What are the best tabletop RPGs?

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Best tabletop RPGs	Price	Steam Rating	Publisher
90 Call of Cthulhu	-	Very Positive	-
89 Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition	-	-	-
87 Dungeon World	-	-	-
-- Star Wars RPG by Fantasy Flight Games	-	-	-
-- Dungeonslayers	-	-	-

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43 Other Games Considered

Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition

Top Pro

Free basic rules PDFs

Wizards of the Coast provides free PDFs containing the complete core mechanical rules of 5th Edition D&D (combat, exploration, spellcasting, etc.) and a selection of iconic character options, monsters, magic items, etc. drawn from the full game. Though short on variety, the basic rules are playable and accurate to the full game. See More

Top Con

Immersive play, not free form narrative

Unlike some modern rpgs, D&D is designed to place players into an immersive, character-focused role within the story: the Dungeon Master is in control of the enviroment, non-player characters and many aspects of meta-plot, and must work with the players to create a coherent character with a background that fits the play world (no making it all up as you go along). Players who dislike not having equal narrative control to the DM may find this hard. See More

Jess Milligan's Experience

I've been playing D&D since 3.5. I find that not only is D&D 5th edition a versatile edition but it's also effective at introducing new players who have never held a character sheet before to the tabletop genre. Secondly, it lends itself to homebrewing from the player base i.e. fan made content. I do agree that casters are more powerful than non-casters, but that's been an on-going struggle for a long time. See More

Top Pro

Encourages character immersion

Numerous core aspects of 5th Edition exist solely to encourage thinking in-character, including mechanical rewards for good roleplay and detailed character backgrounds with lasting effects in the game. See More

Top Con

Need a good DM/GM

D&D 5th edition or any edition is an amazing game but...you have to have someone that is a good DM/GM for the game to be fun. Starting out from scratch you need to have a DM/GM that is very well read on the rules and ways of doing things. For noobs of D&D the DM/GM needs to be able to explain and guide the new incoming players on the way the game works and how to progress. See More

SophisticatedLemminkainen's Experience

A good mix of previous editions. Smooth play and no in-game rules arguments. Organized play scenarios are way better thought out and edited then Pathfinder's disorganized scenarios. See More

Top Pro

Bounded Accuracy

Bounded Accuracy is a core design ideal of 5th Edition. In short, it means the numbers don't get too big; this lets weak challenges remain relevant for longer, and strong ones become survivable sooner. In practice, it also places more focus on a character's inherent abilities and less on magical equipment than has been the case in recent editions. See More

Top Con

Casters are more powerful than noncasters

Malcolm Merlyn's Experience

I ran Out of the Abyss last year and I am running Tomb of Annihilation this year and I have more than 30 yo RPG experience so I can tell this the better D&D at this time. See More

Top Pro

New, Popular & Growing

This is the most recent edition of the game and is the only one for which official content is being produced. Do not expect to see new official adventures or splatbooks published for any of the older editions of D&D. See More

Top Con

Irrealistic and complex rules that often don't make sense

Most new gamers don't get the sense of the way D&D combats are handled (people seem to just stay there for hours hitting each other in the face until one goes down) and would feel bad when they propose a nice idea which has no way to be applied in the game through the rules and so the GM has to invent a way to show it's a nice idea without saying "no". You have to wade through pages and pages of spells and rules to "build" an efficient character, and if you don't do it or are new to the game you are less useful for your party "by design". That's why it's "complex" ( if compared to a board game or a more streamlined RPG). Rules often don't make sense compared to reality, for example a very agile character in armor would get no benefit from his athleticity "because you wear plate, you know" (plate armor weights as a marine backpack but the weight is perfectly distributed on the body, so it's even less encumbrance, some guys even did a video comparing them on the same obstacle-ride). AC doesn't make sense in general and the rules for healing HP are the worst: the more HP (high level) you have, the more time you require to get back from the same % of wounds: veteran heroes must rest more than greens. See More

Top Pro

Versatile rules

While the 5th Edition rules are simpler than those found in other D&D versions, you can still be extremely creative with them. See More

Top Con

Lack of granularity

Top Pro

Minimal but versatile rules

5th Edition strikes an impressive balance in keeping the rules simple without limiting the creativity of players. See More

Top Pro

OGL content

As with other editions of the game, much of the content is released under the Open Game License (OGL) allowing custom modification, extension and alteration of the game. See More

Top Pro

Almost unlimited support materials.

