Not asking that one blog because it's more of a idle wandering than actual ask, but what are currently the most popular setting-neutral games? Like the ones that I see invoked most often are Savage Worlds and FATE, with GURPS being the classic, but am I missing something?

Like absolutely neutral games, not families of related games like PbtA or hacks of Into the Odd or 5E for everything

I do think it's probably Fate but I think that's more to do with the fact that Evil Hat produces a steady stream of new Worlds of Adventure supplements which give people something to play around with. I think Genesys and Cypher also count and are pretty big. In fact, given the fact that Monte Cook's name carries a lot of weight, I might go as far as to say that it's probably Cypher at the moment. Like, obviously Genesys and Cypher both started as systems built for specific games, but they have since been made into generic toolkit systems. And yeah, Savage Worlds, absolutely.

There's also Lumen and Caltrop Core but they're more known within the indie side and I think those might be more on the side of "frameworks for building games" rather than "setting neutral games," but I will admit that I am not intimately familiar with them. Actually I should give them a more in-depth look, like I've read a bunch of games that use them but I should actually delve deeper into the bones of those games.

And yeah I think it's good to distinguish between actual setting neutral games (even though the systems themselves bring some assumptions but that's besides the point) which are like here are the rules to run it, some assembly required, and games that are frameworks for building your own games, as you outlined in your ask. :) Like, PbtA is not a setting neutral game, it's a framework for building games. Same with FitD and d20. (Although there are arguably some setting neutral applications of the d20 system, like True20, which would absolutely count for this question, but I think True20 is somewhat past its prime.)

This was a nice ask, it got me thinking of how there are lots of cool games :)

Map of Blackmoor, campaign setting of Dave Arneson, co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons.

Suddenly struck with a need to explain to you how boat pronouns work (I work in the marine industry).

When you're talking about the design of the boat, you say "it".

When the boat is still being built, your say "it".

When the boat is nearing completion, you can say "it" or "she".

When the boat is floating in the water you probably say "she", unless there is still a lot of work to be done (e.g. no engine yet) then you say "it".

When the boat is officially launched and operating, you say "she". If you continue to say "it" at this point you are not incorrect but suspiciously untraditional. You are not playing the game.

If you are referring to a boat you don't really know anything about you may say "it" ("there's a big boat, it's coming this way"). But if you know its name, it's probably "she" ("there's the Waverley, she's on her way to Greenock").

If you are talking about boats in general, you say "it" ("when a boat is hit by a wave it heels over")

If you speak about a boat in complimentary terms, it's "she" ("she's a grand boat"). If you are being disparaging it may be it, but not necessarily ("it's as ugly as sin", "she's a grotty old tub").

If she has a boy's name, she's still she. "Boy James", "King Edward", "Sir David Attenborough"? The pronoun is she.

If it's a dumb barge (no engine), you say it. But if it's a rowing boat (no engine), you say she.

I hope this has cleared things up so that you may not be in danger of misgendering floating objects.

This body doesn't fit me right. It never has

Too small

Too delicate

I cannot carry you in my arms when you are weak

I cannot wrap my body around you when you are tired

I cannot bear my teeth, bite, scratch, kill the world that hurts you.

That hurts us all every day.

This body doesn't fit me right

I am a protector and it is not.

The world's unluckiest TTRPG player whose only frames of reference for TTRPGs are D&D 3e, Hero System, and Rolemaster: Yeah I like the simplicity of D&D. Indie RPGs are just too complex for me.

You do of course understand that the reason most people prefer DND 5E is that it's one of the easiest systems to learn? Like I'm sorry it's all well and good to 'break up the cultural monopoly' but I have Dyscalculia and DND is seemingly the only tabletop system that doesn't consistently ask me to do a hefty amount of complex math. I've never given WOTC a penny but the reason I've primarily played 5E over basically everything else is it's the only system that was extremely easy to learn and completely self explanatory. (Also - I like elves and magic and shit.) You roll one dice to see if you can do a thing, you add whatever your plus or minus is, and then roll damage where appropriate. Easy. Meanwhile seemingly everything else is like "Okay so you roll two dice except sometimes it's four and then you take this stat and you divide it by that dice roll and then you add a number equivalent to the day of the week unless it's a leap year then you times that by three and if you get a prime number you can lift that coffee cup." Like have you ever heard of Villains and Vigilantes, for instance? It's fucking insane. Like I'm not saying I don't get why you wanna make this point? But I feel like I have to point out that most people who make indie TTRPG's don't seem to focus on accessibility when designing their systems and they are EXTREMELY intimidating for new players. And often, what people who are big into TTRPG's do is assume that because THEY fully understand this system and how it works, new players will too just as easily. The amount of times I've spoken to a GM, said "This sounds a bit complicated", and they've gone "No no no it's easy" and then described the most complicated set of rules I've ever heard is ridiculous.

Okay it sounds you've had a very narrow range of experiences with RPGs then because D&D 5e is on the higher end of complexity when it comes to RPGs and most indie RPGs are actually a lot less complex than D&D 5e. Like, Villains & Vigilantes is not the median when it comes to RPG complexity. There are systems even lighter than D&D out there. :)

Remember when Ursula K. Le Guin called JK Rowling a nasty basic bitch back in like, 2004? We should have listened

I finally finished my thesis film!!! it's about a (cat) kid making breakfast for his (dog) dad. 🐾

featuring original music by the incredible @planetnapcast!! (I love their music so I'm still freaking out about this. you should freak out too. and listen to their music.)

I finally finished my thesis film!!! it's about a (cat) kid making breakfast for his (dog) dad. 🐾

featuring original music by the incredible @planetnapcast!! (I love their music so I'm still freaking out about this. you should freak out too. and listen to their music.)

If you're fifteen or older an still sleep with a stuffed animal please reblog this.

i think a big reason that I get frustrated with the "liberals have never made anybody's lives better" is that in the US it used to be legal for insurance companies to charge you more if you were sick or even just straight up deny you the ability to sign up for them if you already had a "pre-existing condition", and this was only stopped by the passage of the ACA during Obama's term. but a lot of people who talk about politics on here are too young to really be affected by that since they would have been on their parents insurance (which the ACA required insurers extend until you're 26). and this was all done via politicking and not blowing up insurance CEOs mansions or whatever.

I'm not saying that the ACA fixed insurance forever, god no. but "you can't deny someone insurance for being sick" is a massive change and people don't realize it!

Most adults want the law’s prohibition on insurers from denying coverage based on pre-existing medical conditions to stay. Two thirds (67%) of the public say that it is “very important” that this provision remain in place, including most Republicans (54%) However, only about 4 in 10 people (39%) are aware that that provision is part of the ACA.

A break from art to bring you:

unbearably sad beast

Behold…

✨WORLDBUILDING✨

Excuse me as I go insane over the fact that Cybertron is an inorganic-organic hybrid planet

This is so cute… bring back librarian Orion pax…