I'm feeling an urge to run a #ttrpg next semester, while I'm still on sabbatical and have the time to make this plausible.
Genre? Probably space opera or fantasy.
System? That's the question. I recently ran FATE and I think I want something a little crunchier, more on the "players face the challenge placed by the GM" end than "collaborative storytelling". I'm interested in a good pre-written adventure.
Candidates:
Savage Worlds. I like the level of detail, as well as the use of polyhedral dice, but the settings and adventures I've looked at (Seven Worlds, The Last Parsec) seem dry and vague.
GURPS. Maybe too heavy? The focused Dungeon Fantasy box is intriguing and has good reviews.
Traveller (Mongoose). Again, the adventures out there look very dry. It sounds like you might get through the first two Marches adventures without any combat. I'm not saying I want a mercenary campaign, but action/adventure works better than extended wandering.
D&D 5E. The obvious, easy answer, but overdone and a bit too Hasbro-y. All other things being equal, I prefer skills over classes.
Dungeon Crawl Classics. Fun to be had from the 0-level funnel and spell misfires, but the 1970s-era worldview is borderline problematic.
Nudge me, Mastodon!
@peterdrake FWIW there's a Bundle of Holding just now with a whole bunch of Mongoose Traveller mercenary-related content.
@RogerBW Ooh, and there's also a nice Mongoose Traveller general bundle and one for Dungeon Fantasy!
I like physical books, and spend way too much time on screens, but I should probably buy more of these things electronically. I can shell out again for the dead trees if/when I actually get a game to the table.
@RogerBW @notasnark @mongoosepub Reviews suggest that most of Mongoose's Traveller adventures seem to provide a loose plot outline and then repeatedly say, "Next they go to this planet. Something interesting happens there. Details are left up to the GM." Are there any that are ... tighter?
@peterdrake @notasnark @mongoosepub The only ones I've looked at in detail are the first two Marches ones, High and Dry (which I liked a lot, clear narrative thrust) and Mission to Mithril, which has some great individual locations/encounters but leans heavily on "you have to cross this unfamiliar terrain and there will be a bunch of random events/monsters". Actual plays on Whartson Hall.