RPG a Day 2017 Question 19

What is RPGaDay2017?

I’ll link here to the actual group. Basically, it’s a series of questions that you can answer. There are 31 questions that you can answer to help shine a light on the different reasons people play role-play games. This is my answer to the 19th question. For my full list of answers check here.

Question #19: Which RPG has the best writing?

This one is tricky because there are two ways to look at it. Are we looking for clarity or entertainment?

On the one hand since RPG’s are essentially rules manuals it could mean clarity. It’s nice to have a well written rulebook that leaves you with no questions. I think we can all agree that there are some rulebooks that are complete train wrecks. (I’m looking at you D&D 3.5 grappling rules.) It’s nice to finish reading a rulebook and have few to no questions on how to play a game. I can’t honestly remember a game where I had no questions after finishing the rules. When we played Shadowrun my friends and I thought we were rolling too many dice until we learned we weren’t rolling enough. I was really solid at Through the Breach but only because I’d been playing Malifaux for years. I’ve never finished a D&D ruleset and not had questions. If I have to pick, I think the least number of questions I’ve ever had, then I have to give it to 4^th edition D&D. I walked away from that game knowing how to run and play it fairly easily. I knew how powers worked, skills functioned, and classes melded together. I had a couple of questions but nothing that could stop a game.

For entertainment value it gets a little trickier. Since rulebooks are basically technical manuals some of them become so focused on the rules they become dry insomnia curing tomes. Some get so focused on history and back story that it takes days to find the rules you’re looking for amidst everything else. Some are just a jumbled mess of turn to page X to find the answer to the process found in section Y while using the chart on table z. When I have to look at six pages simultaneously to figure out how to do one thing in your game, you needed an editor, I’m cheap and available, call me. Beyond that, I find that one-shot humor based games are the best for these. I enjoyed reading Tales from the Floating Vagabond, Teenagers from Outer Space, and laughed out loud reading Maid. Paranoia is always a hoot, if you’re going to DM since the players have never read the rules, *wink* that would be treason. However, for the best writing, I love Legend of the Five Rings for the stories of the various clans. I love the conflicting histories in the different books. I love how every Clan book says, “There’s no such thing as ninjas,” except the Scorpion Clan which says, “If anyone asks, those guys over there don’t exist.” I’ve read through the Clan books multiple times just for the backgrounds. Which, as a note, are often found in sidebars next to the rules, making them easily identifiable as which is which.

Those are my answers. What are yours? I’m always looking for something new to read.