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What RPG systems should a Professional GM learn?

So I've learned how to play Pathfinder, Fate Accelerated and D&D 5th Edition in about a week. What other new RPG systems should I learn? (It should be noted that I have only applied for the Professional GM position at this time.)
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Gold
Forum Champion
Should probably learn any RPG's that are made-for-Roll20, or designed-on-Roll20. The 2 that I know of so far are "The Quiet Year" (found in the Marketplace modules section), and "Simple System" . The other 2 I'll mention, I admit I'm biased because these are games I like to play, but AD&D 2nd Edition is an "old school" game that's been very popular on Twitch (due to ItMeJP, Mizclicks, and other broadcasters who play or played it). And BFRPG is nice because it's a completely free rule system, and fast to learn, which makes it nice for new players or introducing people to RPG. <a href="http://basicfantasy.org/downloads.html" rel="nofollow">http://basicfantasy.org/downloads.html</a>
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World of Darkness is great espacially for a more... roleplay oriented story.
stars without number warhammer rpg or dark heresy maybe burning wheel but im not sure how popular that actually is numenera
oh also learn dungeon world since it's a really simple system
Well I'm a veteran 3.5 player so I find 5 E to be a simple system. I've played World of Darkness but what made Wod Wod is all the innumerable factions and the political intrigue behind them. The system I can do in Wod but all those factions are cumbersome. What has happend in Wod recently by the way? Are all the Vampire clans still doing their deal or was there a huge realignment. I remember the Gangrel had left the Camarilla and I stopped paying attention at that point.
Pfft I don't follow anything like that.
I'm finishing up my own CV/Resume for that position. Hopefully my 25ish years of gaming will help! I'd recommend all manner of old systems. I can't count the number of LFG/Ps out there that mention older games. Not to mention just having a wide base of knowledge of everything from Boothill to GDW's House System (the original D20 system!) to Aftermath! to CORE just means you have the ability to adapt to practically anything. GURPS is also a must simply because it is so versatile.
World of Darkness split in the year 2003 or so, maybe 2004. This split left us with the "New" World of Darkness and "Old" World of Darkness. nWoD is a very different setting then oWoD (or cWoD (c meaning classic)). I would go into why but its a very convoluted thing which would be a lot easier over something like Skype (which I would do if you really care that much about learning the system). The general though nWoD is much less "Oh no, the world is falling around us help and I'm out of black hair gel!!!!" and more so "Oh no a werewolf is after me and the proms tomorrow!" - to put it in a silly way. What I'm saying is oWoD has much higher power scale then nWoD.
Thanks for all the feedback.
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Finderski
Pro
Sheet Author
Compendium Curator
I'd recommend looking at the statistics published by Roll20 and learn at the least the top 10 most popular games on Roll20.
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Lithl
Pro
Sheet Author
API Scripter
G V. said: I'd recommend looking at the statistics published by Roll20 and learn at the least the top 10 most popular games on Roll20. This. If you're looking to be a for-pay GM on Roll20, it's probably worth your while to know the systems people actually play on Roll20. As of Q4 2014, the numbers for the top 10* are: System Games Players Pathfinder 23.86% 42.47% D&D 5E 20.06% 24.34% D&D 3.5 15.81% 43.37% D&D 4E 8.32% 22.25% AD&D 2.67% 11.81% Star Wars 2.56% 12.79% Dark Heresy 2.34% 9.84% Shadowrun 2.08% 11.91% GURPS 1.93% 5.41% Dungeon World 1.86% 4.55% * Discounting "Other Games" as a system, since it's really "every system not on the list". Other Games comes in at 6.65% of games played, though. Dylan, since you mentioned Fate Accelerated, I'll also say that FATE is #11 on the list.
Super helpful. Thank you.
1424891664
The Aaron
Pro
API Scripter
Probably would be good to try some very different RPGs: Amber Diceless Roleplaying System, Universalis, Nobilis, etc And maybe some other classic systems like Palladium/Rifts/TMNT/Robotech, Star Frontiers, War Hammer Fantasy Roleplay
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The Aaron
Pro
API Scripter
Dylan G. said: Well I'm a veteran 3.5 player so I find 5 E to be a simple system. You know that he means the system that is literally named Simple System , right?
Thraks K. said: oh also learn dungeon world since it's a really simple system But he used it as an adjective.?
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PaulOoshun
Marketplace Creator
I would not learn Simple System at this stage. Development on it has all but completely gone quiet. These would be the staples I would say: Dungeon World, Pathfinder, all the D&Ds, Dark Heresy, Shadowrun, Fate Core, Fate Accelerated and Star Wars. Plus Poker. Far more than an encyclopaedic knowledge an ability to learn a new system and have fun with people as you learn would strike me as a desirable trait. PS Edit: Good luck! :)
A professional GM? Well there's really no benchmark since no such position existed. Also know that Roll20 is looking for a part-timer so it's not going to be something one can subsist on. Really more if you have time and can do it, full-time streamers have that luxury. As for what a 'professional' GM should learn.. there's really no quota on game systems. Even Adam, and Neal are fuzzy on the rules of their games (except Adam and dungeon world, more relating to shadowrun). Pathfinder is really big on roll20, so that's a must, 5e, Shadownrun, Fate Core, and a few Star wars varients. The simpler systems you can have a cursory knowledge where you can shore up a few days before the game (unless it's a long campaign). Pathfinder, D&D, and FATE would need a near complete understanding. I say near since the vast majority of GMs on those systems, including myself hand-wave a few rules here and there. I wouldn't say you need to learn all the D&D variants, 5e would suffice for all intents and purposes for the Roll20 position I'd wager.
