Check the description to purchase the games in the video. Here are some ways you can support Short Rest Studios! Our website! ========================== shortreststudios.com (Be sure to check out the shop!) ========================== Shop D&D books: amzn.to/44Zdj9o (Amazon Affiliate link) ========================== Shop Dungeon Crawl Classics books: amzn.to/3vszKqP ========================== Buy Me a Coffee! buymeacoffee.com/shortreststudios ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Camera equipment (Amazon Affiliate Links): Canon EOS R10 - amzn.to/408YTBU 16mm lens - amzn.to/45LL9hD LED Panels - amzn.to/3scaW4D Spotlight - amzn.to/3Sckvew Microphone - amzn.to/49aVXso
I'm a game mechanics nerd. I love when games have unique approaches and use the mechanics to facilitate them. All the ones you mention are great examples of this. I played WHFRP long ago, and the first thing I fell in love with was that career system. It's brilliant and I've never seen anything else like it. Same with the Flashback from BITD. It's perfect for the heist concept and as far as I know totally original to that game.
Hyperborea is a fun marriage of system and setting. Powerful spells; powerful fighters; over 20 flavorful classes. A humano-centric pulp setting with a lot of influence from HP Lovecraft. Robert E Howard, Clark Ashton Smith all based on 1eAd&d. The system has a neat melee critical rules it give chunkier crits to fighters and similar classes, but more forgiving critical fails. While weaker crits for mages and their similar classes and less forgiving critical fails.
All good, and a number of which I have yet to play! I love Numenera as well, everything is simple. Low Fantasy Gaming handles luck in a way that builds dread the longer an adventure continues.
My favorite TTRPG's and systems: 1-Cypher(generic), 2-Teenagers From Outer Space(anime), 3-Gamma World 4E(not based on D&D 4E)(post apocalyptic), 4-All Flesh Must be Eaten(zombie), 5-Battlelords of the 23rd Century(sci-fi), 6-Pathfinder 1E(fantasy), 7-5E(fantasy), 8-Palladium system(generic), 9-AD&D(fantasy), 10-Shadow of the Demon Lord(sci-fantasy/horror) and 11-Star Frontiers(sci-fi)
Shadowdark and DCC two of my faves. For a modern challenger, PF2e is solid - cool mechanics - every +1 counts because Crits occur on 10+ over DC (and of course the streamlined three Action Economy saves all that - is this a 'Bonus Action, an Action or can I do it as part of my Move' sloppiness.
Wayward Souls, on Drivethrurpg. It has a skill system with dice pools, and when you assist your team, you loan them dice from your pool, so everyone's stealth skill matters in a stealth check. Also, it's kind of eastern fantasy, but the Valiance class let's you be a WWE wrestler for some amazing reason.
@@shortreststudios It's a super cool indie system. Kind of pricey, but it was all done by one guy, apparently, and it's a pretty big book. The spellcasting is cool, too; instead of casting a spell, you use each spell component (somatic, verbal, material) independently and then build them into different modified spell effects.
I already play Shadowdark and a PbtA game, but now I want to also experimentally add some of these praised traits to my 5e game, like some rolls being PbtA "benefit-or-complication" rather than "success-or-failure", Dragonbane's rallying, and exploding damage dice.
I have two great games that didn’t get mentioned. Conan: Adventures in an Age Untold by Modiphius is a great sword and sorcery game that delves deep into Hyborea with every book and was made in conjunction with the group that manages the canon for Conan. The downside is that it’s no longer in publication because Modiphius unfortunately lost the license. The other is The Dark Eye by Ulisses Spiel. The Dark Eye (Das Schwarze Auge in Germany) is a dark and gritty game that appears bright and hopeful. The great thing about it is the sheer customization of complexity that you can get. Surface level the game seems a lot more complex than it actually is, but runs smoother than silk when you get used to it. You can then add levels of focus rules here and there to increase granularity and complexity as you feel like it.
All great choices, I love all of these games however my list looks more like. 1. Shadow of the demon lord 2. Symbaroum 3.zweihander 4.shadow dark 5. Forbidden lands Etc I don't wanna fill up a comment with my whole collection XD Needles to say I like ttrpgs.