Top Pro

Absolutely the best for beginners

Top Pro

Advantage rule

Rolls 2d20 chooses best. This dramatically moves away from silly linear probabilities. See More

Top Pro

Bounded accuracy

Bounded Accuracy is a core design ideal of 5th Edition. In short, it means the numbers don't get too big; this lets weak challenges remain relevant for longer, and strong ones become survivable sooner. In practice, it also places more focus on a character's inherent abilities and less on magical equipment than has been the case in recent editions. See More

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Dungeon World

Top Pro

Encourages players and the GM to build the world collaboratively

Unlike other RPGs where the GM creates the world and the storyline single-handedly, here GMs are specifically asked to leave blanks and players encouraged to fill them in. See More

Top Con

Hard for the GM with non-collaborative players

Top Pro

Narrative driven fantasy RPG

Dungeon World is set in a D&D-esque world with a distinct slant towards combat and treasure gathering while emphasizing narrative over combat mechanics. The game includes classic fantasy RPG classes such as Bard, Cleric, Druid, Fighter, Paladin, Ranger, Thief and Wizard and D&D style ability scores such as Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma. See More

Top Con

Combat system can be confusing for some

Dungeon World's combat system is not divided into turns in order to make it more fluid. But it can get confusing as to what happens in what order. It is purposefully frantic, but that can turn off some. Especially people with preconceived notions of how RPGs should be played. In the most basic form - GMs narrate the beginning of an NPC's action to which the player responds. If the player's response triggers a move, roll the dice. GM narrates the conclusion. See More

Top Pro

Encourages creating relationships between characters

Relationships between characters are established during the character creation process as well as at the end of each session via Bonds. Bonds are simple statements that explain how a character relates to another character. An example of a bond would be, "Avon proved himself a coward in the dungeons of Xax’takar. He is a dangerous liability to the party and must be watched." Multiple bonds can be established at a time. At the end of each session bonds resolved and new ones created give XP. See More

Top Con

It's not entirely free

The text is CC-BY but the game as a whole (graphics etc) is not free. You can make and sell your own games based off it but you won't find the PDF download for free anywhere. See More

Top Pro

Great advice and systems to help GMs along

Dungeon World provides GMs with great advice on how to run a good session. Additionally, GMs can set conditions that, if fulfilled, will give a player XP. It gives the GM a way of enticing players to perform certain actions they might not otherwise have considered or wanted to perform. See More

Top Pro

Does not require special dice

The game can be played with common six-sided dice. See More

Top Pro

Encourages playing according to character's way of thinking and morality

XP is given at the end of the session if a character is acting according to alignment. Alignments are categorized as Good, Lawful, Neutral, Chaotic, and Evil. See More

Top Pro

Has a self-regulating power balance system

In Dungeon World, XP is given for failures, and automatically for any rolls that are 6 or below. It provides many benefits and chief among them is the fact that it allows players to catch up to the difficulty of challenges faced. Additionally, it encourages the group to attempt harder challenges, reduces grief caused by failure and clears the GM from having to track each individual player's level. See More

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Star Wars RPG by Fantasy Flight Games

Top Pro

Story focused instead of combat focused

Rather than focus on combat encounters and character stats, Fantasy Flight Games system allows the group to focus on telling a great Star Wars story. The players and the GM alike are major contributors due to FFG's unique system and dice mechanics. See More

