Mark K.
said:
Looking at AD&D/Pathfinder now, things have changed a lot, and I'm not sure for the better. IMO the ruleset should facilitate the story by providing a framework for the action. It seems now the rulesets have become overly complex and cumbersome, and manipulating and maximising stats and abilities has become the game of itself. Are there any fresh and simple (not bloated) fantasy rulesets that people currently play and could recommend? I would like to find something that I could firstly join as a player before developing my own campaign.
The game is what you make of it. If your players and you like manipulating and maximizing stats and abilities, then that's what you'll do. If you don't like that aspect, you'll focus on something else. D&D has always incentivized optimization and the acquisition of mechanical power. That's part of the game. The increased rules focus of 3.X, 4e, and PF come out of a need for baseline rules to handle situations that were traditionally problematic or subject to DM whim, e.g. now the DM can't say you can't do a thing when you have a power for it. They're a substitute for trust and DM skill. So you can thank a generation of power-mad DMs for that. They're also a great deal of fun if you like the tactical game. If you're looking for a simpler ruleset for a fantasy setting, you want Dungeon World . Even if you don't end up playing it, the section for GMs is pretty much the best advice you will ever get for running any games, period. If you're just getting back into the hobby, this is what you want. Forget everything you've learned before. Dungeon World is what D&D could have been if it didn't focus so much on simulation. Here's a legal copy of it on the web.
