Generic ruleset suggestions ?

[Tom Reed]

If you kind of like Supersystem may I suggest Blaster & Bulkheads by the same fellow. (Or is it Bulkheads & Blasters?)

[eMills]

No Limits and it's fantasy brother No Quarter would do everything you want, I think.  These rules have the added benefit of being free.  They are based on the excellent (but sadly defunct) VOR rules set.

Supersystem is also a great rule set (as are it's daughter games Blasters & Bulkheads, Chaos in Carpathia, Chaos in Cairo, Goalsystem Delves, etc.).

7TV and it's associated daughter games (available from Crooked Dice) are also great rule sets.

Hope those help.

~Eric

[Booboo]

I came to say crooked dice, but I guess I will have to just second it.  They have fantasy (and another fantasy game coming with Otherworld) that can mash-up with their spyfy/scifi standard rules.  Great for a former RPG player.

[Ironworker]

I've done a lot with No Limits.  Some people say it's too complicated but I would say no more so that 2nd ed 40K. 

[leonmallett]

AE-Bounty; nice little compact rule-book, and so many options for races and equipment that it should offer a decent toolkit. Add in that forces can be scaled from best of the best (a couple of models) to near 20 a side in the same organisation structure, and that may offer the flexibility you want.

[pauld]

Vortex

I would love to have a look at the character builder (absent from the free rules) to have a better understanding of its potential.

There are around 180 different traits that can be added (both abilities and limiting liabilities) that build up in levels spread over pre-game, movement, transport, ranged combat, melee combat, defence, miscellaneous and post game.

... then there are  a raft of types, features and flaws for ranged and melee weapons and then armour too

... stances and styles for combat

highly customisable from simple cannon fodder to things with multiple characteristics and cross genre too

simultaneous combat (I hate the ... I swing and you just stand there until your turn and take it ... school of miniature combat)

I have only played a couple of games (happily we live in an age of bounteous goodness for all things wargamey but getting round to playing them all is a full time career) but enjoyed the rules  a lot

Loads of scenarios too.

[hubbabubba]

You should have a gander at this site:

http://www.freewargamesrules.co.uk/

Its chock full of all kinds of free rules for all kinds of genres.

I only found out about it because of this thread over on frothers:

http://www.frothersunite.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=45273

[dijit]

I'd say AE Bounty is a good option too. It's quite a robust system, even though likemost rulesets it does a couple of failings, but  I think they are less glaring than most.

Another option could be 40k Rogue Trader pdfs are available roundabouts on the net ad the options are plenty, though perhaps not the most balanced.

[Rhydderch]

Couldn't find any rules (for Pulp Alley) anywhere. Not even a company summary to give an idea of the mechanics, let alone a "free starter set".

Wargames Vault has the free Quick Start rules:

http://www.wargamevault.com/product/116275/Pulp-Alley---Quick-Start-PDF?src=s_pi

Pulp Alley is a newer ruleset. I haven't tried a game yet, but I think it has a lot of potential. If you're interested in a miniature game with RPG elements, you should definitely give it a look. The game is skirmish scale, with a band or party of characters on each side. Character stat lines include both combat and non-combat stats (such as Might and Cunning) similar to an RPG:

http://pulpalley.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=619&sid=9ec3ac0a6599e71f1d3009c71ad66887
(A roll of 4+ on a die is a success, and all successes are totaled - similar to Supersystem)

These stats are used to complete the objectives necessary to win the game and avoid / overcome perils on the map. A deck of cards provides these challenges (bottom of card):

http://i1337.photobucket.com/albums/o665/pulpalley/Art%20of%20Pulp%20Alley/Product/NewCards_zpscd90d794.jpg

The cards also have special events (top of card) that can be played from your hand, adding some of the creative variety that you see in RPGs. Of course, some people may not like dice pools or cards, so these may affect how you feel about these mechanics. I personally like the simplicity of dice pools with a fixed (4+) target number.

As for the other items in your checklist...

Generic... Cross-genre...

PA allows you to create your own band with whatever miniatures you have. The AARs (link further below) suggest it is compatible with a wide variety of genres.

A point-buy formula for abilities/skills/equipment, instead of army lists

PA allows you to create your own characters, but may not have the granularity that you desire. PA has a number of character types - from low level followers to terrors that represent an entire roster. Each of these costs a fixed number of points, and can have a certain number of dice / dice types / abilities. The game does have some special equipment lists, but for the most part, weapons and other items are not separate - they are rolled into the stat line and abilities. The build rules are flexible, but you do lose some detail and variety compared to other "crunchier" games. On the upside, it's really easy to create a roster.

(PA currently has about 80 abilities with the Perilous Island expansion, though more can be expected with the upcoming Vehicle and Pulp Leagues expansions.)

Of moderate complexity and corresponding tactical depth.

