#RPGaDay: Day Eighteen - Favorite Game System

When it comes to game systems, I'm either fickle or I'm poly-amorous. I like lots of them for different reasons. I suppose having a favorite for me depends a great deal on what I'm playing--or want to play--at the moment.

It's a pretty close tie at the moment, but I suppose I'd have to go with the system used for FFG's Star Wars RPGs, Edge of the Empire and Age of Rebellion. Part of it has to do with the fact that I've written for Age of Rebellion, and the other part has to do with the fact that it's what I've been running lately. It's a nice, sleek game system that does precisely what it sets out to do--allow both players and GM to contribute to a game's narrative.

It took a little getting used to, what with the custom dice and all, but it really does allow for another level of freedom when both running and playing the game. Once the players get into it, their contributions really tend to add a lot to the game and the story that you're all telling together.

My runner-up is the system used in The One Ring. I've only run a handful of games, but I really dig how the dice work and how everything feels so very right, especially in regards to running a Middle Earth-themed game.

Other systems I like quite a bit in no particular order are Hollow Earth Expedition's "Ubiquity" system, the original (Old) World of Darkness/Storyteller system, and (of course) the Interlock system used in Cyberpunk 2020 and Mekton. I still have a great fondness for Saga edition Star Wars and D&D 3.5, and I'm very comfortable with them. Fifth Edition D&D is looking good, too, but the jury's out until my new PH arrives tomorrow.