Top Con

You need custom dice, and they take some getting used to

This game doesn't use the regular dice so common in most RPGs, but requires the use of a special set of dice that only Fantasy Flight sells. It's kinda pricey, and it takes some getting used to the weird symbols on the dice. There is a die roller app. Of course, some people come to love the custom dice (no more automatic 1-or-20 successes or fails). See More

ExceptionalChloris's Experience

"Roll d20 for initiative, then for attack." Are you tired of that? How about: "My smuggler pilot yanks the freighter into a spin, trying to send the TIE fighter whirling into the asteroid belt." Or maybe: "My Rebel diplomat turns to the bounty hunters surrounding the arena and reveals our blackmail against the Hutt." Or maybe even: "My conflicted Jedi whirls on the Inquisitor, murder glowing in his eyes, then channels his focused fury to Force the crimson lightsaber into his hand." And when you've chosen one of these, or one of a truly infinite number of other more than viable options, you'll find yourself rolling, not for a hit on armor class, but for the Successes to achieve your goal and the Advantages to trigger other results. Yes, perhaps, you rolled too few Successes to disarm Vader, but you choose what to do with those Advantages—maybe thrust at him the carbonite tube you've busted with your lightsaber, giving him another negative die as he reels in the billowing steam? Or maybe not. It's your adventure. So, if you like sandboxy, narrative improv, if you're (Pelor forbid) tired of your beloved d20, or if you just want to join the Rebels, Jedi, or Millennium Falcon, FFG's Star Wars masterpiece is your next RPG. Try it once, and you won't be disappointed. And then... "Why don't you stick around? You know what's about to happen, what they're up against." —Luke Skywalker, A New Hope See More

Top Pro

Drives improvisation through its die roll mechanics

The die roll mechanic leads to more than just a simple success and failure. The result often requires positive and negative side effects; sometimes dramatic ones! Very rewarding with a GM who's good at making stuff up on the spot. See More

Top Con

Very little digitally distributed content

While Fantasy Flight has added a few digitally distributed(PDF) resources that are all free; such as character sheets, pre-generated characters and campaigns; there are no official digital versions available for any of their print materials. See More

Top Pro

Super-customizable character creation system

The Star Wars RPG's point-buy system allows characters to easily gain skills outside their career while still making each build feel unique. Focused builds are rewarded, but, in the narrative system, min/maxed characters are no more overpowered than their (equally rewarded) all-around counterparts. Players can easily create a bounty hunter, ambassador, or mystic, or even all of them in one character. Rigid classes ("I am a cleric") are a thing of the past. Your character is no longer defined by such constraining borders—he is what you want him to be. The level-less system places literal millions of possibilities at your fingertips. See More

Top Pro

Set in the Star Wars Universe

The Star Wars Universe is arguably one of the largest and most beloved in the world, and this RPG captures it's depth and diversity very well. Players can choose from hundred of class and specialization combinations for creating unique characters and stories set in classic Star Wars settings, or create entirely new worlds and stories. See More

Top Pro

Now available in setting free format with Genesys

Top Pro

Future support

Since Disney bought the Star Wars franchise, Fantasy Flight has continued to put out great Star Wars content for all their games. For the RPG they have continued to add new material and are adding resources from the new Force Awakens time period as well. See More

Top Pro

Easier to play online

Because the Star Wars RPG focuses more on story and role play and less on combat, maps and hard stats, it is easier to play online using Voice Software like Skype, Google Hangouts or Discord. There are also online platforms such as Roll20 that allow for digital dice rolls and resources. See More

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Traveller

Top Pro

Vast catalog of adventure and reference booklets

Top Con

Unforgiving character generation

You can die while generating a character. See More

DependableLaima's Experience

A great game, a simple 2d6+bonuses mechanic to get the coveted 8+. Yes, it is possible for your character to die in generation but the chances are low overall, and if they live you get a battle-hardened or experience-hardened character, no 18-year-old farm-boys sent into space, that's for sure. (Later editions of Traveller mollified this by turning it into a mishap requiring hospitalization for months or something.) The typical Traveller storylines are to trade, or to be explorers, or to be mercenaries, but most of all to GO PLACES. Inspired by classic SF up to the 1970s, and as a reaction to the oil embargo of 1973, hydrogen fuel is the easiest thing in the world to get in this game! Generating star-systems is a fun activity all its own, and the referee thinks of adventure-threads big and mall to bring up in these places. Possibly this is the game Joss Whedon ran in college which inspired FIREFLY. See More

Top Pro

Simple dice-rolls

Top Pro

Expansive library of reference materials

Top Pro

Diversity in setting and thematic complexity.

