Sup Veeky Forums.
Is there any good system other than GURPS for a game about modern-era wizards? Preferably something that also has solid rules for both melee and ranged combat, and extra bonus points for something that makes building a character around any of those options (magic/melee/guns) is at least somewhat viable. Fluff isn't very important, I'm mostly looking for something I can easily adapt and cannibalize.
Alternity. They had a book called Beyond Science which was all about magic.
Awakening? Although it's a game purely about modern-era wizards, so if you're wanting something like a mixed party where the fighter is one dude, the sharpshooter is another, and the mage is just one guy, you should probably pass. If you also use the core CofD, there are more rules for fighting styles and whatnot.
Mage: The Ascenscion
is this bait?
Dresden Files RPG isn't bad, at least in my own experience.
Fate Accelerated copy of Dresden files looks neato.
also look up 4x5 magic.
But building around melee/ranged kinda isn't an option in those games. Magic or nothing
Dresden Mind
have you played?
usually its easier to shoot a guy in the face because of the paradox factor.
Easier yes. But nowhere near as effective. Mostly because (kinda dependent on the edition) anything that's going to reasonably stand as a thread to a mage probably isn't going to be bothered by bullets very much
Unknown Armies AKA Cosmic Bumfights just came out with a third edition.
I don't know why you don't just use GURPS.
It has excellent rules for melee and ranged combat, multiple mechanically distinct magic systems to choose from, and allows melee/ranged characters to compete with magic users easily.
It's one of the best systems for this kind of thing.
Yeah, I was going to say Dresden Files Accelerated.
If OP is willing to go weeb, Kamigakari exists. It has a more tactical combat system than some of the other options here and doesn't stink of GURPS homers. It's about magic street level superheroes going Monster Hunter on cryptids, apparitions, and supervillains.
bump, DFRPG is fucking great. Tons of room for character specialization, melee, magic and guns are all viable. Shit's great.
I came here to say this. Since it's been said, I suggest Feng Shui 2 if you want something a bit crunchier and less based on FATE.
Honestly? Make your own. It will teach you a lot more about game design then using someone's prepackaged systems and trying to hack it into what place you want.
I'll be monitoring this thread in case you want my help.
>It's about magic street level superheroes going Monster Hunter on cryptids, apparitions, and supervillains.
OP here, that actually sounds fairly close to what I had in mind. I'm not too wild about the weeaboo angle, but like I said the fluff isn't very important here. I'll definitely check it out, along with some of the other suggestions ITT.
Eh, I'm not really interested in learning how to be a game designer. I'm just trying to find something that's close to what I want so I can butcher it into exactly what I want.
What's wrong with GURPS?
There's this game called GURPS that fits your description nicely....
But if you ABSOLUTELY refuse to use it, then either play Dresden Files for more pulpy action, Feng Shui 2 for straight up balls to the wall action films, or Unknown armies for more grit
You could also use Mage the awakening, though i've never played it so I have no idea if it's good or not
Nothing wrong with GURPS except for the sad fact that even when someone explicitly asks for something other than GURPS, it still summons a bunch of cocksmoking zealots preaching that GURPS is the way and the truth and the life. I've simply played it quite a bit already and don't want to marry myself or my group to a single system.
What is the appeal of a free form magic system?
Savage Worlds. It has the balance down. And it’s easily adapted to any setting.
It's fun and lets you get creative
oh shit I didn't know there was a Dresden Files RPG
it might work perfect for my setting
do you have a PDF?
that would be stealing user ;)
Genesys?
oh fuck off
You never played GURPS, and if you did you'd know there's no reason to exclude it.
HERO?
Oh wait, thats a bit like GURPS...
but still:
>Lots of options for melee combat
>Enviroment interaction
>Different maneuvers for ranged combat
>You can build pretty much anything you want so long as the GM approves.
>Building your powers around slow recharging/alternate energy pools opens up a lot of options to cheapen your abilities down and get more
Downsides:
You need to do a lotta reading...
