Ok, my turn.
ShogunPat wrote:What do you think makes a great RPG system?
I think that's sort of a complicated question. A great storytelling RPG system allows the group to create a compelling story with very little interaction or interference with the rules. A great hack and slash system allows the players to have interesting dungeon crawls or combat quickly, efficiently, and with little confusion over the rules. But I think that each rules system should influence and be influenced by the games setting or theme; I don't believe in generalized/universal systems anymore.
What is your favorite system and why? (mechanics, adventure support, artwork etc)
*cough* Shinobigami. The system near-perfectly recreates epic ninja battles in any setting you could imagine, with exciting combat and clear, concise rules. The rules allow the GM to create a compelling scenario, yet allow each player to have total control over the fate and actions of their characters. The rules help and facilitate character interactions and relationships. There have been 5 cheap books, each of which have brought something new and exciting to the game and each book also includes an entire play session in replay form as an example.
What is your least favorite system and why?
Like others have said, mostly it's the GM that makes a system bad. Still, I won't say I hate it, but my least favorite system might be 4th edition D&D. Skill challenges are a joke, they stripped almost all skills that can be used out of combat, and the dissonance between the combat mechanics and the fluff that accompanies each attack just takes me out of the game each combat. And combat takes just as long as it did in 3.5.
Or maybe Fatal.
What is one aspect of RPGing that you believe most systems do not adequately address in the rules?
I want to see more systems address social combat. I love games like Dogs in the Vineyard, Shinobigami, and Tokyo Nova, where the line between social and physical combat is vague, and often the only difference is in the result of the attack.
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