Traveller is one of the oldest science fiction roleplaying games, and has a a default setting that is even older. As such, there is a lot of cumulative depth that has been developed over the years. The current version of the rules (Mongoose Traveller 2nd edition) is very accessible, however, and allows new players to approach the game without a heavy load of baggage. Anybody who has seen an episode of Firefly, or any other typical space travelling fiction, will immediately understand the tropes. From the basis of its simple system, lots of interesting sci-fi ideas can be developed and there is a lot of material to use as inspiration. See More

Top Pro

Versatility

Can do most sci go settings See More

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Risus

Top Con

Little guidance can be found for GMs and players

Some prior understanding of how an RPG is played and what is the role of the GM is required as the rules cover only the very core of the system. See More

Top Pro

Multi-lingual

Risus is available in a number of languages other than English, all for free. See More

Top Pro

A large following that provides a lot of content

A large amount of adventures, artwork, characters, clichés as well as optional rules can be found for Risus. An excellent resource for all aforementioned things as well as many others is Risusiverse, a fan-made website of all things Risus. See More

Top Pro

Very flexible rules

Risus is not confined to a selection of pre-defined character-classes, settings or abilities. Characters are described via clichés such as Witch Doctor, Gambler, Musician with a number of dice assigned to each cliché that are then used in challenges that relate to the appropriate cliché. See More

Top Pro

Can be taught in less than 10 minutes

Risus has a very minimalist rule system that breaks down all actions to their core function. Risus comes with a super short, four page rulebook (available in many forms and formats) that's easy to read, includes examples and has a bit of humor thrown in to make the process or learning more enjoyable. See More

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GURPS 4th Edition

Top Pro

Great sourcebooks

GURPS sourcebooks are famous for being comprehensive guides to the settings/genres they describe, to the degree that even people who don't play GURPS find them useful. See More

Top Con

Core rules need two books

Top Pro

Modular rules

GURPS can be as crunchy as you like, with rules available to cover any situation, but at its core, there are only about three rules you need. See More

Top Con

Long character creation

The lion's share of the work in GURPS is front-loaded: characters are built on points, pieced together with attributes, advantages, disadvantages, quirks, skills, powers, spells, cybernetics, and whatever else your game requires. Expect to spend easily an hour or more creating your character. See More

Top Pro

Character mortality

In GURPS, characters can be killed by a single blow to the head with a wood plank. For gamers seeking a more "realistic" level of mortality, GURPS is your game. See More

Top Pro

Long character creation creates a bond with your character

Spending a lot of time creating your character also helps with creating a bond with them. This way you will be more encouraged to keep them alive than going around doing dangerous things which would most likely end up killing them. See More

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Fate Core

Top Pro

Focuses on roleplaying by originating gameplay from world-building

Fate uses "aspects" to influence the gameplay in ways that are consistent with the world that's built. Aspects are descriptive phrases that define anything they are attached to. They give both roleplaying and mechanical advantages and disadvantages. For example, a character could be "raised in a wretched hive of scum and villainy" and that would allow him to better negotiate with thiefs and crooks, but also make him poor at fine dining etiquette. See More

Top Con

Not for passive players

If you find your players passive and unwilling to take an active role in creating game world then the experience may be not as enjoyable as it could be. See More

SophisticatedLemminkainen's Experience

You need a flexible game master to have a good play experience. I played in one campaign using Fate and it wasn't too fun. See More

