Death Bat's Top Five Tabletop RPGs for 2015

Now for the paper, pencil and dice side of the equation! In keeping with the computer gaming awards I'll give categories to each of the five.

#5. Best OSR Game: Beyond the Wall and Other Tales

I wrote about it already, and concede this game has been around longer than 2015, so I'll just point to the Further Afield source book and say it's enough justification. Beyond the Wall is like only a handful of other OSR RPGs on the market, of which I include Dungeon Crawl Classics and some source books like a Red and Pleasant Land: these are brilliant, unique tomes that take the core of classic D&D and spin it in directions you really want to play. Beyond the Wall does this by modeling the fictional realms of Lloyd Alexander, Ursula K. Le Guin and other young fantasy authors to recapture a feel and style I had all but forgotten I loved, then codified it in the unique playbook and scenario pack mechanics which make gaming on the fly easier than ever, and also provides a technique for teaching GMs (old and new) how to run improvisational games using the scenario packs. Fantastic books, get both the core book and Further Afield.

Runner Up: Everything publish to date by New Big Dragon Games.

#4. Best Fantasy RPG: Deluxe Tunnels & Trolls

Deluxe Tunnels & Trolls is the definitive, fantastic "ultimate edition" to the second RPG to come out after the original D&D. Now with tons of extra content, rules options and world details...yet still compatible with older editions. A must have if regular gaming is hard for you to find, thanks to T&T's long line of solo adventures, or want to learn about Troll World, or just want the best pickup-and-play beer-and-pretzels RPG to exist, period.

Runner Up: Luther Arkwright is an amazing multi-dimensional modern fantasy setting (with sci fi trappings) for Runequest 6 (alias the Design Mechanism Engine) and is well worth checking out. Based on a series of graphic novels it gives you all the tools you need to engage in modern gaming with the RQ6 engine.

#3. Best Horror RPG: Chill 3rd Edition

If you missed the days when Chill was a thing, now's your chance to experience it again, in a modern format with what is very much still the same core rules and setting intact, a rarity for so many games these days. Chill is about monster hunting, exploration and stopping great evil as an agent of S.A.V.E. which works to protect mankind from ancient horrors. The newest edition has the right lineage of design and does a great job of bringing Chill back to life. My suggestion is to splurge for the deluxe premium color POD edition.

Runner Up: I was really impressed with Silent Legions from Sine Nomine, which includes a unique sort of "create your own mythos" mechanic.

#2. Best Science Fiction RPG: The Last Parsec for Savage Worlds

Written for use with the Savage Worlds Science Fiction Companion (which I went gaga for last year), the Last Parsec is a multi-tome setting and campaign aimed squarely at big-concept SF in the modern tradition of the fiction and films which inspired it. If you get the four core books you'll have enough immediate scenario content to run several years without exhausting what has been provided. The writing, imagination and graphics are all top-notch.

Thanks to my wife who recently ran a Last Parsec scenario which I got to play in!!!

Runner Up: Retrostar, the RPG of 70's era science fiction. This amazing book precisely captures the style of SF in the delicate years of 1970-1979, a time when SF was experiencing a revolution in interest and imagination, limited only by the crappy budgets most TV series labored under.

#1. RPG Book of the Year: Fantasy AGE

Green Ronin finally released the AGE System as a stand-alone rule set, immediately creating a unique contestant for the otherwise crowded fantasy game corner of the market. Fantasy AGE introduces mechanics which put it in direct competition with both D&D and Runequest, while retaining its own unique style of play that focuses on the epic story and quest over the more mundane. It only has one sourcebook out there right now (Titansgrave), but I'm crossing my fingers and hoping Fantasy AGE gets a lot of new content for 2016.

Runner Up: Out of the Abyss for D&D 5E. This is not only a cool module but the first one they devised which I feel is relatively easy to adapt to other world settings, and adds themes and elements distinct in flavor that set it apart from the last two years of official adventures. Fans of the Underdark must check this one out.

Honorable Mention

I'd like to point out that a lot of good RPGs came out this year, and a few worth investigating that I didn't mention include:

White Star: takes the core conceit of the Swords & Wizardry Whitebox edition and applies it to SF (EDIT: given how much fun I am having with this one in 2016, I think it will be my 2016 OSR game of the year....unless someone comes along with something even more impressive....)

Class Compendium: Barrel Rider Games' compendium of classes for classic-era B/X style D&D is an invaluable resource to old school gaming.

Cypher System: possibly the best new multigenre RPG out there the only reason it didn't make my top five list somewhere is that it's got a set of core mechanics that are taking my brain a bit of time to adjust to. The book itself is presented as a robust toolkit and well worth investigating, especially if you like Monte Cook's other titles.

Peril on the Purple Planet: this boxed set is the first truly distinct setting/module set for Dungeon Crawl Classics to emphasize the weird settings that the game is most suited for.

