I’m looking for a better TTRPG experience. Started with AD&D in satanic panic era, left, came back to 5E a half dozen years ago. Got a great group & GM but some things just don’t suit me. For one, wouldn’t mind being done with Hasbro. My biggest issues in D&D? Character regret, & swinginess. Rolling up a character idea that sounds fun, but in-game always seems to go some completely different direction & now I’ve got an established character everyone depends on but locked into an un-fun stat / ability set. And ALWAYS whatever my concept is I can’t seem to roll for crap in those stats even with the bonuses, failing check after check when it’s the one thing I should be good at. That should only be possible rarely IMHO. Goals: I want above to go away or be much weaker. I want to be able to introduce friends & family who are new & unsure, probably rules light? But I do like dice rolling & some structure, don’t know if a pure storytelling game would work. Can’t be purely abstract. I love a good campaign but also a lot of times just want to be a beer league player, sit down, go to a cave & smash stuff, without needing a complex story to it. Party needs gold, rescue the missing turtle, let’s get swinging. Have thought for a long time about maybe west marches type scenarios. Show up, solve problems, check boxes, bring a new sheet to the next game whenever. Would work great for some of the gang. Not at all adverse to player death. Sorry so long, love to hear opinions!
I would point you to Ironsworn. Possibly also Ironsworn:Starforged, its SciFi adapatation and rules version 1.5e. Nothing wrong with base Ironsworn, Starforged just is better.
While rooted in dark perilous fantasy that can be changed through description and presentation. At its core it’s a Powered by the Apocalypse system, just as Dungeon World is, and can open up that whole ecosystem with highly rated games such as Monster of the Week and Masks: A New Generation. Ironsworn is also free which removes a barrier to checking it out
What makes Ironsworn so great is that while its narrative/light roots from PbtA is still there it structures gameplay much more than others. Part of this is because it it made from the ground up to accommodate GM-less and solo play. So many of those small considerations the GM does are spelled out. Second is Ironsworn’s excellent new take on tracks. Instead of filling it up and once filled it is done it puts the fulfillment in the players hands. Once the fiction is such that it could have been completed the player can roll against its progress and see what falls out. Or they can push on, fill the tracker up more for a more sure result.
So all-in-all Ironsworn is a system born in the narrative PbtA tradition that further structures gameplay. A great system for questing campaigns.
I have a copy of Ironsworn but I’ve always thought it was basically solo? I will crack it open, thanks!
Solo, GM-less (co-op) or guided (with GM) all work well. The tools provided for GM-less/solo play also facilitates GMing. Almost autopilot.