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Rolemaster, Basic RolePlaying and GURPS. Nothing comes even close to the trifecta.

The OGL thing was stupid. In January 2023, a big wave of nostalgia hit me. I reread my BX (Moldvay) books, bought OSE (+Advanced OSE) and did a solo campaign with five characters. They went from level 1 to level 4. While it was interesting to revisit the first RPG I played, I made so many changes to the rules that I stopped playing. I can't play old-school D&D. I'm okay with that. The memories of my 80s sessions are what matters, not the actual rules. Then, Dragonbane arrived at my door and the nostalgia disappeared.

Yes to Pendragon content! I've always had a soft spot for the Basic Roleplay powered rules sets, specifically Stormbringer (Moorcock Elric fantasy), Elfquest (Wendy and Richard Pini's excellent comics), and Pendragon. Surprisingly, never got into Runequest or Call of Cthulhu. Last Origins, I picked up Chaosium's Rivers of London based BRP game. In any case, def. give us some Pendragon stuff!

....why do you pronounce Ronin: Roneeen?? 😂

That's a fantastic countdown! So many awesome games and I'm inspired by your enthusiasm!

BUY A TEE-SHIRT!!!! They are great! 5e... made the list XD I am glad to see DragonBane in here. My kids loved the startbox!

You really have to check Tales of Argosa . It’s like Dragonbane but with more options for PC + having the best things from DCC.

There seems to be a consensus that Old School Essentials is THE old school game to beat. Basic Fantasy, OSE, White Box Fantasy Medieval Adventure Game, and Olde Swords Reign are all good games with free rulebooks. OSE does have paid rulebooks as well with more stuff in them, but those free PDFs seem to be the games of choice.

Played and loved this RPG when it first came out. Love the sci-fi setting inspired by Jack Vance's Dying Earth and Gene Wolf's Book of the Sun. Sold my books because no one wanted to continue playing. Big mistake. I want to try it again but this time solo.

Fantasy AGE is my second favourite RPG system for solitary play because the stunt system makes combat unpredictable. I would add that Mages can cast spells in armour but they have to pay a magic point tax, which is cool.

I've played 6 games on your list. Dragonbane is at the top of my list. I play it solo and it is fast. Card-based activation is perfect for solitary play.

I was hoping # 1 would be heroquest .

Very exciting! I have played 2 non-D&D on your list. Shadowdark (GM) and Dragonbane (PC). Shadowdark has become our substitute system for when the group fails to get everyone together. But I'm about to embark on an extended adventure with Dragonbane alongside some of my regular players. And I may run an adventure myself. I mean, you get to play a Mallard! C'mon! Suggestions: If you like Dragonbane then you are already familiar with the system, might I suggest Vaesen. Also by Free League. I also quite enjoy Shadow of the Demon Lord. A nice mix of tactical, old school and modern mechanics with a cool magic system and combat mechanics.

Fun video. Thanks.

I can't understand western sensitivity. Have black/white/purple/orange skinned cannibals with earrings/laser eyes/kitten paws or whatever you wish. People shouldn't be looking forward to find a way to get offended. As someone living in middle east, I am okay with Orientalism, I don't get offended at the drop of a heat. West should also learn not to get offended in others stead. We are not porcelain dolls.

Dragonbane, EZd6 and ICRPG!!! What about DCC????? Thought that would be up there as well. Great video.

Mausritter and Worlds Without Number have been mine for a spell. Looking into Knave 2e now.

I cannot recommend Knave 2e enough. BRP is amazing. SWADE is great!

I have run Dragonbane, and it's fun.

I'm the same with D&D 5E. The whole system does a lot of things that don't go together with my style of storytelling. Thank you for those short glimpses! I'm always curious about new RPGs!

Savage Words. Gumshoe, and Fate Core or Fate Accelerated are my top picks. The first is gonzo fun. The second clarifies how investigative games should be run and still be fun. And the third is the only game on both our list that represents a revolution in game theory and design.

Need DC20 in this mix to make it a complete list.

You should really try Monster of the Week, you should try a PBTA game and this is the most accessible and probably the most played.

I just recently discovered Warlock Traitors Edition as well as Warpstar. I haven't had the chance to play them yet, but I like the rules that I have read for them.

What a wonderful list! ❤Six of your ten favorite games are also high on my list. One can see that you like games that are fast on the table. I am currently playing EZD6 with friends, and it is indeed very fast, flexible, and exciting. I can really recommend the "EZD6 Quests" book. It provides three times six adventures that can be played separately or as campaigns. Reading an adventure maximally takes about twenty minutes, and you are ready to go as a Rabble Rouser. Another system I am just discovering that could be to your liking is "Crown & Skull", also by Runehammer. It has quite a different approach with characters only having skills and equipment. Damage is called "Attrition", and makes both your skills and your equipment unusable. Characters are easily customisable with an easy point buy system, so are magic spells.

1e AD&D is where the DM plans 5 rooms that no matter what the players choose. They always wind up picking all of them and attempt escaping being murdered in. The players will naturally be cautious, and implement stalling. Meanwhile, the DM may not need to dream up 5 new ones every session. Time and money is what players need, and never have enough.

Have you ever tried Pendragon?

Enjoyed this, great countdown. You seem to prefer the more traditional game ruleset and a strong preference for fantasy settings, apart from the mention of using ICRPG for a sci-fi game. Do you prefer the fantasy genre in other media too?

Finally someone who understands the power of Numenera.

I'm happy to see Dragonbane at the top of the list! It's not my cup of tea, but I still want it to do really well. Out of the games you listed, Symbaroum is my favorite.

