Best New (to You) System of the Year · Game Master's Laboratory

Best New (to You) System of the Year

So we are nearing the end of the year,, and with the holidays likely causing a lot of game nights to go on pauses, I expect most of us have played the last of the New RPGs we will play this year.

So lets discuss what you think was the best new game you played.

I think the best over all game was Good Society. It is a token based RPG that really got me thinking about what an RPG really can be, since it is diceless, with no combat. I think if you have played Fate or Savage Worlds, and loved players having some control over the narrative it is the game for you.

Best new to me rule is a toss up between The Badass Move from Bunkers and Bad Asses, and the Inn mechanic from the Konosuba RPG.

For the Badass Mechanic you a can basically ignore normal action economy once per session, but the dm needs to adjust the dc to be high enough to make it a risk for it to succeed.

The Inn mechanic is that you will alwyas have spent the night at a rented abode before the dungeon dive. The high the standard of living the greater the buffs, but if you don't get enough cash to cover the bill you take xp penalties. It helps gamify an aspect of stories that I think often gets over looked.

Finally for Best setting I have to go with CHEW. Its so over the top, and I am a sucker for detective stories, but it still grabbed me. You are a FDA agent in a world where bird flu got really serious so Chicken as livestock is now super illegal. Now that could be real dark, but instead, hilarity ensues as it becomes an illicitly traded resource, so you are basically the men in black investigating food crimes.

What games really surprised you this Year?

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