Game systems

So Monte Cook wrote a tweet about how great it was that you can play D&D one week, Pathfinder the next and another game the third week. Choice isn't necessary, and "The only people who like to argue about which to choose are those people you don't want to game with anyway".

It got me thinking. The only game system choices I've ever made were based on TSR's, later Wizards' publishing schedules. When Monte - whom I'd noticed with Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil - created  Arcana Unearthed, I was hooked, and I began paying more attention to him than to Wizards. The pinnacle of my "Monte is not just a caffeine-powered robot - he's a caffeine-powered robot god of gaming"-phase was my Ptolus campaign, which I ran using Arcana Evolved. What a great campaign. I miss Ptolus...

Then Monte took a hiatus from making games - well, publishing 'em, at least - and 4th Edition came along. That wasn't for me, so Paizo became the recipient of my hard-earned cash, and now I run three Pathfinder campaigns. 

While most of my make-believe time has been spent with a d20 in my hands, I've also tried Hârn, Traveler, and Dragon Warriors, and to this day, I'm still in a GURPS campaign, so I'm not anti-other games or an exclusivist. 

Is that a word? Looks like one. Yup, letters. It's a word.

But what am I then? I guess I'm a bit of a traditionalist and I am lazy. No, I'm strapped for time. And I worry I can't keep my imagination spinning at enough RPMs to make something fun every third week. So I need systems that back me up with oodles of adventure. I have all Dungeon magazines from #8 onwards and I subscribe to Paizo's Adventure Paths, so I have a good collection of adventures to choose from. And in order to use them the easiest, I run them using the most compatible system.

This leads me to the conclusion that if a gaming company wants me as a customer, they'd better put out adventures (and rulebooks, and sourcebooks, and GM screens and minis - prepainted). This will show me how the game is played, AND it will make it easier for me to run the game.

Bottom line: I like all games. Or rather, I haven't played that many games, but I liked the ones I did try. I've previously been guilty of valuing some games higher than others, but now - hey, if you're a role-player I don't care too much about the shape of your dice. But I will still make a clear choice in favour of the game that provides the best support.