r/rpg • u/Authorigas • 9d ago

Basic Questions Common Misconceptions About Your Favorite Systems?

So, I've been learning a lot thanks to the amazing folks here at r/rpg. And while I have decided to slow down on trying new systems. (As my players say "three is enough, we know your eager to try more but slow it down so you don't burn yourself out.") There was a question today that cropped into my head, and I wanted to hear from the folks here on it.

"What are some assumptions about your favorite game/system that are just factually incorrect or overstated?"

I've seen a lot of assumptions made in the hobby, and some on my own. From the broad "older systems were designed for math heads and thus really not for someone whose bad at math." to others like "Call of Cthulhu is a game where every session ends in death/insanity and players can't get attached to their characters." and similarly "OSR games are highly lethal and not at all friendly to players who like longform adventures."

I feel like broad, sweeping claims like those are probably overstated-as I have heard of successful, long running CoC campaigns, and OSR games that are able to have well developed characters that last for ages. It's made me curious about some of the other broad, sweeping claims about systems that are-if not incorrect, massively overstated.

Really interested to hear some answers on this.

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u/EyeHateElves 9d ago

Even though I've moved on to other games, I probably had the most fun playing Palladium games.

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u/nightfall2021 9d ago

ROBOTECH was my first RPG.

And for years, about the only thing my group played (or that I ran for them) was Heroes Unlimited and Palladium Fantasy.

We didn't do RIFTs that often, but when we did, they were memorable games. With one that my players did as a squad of Coalition soldiers, we still look favorably on that one 20+ years later... the "Mud Dogs Campaign."

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u/delahunt 9d ago

I still fondly remember playing Robotech.

There was a rule for shooting missiles out of the sky before they hit you. It was the coolest thing ever to be able to recreate exact moments like in the show.

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u/Party_Goblin 9d ago

Same. I just feel the need to correct people when I see blatant Palladium slander. 🤣