Could anyone elaborate on these a little more for me, or link me in the right direction because I'm unfamiliar with all the game systems.
Sadly, even the D&D systems are foreign to me because I don't have friends in real life who play RPGs with me. Their all anime nerds and furries. Hence why I'm on this site.
I'd like an explanation of what the game systems are and what they do if possible. I prefer to go into things educated rather than blind and right now I might as well be an illuminated moth priest (Skyrim refrence).

That's a... significant quantity of information.  I'm not trying to be obtuse, but this is something like asking "I notice there's a lot of food discussed on this site, could someone please summarize what the major kinds of food are?" and then expecting someone to encompass goulash, wine, insects and schnitzel in one concise write-up.

You should probably narrow it down to one or a few systems you're specifically interested in and focus your question a bit, which would enable people to give you meaningful information.

I would actually be quite impressed if any one person were familiar with all of the systems this site supports/lists.

The big two are D&D and Pathfinder (which is also a variant of D&D from a long-ago edition).  You can find the rules, for free, here:

D&D5e: https://dnd.wizards.com/articl...ference-document-srd
Pathfinder: http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/

Beyond that, RPOL has a "Wanted - GMs" forum over here: link to another game

It's pretty common to see folks posting and asking for someone to teach them a game system or two.  That's probably a good place to start.

Out beyond that, there are hundreds of smaller game systems, each with their own followings.  It becomes too complicated to discuss in general terms.

System vs System-less vs System-lite

I would start by using these three terms in an attempt to answer your rather overarching question(s).

Systemless -> sometimes known as freeform, this is where it's entirely writing driven.  Not to say that the others are not writing driven, however; most freeform games only have the barest of "rules".  They usually look something like this:
1) don't "god-mode".
2) don't play other people's characters unless you get permission.
3) Play within the storyline, or branch as needed for character development.

System-lite -> can sometimes also be called home-brew/homebrew under the right circumstances.  This is where there is some degree of structure to the "rules", or often extremely simplistic "okay -if two forces compete: both roll a die, whoever rolls highest gets the upperhand."  These can frequently break-out into full systems (especially common for homebrews) as the game progresses.

System -> When people talk about playing a certain "game" - they are usually referring to a system, like "The D20 system" which encompasses most of the more recent (since 2000) D&D systems.


Let's take your Skyrim reference.

It's possible to play a "Skyrim" GAME using any of the above-three concepts.

Freeform (systemless)?  No problem - a GM sets the stage, writes an introduction, and has the player introduce themselves.  The game then begins.  Players write what they want to do, the GM narrates the "results".

System-lite.  A GM says "hey, I really love the way character creation in Skyrim is handled... let's do that."  So, they write a very loose system for handling character creation - and where the star-sign/race/profession might give you an upperhand but, the game is generally devoid of dice rolls.

System.  Someone buys/uses a system - (there are thousands) and then says "hey - we're playing Skyrim - using the PDQ rule system or the D20 system or the whatever, whatever."
This message was last edited by the user at 18:32, Sun 06 Mar 2016.

In reply to drewalt (msg # 2):

Yeah. I wasn't very specific. :)
Are there any in particular that you guys prefer would be more relevant, along with a run down of that system.
Just to scope out a few that people generally like.

In reply to GamerHandle (msg # 4):

I'm starting to get the picture here. Thank you, ^-^

It might not be a bad idea to check out the first few pages of the "wanted players" and see what systems are listed for the games.  It'll give you an idea of what people are running/playing and a starting point for googling or asking about systems that might sound interesting to you.

Help us to help you, tell us what stories you want to participate in.

I get the impression you've never roleplayed (RP) before. Forgive me if you know this already:

So in general, you create a player character (PC), whether its a dwarf, soldier, magician, etc. You define its back story, its characteristics, how strong, how tall, what weapons. Or you can be given or take, a ready made PC (pregen).

The game master (GM) describes a scene and your PC reacts to it in some way. E.g My PC dives for cover, or I shot back. Dice are rolled to determine if your PC succeeds or not. Generally there is a goal to be achieved.

The differences between the game systems is generally, how the PCs are created, and what dice (if any) are used.

