@OP You mentioned Traveller in one of your posts. How do you like it? I've only played Mongoose Traveller, but it's one of my favourite games. My students loved it too.
I've stopped running Fate Accelerated games. It's too simplistic and not crunchy enough, even for my younger students. My next thought immediately after was to try FATE Core, but changed my mind because I wanted to experiment with more systems. So far, I have played in class:
Traveller (roll 2d6, 8+ for successes)
Covert Ops (d100 lite)
Savage Worlds (d6 Wild Die + Trait die; houseruled quite a bit + paired up with a setting)
Leverage (Cortex, 2d6)
The Mutant Epoch (d100)
Dagger for Kids (very streamlined d20)
Part-Time Gods (d20 + modifiers > 10/20/30/40 target number, varied according to difficulty)
Based on what you've described, I think you may like these:
Covert Ops - uses percentile dice for task resolution, and d10s for damage. It's simple to learn and adaptable to any modern, historical or sci-fi setting, and it can be hacked quite easily. My only issue is that the burst fire rule is too simplistic, but that can be easily houseruled. I ran some amazing games with this system, one a modern detective setting, and another a WW2 one - both homebrewed and drawn up as players progressed.
FATE/FAE - Like what others have recommended, it may be what you're looking for. The GM can make up anything on the fly.
Leverage - I ran a Leverage game here a few years ago but gave up (sorry guys!) because I didn't like the system. Recently, I decided to give it another go with a few of my students. It was great! It uses the Cortex system, and, being a low-prep game, is very simple to run. The game is heavily focused on the narrative, and task resolutions are quick - GM rolls two dice (called "setting the stakes"), player must use his Role + Attribute + Specialties + Assets dice and beat the stakes. It is however quite unusual, in that players must be able to think out of the box. As GM, you must be prepared to offer guidance in a potential situation where players become stuck and don't know what to do next. The most fun I had GMing this game was when players took down the mark at the end, by spending all their plot points to come up with a huge variety of Flashbacks, before the Mastermind declared the master stroke with a Wrap-Up Flashback.
Savage Worlds w/ Interface Zero - Savage Worlds is pretty straightforward. Trait tests are easy to modify on the fly, and typically you just need 2 dice (1 Wild die + 1 Trait die). One of the best games I've ever GMed was Interface Zero, which is of the cyberpunk genre. No elves or dwarves here, but races include androids, simulacrums, cyborgs, humans and transhumans. There are psionics too. With the Savage World system, the game can be as brutal as you want it to be, and still be completable depending on the runners' skill set. My students were able to destroy a Golem Mech (a powerful hulking suit of armour) by hacking into the turrets to take it out, but not before they sustained heavy injuries. We ran the entire adventure in about 5 hours.
Btw, a bit of a digression - Re: games with metagame currency
I'm not a huge fan of metagame currency like Fate points and bennies, but I can also see why they'd be needed in games like Covert Ops where PCs can die in 2 hits. Therefore I like to houserule them a bit, so that they become more like "stamina" points that are given in interludes or after a space of rest. To me, they're there for the PCs as "added drive" to catch their second wind, or to succeed through intense concentration on the task. I also like Savage Worlds' "Bottomless Bennies" houserule, where GMs give bennies to their players if they use some themselves.
I have Corporation amd The Void, but haven't had the time to read either yet.
Post edited November 30, 2014 by lowyhong