SHADOW OF THE DEMON LORD should definitely be on your list. It's (mulit-)class system is brilliant. CROWN AND SKULL is great too. There is no 'to hit' roll, damage is rolled immediately. And instead of hit points characters do lose skills and/or equipment. Very interesting mechanic.
I run three campaigns an am play testing a 4th. That 4th is Shadowdark and it's a breath of fresh air for this veteran DM. The creation of dungeons, towns, overland, NPCs is a joy with all of their many, many random tables. Combat is quick and brutal but easily moddable if you want to bring some outside rules in like I did. I'm having a blast running it and my friends are getting a kick from it too. The other campaign I've really been impressed by is Vassen by Free League. Gorgeous art, unique setting, emphasis on investigation and roleplaying. My one group has fallen head over heels with it. Unique mechanic, base building. You have inherited a manor to work out from as you solve the challenges of these Vaesen (dark fey creatures) and between adventures use your XP to help reconstruct this manor which in turn helps to give you resources and boons in your investigations.
@@shortreststudios will you do any follow ups outside of the fantasy genre and dnd like games? To be honest i was a bit surprised to see blades in the dark here it kind of teeters on the edge of the traditional fantasy angles of the rest of the game in the video.
@@Skimmer951 It’s definitely on my radar. The trick is finding the right angle to make sure it gets seen. Algorithm stuff. But I’m definitely interested in doing more videos like this one.
My list of non-DnD-RPGs (I don't think any of these is objectively better than DnD, but they are more "specialized", while DnD is more generic, so they are likely better than DnD for some groups): 1.) Exalted: High power, high fantasy RPG about the returning chosen of the gods. D10 dice, very high power level, player descisions have a large impact on the world. In the 2E version of Exalted, player characters can even potentially create their own worlds. The best system if you want to play an extremely powerful character that has a strong impact on the world. 2.) World of Darkness: Most people will know at least Vampire: The Masquerade. Also includes Werewolf the Apocalypse. Also D10 system. Vampires and werewolves live in secret in present day human society. 3.) Shadowrun: Cyberpunk 2078 with magic. Great world building and humour, mostly good mechanics. The only weak spot are the complicated rules for hacking. Uses D6 dice. Best setting if you like dystopian worlds with a healthy dose of black humour. 4.) Numenera: Far future science-fiction system where technology takes the place of magic. Absolutely fascinating setting, less stellar Cypher System mechanics. If you want to play in a setting that is truely unique and cannot be compared to any other existing game, you will like this. 5.) Scion: D10 system about demigods in the modern world. Interesting setting, very high power level, unfortunatly some balancing issues with epic attributes. 6.) Cthulhu: The name says it all. Great horror atmosphere if the DM does it right. By the nature of the game however, characters are likely to either get insane or die, which makes it somewhat better suited for one-shots than long campaigns. 7.) The Dark Eye: German medieval fantasy RPG, fairly typical fantasy setting, but lower power level than DnD. Extremely rules heavy with a character creation only genius mathematicians can do. You have skills for every task and will propably spend a lot of time rolling dice. I played in a campaign for 6 years and we only completed about one third in this time. If you prefer a more simulation like style of play, this is the best possible system for you. I wont put Pathfinder on such a list, because Pathfinder is a DnD system, even if some people still claim it's not. While I know some of the games listed in the video, TBH I'm not a fan of any of these.
As much as I'm a bit apprehensive about PbtA, the idea that you can just start up a session and create the rules for a world is compelling, especially if you have the right group. I guess Zweihander tries to use the mechanisms of WHFRP, but not sure which version it uses the most. The damage system seems similar? They had a new edition 'started a few years ago, it seems Lot of interesting things about One Ring from what I've read. I can't get past DCC's dice. I think the crazy level of detail for spell rolls and the maneuver system for fighters make it really compelling and I want to find a way to get around that dice system. Also, liked that you had the flub edited into the middle of where it popped up, rather than piling it on at the end like so many do. Dig your editing style generally. Fan of Knave, Maze Rats, and Mausritter. Also like Cairn, which seems to be pretty popular now, DURF, and Emiel Boven's other RPG, Electrum Archive. I guess that outs my tastes right now
Cool thanks for the comment! Yeah, my understanding is that Zweihander began as a WHFRP clone so there are a lot of similarities. I haven’t had a chance to check out a lot of the games you mentioned but Cairn intrigues. me for sure. And thanks for the editing feedback! I try to have fun with it.