In reply to laitang (msg # 8):

Ive role played for years, just nothing on this site.
Mostly I was part in a few Roleplay communities on Google+, as well as a started my own once.
I doubt you'd be intrested though.
This message was last edited by the user at 20:33, Sun 06 Mar 2016.

d20 systems like Pathfinder, D&D, GURPS and such tend to be very "crunchy". They have a lot of mechanics and are rarely played rolls-lite.

Mutants and Masterminds is also a d20 game (I think) and is a superhero style game.

So a lot of the difference in systems is about the genre, theme, and mechanics details.

Systems I think are more rules-lite or easier to play rolls-lite are Savage Worlds, tri-stat or Big Eyes Small Mouth (which is an anime style adaptation of tri-stat), and World of Darkness (which is largely supernatural horror or urban fantasy depending on your Storyteller). These use dice quite often, but are less of a labyrinth of rules.

There are also diceless systems and deliberately dice-lite systems.

Hey, hey! GURPS is definitely *not* a D20 system. It's its own, awesome thing :)

In reply to Varsovian (msg # 11):

Still very crunchy though...

Of course, but it's a completely different system than D&D and its various D20 derivatives, what Tileira seemed to suggest.

Speaking of crunchiness, Call of Cthulhu and its Basic Roleplaying rules are an example of a relatively simple system.

Well yes. But earlier editions of D&D aren't technically the D20 system either. Nor, come to that, are later editions. The D20 system is a very specific thing, and it's not just 'uses a D20 more than anything else'.

My point is that (AFAIK) D20 grew out of D&D 3E. So, the D20 systems are related to D&D, even if the relation is somewhat distant in some cases (for example, M&M 2E has significant changes in comparison to D&D 3E and Pathfinder). Meanwhile, GURPS is something completely different. It has never been based on D&D in any aspect. It's a fully separate system.

But let's not derail the thread...

I do think I'm beginning to get the big picture guys. I think I'll just "make" my own system.
I'm now starting to wonder, the game system also relates to the
-Races
-Items available
-Quests
-Scenarios
-Dungeons
am I correct?

Deadnation, you might try googling some of the systems. You will usually find an official website for the game or publisher which will give a summary of the system. Often, you'll even find a free SRD or quickstart version of the game, which you can download or bookmark to study at your leisure.

Exactly. Over at Chaosium's website, there's usually a free version of Call of Cthulhu rules. Also, Steve Jackson Games (the people behind GURPS) publish a free version of their system, GURPS Lite. You might want to take a peek at these free rulesets to see how a system might work.

Heck, you could even decide to use one of these free mini-systems. GURPS Lite has all the basic rules for GURPS, for instance. You could easily run a game with it. The quickstart rules of Call of Cthulhu could be reworked for some other game, too. And then, of course, are the free rules for Pathfinder and D&D...

The question would be: what kind of system would work for your game? Pathfinder / D&D were designed for epic fantasy with strong, hard-to-kill protagonists. GURPS can be used for just anything, but - in general - the system is somewhat more realistic and gritty than D&D. And if your worked with the rules for Call of Cthulhu, then you'd get a game where the heroes are quite frail and the combat can be very deadly...

Okay, I think you have a conceptual difficulty here.

A system is a probability resolution engine that facilitates telling the interactive story (i.e. the game), to put it simply.  This is commonly done with dice that generate random numbers, and the system used both instructs the players and game master (also called the referee, dungeon master or game keeper).

What this system relies on is probability, specifically expected event, to mathematically establish a "normal" and then contains rules for resolving what happens when the actual results of the dice rolls (or whatever is used, some games don't use dice) differ from the "typical" result.  So one number may signify failure, another success, etc.  Many systems will take pains to quantify and describe the effects of actions taken in this way.


Typically what races exist is a matter of setting information (a realistic game about the military for example will have only humans, but a game set in Planescape may have dozens), but the system may contain rules for how those races perform or act.

For example if one race is particularly intelligent, they may be more likely to succeed on tasks that require reason or knowledge.

Your other examples of:


Are similar, what exists in the world is decided mostly by the person who creates the game who is generally going to base it on the game's setting.  The game system by contrast is what the game uses to distinguish or determine what effects the players have in the scenario, etc.  I.e. do they succeed or fail at a given task.

I hope that helps somewhat?  It's really probably best just to get a copy of a popular system that seems appealing to you and just play one as a player for a while, it will help internalize the concept.

In reply to drewalt (msg # 19):

I get it now. I think.
I choose the different details of the given game, and the game system actually dictates the probabilities and various outcomes through its set of rules and guide lines, correct?