If you love roll under mechanics you have to try out Crown and Skull, also by Runehammer!

You had me at "5e just is not for me."

Dragonbane is sooo good. Currently our #1 game, too.

You must be retired to have time to play all those games

Nice list. I'm currently running a Shadowdark campaign and playing in a Dragonbane campaign. So yeah, I agree with your take.

Yeah! Numenera and the Cypher System! I have to agree, the ease on learning the system, coming up with things on the fly for the GM; it really does just work! And while there's alot of mechanics that can be added, its all optional! And even the Cypher Whitebooks added mechanics can be pluged into a Published Setting for Cypher... As you said, Its basic rules are simple... Everything else is optional! Great video!

Another Plus of Basic Fantasy 4th ed is the large amount of Modules that are ready to play. 'JN1 Chaotic Caves' is homage to 'Keep on the Borderlands'. AND its all free to download and try. A great B/X system. The community is very active.

I LOVE ICRPG, but Master Edition being a mashup of products needs MORE EDITING. Once you realize this, it reads a bit easier, and explains a lot of inconsistencies. But once you add a few more addons, it all becomes a pile of stuff. Make or get a DM screen(or cards), and enjoy the happy mess.

Thanks Wes. Nice look at a TON of different fantasy systems. Is that also your favorite genre to run?

I’d like to play Shadowdark, my brothers have enjoyed what they’ve played. I look forward to playing more C$C too, you describe well very pithily.

You need to run Ironbound.. so that it can make it on the list in 2025

Interesting games on here! I just started playing TTRPGs a little over 2 months ago. So far Ker Nethalas is the only game I've played, and I love it. Great solo dark fantasy dungeon crawler. I just picked up the box set of Forbidden Lands and I love how dark and dangerous it is! Just created my characters for solo play yesterday and very excited to jump in! Symbaroum also looks right up my alley! Not sure how difficult it would be to run solo or what books I would need beyond the core ruleset, tho.

Dragonbane no1, that is interesting! I just bought dragonbane quick start set and got hooked by the rules. It was simple, well organized and I had many rules that I didn't see in D&D. It felt refreshing and also easy to understand in a d20 game. I bought the box set and the beastiary because the system looks really good and original, the art is gorgeous. The solo rules got me intrigue since I play solo to learn the mechanics and explore the game systems. The solo rules are really well done compared to other solo rules. The game also has a campaign, and original tables to generate adventures. Really well done.

How about OSE or Hyperborea? I really enjoyed the reviews!

My preference is Pathfinder 1e. I really like Legends of the Five Rings roll and keep system, 3e and 4e under AEG were fine by me.

Roll under sucks. Glad it is relegated to the trashbin of history. The world isn't 90% possible for people with "18's" on their stat sheet. Plus it is just dumb to have 20 mean something great one roll and something bad the next. Flush them all, IMO. I do treasure BFRPG, ICRPG, and EZd6.

Despite the reduction in placement, I was happy to hear your comments on BFRPG. And I get it, experimentation is fun... I did some, back in college... ... no, not like that ... dang ...

Excited for Pendragon. I'm a huge Basic Roleplaying fan, which I'm sure I've mentioned before. That definitely set me up to like Dragonbane. Glad to finally have the box set for that. Now...players? Maybe one day. Still hoping to pick up Numenera one of these days. But it's a little lower on my list right now. I enjoyed playing it and would love to get back to it. I'm less into a lot of the other stuff that's been coming out for the Cypher system, but not everything has to be for me. I'm sure it's for someone, and that's great. I need to play Index Card RPG sometime. It didn't click with me while reading it, but I suspect it'll make more sense at the table. I've only managed to run a one shot of Call of Cthulhu and of Dungeon Crawl Classics this year, sadly. I was trying to get a regular DCC game going, but couldn't get enough people who were interested and could actually show up, on the same day, at the same time, for more than a week in a row. I played a little Alien and Tales from the Loop last year, and those were great. Still enjoying playing in an ongoing Traveller (Mongoose 2nd Ed) game, which is one I've ended up liking much more than I expected. I like that it's a system that lets you dial up or down the crunch. Want to get into the weeds with designing your robots, starships, and space sectors? Great. It's all there for you to noodle on. Don't want to do any of that? Here's a bunch of pre-done stuff and a very simple game mechanic. Get to storytelling. My only real complaint so far is that I don't love the design of the character sheet I was first using. But there are lots of others out there and the new one I'm using works much better for me.

Pity that gallant knight game's tiny d6 line of rpgs didnt make the cut.

Right on! I love this! When you started talking to Dragonbane, I was like "effin A, Cotton, EFFIN A!" And anything that causes a Dodgeball reference is A OK with me. I think your list was well thought out and excellent. I tend to favor similar mechanics by the sound of it. And I too am an absolute sucker for D20 roll-under systems. Advancement in DB is so organic and lets characters just grow and be what their adventures make them. In my opinion, that is SO MUCH better than Dungeons and Demigods. Also, I saw someone mentioned Savage Pathfinder. Absolute banger of a game. I love the lore of Pathfinder. Golarion is fascinating and really cool. That said, I do not dig Pathfinder as a system. Way too much crunch for me. Maybe not for others but definitely so for me. I don't need to tell you about Savage Worlds, but when you ice that cake with Golarion, it's rad, and also Books, Bricks, and Boards plays Savage Pathfinder, but set it in Forgotten Realms. It's WILD! Hey before I forget, similar to Basic Fantasy, there's a game called Olde Swords Reign. It did something similar to what Shadowdark did before Shadowdark was a thing. It's built on the chassis of 5e but way streamlined and easily plug-and-play with other systems.