Favorite tabletop RPG that isn't D&D?

[Johnmc]

Look, I know that D&D is popular: it's the 800-lb gorilla of the industry, diminished only because there are so many things that are almost D&D--retroclones and Pathfinder, for instance.

But is there anything you really love outside of the D&D/retroclone/Pathfinder arena?

I mean, I play D&D--or have played it; we retired the campaign we were in, and there have been others, starting with my first game back in 1981--but it's not my favourite game, in any incarnation (though Lamentations of the Flame Princess comes close).

I like Call of Cthulhu or ICONS or Mutants & Masterminds 2nd edition or The Laundry or Unknown Armies. I play Warhammer or Over The Edge or Jaws of the Six Serpents. I've tried even more. (I've been in the hobby for a while, so there's lots out there, even if I've fallen out of love with the Hero system.)

What do you like to play besides D&D?

[contrariwise]

Call of Cthulhu is wonderful, especially if the gamemaster plays it up and takes the time to set the mood.

I also love World of Darkness. There are the ones where you play a vampire or a werewolf, but my favourite is to use the vanilla World of Darknes sourcebook and play as a regular human being who fell into the supernatural world somehow. It's much more fun to play a game where your character is in over their head!

Exalted is lots of fun, too. You can get very unusual powers that you can use in all sorts of fun and creative ways. It's the perfect game if you love coming up with unusual ways to solve problems. Battles can get very interesting!

[Johnmc]

Call of Cthulhu is wonderful, especially if the gamemaster plays it up and takes the time to set the mood.

I love Cthulhu. We tried Trail of Cthulhu for the first time a couple of months ago: very nice. We all died or went mad, of course, but they were intended to be lethal one-shots.

Tried WoD years ago, back when there were only two or three titles--at the time it was very easy to be superheroes with fangs and no social conscience. I hear that some of the new stuff is good.

Have never even looked at Exalted, though I've heard about it.

[Autumn2May]

We're playing Alternity right now which is a blast!  It's a sci-fi D&D game.  I'm a physic gun nut addict to psy-booster drugs and I'm our ships navigator.

Gamma World is pretty fun too.  I love Heroes Unlimited, but you have to have a DM who can handle the group as some of the rules are broken or ambiguous at best.  My group also played a lot of Seventh Sea which is kind of like D&D for pirates.  A lot of my friends play Whitewolf, but they always do vampire games and I'm more a mage person myself.  Werewolf is okay, but you have to have the right people.

Here's the link to the wikipedia article on Alternity if you've never played it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternity

[AnneLyle]

I don't roleplay any more - it takes up way too much time and I prefer to write novels - but back when I did, my favourites were:

* Runequest - the thinking person's fantasy RPG. Slightly weird setting (if you used the original Glorantha sourcebooks), excellent rule system
* Call of Cthulhu - all-round awesome fun
* Paranoia - great as an occasional diversion from more serious campaigns
* Vampire: the Masquerade - I ran a campaign set in 80s Bristol, based on my undergraduate years. It was like a retro version of "Being Human"

[contrariwise]

Paranoia! I must try it!

* Vampire: the Masquerade - I ran a campaign set in 80s Bristol, based on my undergraduate years. It was like a retro version of "Being Human"

Were vampires, werewolves and ghosts living together then?

[DDRRead]

I loved Tunnels & Trolls, Runequest, and Bushido back in the day. Tunnels & Trolls was actually my introduction to the hobby (and warped my tiny mind). Back in the 80's I played a ton of games, loads, but those three were my faves. As far as new (non-retroclone) games go Savage Worlds is the main one. Really like that, but I run it without the battle map and minis which weirds out some SW fans. There are a couple of Story games I like, but can't get any one play: In a Wicked Age, and Sorcerer (with the Sorcerer and Sword supplement). I've got the new Marvel game, but not read it yet so don't know if I like it. I think that's about it for my Non-D&D gaming.

[JASelf]

Love playing in the world of Shadowrun. I haven't looked at the new (Microsoft) rules, but the older rules ran fast and easy. Usually our games have us dying laughing at some point. For anyone who doesn't know about the game, imagine mashing high fantasy with near-future sci-fi. It's a mess, and it's fun.

[warfitz45]

It's been a long time since I played anything.  The last thing I bought was Marvel's SAGA rule system.  I loved the feel of it, the way that you could play 1 on 1 and really get the character into what they were seeing.  It didn't work as well w/ a group though, and tended to be odd at certain times in the game (handling damage was odd from what I recall).  But I definitely loved the storytelling style and how it seemed rules-lite, making it easier to focus on a story than a simulation.

That was my biggest beef w/ most RPGs - last time I played D&D (or Champions), it played like a video game - no RP elements, just hack, get some treasure, increase in levels, buy better stuff.  I probably was just w/ the wrong group (and even when I went to Origins, I gave it a shot), but that turned me totally off to these games.

Prior to that, I had a bevy of Super Hero games - FASERIP, DC (the Mayfair one)... Twilight 2000.  Probably a few others, but FASERIP was the only one I played regularly because I knew the Marvel world better than DC (at the time).

wf

[Ur-Quan]

GURPS, 'nuff said

[warfitz45]

GURPS, 'nuff said

I had GURPS, but I found it hard to manipulate - probably because I was a kid trying to handle a multiverse system.

[DDRRead]

GURPS, 'nuff said

Loved 3rd ed, but for reasons I can't quite articulate 4th left me cold. Plus 3rd just had the best collection of setting/source books produced for any RPG.

[Kempster]

Actually, I think the coolest RPG system was Rolemaster by I.C.E. to include their more streamlined version Middle Earth Role Playing (MERP).  The experience system for leveling up skills was awesome as you could really focus on a few  skills or really go for the jack of all trades type character.

[BDraga]

I'm actually itching to try Fiasco, and an indie RPG called Dino Pirates of Ninja Island, but finding time to game consistently is hard enough, and as my group's DM I feel bad enough that I have a hard time keeping a single campaign ongoing without experimenting with different system one-offs.

[Yora]

My alternative fantasy game to D&D is Barbarians of Lemuria. It's a lot simpler and breaks things down to really just the essentials. You got your four attributes Strength, Agility, Mind, and Appeal, your four combat skills Melee, Ranged, Brawl, and Defense, and pick four professions, like thief, warrior, sage, healer, peasant, and so on. All start at a rank of 0 and you get four points to distribute in each of the three categories. That's pretty much it and you're ready to go.

For science fiction, my game to go is Star Wars Saga Edition. Even if the game isn't actually Star Wars. I really am not a fan of the d20 system, but Saga is by far the best adaptation of it, bar none.