>y-you just never played it!
Allahu GURPSbar, my friend. Death to the infidel pigs.
If you don't want people posting about the One True System Under Kromm, you really shouldn't put it in the OP post. It summons GURPS posters looking for their general.
Mutants and Masterminds. Mix the Modern Agents book with the Magic book and go to town.
Surprised no one mentioned the Witchcraft / Armageddon / All Flesh Must Be Eaten series of games.
Witchcraft has a decent system with a couple different forms of magic, psionics, and miracles. Armageddon adds angles, demons, avatars of the old gods, altlantean immortals, and other stuff. AFMBE adds...well...zombies, obviously.
Obviously
Will stealing from Jim butcher make him get back to work?
>Peace talks never
>Spires is probably dead
Unknown Armies
Isn't that a fetish game?
I remember things like turning dudes into cigars and smoking them, or into animals and eating them
I think the guy also had a crushing fetish or something
Kinda fucked up
PALLADIUM HEROES UNLIMITED
I play a modern-era wizard in it. Been playing her for a couple of years now (pic related). I love the system, it's my favorite.
Never played it but I've read through the rules. It seems like a perfectly usable, fairly light rule set.
The guy who wrote it, however, obviously has a few fetishes he works into his games and fiction. They are not inherent to the game. Still, the milieu seems more aimed at female gamers (or guys who like to emulate that play style, I suppose. I mean, MAID is a thing...)
I liked Witchcraft, though I was more interested in Armageddon. I wanted to take the milieu and throw it back to WW2, but the rest of the group hasn't shoen much iinterest in a "Fight the Nazi occult war machine" game.
We have a PDF share thread for a reason, my dude
>Palladium
No
I say it's weeb because it's actually a Japanese RPG that got translated.
>Palladium
Why the fuck do people still support this shithole of a company
Why do people continue to use their unbalanced ridiculous systems
Why
You're using spells to physically attack in mage you're doing it wrong.
Idk, the game offers a lot of options, with 1000 skills, magic crap, types of martial arts, etc. Its just a lot going on, for good and at times very bad
Dresden Files, whilst fun as fuck, is so far tilted in the Wizards favour that it's beyond a joke. Either everyone plays a wizard, or no-one does. You can have melee/ranged themed characters, but if that melee/ranged isn't magic-focused then you'll be outstripped by the combat wizards pretty quickly.
what about accelerated?
To be fair, that's inherent in the setting. The closest thing to a normie that could take on Harry is probably Kincaid, and he's not exactly human. Michael, shiro, and Sanya are great, but I'd still probably bet on a council caliber wizard. on Macrone's plan involves hoping Harry walks into a bunch of directional mines. The flip side, that the RPG doesn't seem to account for well, is that legit combat wizards are few and far between, even among the magical community and the council, which is a pretty major plot point in the books: with the dumorne backstory, with Morgan's issues with Harry, with Harry becoming a Warden
How about mutants and masterminds? its superhero based and just make sure your players are on the same level because wizards can get out of control by picking up every power.
Try and make your players decide their "spells" before they've looked in the book then help them make it otherwize they'll just go through the book and pick up every power because "why not im a wizard"
or make them pick from the example classes and do minor tweaks from there
My issue isn't so much that a Wizard is stronger - that shit just makes sense. My issue is that they don't even attempt to balance or address the issue.
Which is arguably a point in the games favour, I suppose? I mean, better to just accept that something is broken and point it out rather than to try and force a patch that could ruin everything.
But seriously, having upgrading the skill that allows you to cast spells also having a trickle on effect that lets you make spells hit bigger and stronger...
Haven't tried the Accelerated system - yet.
For me, it's a problem with trying to make a pre-existing setting into an RPG. To much broken shit that you then try to reflect in the game rules. Because you know that if they tried something different, another setting would while about how it's not like canon
yeah but I'm lazy
Well stop that.