Top Pro

No fixed setting

Fate Core is a general purpose RPG system that can be applied to any theme. See More

Top Con

It can be difficult to come up with aspects

Coming up with aspects can take a while, especially for new players. In addition to coming up with traits that define the character, tags and compels are needed. Furthermore all of these little nuances have to be coherent as well as balanced in terms of power. This can make the character creation process take a while. See More

Top Pro

Multiple settings available for free

If you have problems creating your own game world there are a lot of settings available for free and they range from fantasy to Soviet-era pulp sci-fi, so everyone can find something for himself. See More

Top Con

Compel mechanic is not for everyone

Compels allow GM to trigger a player's aspect in exchange for a fate point. The player can avoid invoking noted apect by spending a fate point. Concerns about the system include removing control from the player of how a character is played, GMs having a lot more data to track (each aspect for each player) and possibility of getting stuck in a compel-loop of forcing certain behaviour. See More

Top Pro

An even more streamlined version is available, called Fate Accelerated

Whereas Fate Core is skill driven, has more variables to keep track of and is potentially more varied in terms characters created, Fate Accelerated is approach driven, has less variables to keep track of and allows getting started quicker. Also, the Accelerated version is just 50 pages whereas the Core version is 310 pages. See More

Top Pro

Excellent clarity of rules

It starts at the very beginning by explaining what is roleplaying and moves on to introduce various mechanics and conventions and explains why they're there, when's the appropriate time to use them and what are the best practices on how to do it. The book does so in easy to understand language, offers many examples and highlights the important bits in various ways. See More

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Savage Worlds

Top Pro

Extremely flexible

Top Con

Not flexible for supers

The game is more designed to pulp setting play, the super companions 2nd edition, while nice and with good ideas, feels incomplete. See More

BrilliantTelipinu's Experience

Been playing this duke set for about 4 years. See More

Top Pro

Quick character generation

Top Pro

Quick gameplay

Top Pro

Easy to learn and play

Top Pro

Generic rule-set

The rules cater to multiple genres, and offer additional rules for GMs (or players) to create their own races, powers, etc. See More

Top Pro

Companion books with expanded rules to support 4 major genres

Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Horror, and Super Heroes. Each of which can be portrayed in a basic sense with only the core book. See More

Top Pro

Cheap

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Paranoia

Top Pro

Humourous in tone

There is a lot of tongue in cheek and black humour in this dystopian setting. See More

Top Pro

Perfect for one shots

Paranoia offers a different experience to a typical roleplaying game, and tends to lead to characters suffering multiple deaths (they have 6 clones = 'lives'). While it doesn't lend itself well to long campaigns, it has a tight scenario-design formula, which makes running games off the cuff quite easy for the referee. Players don't normally need much encouragement to get into the spirit of the game - making it ideal for a short notice, one shot game. See More

Top Pro

Semi-competitive play

Secretively backstabbing other players is encouraged, setting it apart from many of its peers. See More

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Marvel Super Heroes

Top Pro

Karma system rewards heroic roleplaying

Karma is a resource used for character advancement and increasing chances in a conflict. It's gained by performing actions that a moral hero would perform. See More

Top Con

Some of the karma system potential is lost

Karam system is used for 2 things in the game - advancing the character (getting new powers, abilities and raising ability scores) and improving character's rolls. Since most players tend to focus on advancing the character, the secondary function of the karma system is often wasted potential. See More

Top Pro

Designed to be beginner-friendly and narrative-focused

The game has a light ruleset that encourages roleplaying. Most conflicts are resolved with a percentage roll and a consulting table with the GM having a lot of flexibility due to rules being mostly just guidelines. See More

Top Con

Random generation creates nonsensical characters

The random character generation system tends to make characters who make no sense, because powers are completely unrelated to each other, without a binding "theme" like most comic superheroes. See More