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First of all, I don't believe you have truly learned ANY of those in "about a week" let alone all of them. You may have read the rules, you may have even rolled some dice, but there are an awful lot of subtleties that I guarantee you haven't even encountered yet. The only way to truly learn any decently complex RPG system is through extended play that streatches the limits of both your knowledge and the system itself. Now for other games: I would say that you *desperately* need to try some other non d20 "gamist" systems. You should play Champions or some other form of HERO as it is the great grand-daddy of all point-buy skill-based systems. You should play GURPS as wella s it and HERO take almost opposite approaches to the same core problems. You should play either TORG or my TORG/HERO inspired meta-system MUTT as it is very very different from just about any other system out there. (MUTT is available as a free download PDF at DriveThruRPG in the WorldWizards section.) You should play some totally diceless games such as Theatrix or Amber as well, for another very different take on roleplay games. You should play ParanoiaXP because, well, it's Paranoia. You should play Call of Cthulhu to see how losing can be fun. Finally you should probably play at least one WOD game as they are their own little sub culture.
Anima Beyond Fantasy is not one I would bother learning, 'cause no one plays it.
Anima is a great system, but I would suggest you learn another language first. Roll20 is a great site, and it has a great potential for international growth (just check the news about they were adding asian languages input method on the chat system). Sp I think a game in Portuguese, spanish, french or korean would be awesome. And a great plus to bost your Resumeé.
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Aaron has the right of it.. picking up a few vastly different RPG systems (D&D vs. Shadowrun for example) is probably more useful than learning the nuance's of a few very similar ones.(Pathfinder vs. D&D 5e for example) You're doing a pretty OK job of it if you can resonate with the following without having to look it up: A creature that embodies wanton destruction... the Tarasque Cringe at the very mention of finding a Rod of Wonder "Watch your back, shoot straight, conserve ammo, and never, ever, cut a deal with a dragon" "Frag off! I'm gettin' too old for this Drek!" "When a Malkavian speaks, listen. When a Malkavian acts, leave. When two Malkavians gather, run." WAAAGH!!!!!!!! Blood for the Blood God! Ability ? Proiciency? boost? setback? how many dice are there????
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Lithl
Pro
Sheet Author
API Scripter
Mark G. said: "When a Malkavian speaks, listen. When a Malkavian acts, leave. When two Malkavians gather, run." STOP: Malkavian: No YOU stop. STOP: Malkavian: NO, YOU STOP! STOP: Malkavian: STOP IT! STOP: Malkavian: You've made a powerful enemy today, sign.
Pathfinder, D&D 5th Edition, FATE Core, Numenera and Shadowrun are the obvious ones and most popular. People seem to forget another great system, one of the "Big Three". RuneQuest. I simply love RuneQuest and the latest edition is great. We played it a lot in the late 80s and it was in many ways more superior than AD&D 2nd back then. I'm actually making a RuneQuest 6 campaign in the Dark Sun world right now. You have to try RuneQuest the mother of many games, Call of Cthulhu, Pendragon, Stormbringer/Elric etc. Back to the RPG roots! If you want to try something special, go for Kult.
Personally I wouldn't go for old World of Darkness. I don't know about the "new" one, but the rules for WoD sucks big time. It's wrong in so many ways. Played Vampire, Werewolf, Mage and Exalted.
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Bo KH said: Personally I wouldn't go for old World of Darkness. I don't know about the "new" one, but the rules for WoD sucks big time. It's wrong in so many ways. Played Vampire, Werewolf, Mage and Exalted. New WoD cleaned up a lot orphaned rules and codified things so that rules-lawyers would find the system more appealing. It is also FAR easier to have a mixed group of supernatural types. I re-assert my statement that you should familiarize yourself with older game systems to increase your flexibility. Someone mentioned HERO, and I can't second that strongly enough. Kult also for understanding pure atmosphere and storytelling over rules. Toss in reading some Battletech novels just to get references that hard-core fans might make, and play a game of Succession Wars if you can. There is a wonderful online version of the game.
Do not Bother Learning Traveller, One Ring, Star Trek any Edition, Conspiracy X, or Song of Ice and Fire. I generally find the 6 or 7 players seeking those games here from the whole site over a week, then run it for 6 months, then switch off. so stay out of my staked out turf, pro favor. I do chose to run these, because they are more narrative style, less slashy, more filling, and I don't want to compete with and screen out the 500 players trying to dive into the 50 games of PF / 5 E starting up every week. If you want to be the gun for hire, PF, 5e, [Maybe 2e, but Gold has that surrounded and well served already], Fate Core, and (Saga, or Age of Rebellion for) Star Wars and you got 90% covered. Good luck.
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PaulOoshun
Marketplace Creator
James J. said: Do not Bother Learning Traveller, One Ring, Star Trek any Edition, Conspiracy X, or Song of Ice and Fire. I generally find the 6 or 7 players seeking those games here from the whole site over a week, then run it for 6 months, then switch off. so stay out of my staked out turf, pro favor. I did not know GMing worked that way. Dylan was actually applying to be a professional GM working for the Orr Group to stream and demo games on Roll20, so I don't think he's exactly muscling in on your operation. I'll be sure and stay off your streets though, don't want to be lyin' in chalk G...
Roll20 recently filled this position.