@@Hallinwar I see a few notes about modifiers to nearest die in the chain, or modifiers that represent the average roll. The quickstart talks about substitutions that change the probabilities, and there's an app. I'd need to experiment to see which would feel better, or if I'd rather substitute it with something else
Regarding DCC and it's expanded set of dice - I recall the core rules comes with a suggestion of equivalent modifiers so you can just use those instead of it's "dice chain".
I am always heartbroken whenever somebody doesn't mention the ttrpg Through the Breach. Published by wyrd games. The pure chaotic choice of characters is amazing. The system is filled to the brim with unique mechanics that allow infinite styles of play without making you feel like you have to choose everything or create homebrew like you do with 5E. I have seen hillbilly gremlins with infinite dynamite. I have seen drunken kung fu chefs. I have seen magic users who could literally tell a port.Certain people to the moon. I have seen necromancers who can interrogate buildings. I've had a player Accidentally turn Themselves invisible for 2 weeks. I myself played an undead liar whose skill at deception was so good.They were able to use it for their avoid attack skill.And they had a giant hole in their cjust at combining the two basically made them bulletproof. The way that magic and class structure work make it really easy to build really complex characters that are able to do a variety of things without ever really losing that sense of characterization. For example I had a Player who used their doctor's skill instead of their Melee skill because they had a stick named Anesthesia. And even with all of this death was never far around the corner. If you were a short character and you came across an alligator that thing could just kill you by eating you in one bite. And all of these skills and abilities a lot of them came from the trigger systhat was the game's main use of the cards that used to resolve rolls instead of dice.
DUCKS! How can you list RuneQuest yet give the 'credit' for Ducks to Dragonbane?! :D Both Dragonbane & Pendragon are based off the RuneQuest rules system.
Played half of those, IMO all of them are better then 5e... because 5e is not that good. Third party content for 5e is great, but the core rules are... mediocore at best. I know it's just 10 systems, and it's hard to choose just 10 (although a honorable mention list would be a welcome addition to this sort of video, where you can just list some systems without getting into details or with one sentence each), but I miss pathfinder2e and worlds without numbers from this list :P Just to represent both sides of the coin (they are kinda opposites, but I love both). From other PbtA systems, I would include City of Mist, it's such a great game. And also, for a video idea, would you consider making a list of 10 underground/indie rpgs?
Indie RPGs are definitely on my radar for a future video. As far as Pathfinder, I feel like it gets a lot of attention and so I purposefully didn’t include it here.
Check the description to purchase the games in the video. Here are some ways you can support Short Rest Studios!
Our website!
==========================
shortreststudios.com (Be sure to check out the shop!)
==========================
Shop D&D books: amzn.to/44Zdj9o (Amazon Affiliate link)
==========================
Shop Dungeon Crawl Classics books: amzn.to/3vszKqP
==========================
Buy Me a Coffee! buymeacoffee.com/shortreststudios
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Camera equipment (Amazon Affiliate Links):
Canon EOS R10 - amzn.to/408YTBU
16mm lens - amzn.to/45LL9hD
LED Panels - amzn.to/3scaW4D
Spotlight - amzn.to/3Sckvew
Microphone - amzn.to/49aVXso
I'm a game mechanics nerd. I love when games have unique approaches and use the mechanics to facilitate them. All the ones you mention are great examples of this. I played WHFRP long ago, and the first thing I fell in love with was that career system. It's brilliant and I've never seen anything else like it. Same with the Flashback from BITD. It's perfect for the heist concept and as far as I know totally original to that game.
Kickass video! I've been getting into Dungeon World myself, and I'm glad to see it getting some love.
Thanks for the love!
Hyperborea is a fun marriage of system and setting. Powerful spells; powerful fighters; over 20 flavorful classes. A humano-centric pulp setting with a lot of influence from HP Lovecraft. Robert E Howard, Clark Ashton Smith all based on 1eAd&d.
The system has a neat melee critical rules it give chunkier crits to fighters and similar classes, but more forgiving critical fails. While weaker crits for mages and their similar classes and less forgiving critical fails.