Top Pro

Power Stunt mechanic encourages creative use of powers or abilities

(not available in the basic set) See More

Top Con

High level of randomness

Power balance between characters can be highly varied since all attributes are decided with a dice roll. See More

Top Pro

Random character generation is quick and allows for some truly memorable superheroes

MSH has a quick and easy character generation process. Characters are created by rolling for origin, ability scores, powers, talents and deciding on a name. It usually takes less than 10 minutes and offers an impressive variety in characters created. See More

Top Con

Designed with a single interpretation of a superhero in mind

MSH's karma system rewards ethical behaviour, as such anti-heroes like Deadpool or Punisher are almost impossible to play as. See More

Top Pro

Character advancement is optional

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Vampire: The Masquerade

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HeroQuest

Top Con

May be hard to get

It's a somewhat older tabletop RPG, with a decent number of expansions. You may end up paying a high price on ebay or other sites to get yourself a copy. It’s also worth noting that you can’t always be sure about the physical quality of the game. The 3D furniture is made from cardboard and if the copy you’re buying has been used then it’s a bit of a risk. See More

Top Pro

Interactive figurines

It's not just a story, you're uncovering a dungeon as the dungeonmaster allows your character to see and discover new areas. See More

Top Con

Requires a good gamemaster

If the gamemaster doesn’t know what he’s doing then the game will be more frustrating and take much longer than usual, and it’s already a long game. The gamemaster is the only player with access to what the quest is supposed to look like and is solely responsible for creating the dungeon as the game goes on – spawning monsters, revealing objects, etc., so the players need to trust that the gamemaster isn’t cheating. See More

Top Pro

Beautiful visual design

While the game board is not particularly big, it’s quite colorful and aesthetic. The game also manages to catch the eye due to the figurines and the small furniture. The game features a big variety of remarkably detailed miniature figures - orcs, skeletons, zombies, goblins, etc. All the figures are originally single-colored, the heroes are bright red, whereas the various monsters come in white, dark blue, dark green and light blue. The box also packs some beautiful and detailed pieces of colored cardboard furniture that add a lot of aesthetic value to the game by filling up the emptier places on the playing space. See More

Top Con

Doesn’t scale well

The game is at its best when played in a full group of 4 heroes and a gamemaster. Otherwise the odds are more on the gamemaster’s side and it’s a lot more difficult to complete the quest. To counter this, it’s recommend for a player to control more than one hero, but that also adds unnecessary difficulty. See More

Top Pro

Easy to grasp

The game is teachable to players in a matter of minutes due to the simple rules. It’s also simple enough for children, as the game is made for ages 10 and over. After the gamemaster has introduced the players to the scenario and readied the board, the game starts with the player to the left of the gamemaster. During the player’s turn the player can perform two actions – move and either attack, cast a spell, search for traps and secret entrances, or search for treasure. On the gamemaster’s turn the gamemaster can attack the heroes with the currently visible monsters. Movement is done by rolling two regular dice, which show the amount of squares the player can move in their turn. Combat is done by the player and the gamemaster rolling special dice with 3 skull sides, 2 hero shield sides and 1 monster shield side. The number of dice rolled in combat is determined by the statistics of the monster or the hero, specified in the character cards. Each skull is a hit and each shield can block one skull. When “body count” reaches zero, the character is removed from the game. See More

Top Con

A lot of first-time setup

When you first open the box the amount of work can seem overwhelming. You have to de-peg your pieces and assemble all the furniture, which is quite tedious and inconvenient due to the relatively small size. Furthermore, your first games might take a longer while until the gamemaster gets the hang of the process. See More

Top Pro

Great for parties

HeroQuest is a perfect activity for a small gettogether. The game is meant for 2-5 players, a quest takes up to 90 minutes. Not only is it simple to learn and easy to set up, but it requires good teamwork and communication between players. There’s also always room for roleplay, which can lead to some humorous and memorable moments. Moreover, the playing surface is not too big, so there should be plenty of room for snacks and drinks on the table. See More

