Looking for a rules light World of Darness-esque system

[Sjappo]

Well, an other one of those "what system do I use" question. Sorry about that.

Anyway, my group has been playing DnD 3.5 for ages and I wanted to play soemthing different. The rest is asking for a continuance for a one-off I DM-ed some time ago. I'd like to throw them a curveball.

They think they'll be going to Ravonloft but instead I want to teleport them to a WoD kinda world, staged in 21st century Schotland (open to debate). They'll have to figure out what the fuck hapened and how to get away.

I want to try my hand at a more cooperative storytelling kinda style. I'd like to not have much rules. Just a basic framwork from which to extrapolate. DnD 3.5 is out as you can imagine.

The players will be playing non-mortals but I don't want it to degrage in a superhero game. It must be gritty and possibly lethal. I don't want to kill the PC's but I want them to be aware of their mortality at all times.

I've some experience in other games.

I've played Mage, the Ascention and Vampire, the Masquerade and had a lot of fun. It felt rules light, maybe because the rules where not very well thought out forcing the GM to improvize a lot.
I own Mage, the Awakening and the WoD setting that goes with it. But I'm not impressed. I stopped reading when I came across an extensive spelllist. Never played it though.
I've borrowed Call of Cthulu version 5.something. I'm reading it and I like the feel of the game.
I'v borrowed Call of Ctulu d20 as well and hated it form page 1. When I found a drawing of a man fighting zombies with an axe I dumped it.

So anyone got some suggestions? I prefer if you'd answer from personal experience

[littha]

I'v borrowed Call of Ctulu d20 as well and hated it form page 1. When I found a drawing of a man fighting zombies with an axe I dumped it.

To be fair, this is something that you can do... its just that you are highly likley to die whilst doing it.

[Agita]

Dresden Files RPG sounds like what you're looking for. It's somewhere in between rules-light and rules-medium, with the core mechanic applicable to pretty much everything, so extrapolating an unknown situation is trivially easy (unless your players are like mine and like doing things like pulling main power cables out of the ground to zap trees with them). It's also already built for modern fantasy, so all you have to do is cut out the setting-specific parts and you're pretty much done.

[Sjappo]

I'v borrowed Call of Ctulu d20 as well and hated it form page 1. When I found a drawing of a man fighting zombies with an axe I dumped it.

To be fair, this is something that you can do... its just that you are highly likley to die whilst doing it.

True, but not the atmosphere I was going for.

Dresden Files RPG sounds like what you're looking for. It's somewhere in between rules-light and rules-medium, with the core mechanic applicable to pretty much everything, so extrapolating an unknown situation is trivially easy (unless your players are like mine and like doing things like pulling main power cables out of the ground to zap trees with them). It's also already built for modern fantasy, so all you have to do is cut out the setting-specific parts and you're pretty much done.

While I've read a Dresden novel I'm not a fan. The setting corresponds with what I have in mind. Just like the novels by Harrison (the Hollows). I'll check it out.

I ve found a free one as well. After Sundown (Frank K?). Anyone know it? Is it any good?

[Agita]

While I've read a Dresden novel I'm not a fan. The setting corresponds with what I have in mind. Just like the novels by Harrison (the Hollows). I'll check it out.

I ve found a free one as well. After Sundown (Frank K?). Anyone know it? Is it any good?

I picked up the RPG before ever reading a single book of the series, so you should be fine. The text is fairly integrated with the setting, but the mechanics themselves are easy to separate and refluff, other than those specifically made for the setting (like the Lawbreaker power). Alternatively, any other FATE-based game should work for the purpose - the whole family is rules-light and narration-focused and should be simple to adapt. DFRPG is just the only one I personally have much real experience with.

[savagehominid]

Check out: Mortal Coil - http://galileogames.com/mortal-coil/

The rules are simply, the rules have  a collaborative-vibe but still require a GM and also has very well-designed constraints to prevent people from going all nuts.

Check it.

[Sjappo]

While I've read a Dresden novel I'm not a fan. The setting corresponds with what I have in mind. Just like the novels by Harrison (the Hollows). I'll check it out.

I ve found a free one as well. After Sundown (Frank K?). Anyone know it? Is it any good?

I picked up the RPG before ever reading a single book of the series, so you should be fine. The text is fairly integrated with the setting, but the mechanics themselves are easy to separate and refluff, other than those specifically made for the setting (like the Lawbreaker power). Alternatively, any other FATE-based game should work for the purpose - the whole family is rules-light and narration-focused and should be simple to adapt. DFRPG is just the only one I personally have much real experience with.

Checking it out as we speak. Looking good so far. Fate points sound cool. The setting is simular enough to what I had in mind that I can work with it for the most part. Refluffing and striking will iron out the last wrinkles. I'll need some time to digest it further but it is promissing. Thanx. I'll check out faterpg as well, since it is free

Regarding Mortal Coil. Sounds fun. I'll check it out further. I'm not sure if I'm prepared to go that far away from DnD with my group. Still, maybe I should. For now it's reading and googling time. Thanx.

