I'm trying to find an rpg system to use for an modern day adventure were the players would be tasked with dealing with a monster every mission, and instead of it being action oriented it would be more puzzle oriented, with them trying to use the environment and the creatures' behavior in order to deal with them. I design the monsters myself. Any suggestions for systems I could use?
If you are looking for a strong narrative game that is all theater of the mind and not tactical with maps, then "Ten Candles" may work for you.
Another system you may want to consider (b-movie horror/monster hunting) is Dead of Night. I think I found both on https://www.drivethrurpg.com
Ten candles was incredibly narrative and definitely helps improve improv skills.
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"An' things ha' come to a pretty pass, ye ken, if people are going to leave stuff like that aroound where innocent people could accidentally smash the door doon and lever the bars aside and take the big chain off'f the cupboard and pick the lock and drink it!"
My group has been playing Delta Green lately. It’s a lot of fun. Think Cthulhu meets Men in Black meets X-Files. d100 system with some interesting mechanics. Not sure if it fits what you have in mind.
Honestly, you might want to run it systemless. RPG rules are mostly about what the characters can do, and puzzles tend to be about what the players can do. It depends on what elements of a session you expect to be decided by dice and character capabilities.
I'd second Delta Green for a modern investigators battling monsters, it ports well to The X Files the Role Playing Game if your'e familiar with that show. Also, while the game is tailored to designing characters with some level of tactical training (everything from FBI agents to Special Forces types, there are rules for "regular people" but the game is more designed to be someone with access to the world of security clearances and the like ... there's actually a lot of jargon folks not familiar with the military or law enforcement and the like may need to decode to make sense of some mission briefings), the combat rules discourage going guns blazing, because firearms aren't necessarily the most effective way of dealing with the supernatural, and if the other side has guns, the gun rules are pretty lethal. (Footnote, Delta Green sort of grew out the Call of Cthulhu rules in the late 90s early 00s, IIRC the CoC efforts at Cthulhu Now just didn't go as well so went unsupported and Delta Green picked up the slack a lot for that niche).
If you want something more rules light that relies less on skill checks and more on role playing and asking questions at the table, Gumshoe may be worth a look. The basic rules are simple and there are lots of skins for it for various genres, including Delta Green.
If you have Cyberpunk Red (I wouldn't buy it just for this, though there's a PDF quick start that might due the trick), if you ditch the in game Roles and the cyber stuff, has a character and skill system that could make good potential for an investigative game, it's combat system is also messy so players get the sense that combat is something that should be a self defense/last resort thing (martial arts system is a bit over the top, but it takes a lot of character resources to make a problematic character on that front). The Cool and Empathy/Humanity rules could definitely be ported into a system where PC 'confront the unknown.'
GURPS is pretty good for a modern settings, but I kinda grew out of it
It's very rules heavy, which probably isn't what the OP wants.
Yeah, I read more GURPS than played GURPS. I mean, it is probably the most supported "generic" system out there in terms of content (I actually don't know if there are any TTRPG makers still in existence older than SJGames, I guess GamesWorkshop?), but it suffers from the desire/goal to be able to "do everything." That's because "doing everything" often means layering systems upon system, all derived mostly from the same core mechanics. I mean it's carefully designed and not just splatted out, and they even sometimes have options within systems (like Magic for example, and I think even combat has tonal differences a GM can calibrate for their group) but all those options can get unwieldy. I'd really only recommend it if you want something big on mechanical resolution as a core set for your table, where your table want a common rules system where you'll be jumping genres or mashing up genres every few sessions or so.
Does Old School Essentials try to be compatible with d20 systems like Modern?
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Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
I'm trying to find an rpg system to use for an modern day adventure were the players would be tasked with dealing with a monster every mission, and instead of it being action oriented it would be more puzzle oriented, with them trying to use the environment and the creatures' behavior in order to deal with them. I design the monsters myself. Any suggestions for systems I could use?
If you are looking for a strong narrative game that is all theater of the mind and not tactical with maps, then "Ten Candles" may work for you.