Top Pro

Customizable

HeroQuest encourages creativity. The quest book has a blank scenario, so players can design and play their own quests. Moreover, since the miniature figures are single-colored, many people choose to color them, creating some beautiful pieces. On top of that, the 3D furniture in the game doesn’t serve a different purpose other than the aesthetic one, so you can craft your own pieces or use small furniture from different games. If you lack ideas, then the HeroQuest fan site Ye Olde Inn has some great fan-made content – quests, cards, printable furniture, etc. See More

Top Pro

Easy to set up

Since most of the actual dungeon construction is done by the gamemaster as the game progresses and more rooms are revealed, all you need to do before the game can properly start is bring out the board, let the players choose their heroes and introduce the quest. See More

Top Pro

Active community

Despite being a game released in 1989, it still has a decently active online community both on reddit and on the fan site Ye Olde Inn. The sites feature all the fan content you’d expect – custom creations, stories and pictures of game nights, discussions, and games happening in your area. See More

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Cyberpunk 2020

Top Pro

Deep character creation and fast-paced action

With its system for creating character traits and backstory, CB2020 inspires players to build well-rounded characters with adventure seeds built directly into their histories. Skill-checks are based on a D10 roles plus attribute and skill values against difficulty levels, and combat tends to be quick and dirty, keeping the focus on the action and allowing for cinematic gameplay. See More

Top Con

Chance may be more important than strategy

With a system that gives every roll a 10 percent chance to be a fumble or critical hit (respectively), gameplay can at times become somewhat arbitrary. Some players and GMs may find this high level of randomness enjoyable as a way of disrupting well-conceived plans, and the excellent fumble tables in particular contain loads of hilarity and mayhem. Others may feel the need to 'hack' the rules a bit. See More

DependableLaima's Experience

Cyberpunk 2.0.2.0 (1990) faithfully represented the eponymous "cyberpunk" science fiction that exploded in the 1980s. The rules mechanic was to add a Stat to a relevant Skill and add a single "exploding" d10 roll and compare to a level of Difficulty set for a task. Choose from 9 futuristic character types called Roles, roll for or spend points on their Stats and then distribute points for a set of 10 Skills relevant to the Role. One Skill is a Role specialty (exclusive to them). You also go through "Lifepath" flow-charts to determine events in the character's past (to generate an interesting back-story and plot-points which may return into the game). Fast, well-oiled combat system but it does have a lot of crunch compared to today's games. Determine success, hit-location with a d10, calculate damage but subtract armor at that location, and based on the damage figure out the character's escalating Wound level and its effect on their performance. Remember: head-hits count for double! Netrunner rules are extensive and it may consume a good part of the game while other characters sit idle, but you can manage that by knowing the rules cold or simplifying. If the Netrunner steals data or fiddles with the building's security system, that will be a big help to your party! But his brain may be fried by the Corporation's Intrusion Countermeasures Electronics (ICE) programs during virtual cyber-duels! So watch it! There is adequate coverage of gear and the world of the "2020" setting. But some details are retro and are no longer true: cellphones are flip-phones, the Soviet Union is still a thing, newspapers are constantly updated but come out of newsboxes like a fax-machine, and they didn't anticipate wireless "WiFi" computing. See More

Top Pro

Faithful rendition of "cyberpunk" fiction

Top Con

A future that is almost an alternate history at this point

Set in a time that is almost upon us, the 1980s vision of the dark future can seem anachronistic, and it may require serious suspension of disbelief for anyone who did not grow up with the genre. Imagine cassette tapes were still around, mobile phones were still the size of a brick, and wifi was rare and expensive. See More

Top Pro

Universal Stat+Skill+d10! roll-system for determining success

There is a universal roll of using a character's appropriate Stat, a Skill related to that stat and to the action needed, and an exploding d10 die (if you roll a 10, you will start to have adequate "critical hit" thrills by rolling some more, but if you roll a 1 that is a potentially dangerous Fumble on the Fumble Chart, 60% of the time). See More

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