[Bozwevial]

I ve found a free one as well. After Sundown (Frank K?). Anyone know it? Is it any good?

After Sundown is basically AWoD without White Wolf's IP. Now, I'm not terribly experienced with WoD in general, but everything seems pretty solid. I'd say it's well worth a try.

I can also second DFRPG/FATE.

[Agita]

AWoD

without White Wolf's IP

I'm getting mixed messages here. Does "without WW's IP" mean "sans everything that's wrong with it" or "sans the masturbatory writing, but still meh to bad mechanics"?

[Bozwevial]

AWoD is Frank Trollman's revamping of the system which has the Camarilla and the Masquerade and basically everything else except for the mechanics, which are more akin to Shadowrun 4th edition without the weird overcomplicated subsystems. After Sundown is basically the same thing, except without anything that would open him up to a lawsuit for selling it and with a few minor rule changes that reflect the fact that Frank no longer had to cater to what V:tM fans wanted.

The upshot of which is that you can now pit nine children armed with BB guns face off against a werewolf without worrying that the Goonies stand a serious chance of killing said werewolf in a single combat round. As admittedly hilarious as that is, it's an incredibly big system flaw, and After Sundown, as far as I can tell, is much more solid.

[Sjappo]

AWoD is Frank Trollman's revamping of the system which has the Camarilla and the Masquerade and basically everything else except for the mechanics, which are more akin to Shadowrun 4th edition without the weird overcomplicated subsystems. After Sundown is basically the same thing, except without anything that would open him up to a lawsuit for selling it and with a few minor rule changes that reflect the fact that Frank no longer had to cater to what V:tM fans wanted.

The upshot of which is that you can now pit nine children armed with BB guns face off against a werewolf without worrying that the Goonies stand a serious chance of killing said werewolf in a single combat round. As admittedly hilarious as that is, it's an incredibly big system flaw, and After Sundown, as far as I can tell, is much more solid.

I'll give it a read then. The books are piling up on my night table It's fun to read those rpg's. They are so elegant and simple. For the most part.

[Agita]

AWoD is Frank Trollman's revamping of the system which has the Camarilla and the Masquerade and basically everything else except for the mechanics, which are more akin to Shadowrun 4th edition without the weird overcomplicated subsystems. After Sundown is basically the same thing, except without anything that would open him up to a lawsuit for selling it and with a few minor rule changes that reflect the fact that Frank no longer had to cater to what V:tM fans wanted.

So strictly superior to WoD? Gonna have to check it out.

[kharmakazy]

I use a generic form of owod that is sort of homebrewed. I made custom character sheets and all. Basically I wanted to play a game like owod mage or vampire but with normalish humans that might have some special abilities.

Basically I stripped out most of the setting specific stuff and used the rules for actions and things. I let my players spend the freebie points I gave them to buy 1 ability from any owod book (subject to approval naturally) that they could afford.



I say, if you like owod, just use owod and pull out the things you don't want. Slap in things you need. owod especially is good for this kind of thing because it's so light weight. You don't have to worry about things like balancing encounters and CRs and things like that. Just a relatively simple ruleset for actions at it's base, especially if you already know it.

[Sjappo]

I must say I like the Fate system a lot. Dresden Files RPG is a nice implementation of it. I am slightly put off with the amount of rules this seemingly rules light system has. 400 pages worth 

Still it's better than 20-something DnD books.

oWoD/aWoD still has my interest. Must reread though.

AND I am still interested in hearing about realy rules-light games. Or is Fate as light as they come?

[Agita]

I must say I like the Fate system a lot. Dresden Files RPG is a nice implementation of it. I am slightly put off with the amount of rules this seemingly rules light system has. 400 pages worth 

It might look daunting at first, but the real gist of it is really much simpler than it looks. It becomes a lot less intimidating when you realize that pretty much every mechanic can be boiled down to "pick a an appropriate skill and roll it". It even has intuitive grapple rules.

[Sjappo]

I must say I like the Fate system a lot. Dresden Files RPG is a nice implementation of it. I am slightly put off with the amount of rules this seemingly rules light system has. 400 pages worth 

It might look daunting at first, but the real gist of it is really much simpler than it looks. It becomes a lot less intimidating when you realize that pretty much every mechanic can be boiled down to "pick a an appropriate skill and roll it". It even has intuitive grapple rules.

That's always a plus.

The simplicity of the system will probably become aparant in play. The book started out really simple. But when you get to evocations and thaumaturgy things get complicated. Complicated and lengthy enough for me to start skipping pages. A bad sign for me and something that didn't happen before I came to the magic part of the book. Still, I can do a quick session with mortals/non magic users to get a feel for the system. And give my players a chance to respond. They are hard-core DnD players ...

