust as 5E. Simply classifying the spells at various tiers rather than levels does wonders to help new players that always wonder why a level 4 character doesn't cast level 4 spells. The rest of the system is quite streamlined too. Rolling to cast makes sense, but in other systems that use the same mechanic the misses seem to pile up--I know other classes miss their attack also, but when a spell fizzles it just seems like a true wasted turn. Shadowdark has the feature of base difficulty 10 plus the spell's tier.  A tier one spell then is a DC 11 for the magic user. They can cast again and again on their turn until they miss that DC. No slots, no shifting things around. If they do miss, then they forget the spell until there is a rest. If they fumble it--it's off to the mishap table. Very simple fun and effective. 

I used to like playing complex games, but as I've gotten older rules light is the only way to go for me. 

RPG a Day 2023: The 10th Anniversary Edition--Day 18 Favorite Game System

 I'm afraid overall I have to go with Dungeons and Dragons 5E. The controversies with WotC are well documented. I don't like the company. I don't like the way they address their legacy products. I don't like the tone or "feel" of the 5E product. I don't like the direction that they are headed in terms of digital/monetization of the game nor their real-life politics. The charities they support IRL alone have turned me off to ever giving them a dime's worth of further support. All that said, it's an easy game to get into and to learn. It's easy to find players. It's not too difficult and yet not too easy. The truth is that I choose to play variants that use 5E as the engine more so than playing 5E RAW. Currently, I'm loving Shadowdark as the new sweetheart game, but prior to this I was using Hardcore mode from Runehammer. I also run oldskool TSR modules using 5E conversion to keep the tone at least a little less lighthearted and traditional. True enough the games I'm currently playing in and running have become gonzo as all get out, but when I have my druthers I'd choose to go a bit more classic feel, but it's completely possible--and even preferable to me--to use 5E or one of its derivatives to do it.