Another system you may want to consider (b-movie horror/monster hunting) is Dead of Night. I think I found both on https://www.drivethrurpg.com
Ten candles was incredibly narrative and definitely helps improve improv skills.
"An' things ha' come to a pretty pass, ye ken, if people are going to leave stuff like that aroound where innocent people could accidentally smash the door doon and lever the bars aside and take the big chain off'f the cupboard and pick the lock and drink it!"
"Monster of the Week" is really good! Very narrative heavy and relies on a fair DM.
But its whole design is to imitate shows like Supernatural, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Scooby Doo, where each episode/arc is a new "monster"
My group has been playing Delta Green lately. It’s a lot of fun. Think Cthulhu meets Men in Black meets X-Files. d100 system with some interesting mechanics. Not sure if it fits what you have in mind.
If you are going for a more narrative/puzzle feel what about using a mechanic such as Dread?
Geek and Sundry did a show on it a while ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0loSZFsyoQ
Honestly, you might want to run it systemless. RPG rules are mostly about what the characters can do, and puzzles tend to be about what the players can do. It depends on what elements of a session you expect to be decided by dice and character capabilities.
You might want to have a look at Savage Worlds.... The Dramatic Tasks in particular.
WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
I've decided to use Monster of the week it has a good monster making system.
I'd second Delta Green for a modern investigators battling monsters, it ports well to The X Files the Role Playing Game if your'e familiar with that show. Also, while the game is tailored to designing characters with some level of tactical training (everything from FBI agents to Special Forces types, there are rules for "regular people" but the game is more designed to be someone with access to the world of security clearances and the like ... there's actually a lot of jargon folks not familiar with the military or law enforcement and the like may need to decode to make sense of some mission briefings), the combat rules discourage going guns blazing, because firearms aren't necessarily the most effective way of dealing with the supernatural, and if the other side has guns, the gun rules are pretty lethal. (Footnote, Delta Green sort of grew out the Call of Cthulhu rules in the late 90s early 00s, IIRC the CoC efforts at Cthulhu Now just didn't go as well so went unsupported and Delta Green picked up the slack a lot for that niche).
If you want something more rules light that relies less on skill checks and more on role playing and asking questions at the table, Gumshoe may be worth a look. The basic rules are simple and there are lots of skins for it for various genres, including Delta Green.
If you have Cyberpunk Red (I wouldn't buy it just for this, though there's a PDF quick start that might due the trick), if you ditch the in game Roles and the cyber stuff, has a character and skill system that could make good potential for an investigative game, it's combat system is also messy so players get the sense that combat is something that should be a self defense/last resort thing (martial arts system is a bit over the top, but it takes a lot of character resources to make a problematic character on that front). The Cool and Empathy/Humanity rules could definitely be ported into a system where PC 'confront the unknown.'
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
GURPS is pretty good for a modern settings, but I kinda grew out of it
Mystic v3 should be official, nuff said.
It's very rules heavy, which probably isn't what the OP wants.
Yeah, I read more GURPS than played GURPS. I mean, it is probably the most supported "generic" system out there in terms of content (I actually don't know if there are any TTRPG makers still in existence older than SJGames, I guess GamesWorkshop?), but it suffers from the desire/goal to be able to "do everything." That's because "doing everything" often means layering systems upon system, all derived mostly from the same core mechanics. I mean it's carefully designed and not just splatted out, and they even sometimes have options within systems (like Magic for example, and I think even combat has tonal differences a GM can calibrate for their group) but all those options can get unwieldy. I'd really only recommend it if you want something big on mechanical resolution as a core set for your table, where your table want a common rules system where you'll be jumping genres or mashing up genres every few sessions or so.
Does Old School Essentials try to be compatible with d20 systems like Modern?
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
RIFTS is good for sci-fi fantasy, but is very complex and rules heavy, but it is nevertheless, a good system
Mystic v3 should be official, nuff said.
I'm honestly trying to find a find a system with a good monster making system. P.S. can you see the pictures that are linked in the first post?