[Agita]

I must say I like the Fate system a lot. Dresden Files RPG is a nice implementation of it. I am slightly put off with the amount of rules this seemingly rules light system has. 400 pages worth 

It might look daunting at first, but the real gist of it is really much simpler than it looks. It becomes a lot less intimidating when you realize that pretty much every mechanic can be boiled down to "pick a an appropriate skill and roll it". It even has intuitive grapple rules.

That's always a plus.

The simplicity of the system will probably become aparant in play. The book started out really simple. But when you get to evocations and thaumaturgy things get complicated. Complicated and lengthy enough for me to start skipping pages. A bad sign for me and something that didn't happen before I came to the magic part of the book. Still, I can do a quick session with mortals/non magic users to get a feel for the system. And give my players a chance to respond. They are hard-core DnD players ...

The various kinds of magic are indeed easily the most complicated part of the system. If you're starting out, limiting the availability of it somewhat until you've gotten comfortable with the rest of it is definitely a good idea. The first game of DFRPG I ran was one of the prefabricated modules with pregenerated characters, which I can recommend - look for Night Fears or Neutral Ground. The former has teenagers that are partly mundane or mildly supernatural, but no casters. The latter has one or two limited magic-users.
Once again, though, it's simpler than the book makes it look. In the end, it's a similar deal - instead of rolling a skill, magic lets you simulate a certain roll result, then you roll to figure out if you can pull that off without harming yourself. If there's any questions, of course, you can always ask here or make a new thread.
There's some excellent official quick-reference sheets somewhere that I can heartily recommend as well, I've got them uploaded for my own players here.

[Sjappo]

Thanks. Did you run the prefab adventures? How did they work out for you and your players? Did they haven rpg experience outside DnD? Did you as a GM. I'm assuming you were the GM, hope this is correct

Anyway, I'd like to hear your personal experience with running/playing these two prefab modules. If you would be so kind.

I've been lurking on the DFRPG boards and it seems like a cool system which results in awesome games.

[Agita]

Thanks. Did you run the prefab adventures? How did they work out for you and your players? Did they haven rpg experience outside DnD? Did you as a GM. I'm assuming you were the GM, hope this is correct

Anyway, I'd like to hear your personal experience with running/playing these two prefab modules. If you would be so kind.

I've been lurking on the DFRPG boards and it seems like a cool system which results in awesome games.

One of them. I ran Night Fears as a oneshot for the rest of veekie's Pathfinder group on a weekend where the game was called off. It was also my first time DMing anything in real time. The predicted plot (teenagers enter haunted house, tell ghost stories, get spooked, run from ghosts while figuring out the proper fetch-quests to pacify each) didn't survive first contact with the players, of course, but they did end up resolving the plot, in their own way. Highlights involved a luck-fueled nerdrage that banished a ghost with an Intimidation check, setting the bedroom on fire, being mindraped by an angry baby ghost, and knife-fighting an insane mother ghost... and winning. The full IC logs are here, if you're interested. Overall, it was a riot, in more senses than one. Notably, expect anyone who plays Jaimie the psychometer to touch anything and everything you describe. In my case, her player was mildly paranoid about taking big mental stress hits from reading too powerful memories, so she deliberately avoided items that screamed 'plot' and instead kept reading items that were only supposed to be background color (and rolling godly on her Lore checks), forcing me to improvise visions from scratch as I went.

[Sjappo]

Thanks. Did you run the prefab adventures? How did they work out for you and your players? Did they haven rpg experience outside DnD? Did you as a GM. I'm assuming you were the GM, hope this is correct

Anyway, I'd like to hear your personal experience with running/playing these two prefab modules. If you would be so kind.

I've been lurking on the DFRPG boards and it seems like a cool system which results in awesome games.

One of them. I ran Night Fears as a oneshot for the rest of veekie's Pathfinder group on a weekend where the game was called off. It was also my first time DMing anything in real time. The predicted plot (teenagers enter haunted house, tell ghost stories, get spooked, run from ghosts while figuring out the proper fetch-quests to pacify each) didn't survive first contact with the players, of course, but they did end up resolving the plot, in their own way. Highlights involved a luck-fueled nerdrage that banished a ghost with an Intimidation check, setting the bedroom on fire, being mindraped by an angry baby ghost, and knife-fighting an insane mother ghost... and winning. The full IC logs are here, if you're interested. Overall, it was a riot, in more senses than one. Notably, expect anyone who plays Jaimie the psychometer to touch anything and everything you describe. In my case, her player was mildly paranoid about taking big mental stress hits from reading too powerful memories, so she deliberately avoided items that screamed 'plot' and instead kept reading items that were only supposed to be background color (and rolling godly on her Lore checks), forcing me to improvise visions from scratch as I went.

Sounds like fun. I've read the IC log (did one of your players record the whole session or what?) but it was a bit chaotic. I couldn't really tell what everybody was doing and where they were. Still, players enter story, chaos ensues sounds like a normal modes operandy for any gaming group.

Thanx for your feadback. I'll check out the adventure.