The Many Days of Horror! - Cryptworld

I could almost call this month "The Many Days of 80's Horror Memorabilia" and pretty much be about right. Cryptworld owes its existence to a gutsy publisher in the 80's called Pacesetter, which was founded by people who thought the best way to tackle the RPG market was in the same manner as TSR, by publishing accessible games in boxed sets aimed at mass distribution. They produced Timemaster, Chill and Star Ace, with many supplements for each. Oddly their lineup did not include a direct competitor to D&D.....no fantasy Pacesetter game, in other words. Instead they were competing with Star Frontiers, Call of Cthulhu and (apparently) nothing because outside of Man, Myth & Magic I don't think anyone was crazy enough to aim at some sort of historical time traveling game back then (or now for that matter....)

Chill survived its founding company, to return in a second edition through Mayfair Games which was a late 80's/early 90's icon of gaming for many (myself included) with both Chill, DC Heroes and a plethora of Role-Aids adventures and source books designed for unofficial use with AD&D. Eventually Mayfair succumbed and shrank to whatever sort of board game company it remains (board gamers probably can speak much more on this than I) and Chill died with it. Rumors and website suggesting a revitalization lurk in the woodwork, but meanwhile Daniel Procter went and did one better: can't get the Chill license? Who cares! Buy Pacesetter whole cloth along with the core mechanics. Boom: first Rotworld, a zombie survival game and now Cryptworld, a Hammer Horror simulator are back on the scene and the Pacesetter game system is officially a thing again. I eagerly look forward to the not-Star Frontiers-alike that is hopefully in the near future! Did Goblinoid Games get the full Star Ace license, maybe? That would be cool.

So what is Cryptworld? I liken it to a classic movie monster and Hammer Horror simulator. It can reasonably do any horror, sure...but the game's monstrous roster is slanted toward the classics --and before any young'uns ask, no the Mythos aren't really considered a part of this camp. Think Bram Stroker, Bela Lugosi, the Swamp Man, Frankenstein and all that. Cryptworld moves the horror dial slightly ahead as well by including some noted cryptids and a few other analog monsters representing a myriad variety of contemporary threats from film and fiction, such as cannibal hillbillies, the chupacabra, "criswells," and more.

How does Cryptworld play? If you're the target audience then you probably have fond memories of checking off circles/boxes for stamina and tracking percentile-based stats while referring to an action table. This is the same game system, and the action table has only been modified to reflect gray scales for differing degrees of difficulty/success. The game system is really very simple and straight-forward. Its more suited to short stories and campaigns of a few sessions in length (imo) but character advancement rules are an option, in which you accrue lots of XP and spend it to gain incremental bonuses in your stats.

The Cryptworld/Pacesetter system is skill-focused and you wont find any feats or special abilities here, just normal people against the tide of evil. Rules are included for paranormal talents, which largely consist of abilities you'd see in genre fiction and film prior to 1979. There are optional rules for handling fear as a mechanic, too.

The rest of the game mechanics are no-nonsense and can simulate a variety of contemporary or historical genres easily enough. The art throughout the book is good. There's a nice little section on running horror games. The whole book comes in at 90 pages, but its absolutely everything you could want to run a fun session or ten of macabre horror adventures, simulating anything from schlock Hammer Horror films to something more modern and X-Filesish.

Cryptworld will appeal greatly to fans of light but robust game systems that come entirely in a single tome. It's fully compatible with Rotworld, so you can use one to enhance the other as well. The core mechanics are solid and function well for their intended purpose. If you already have a default go-to system (i.e. BRP) for such games I'm not sure Cryptworld will sway you away from using them (though it might inspire you), but if you've been looking for something like a dedicated non mythos horror system that also eschews the weirder contemporary horror tropes in favor of classic takes on the theme, then I think you ought to investigate Cryptworld further.

A+

Cryptworld, the game formerly known as Chill returns plus Astounding Adventures Astounds!

As my blog methodically chruns out my "30 Days of D&D" posts I have a confession: I've hardly been present throughout the process! I've been working my ass off....almost literally (but not really, still a desk job) and all of my "30 Days" blogs plus a few more were pre-loaded nearly a month ago.

The new job is demanding...very demanding, but the risk/reward ratio is high in a good way. Potential failure and doom? Check. Awesome pay-out and long-term gain? Check. Either way, it's kept me up to my eyeballs in the mundane world and away from more trivial amusements like blogging.

That said, I am still accruing various books in my "to be read" shelf, and within the last two days I acquired copies of both Cryptworld and Astounding Adventures. Cool stuff! I really love AA, have been reading it since I returned home, and it's exactly what a BRP fan would want out of a pulp adventures sourcebook. Cryptworld is a resurrection of classic 1st edition Chill from pacesetter under a slightly different name....and if you're a fan of classic movie monsters and Hammer horror films, then Cryptworld is absolutely for you. It's also a full game in only 90 pages, which is the sort of miracle only Goblinoid Games can pull off. Use it with Rotworld for extra zombie goodness, too!

I was disappointed with Atomic Cthulhu, I admit....but Astounding Adventures more than makes up for it. A good utility book for GMs running pulp tales.

There comes a time when one has to admit, "I will absolutely buy --and play-- anything Goblinoid Games puts out." I passed that time with Starships & Spacemen 2nd edition, but Cryptworld just hammers the point home. Daniel Procter is akin to a classic gaming god, whose portfolio includes the domains of "Eighties Geek Coolness" and "Retro Gaming."