What do I mean by "Off-Brand"? I mean non-standard stuff, things like Teenagers from Outer Space (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teenagers_from_Outer_Space_(role-playing_game)), Ironclaw (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ironclaw), and Victoriana (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoriana_(role-playing_game)). These are games that exist, but aren't put out by the big power houses. So, my simple question to you is this: what off-brand roleplaying games have your attention at the moment?
Of course, this is an "I'll show you mine if you show me yours" thing, so this is what's on my plate right now:
-Trail of Cthulhu: Like Call of Cthulhu, but with less focus on rolling dice and more focus on telling stories and driving your characters nuts. It uses the GUMSHOE system, and I'm currently trying to adapt it to run sans Cthulhu...perhaps a secret society thing, or even with the SCP foundation.
-Little Fears: Ya know the old fairytales? The Bogeyman, the monster under the bed, the monster in your closet? Well...they're real. Adults can't see 'em...but kids can. They know these being are hunting them, and they can fight back. It's a fun concept: kids can battle childhood fears and enter Closet Land to take them on their home turf, using their Belief to empower things like teddy bears and treasured trinkets to protect themselves. Lots of fun, especially if you're a fan of Stranger Things.
What about you?
Right now, I'm running a weekly group in a game called The Void. Hard to get me to shut up about it. It's a game that I found purely by chance when looking for something new and interesting.
The Void is a sci-fi horror RPG, where players take on the role of investigators trying to help rid the solar system of eldritch creatures. It's been a bit of an adjustment from more traditional RPGs, but we all appear to like it.
The core rulebook is also free. http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/117563/The-Void-Core-PDF?cPath=5525_19195
It's not really 'Off-brand' so much as 'Red-headed Step Child that WotC doesn't want anymore' and that's D20 Modern, had an idea for a fairly extensive campaign with some give and take for missions (You save the water depot? Great! Now the electrical plant is swarming with more enemies, though).
Was gonna have influences primarily of Doom, plus some from Dead Space, but I wasn't ever sure of how to make enemies fun and not a glass cannon.
Another RPG I've liked is Mutants and Masterminds, did that one in college, that was pretty fun.
One I would be very interested in is Eclipse Phase, sci fi with some horror stuff thrown in, but not really to the degree that Void seems to have. It's more machine then Lovecraft.
Ah, Eclipse Phase...that was one of the games brought up for my Sunday Night group. I've still got the book around on my hard drive...
...somewhere...
Hahaha. Yeah, it looked interesting, would be fun to play a couple times, just a different... setup for doing rolls. THink it was like, had to roll below the target to succeed with a D10. THat was interesting.
Not the first. BESM was like that, but with 2d6 instead of 1d10. The Tri-Stat system (which grew out of that) also came with ways to do that for all die types.