I’m definitely in the lapsed category and I was never a very active player, but I used to collect rule systems and source books.
Middle-Earth Role Playing was one game that I barely actually played at all. But I loved all the source material including an excellent map that speculated on the shape of the rest of Middle-Earth.
Other ones I collected included D&D (the old boxed sets, AD&D seemed, and still seems, needlessly complex to me), RuneQuest, Hawkmoon, Cyberpunk 2020.
White Wolf and they Storyteller Systems came after my time, but I’ve always been curious about a minimalist dice (or even no dice) system.
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I think I count as “re-lapsed”. I played in high school, then stopped. I took it up again a few years ago.
Lapsed, by circumstance not choice.
Lapsed.
Never played MERP as I hated the rules. I can’t remember why
Warhammer, Earthdawn, Star Wars (pre-GURPS), AD&D 2ed, some Shadowrun and CP2020. Oh, and a bit of Cthulhu. And local systems.
I played original D&D, then AD&D. It got so complicated by 2nd and 3rd set of rules that we all packed it in. We had the most fun with the simplest rules.
Lapsed here.
The MERP rules were ridiculously complex. A cut down version of the Rolemaster system with stats for everything short of breathing. They also allowed far too much magic. But the scenarios and sourcebooks were top notch.
Lapsed. Just can’t devote the time to it any longer. AD&D 1st and 2nd ed; Traveler (original); and the occasional Call of Cthulhu session.
FUDGE and Amber are more minimalistic in terms of stats and dice rolling. GURPS has some simplified rules — but I love the classes in D&D and White Wolf the very best.
Lapsed here, too — although I’m gonna pull out my D&D stuff when my daughter is old enough
Been playing since 1978 … had periods when it was inconvenient to play for a year or so at a time, but have played pretty consistently especially in recent years. Mostly playing my homebrew system, and testing variants on that, as well as building a supporting web application to help manage things for me as GM. Really love RPG as a hobby. Very creative, and fun.
You could play RPG on hangouts.. it might work?
It’s become quite popular I believe +James Paul Shelburn. Personally I don’t really have quiet time to do it at a reasonable hour where I’m not in bed though.
Lots of people are playing RPGs on Hangouts. In fact there is a G+ Community called Hangout RPG that is devoted to helping people get up to speed on it, and connect with people doing it.
Oh I rpg’d!! D&D, AD&D, are what started me off.… Then Runequest, GURPS, HERO, MERP, Cyberpunk, Shadowrun, Paranoia, and.… Oh.… WTF was it called? A space rpg where, in the 1st edition, your character could DIE during the character generation phase!! Lol
Plus some Starfleet Battles and a cubic metric pantload of Car Wars (the time is SOOOO ripe for a turn-based, Android, Car Wars clone it’s not even funny!! I hope that +Wil Wheaton will convince +Steve Jackson Games to make it happen)
Now, I get to occasionally play Fluxx, or +Cards Against Humanity or Munchkin.… But my rpg stuff lives in a couple of boxes in the basement.…..
We’re actually setting up D&D 4th Edition to play tonight.
yeah, I used to collect great RPG’s too — - always with the ambition of playing them but either never got to it or lack of other players to play with.
I believe that was in the original Traveller character generation system +Clinton Hammond
If nothing else this thread shows one of the reasons that tabletop RPGs could never breakout… The time/location/person commitments just knock out more than half the potential hobbyists.
Traveller! I’m playing that now! But not using the original character generation — using the Mongoose version (in which you can get injured, but not dead, during character creation).
Traveller!!! Thank you +Eoghann Irving
Now I can sleep tonight.… What a stupid game system that was!
I miss a good RPG. Once the internet hit it was over for my group of friends. I did get into the MUD and MUSH scene for a while, but even that felt too disconnected.
I briefly tried MUDs and MUSHES but they seemed to be either just monster bashing or an exercise in socializing.
Exactly, it wasn’t the same as getting all your friends together at a table with spreadsheets.
I played some 4E last year with +martha swanson and her in-laws, but other than that I guess these days I’m lapsed. I played werewolf:the apocalypse (all d10s) and enjoyed it, but I don’t know that the system was intrinsically easier to learn than any other RPG. I’m not a huge fan of 4E…they tried to make every type playable, but in doing so lost a lot of the flavor that I loved.
I’ve lost count of how many systems we’re running. Cthulu campaign, Amber campaign, two different DC Heroes-based campaigns (though neither in a DC setting), one of which currently detoured into D&D, Paranoia one-offs… We play every Friday.
Hey, I have those LOTR rulebooks! Never played, thought. At the moment, I have more RPGing going on in my life than possibly ever. I have two Pathfinder games going every other week (so, Parthfinder for me every week, just a different campaign), I’m playtesting Numenera and have a BESM campaign starting up soon (I hope.)
Time and geography used to be an issue, but for me the bottleneck was finding people to play with — especially people you enjoy playing with. G+ and hangouts have solved both of those in in fell swoop!
Lapsed here. Passed on most of my rulebooks when I moved to Oz. Think I still have Cthulhu, Palladium, Star Trek Prime Directive. Oh, and Macho Women with Guns.
I was such a gamer in the 80s and 90s that I ended up working in the industry. Literally games every night.
I am lapsed, and probably never will return. I lost my love for it when I landed with people who couldn’t ever talk about anything else, ever. EVER. I don’t hang with them any more, it’s been 20 years, but I just no longer have any give-a-fuck for it.
completely, absolutely lapsed since late 80’s (loved Skyrealms of Jorune)…met my future wife, got interested in other things…
Count me as lapsed…although I still have my original blue-box D&D basic edition. My bf keeps wanting to get back into it…we’ve talked numerous times about buying one or another set and indoctrinating our kids into the joys of RPGs
Unfortunately, we usually end up playing WoW or something else online.
MERP! The watered-down version of the Rolemaster (aka ROLL master) system!
Indeed +Matt Redding. Watered down and yet it still had absurd numbers of stats tables and dice rolls.
I have that box set. I bought it in December of 1987. It was missing the freaking dice, too.
Still have it. Never played it. Not once.