In reply to Varsovian (msg # 18):

So if I was intending to make a game with epic heroes, Pathfinder and D&D would be the best system. But in contrast, if I wanted the characters to be weak and vulnerable to enemy attacks, GURPS or Call of Cathulu would be better suited for it. Correct?

In reply to Gaffer (msg # 17):

I'll see what available, I didn't think much about googling those because I figured I get a bunch of junk results.

You can do epic with GURPS, too (check out GURPS Dungeon Fantasy for larger than life heroes).

Another game system that's well-suited to action-style games is Savage Worlds, which is also pretty popular.

For rules-light systems, you can check out Fate and The Window.  The Window is available free here (http://www.mimgames.com/window/) and Fate Core and Fate Accelerated are also free (http://fate-srd.com/).

Many settings have had multiple rpgs, including Star Wars and the Lord of the Rings.

This Wikipedia index of systems is one place to start:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...playing_game_systems

In reply to Mad Mick (msg # 23):

Hmm, thanks for the links.
I think Savage World sounds interesting. What genre is it more accustomed to?

Savage Worlds is good for action-adventure games:  https://savagepedia.wikispaces...+is+Savage+Worlds%3F

High adventure stuff - Indiana Jones, pirates, war.  There's quite a lot of flexibility in the system, similar to GURPS or Rifts.

Here's another link to different systems:  https://www.dmoz.org/Games/Roleplaying/Systems/

And universal systems:  https://www.dmoz.org/Games/Rol...ng/Genres/Universal/
This message was last edited by the user at 16:56, Mon 07 Mar 2016.

In reply to Mad Mick (msg # 25):

I'll take a look. Thanks.

There's also a D6 system...it was originally for the old Star Wars roleplaying game, back when West End Games held the license.  WEG let it go, though they had released a few supplements about it as a system for general use, rather than specifically for Star Wars.  Someone else has, in the past few years, revived it...haven't looked to see how close their version is to the original WEG system, but on a casual glance, it's very similar.  But it's also available for free online.

It's a fairly simple system...I was able to take friends who had never roleplayed before, sit them down, and have a character that was ready to play within an hour or so.  It does fast, run-and-gun action fairly well, though there's a lot of room for interpretation of results (depending on how you like to play and who you're playing with, that can be either a bonus or penalty for it...we loved it).  It is terrible for gritty, realistic play--but it was never designed for that.

Out of the dozen or so systems that I can think of having played, it's still hands-down my favorite.  But it doesn't do everything well...we tried running fantasy games with it a couple of times and it just didn't click.

My other favorite system (I think...) is the Basic Roleplaying System from Chaosium.  (I say 'I think', because I'm not sure I was actually playing it...might have been something similar that one of my friends cadged from another game.  But the way his game worked sounds EXTREMELY similar to the Chaosium rules).  And that one really seems to have had the easiest time adapting to different settings (GURPS is really good at multiple options for setting, as well, but BRP doesn't require the volumes of material that GURPS does, in my experience...BRP wasn't as fast as D6, for chargen...but it sure beat the hours and hours of reference work I had to go through every time I built a GURPS character).  I know there are rules-lite versions of GURPS out there...but I like systems that don't need to be simplified in order to appeal to non-hardcore gamers...*grin*

In reply to facemaker329 (msg # 27):

Okay, D6 isn't what I'm looking for. Thank you because I was close to using it last night before deciding to study on it in the morning.
I'm also starting to get an idea about GURPS as well. It doesn't sound like an easy system to use...

GURPS requires a lot of work from the GM.  Other systems have everything you need right out of the box.  GURPS requires a lot of set up work.

On the other hand, you don't need to use all the rules.  I played in one GURPS game that hardly ever had dice rolls.

For players, character creation can be complicated (although GURPS Character Assistant makes things much simpler).  Once you have the character, though, rolls are mostly just 3d6.  Compare your result to your skill level, and if it meets it or is under, it's a success.

GURPS is as simple or as complex as the GM prefers.  I don't know any GM who tries to use all the rules (and man, they'd go nuts if they did).

Still, systems like Fate are far easier to set up.  Savage Worlds is a balance between the two.  Character creation is pretty quick, and it's still a points-based system, so there's a good deal of freedom in designing characters.