Where I've Come From, Where I'm Going

While I'm not one to be totally tied to a system- I've tried a fair share, including freebie offerings here and there- I do have to say that my current preferences lie quite strongly in the realm of Savage Worlds.

My own entry into the world of tabletop started, not too surprisingly, with Dungeons and Dragons. I passed from 2nd edition to 3rd to 3.5 without much fuss, learning the ins and outs of what d20 had to offer. As time went on, though, I began to glance more and more into other systems, dabbling into more rulesets than I'd care, or could, remember. Come the release of 4e, my loyalty to D&D was waning; the variety I'd experienced, coupled with my own gaming experiences, led me to believe that there was a system out there that'd be right for me.

I stumbled onto Savage Worlds based on a suggestion, which I actually believe came from Karizma here. It tickled my fancy after a read-through, and I've stuck with it since.

See, my gaming desires are rather... paradoxical. Given my writing habits, I tend to put a lot of weight on story (which would put me in the N of GNS, for those of you who follow that model). However, I like to have a set skill list rather than freeform creation, as I've had a number of experiences with players shooting for too-powerful skills when given free reign. On yet another hand, I don't like overly dense systems because my players tend to get bogged down when the calculations come into play (combat is infamous for this).

Savage Worlds works for me, because it fits what I was asking for. Is it a perfect system? For me, perhaps. I suppose you could call me a bad reviewer for this reason; I'm impartial. What works for me isn't guaranteed to work for other people. Hell, look at Karizma again. Apologies, but HARP and Rolemaster don't work for me. While I can respect both systems, they just don't fit my chosen style.

Well, it looks like I've come full circle and said barely anything. But I wasn't intending to rate systems from the start, readers. If anything, I hope this gives you the idea to look around a bit rather than squatting stubbornly under the banner of your One True System of choice. At the least, you can pilfer a few neat ideas here and there from elsewheres, even if all you grab is fluff.

Anyway, that's that for now. Pardon me while I live up to my title and grab myself a cup of chai.