PA has a variety of mechanics in play. It has the usual rules for cover and the like. There's also a simple reaction system - when a model is attacked, it may react by attacking or dodging. Resource management comes into play as combat actions reduce the number of dice you get for attacks. The cards obviously give you something else to think about, as do some of the dice mechanics.

(The reaction system is a simpler version of that seen in the Ambush Alley games.)

it would lack an impartial moderator and would be competitive in nature rather than cooperative

To a certain extent, the cards can provide a moderator. For instance, if a character wants to jump out of a window, you can treat that as moving through a perilous area, and draw a random challenge for the character to pass.

Anyway, for more information, you should check out the Pulp Forum here - it has dozens of threads about the game. The author discusses some of the game's highlights in the second post here:

http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=53275.0

For some AARs:

http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=54250.0

You can also learn more about the game from the official forum:

http://pulpalley.com/index.php

[eilif]

I know you were turned off by the GW'ish chrome of In The Emperor's Name, but in truth, the ruleset is nothing like a GW game. It's a generic ruleset built on (though more detail than) FUBAR.  It's just that it happens to have a setting in the 40k universe. I'd really recommend treating it like a generic sytem and giving it a try.  The ruleset is so strong that Mr Cartmell took it, tweaked it and turned it into the new steampunk/victoriana ruleset "In Her Magesty's name"  I've not played IHMN yet, but I liked ITEN so much that IHMN is currently on it's way to me now.

Warengine SHockforce is a great game also, It seems to be aimed at platoon level gaming with 30 or more figs per side which is bigger than you wanted.  Still the creation system makes it very possible to stat up individuals rather than squads. Definitely worth checking out as it's free and one of my personal favorite systems.

Lastly, if you're considering Supersystem, either it, or the space opera ("not"-star-wars...) version "Blasters and Bulkheads" are very good options with good character creation mechanics, nice gameplay and a proven "Goalsystem" game engine.  The only drawback I can see is that both games focus on having heroic main characters and squads of mooks.

[melquisedeq]

Once more, thanks for all the replies. Lead Adventure truly is a rare shining beacon of hope and camaraderie in the foothills of the dark "volcanus" of crap-smeared self-indulgent egotripping quasi-autistic fallacious logic, and for that I salute you... 

I was hoping to get at least a couple of systems tried this past weekend but could not, so this is all still very much in the area of the theoretical.

- tnjrp -
Defiance seems a bit too squad-oriented, but the rules themselves intrigued me and I'll keep the name for future reference.

- n815e -
SuperSystem is officially in my "to buy" shortlist, it does sound like something I'll give use to even if not exactly for this particular case.

- consectari -
Dude, we seem to be in the same exact page. Do you have any notes of those custom rules you could share?

- Tom Reed -
I'll look into it, given how much I liked SuperSystem... but the latter is probably more to the point. Unless they're absolutely compatible and I can just use Blasters & Bulkheads to add options to my SuperSystem game.

- eMills / Booboo / Ironworker -
I have No Limits and No Quarter already... They're pretty awesome, times ten for being free, but they're heavily unit-based.
7TV and the rest of the Crooked Dice stuff have interesting sales pitches but no rule summaries or demo rules.

- leonmallett / dijit -
The short description for AE Bounty, at the official website, sounds good but, like the Crooked Dice stuff, no rule summaries or demo rules.

- pauld -
Hey man, now you're just rubbing it on my face...   
Vortex is officially on my "to buy" list!

- hubbabubba -
I had found that site while investigating the previous round of suggestions... favourited, to browse at leisure. At a first sight it had nothing exactly like I wanted but plenty of very good games I want to have a better look at.

- dijit -
Hadn't thought of Rogue Trader, but a mate had once mentioned WHFB 3rd edition as something to look into, and it seems that Rogue Trader is the 40K equivalent to that ruleset... will definitely aquaint myself with it.

- Rhydderch -
Pulp Alley just won a billion points for your post. It does look like a sweet game, surely towards the "lighter" side of what I'm after but still on target. If it can truly be used in any genre, it has to rank up there with Vortex and SuperSystem on my "must buy" list.

- eilif -
It's a bit hard for me to read past all the sci-fi tone of the rulebook, let alone the 40K-specific stuff, but I'll try to give it a spin.


Thanks, guys!

[pauld]

just for the record I will second Pulp Alley - it is a fabulous game and I have had a lot of fun with it

.. but Vortex is a better fit to you list

[melquisedeq]

.. but Vortex is a better fit to you list

I secretly suspect as much... 

[Hat Guy]

Not to hijack anything, but No Limits has piqued my interest, are there any good introductions or broken down AARs to help me get started?

[d phipps]

Rhydderch really covered all the bases for Pulp Alley, so I won't add too much more.

We're seeing more and more folks using Pulp Alley for sci-fi, fantasy, and other settings. And looking over your list, I believe we check all the boxes.

If you are using Pulp Alley for a sci-fi or fantasy setting, I usually reccommend adding one extra ability to each character just to represent hi-tech gear, mutants, and magic.


Let us know if you have any question.



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