Recommend the next RPG that I will GM for my group. | Tabletop Roleplaying Open (2025)

I currently DM my first D&D campaign for a small group of RPG newbies. Being a newbie myself I found D&D 4ed very fun and easy to run. We are near the end of Keep on the Shadowfell and we will take a break for the summer.

All the players are enjoying the game but I have the feeling that our group will shine in a system with less combat. Do you have any other systems to recommend? Any systems that support this kind of play? It has to be heavily themed from heroic euro fantasy because they are all fans of Tolkien (that is why I convinced them into playing in the first place).

I am looking forward to your replies.

Castles & Crusades is a great game with a D&D feel but a much more "mutable" system.

You could also look at retro-clones like Basic Fantasy RPG and Laybrinth Lord for some really simple, old-school fun that aren't so tactically focused.

There's probably a billion other fantasy roleplaying games with a "Euro" bent to them, but those are the ones I'd recommend if you like D&D but don't want to focus solely on combat. If you want to get away from D&D style rules entirely, I'd suggest A Song of Ice & Fire or maybe REIGN, mainly because these two games go into significant detail in roleplaying social conflict and/or nation-building and running and make it interesting, as opposed to tedious and like an accounting project.

Cerulean Lion said:

Star Wars Saga Edition. .

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Thanks but the girls are not into sci-fi. Did I mention the players are 3 girls?

NPC said:

Pendragon

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Pendragon from a brief look seems great (currently in the 2008, 5ed). And also Basic Role-Playing seems good. Thank you!

neuronphaser said:

I'd suggest A Song of Ice & Fire or maybe REIGN, mainly because these two games go into significant detail in roleplaying social conflict and/or nation-building and running and make it interesting, as opposed to tedious and like an accounting project.

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Very good recommendations thank you!

Hmm. No Sci-Fi eh? 3 girls? Hmm.

Might I guess L5R as well. It has a good charm to it and you need little than the core book to run a full game. I would avoid Warhammer Fantasy.

Exalted can be fun...but how new are you to GMing? Might I suggest REIGN?

Are they interested in Supers? Mutants and Masterminds services very nicely.

Or are you looking for a nice Generic system? GURPS does very well but takes a bit of getting use too.

Mostlyjoe said:

Or are you looking for a nice Generic system? GURPS does very well but takes a bit of getting use too.

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Second that: I've got a lot of female players around here who like GURPS because it allows them to build *exactly* the kind of character they want, including any and all of his or her mental and physical details.

Not exactly euro tolkien...in fact completely not, but 7thsea R&K, is disigned with a system that can be very Euro historical romance novel esc, lots of intrigue, plotting, suduction, and when you do get to combat it comes with more flurish...Moves from very Shakespearian England Sidhe Tatiana included through Three Musketeers, Zorro, Pirates or the Caribean, Kniights Templar into Venecian Italy ala Dangerous Beauty just in the main books alone, additional material moves on to cover Sinbad to Mulan.

The system also encourages one to come out of their shell.

mattvoid said:

Legend of the Five Rings. A lot of my playgroups have been 50%/75% women, and they have always like the world.

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Very helpful, thank you!

Mr. Grieves said:

Ars Magica and it might fit. It's based on a vision of Europe in the Middle Ages with mystical/fantasy elements.

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I was wondering about that one also...

Mostlyjoe said:

Or are you looking for a nice Generic system? GURPS does very well but takes a bit of getting use too.

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NPC said:

I've got a lot of female players around here who like GURPS because it allows them to build *exactly* the kind of character they want, including any and all of his or her mental and physical details.

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It is my first time. I don't want anything generic. I need a theme and a setting to support me. But I'll check it out!

dindenver said:

BoG,
I am a huge fan of Shadow of Yesterday. It is really driven by what the players want and it is fun to GM as well!

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Sounds great also!

Kariggi said:

7thsea R&K, is disigned with a system that can be very Euro historical romance novel esc, lots of intrigue, plotting, suduction, and when you do get to combat it comes with more flurish...
The system also encourages one to come out of their shell.

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Thanks I will check it out!

The new Swashbucklers of the 7 Skies using the PDQ# system. Fun swashbuckling fantasy in a world of airships, pirates, and musketeers! There is a review on the RPG.net front page. This system does an excellent job of supporting story-focused games.

Atomic Sock Monkey Press - Publisher
Swashbucklers of the 7 Skies (S7S) - Game Page
S7S Wiki