Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition – Despite all the negativity from old-school nostalgic players, D&D 4th Edition is a great roleplaying game, especially for new gamers just getting into the hobby. It is the longest running and most popular fantasy RPG ever. D&D 4e dominates the roleplaying market share right now. They’ve mixed elements from classic roleplaying with elements from good MMORPG games to create a great roleplaying game. D&D 4e is widely considered to be the best RPG game out right now.

Shadowrun 4th Edition – Even though this game has a system that can be difficult to play sometimes, the world of Shadowrun is fantastic. You can play a human, elf, dwarf, ork, or troll in a world of magic and cyberware. Corporate espionage abounds and magic flows through the world in both positive and negative ways. Shadowrun is where magic and cyberpunk meet in the years 2050+.

Star Wars Saga Edition – SWSE is definitely one of the good RPG games available out there right now. It is the most recent incarnation of the Star Wars universe in a roleplaying game. Saga Edition is based off of the D20 system with a few rule modifications to fit the Star Wars universe better. The game is a great combination of the most popular sci-fi setting ever with one of the most popular pen and paper gaming systems ever.

World of Darkness – World of Darkness is not specifically its own game, but more of a collection of good RPG games by White Wolf. Vampire, Werewolf, Mage, Changling, Wraith, and a host of other individual games make up the World of Darkness. In these games, the players get to play the types of characters that normal folks would consider to be their worst nightmares.

Call of Cthulhu – There is a host of systems and versions that call themselves a Call of Cthulhu game. Each one is a good example of a good RPG game.  The overriding premise on all of them is that you take the place of mortal characters who often investigates strange and unusual occurrences. During those investigations, you often uncover aliens, monsters, or demons that you could never have imagined. These creates usually cause you to go crazy or kill you, thus ending the game! Sounds dumb, but man it is incredibly fun.

Rifts – Although the Palladium system is widely considered a clunky and archaic system, the actual world of Rifts is a spectacular setting that really contains everything but the kitchen sink. Futuristic cyborgs, aliens, magical creatures, magical spell casters, psychics, and many more unusual creatures makeup this world that is full of literally anything you could think of.

These are just a few good RPG games that for both new and experienced players to try out. I think for newer players that are used to playing good MMORPG games, Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition is the easiest to start out with.  But, there are definitely many more that I haven’t mentioned here. Savage Worlds has a great system overall. Pathfinder is really bringing something old, but new, to the gaming table. And there are a host of other smaller games and gaming companies bringing out great RPG games all the time.

What do you think are good RPG games for pen and paper roleplayers?

The Dark Sun campaign moves away from more traditional fantasy settings like Forgotten Realms, Dragonlance, and Greyhawk. Instead of the traditional fantasy world, you have bleak desert wastelands. The world of Athas is a world largely considered to be more post-apocalyptic than fantasy.

One of the biggest differences in Dark Sun over the other settings is magic, or the lack there-of. Athas is a world that has been ravaged by a magical backlash. As such, magic is much less common in this world, where psionics are decidedly more common. Just like magic has become a part of everyday life in most other fantasy settings, so too has psionics become a part of daily life in Athas.

Although the Dark Sun campaign setting has many of the traditional races you’ll see in a fantasy setting, it does have a lot of unique races as well. The setting has the traditional Human, Elf, Dwarf, Half-Elf, and Halfling make-up that you will see in other D&D games. But they also have Half-Giants, Muls (half Dwarf Half Human), and Thri-Kreen (Mantis men).

There is some variation between the classes in Dark Sun and the classes from traditional fantasy settings. First, there really isn’t any equivalent for Paladins, Monks, and Sorcerers in the Dark Sun world. As stated earlier, psionics are much more commonplace so the traditional ‘magic classes’ are either not represented or are drastically altered in this setting.

There are many Dark Sun books that have been in print which can give players or the dungeon master a ‘heads up’ on the world before it comes out. The Prism Pentad series by Troy Denning is very good five book series on the world of Dark Sun. Also, the Tribe of One series by Simon Hawke is a three book series with a great background of the world as well.

There are also other resources online that are available to those interested in studying the world of Dark Sun before it comes out. There is the Unofficial Dark Sun Wiki, the Official Dark Sun Discussion Forum, and an interactive Dark Sun Atlas for the World of Athas, and Official D&D 3.5e products released for Dark Sun. All of these provide great information for those that are interested and can’t wait till the campaign guide comes out.

I, and many other fans, am ecstatic about the choice of Dark Sun as the next setting for Dungeon & Dragons 4e. It is a fan pleasing choice that gives more variety to the D&D 4e settings. Look for the Dark Sun Campaign Guide in 2010 from Wizards of the Coast.

1. Vampire – The first game created by White Wolf for the World of Darkness system. It really brought the Vampire genre game out to roleplayers. It also reminded roleplayers that you didn’t have to play the guys killing evil creatures; you could also play the evil creatures.

2. Mage – A pretty inventive, free-flowing magic system. I remember reading this book at a bowling alley for the first time and thinking, “Dang, you could do anything with these characters?!” If you could think it, you could cast it. Provided that your character had the ability to do it, that is.

3. Werewolf – Probably one of the toughest and baddest creatures in White Wolf’s World of Darkness setting. Playing a Werewolf was badass because you could go from normal people mode to crazy killer mode in the blink of an eye.

4. Paranoia – The only game that you start out Mario style with six lives. You die once; your clone comes in later to replace you. It is also one of the few games that I think the print adventures were usually better than the adventures created by the game master.

5. Spycraft – This game advanced leaps and bounds from the 1st edition to the 2nd edition. I believe they could be poised to advance up there with WotC’s D&D and White Wolf’s World of Darkness. Only time will tell, but the game has a ton of potential.