All good, and a number of which I have yet to play! I love Numenera as well, everything is simple. Low Fantasy Gaming handles luck in a way that builds dread the longer an adventure continues.
Thanks for the comment!
@@shortreststudios no problem. Thanks for the video.
My favorite TTRPG's and systems: 1-Cypher(generic), 2-Teenagers From Outer Space(anime), 3-Gamma World 4E(not based on D&D 4E)(post apocalyptic), 4-All Flesh Must be Eaten(zombie), 5-Battlelords of the 23rd Century(sci-fi), 6-Pathfinder 1E(fantasy), 7-5E(fantasy), 8-Palladium system(generic), 9-AD&D(fantasy), 10-Shadow of the Demon Lord(sci-fantasy/horror) and 11-Star Frontiers(sci-fi)
Gamma World is a criminally underrated game. 4E is probably my fav edition for ease of play and teaching new players.
Shadowdark and DCC two of my faves. For a modern challenger, PF2e is solid - cool mechanics - every +1 counts because Crits occur on 10+ over DC (and of course the streamlined three Action Economy saves all that - is this a 'Bonus Action, an Action or can I do it as part of my Move' sloppiness.
Yeah, Pathfinder is great, and those are my favorite things about it.
Dragonbane and Shadowdark are two of my favorite RPGs.
Wayward Souls, on Drivethrurpg. It has a skill system with dice pools, and when you assist your team, you loan them dice from your pool, so everyone's stealth skill matters in a stealth check. Also, it's kind of eastern fantasy, but the Valiance class let's you be a WWE wrestler for some amazing reason.
That sounds really cool. I’ll definitely have to check that one out. Thanks!
@@shortreststudios It's a super cool indie system. Kind of pricey, but it was all done by one guy, apparently, and it's a pretty big book. The spellcasting is cool, too; instead of casting a spell, you use each spell component (somatic, verbal, material) independently and then build them into different modified spell effects.
I already play Shadowdark and a PbtA game, but now I want to also experimentally add some of these praised traits to my 5e game, like some rolls being PbtA "benefit-or-complication" rather than "success-or-failure", Dragonbane's rallying, and exploding damage dice.
I have two great games that didn’t get mentioned. Conan: Adventures in an Age Untold by Modiphius is a great sword and sorcery game that delves deep into Hyborea with every book and was made in conjunction with the group that manages the canon for Conan. The downside is that it’s no longer in publication because Modiphius unfortunately lost the license. The other is The Dark Eye by Ulisses Spiel. The Dark Eye (Das Schwarze Auge in Germany) is a dark and gritty game that appears bright and hopeful. The great thing about it is the sheer customization of complexity that you can get. Surface level the game seems a lot more complex than it actually is, but runs smoother than silk when you get used to it. You can then add levels of focus rules here and there to increase granularity and complexity as you feel like it.
Awesome! I’ll check them out. Thank you!
All great choices, I love all of these games however my list looks more like.
1. Shadow of the demon lord
2. Symbaroum
3.zweihander
4.shadow dark
5. Forbidden lands
Etc I don't wanna fill up a comment with my whole collection XD Needles to say I like ttrpgs.
Don’t we all my friend. Don’t we all.
SHADOW OF THE DEMON LORD should definitely be on your list. It's (mulit-)class system is brilliant.
CROWN AND SKULL is great too. There is no 'to hit' roll, damage is rolled immediately. And instead of hit points characters do lose skills and/or equipment. Very interesting mechanic.
I have been hearing a lot of good things about both of those. Thanks for the comment!
Have you had a chance to try Crown and Skull from Runehammer?
I have not, but I’ve heard great things about it!
I run three campaigns an am play testing a 4th. That 4th is Shadowdark and it's a breath of fresh air for this veteran DM. The creation of dungeons, towns, overland, NPCs is a joy with all of their many, many random tables. Combat is quick and brutal but easily moddable if you want to bring some outside rules in like I did. I'm having a blast running it and my friends are getting a kick from it too.
The other campaign I've really been impressed by is Vassen by Free League. Gorgeous art, unique setting, emphasis on investigation and roleplaying. My one group has fallen head over heels with it. Unique mechanic, base building. You have inherited a manor to work out from as you solve the challenges of these Vaesen (dark fey creatures) and between adventures use your XP to help reconstruct this manor which in turn helps to give you resources and boons in your investigations.
