Game WISH 99: Best Genre RPGs
Game WISH 99 asks:
Pick three to five genres and name the best RPG for that genre. Why do you think it's the best? What makes it better than others? What are its downsides?
I find that things like power level, realism vs. Hollywood, and where you stand of the Gamist/Simulationist/Dramatist spectrum matters more in choice of system than whether your game is fantasy, SF or horror. Not only that, my favourite game systems are probably GURPS and Fudge, both of which are advertised as universal systems. The former is my preference for detailed, moderately realistic games, the latter for more freewheeling cinematic stuff. However...
Low Fantasy
I define low fantasy as something semi-realistic, where combat is dangerous, magic is subtle and low-key, there's a lot of attention to detail, and campaigns revolve around the fate of the characters rather than the fate of the whole world. This is one that a detailed system like GURPS handles very well. The other good system for low fantasy is of course that old warhorse RuneQuest, now long out of print, but a game that still stands the test of time.
Hard SF
GURPS, with it's emphasis on realism, was made for this genre. It's not surprising that one of the most successful incarnations of Traveller is the GURPS version. Saying that, classic Traveller, although dated, is still a good game. I haven't looked at the d20 version ("Where's the Zhodani Lair? I need the eps to get my Marine up to 6th level!")
High Fantasy
My definition of high fantasy is where the heroes and villains are much more powerful that ordinary folks, magic or it's equivalent is overt and flashy, and plots are epic in scope. One system I'd recommend if you have a Dramatist bias is Hero Quest, a very free-flowing system explicitly designed for epic narratives. I wonder if anyone's tried using HQ for space opera games (which I consider to be closer to high fantasy with different props than it is to hard SF).
Horror
I know it's an old game, and some aspects of it are looking dated, but Call of Cthulhu is still the definitive horror game. Meet Things Man Was Not Meant To Know! Go horribly insane! Wibble! I've played some other genuinely scary horror games, most notably Unknown Armies, which has a very neat and simple system. I found the concept of Whispering Vault was a little too weird to get my head round, and I didn't like their dice pool mechanic.
Time Travel and Dimension Hopping
Two closely-related genres, both of which are ideal for multi-genre systems such as GURPS or Fudge. The choice between the two should depend on the level of detail or realism you want. Fudge works well for a freewheeling cinematic game where the player characters include an intelligent 2" long insect and a telepathic horse, and technological items are plot devices. GURPS works better for a semi-realistic game where the player characters are all close to human, and adventures focus on preventing bad guys from meddling with history, or on exploring strange and dangerous alternate timelines. I've heard people rave about the highly cinematic TORG for these sorts of games, but I've only played that system for high fantasy, and wasn't terribly impressed.