6. Gamma World – Ever wanted to play a poisonous plant as your main character? You can in Gamma World. This game reminds you why randomly generating a character can be fun. And with half a dozen different editions to the game, you should be able to find one that works for you.

7. Cyberpunk 2020 – One of the cleanest and true cyberpunk games of all time. It has a very distinct feel and flavor to the game. And who could forget the Mr. Stud implant? Possibly the greatest and most useless roleplaying implement of all time.

8. Warhammer FRPG – I don’t know which came first, the miniatures game or the roleplaying game. But the Warhammer roleplaying game is a nice alternative to D&D. It also has a lot of backing with being the biggest miniatures game out there, as well as tons of video games and computer games further enhancing the world.

9. Earthdawn – According to FASA, it was supposed to be Shadowrun but in a fantasy setting. The game had a pretty unique system and setting, but for some reason it always felt kind of bland when you played (sometimes like 4th edition D&D). The game did pretty well, however, and still has a small following.

10. Hackmaster – Come on critical hit! This game is all about the critical hit table. There is a lot of other cool stuff about the game as well, but essentially it is just another D&D clone. Not that being a D&D clone is a bad thing.

These are some of the best RPG games of all time in the pen and paper genre.  They may not be on the top 10 best RPG games of all time, but they’re still pretty good.

Skills Matter – In my opinion, many other roleplaying games, especially d20-based ones, skills don’t matter that much. Sure, they serve a small purpose but they aren’t going to impact your character that much.

In Spycraft, your skills are the lifeblood of your character. The skills are extremely well thought out and designed. There are really no ‘must have’ skills. There is a more level playing field with the skills and each one seems to have good overall value. It isn’t like every other d20 game where everyone in the group has to get Perception and Stealth because everything else is worthless.

The skills are important in Spycraft because the game makes them that way. Skills are much more of a focus in this game, and they are given a heavy amount of ‘crunch’. It will take players and gamemasters several sessions before they realize how complex and fun these skills can become.

Unique Gear System – The gear system is Spycraft is one of the most unique gear systems of any roleplaying game. The system is very versatile and allows players to choose both specific items for their character, as well as design specific and unique items for their characters.

In almost every game I’ve played, you make sure to get your primary weapon and some armor. Then you might round out your character with some ‘adventurer’s gear’ or random trinkets that are used in the world. It pretty much is the same throughout every game except Spycraft.

One example that happened during our first session of play was that the player characters needed to get into a sold out championship hockey game to search for their target. They started designing several different ways to get in when one of them realized he could use one of his gear picks to get the group tickets for the game.

Another piece of gear was a cane that one of the players had that could inject one dose of a tranquilizing toxin. This was something he specifically designed to use against their mark because they knew they would need to capture the mark, but most likely it would be in front of thousands of people. This piece of gear wasn’t listed in the gear section. It was something he made according to the gear system rules that fit the mission perfectly.

You Can Have Fun Without Combat – In most roleplaying games, getting into combat is one of the funniest parts of the game. This can be true in Spycraft v2.0 as well. However, it is also true that you can have a great Spycraft session without having any combat. There are just so much options outside of combat that the game supports.

During one part of the first session, two of the player characters encountered two armed NPCs. They were able to use their skills to convince some people working in the law enforcement arena that the other NPCs were there to cause problems. The security and law enforcement personnel took care of the two armed NPCs, and the player characters continued on their way.

Overall -  I am fairly impressed with our first taste of Spycraft v2.0. I was a little concerned that there would be too many rules for me to deal with, but the game is very well thought out and put together. The more I read the book, the more I realize they really designed the system to fit a modern spy setting. I believe it does this exceptionally well, and I’m looking forward into delving deeper into the game.

1. Dungeon & Dragons – The granddaddy of all roleplaying games. If someone only knows one pen and paper roleplaying game, this is the one they know about.

2. Shadowrun – The game has spawned for editions over decades of creation. It has several video games that were created for it and even a movie was in talks for the game.

3. Star Wars (D6) – I love Star Wars and I really prefer the simplicity of the D6 system over D20. Things flowed so much faster. We’ll see if the release of Septimus using D6 captures some old Star Wars fans.

4. Call of Cthulhu – The only roleplaying game that I’ve ever actually been scared during gameplay. I love the game. I love how your characters go crazy. And I love how they die instantly when they run into the wrong thing.

5. Delta Green – An offshoot of Call of Cthulhu and also one of most completely underrated roleplaying games ever, in my opinion. I highly suggest that anyone who hasn’t picked it up get it now.

6. Deadlands – Came out with an award-winning system and a unique setting. It spawned the Savage Worlds system and became their flag bearer.

7. Mechwarrior (Battletech) – I have a personal bias with this one as it was the first game I started on. It does have great miniature combat and the ability to roleplay, so it had all of the essentials that I like with gaming.

8. Palladium FRPG – The rules for all editions are horrible, but the settings are magnificent. If they could only tie in some good rules with the great setting, they’d have a real winner of a game.

9. Marvel Superheroes – Even though their dice mechanic system was funky, I still really liked the game. I loved just creating random heroes in that game. It was so fun to see what you could come up with.

10. Rifts – Holy overpowered random classes! The idea of game balance goes out the window in this game. If it looks powerful, it probably is. If it looks weak, it probably is. The world was super fun though. Too bad the system and balance sucked.

Honorable Mentions: Vampire, Mage, Werewolf, Paranoia, Spycraft, Gamma World, Cyberpunk 2020, Warhammer FRPG, Earthdawn, Hackmaster, Talislanta, Legionnaire (Renegade Legion), Twilight 2000, TORG, Beyond the Supernatural.

I only put games that I’ve played on this list. So if you see an absence of popular games from the list just bear in mind, this is my list of the best RPG games of all time.