Free League has so many great games! Thanks for watching and commenting.
Crown & Skull: No hit points. Instead, you cross-off a random skill or piece of equipment from your limited inventory. Hardcore as it gets.
I'd add !3th Age with its escalation mechanic and Fantasy AGE with its stunt mechanic to the list.
Awesome. Those are going on my list for the next one!
I really like how you highlight a cool mechanic of each game, very hepful.
Thank you!
@@shortreststudios will you do any follow ups outside of the fantasy genre and dnd like games? To be honest i was a bit surprised to see blades in the dark here it kind of teeters on the edge of the traditional fantasy angles of the rest of the game in the video.
@@Skimmer951 It’s definitely on my radar. The trick is finding the right angle to make sure it gets seen. Algorithm stuff. But I’m definitely interested in doing more videos like this one.
1. Icrpg
2. Ose
3. Basic fantasy
4. Black hack
5. Cortex og
6. AFMBE
7. Fantasy Age
8. Call of Cthulhu chaosium
9. Mork Borg
10. Maze rats
Forbidden Land's pushing rolls are a really interesting mechanic, one that presented an interesting choice almost every roll.
I’ll check it out. Thank you!
My list of non-DnD-RPGs (I don't think any of these is objectively better than DnD, but they are more "specialized", while DnD is more generic, so they are likely better than DnD for some groups):
1.) Exalted: High power, high fantasy RPG about the returning chosen of the gods. D10 dice, very high power level, player descisions have a large impact on the world. In the 2E version of Exalted, player characters can even potentially create their own worlds. The best system if you want to play an extremely powerful character that has a strong impact on the world.
2.) World of Darkness: Most people will know at least Vampire: The Masquerade. Also includes Werewolf the Apocalypse. Also D10 system. Vampires and werewolves live in secret in present day human society.
3.) Shadowrun: Cyberpunk 2078 with magic. Great world building and humour, mostly good mechanics. The only weak spot are the complicated rules for hacking. Uses D6 dice. Best setting if you like dystopian worlds with a healthy dose of black humour.
4.) Numenera: Far future science-fiction system where technology takes the place of magic. Absolutely fascinating setting, less stellar Cypher System mechanics. If you want to play in a setting that is truely unique and cannot be compared to any other existing game, you will like this.
5.) Scion: D10 system about demigods in the modern world. Interesting setting, very high power level, unfortunatly some balancing issues with epic attributes.
6.) Cthulhu: The name says it all. Great horror atmosphere if the DM does it right. By the nature of the game however, characters are likely to either get insane or die, which makes it somewhat better suited for one-shots than long campaigns.
7.) The Dark Eye: German medieval fantasy RPG, fairly typical fantasy setting, but lower power level than DnD. Extremely rules heavy with a character creation only genius mathematicians can do. You have skills for every task and will propably spend a lot of time rolling dice. I played in a campaign for 6 years and we only completed about one third in this time. If you prefer a more simulation like style of play, this is the best possible system for you.
I wont put Pathfinder on such a list, because Pathfinder is a DnD system, even if some people still claim it's not. While I know some of the games listed in the video, TBH I'm not a fan of any of these.
Palladium Fantasy. Their combat system is amazing!
I’ll check it out. Thanks!
As much as I'm a bit apprehensive about PbtA, the idea that you can just start up a session and create the rules for a world is compelling, especially if you have the right group.
I guess Zweihander tries to use the mechanisms of WHFRP, but not sure which version it uses the most. The damage system seems similar? They had a new edition 'started a few years ago, it seems
Lot of interesting things about One Ring from what I've read.
I can't get past DCC's dice. I think the crazy level of detail for spell rolls and the maneuver system for fighters make it really compelling and I want to find a way to get around that dice system.
Also, liked that you had the flub edited into the middle of where it popped up, rather than piling it on at the end like so many do. Dig your editing style generally.
Fan of Knave, Maze Rats, and Mausritter. Also like Cairn, which seems to be pretty popular now, DURF, and Emiel Boven's other RPG, Electrum Archive. I guess that outs my tastes right now
Cool thanks for the comment! Yeah, my understanding is that Zweihander began as a WHFRP clone so there are a lot of similarities. I haven’t had a chance to check out a lot of the games you mentioned but Cairn intrigues. me for sure.
