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Best Complete Fantasy RPGs: Composite Ranking
Chris Flood
United States
Oakland
California
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This GeekList is a composite ranking between RPGGeek and RPG.net of fantasy games that include both core rules and detailed setting material. RPGs with "implied settings" and setting supplements without core rules (ranked elsewhere) are not included. Several of these games, particularly at the top of this list, display a deep integration of setting and system.
Method: I weighted each rating by the average rating of the sourcebooks selected from each site, averaged the three (or two for non-D&D products) ratings together, and then scaled it so the top product would have a Composite Score of 10 out of 10. Feel free to suggest one's I might have missed in the comments.
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Chris Flood
United States
Oakland
California
-
Composite Score = 10.0
Frequently described as the perfect "marriage between system and setting," King Arthur Pendragon ($25) takes the widely used BRP core (Call of Cthulhu, RuneQuest) and heavily modifies it to suit Arthurian fantasy. As if this remarkable core book weren't enough on its own, there's also the Great Pendragon Campaign ($50), which ranks as the best fantasy campaign both here and on RPG.net.
Alternative = Ars Magica (9.2): Although the 4th edition includes one, the magic system in Pendragon has never been known as its finest contribution to the world of RPGs. Enter Ars Magica ($28), the mirror image of Pendragon in this regard. Set in "Mythic Europe" 500 years after the Arthurian legend, Ars Magica's innovative magic system is probably lifted more than any other into different games, including Pendragon! It also features "troupe" play, which, like Pendragon, enables players to play more than one character. The previous edition is available as a free download.
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Chris Flood
United States
Oakland
California
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Composite Score = 9.7
Unlike the other items at the top of this list, Nobilis ($65 print, $10 ebook) doesn't share an underlying system with any other game, and the setting is the brainchild of the game designer herself, not borrowed from myth or popular culture. What results is a completely unique experience of both system and setting that's earned solid ratings here and absolutely rave reviews on RPG.net.
Alternative - Polaris (9.1): Both inspired by Nobilis and similarly "strange and beautiful," Polaris is a GM-less game in which each character's doom is not only guaranteed but essential to the story. There's nothing traditional here.
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Chris Flood
United States
Oakland
California
-
Composite Score = 9.7
This Burning Wheel adaptation of the eponymous comic series tightly binds game mechanics to the underlying feel of the setting. In contrast to the epic scale of the previous two games, Mouse Guard ($19) zooms in on the gritty fight for survival among the mouse societies.
Alternative - Faery's Tale (9.0): Another game playable with kids, Faery's Tale ($80 print, $10 download) is an accessible "introduction to adventure games" and provides a rich detailing of its own faery world, Brightwood.
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Chris Flood
United States
Oakland
California
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Composite Score = 9.5
Compared to its contemporaries in the 1980's, Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay's ($10) gritty, dark setting and mechanical variations, particularly careers instead of classes, were a breath of fresh air. These days, the early editions' system shows its age and is probably the most traditional of all the games on this list. That said, its setting is still among the strongest fantasy breeds, and this edition (the 1st) pays particular attention to it. Although it's the cheapest print item on this list, you'll be tempted to invest more--much more--in the Enemy Within Campaign (~$175), which ranks second only the Great Pendragon Campaign both here and on RPG.net.
Alternative - Legend of the Five Rings (8.9): Another game with a setting that's much stronger than its rules, the Legend of the Five Rings' ($40) also joins WFRP as a game that's part of a much broader product line (CCG/LCG and board game in this case). The fact that this game garners such high ratings despite misgivings about the system speaks volumes of the setting's quality and the production value of the book itself.
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Chris Flood
United States
Oakland
California
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Glorantha's Third Age has been the integrated setting for two systems thus far: RuneQuest and HeroQuest. While neither game has the utterly stellar rankings of those featured thus far, both rate very well across multiple editions, so I'm giving the setting as a whole its own entry.
RuneQuest, the original system for Glorantha, is a fairly traditional RPG tightly designed for its setting. Although Geeks seem to slightly prefer RuneQuest (2nd Edition) ($310, 9.2), the subsequent RuneQuest Deluxe Edition ($40, 9.0) gets all the love on RPG.net and, over $250 less, is quite a bit more attainable.
HeroQuest is a more modern system for Glorantha, focusing on generating heroic stories rather than simulating the mythic realities of Glorantha. Although HeroQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha ($20, 9.0) contains more details on the setting, HeroQuest Core Rules Book ($20, 9.1) cleans up the system and seems preferred here on the Geek.
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Chris Flood
United States
Oakland
California
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Several other settings get mentioned as being awesome, but for whatever reason their sourcebooks have disappointed or haven't gotten enough ratings or whatever. Below are a few that I've investigated; let me know if you want me to aggregate any others.
- Tékumel: Empire of the Petal Throne (7.9) or the original Empire of the Petal Throne (7.6)
- Skyrealms of Jorune (7.6)
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Posted Mon Oct 10, 2011 3:53 pm
Medford
Massachusetts
Oakland
California
That's fair. What's a better adjective to describe games that include rules and lots of well integrated setting information?
Medford
Massachusetts
Oakland
California
That's fine. What about the title? I couldn't think of anything better than "complete," but as soon as someone comes up with it, I'll make the change.