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.
@peterdrake @RogerBW I'm so close to buying that Dungeon Fantasy RPG bundle. Does anyone know what the profit share is to Steve Jackson Games?
@worldofgeese @RogerBW I don't know, but it says at the bottom that it's (at least in part) a charity fundraiser.
@peterdrake @worldofgeese "Ten percent of your payment (after gateway fees) will be donated to this Dungeon Fantasy offer's designated charity, Direct Relief." I assume the remainder is split between the Bundle and SJGames, but I have no information about the proportions.