And thanks for the editing feedback! I try to have fun with it.
You know that you can play dcc with regular dice, right?
@@Hallinwar I see a few notes about modifiers to nearest die in the chain, or modifiers that represent the average roll. The quickstart talks about substitutions that change the probabilities, and there's an app. I'd need to experiment to see which would feel better, or if I'd rather substitute it with something else
Regarding DCC and it's expanded set of dice - I recall the core rules comes with a suggestion of equivalent modifiers so you can just use those instead of it's "dice chain".
@@NefariousKoel That is correct.
Great video thanks for this!
Thanks for watching!
I am always heartbroken whenever somebody doesn't mention the ttrpg Through the Breach. Published by wyrd games. The pure chaotic choice of characters is amazing. The system is filled to the brim with unique mechanics that allow infinite styles of play without making you feel like you have to choose everything or create homebrew like you do with 5E. I have seen hillbilly gremlins with infinite dynamite. I have seen drunken kung fu chefs. I have seen magic users who could literally tell a port.Certain people to the moon. I have seen necromancers who can interrogate buildings. I've had a player
Accidentally turn Themselves invisible for 2 weeks. I myself played an undead liar whose skill at deception was so good.They were able to use it for their avoid attack skill.And they had a giant hole in their cjust at combining the two basically made them bulletproof. The way that magic and class structure work make it really easy to build really complex characters that are able to do a variety of things without ever really losing that sense of characterization. For example I had a Player who used their doctor's skill instead of their Melee skill because they had a stick named Anesthesia. And even with all of this death was never far around the corner. If you were a short character and you came across an alligator that thing could just kill you by eating you in one bite. And all of these skills and abilities a lot of them came from the trigger systhat was the game's main use of the cards that used to resolve rolls instead of dice.
Sounds amazing, and not one I’m familiar with. I’ll definitely have to check it out. And maybe include it in another video. Thanks for commenting!
DUCKS! How can you list RuneQuest yet give the 'credit' for Ducks to Dragonbane?! :D
Both Dragonbane & Pendragon are based off the RuneQuest rules system.
They are both based to a degree on BRP. No intention to give credit! I just wanted to talk about ducks! 🤣
I recomend Heart: the city beneath
Cool. I’ll check it out.
YESSS voices!
🤣
Played half of those, IMO all of them are better then 5e... because 5e is not that good. Third party content for 5e is great, but the core rules are... mediocore at best.
I know it's just 10 systems, and it's hard to choose just 10 (although a honorable mention list would be a welcome addition to this sort of video, where you can just list some systems without getting into details or with one sentence each), but I miss pathfinder2e and worlds without numbers from this list :P Just to represent both sides of the coin (they are kinda opposites, but I love both). From other PbtA systems, I would include City of Mist, it's such a great game.
And also, for a video idea, would you consider making a list of 10 underground/indie rpgs?
Indie RPGs are definitely on my radar for a future video. As far as Pathfinder, I feel like it gets a lot of attention and so I purposefully didn’t include it here.
Harn Master by Columbia Games
YES: DCC!!
dnd is for newbies ... sofistication (mechanic or narrative) is found elsewhere
I don’t necessarily agree - DnD is kind of an open template for a lot of different kinds of games.
@@shortreststudios class mechanics is unsophisticated/restraining and narrative agency is nonexistant outside the dm's toolbox ...
Lost me as soon as you mentioned Dungeon World. Absolutely refuse to support the author of that game.
Just mentioning it as one alternative among many. 🤷♂️
You can addany of these thibgs to a d&d worlds. There not mechsnics.
I mean, technically you can add any mechanic or flavor or whatever to any RPG.
Dnd is garbage !! Let it buuuurrrnnnnnnn lets go!!!
I’m gonna have to disagree.
I disagree D&D rules these other games are not that great .
You are, of course entitled to your opinion! Thanks for watching!
Definitely not a bot at all lol
@@parttimed.m.1111😂
@shortreststudios the sentence structure just blew me away lol.
@@parttimed.m.1111 Punctuation is a real thing!