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I own a lot of roleplaying games ... I have no idea how many. Let's just stick with LOTS. I don't have any actual plans to downsize my collection at the moment. But you never know when you might have to! So if you had to get rid of all but five games, which would they be?

For the purposes of my answer, I'm counting different editions of games as being different games but I am including everything published in a single product line (of a given edition) as being one game.

(1) Lamentations of the Flame Princess

Basic D&D is my ideal roleplaying game and LotFP is in my opinion the best take on Basic D&D. Unlike D&D, however, the setting is ... it would be wrong to say "low fantasy" because all sorts of fantastical gak can happen. That gak is just, well, very bad for everyone involved more often than not. At the surface level, LotFP leans towards a historical (specifically sixteenth-century) tone, at least materially. Like in Call of Cthulhu, there is an extreme contrast between the material world and otherwise. Author/owner James Raggi calls it Weird Fantasy and, as a publisher, he has worked very hard and IMO almost entirely successfully to ensure that LotFP adventures are not only some of the best quality ever published but are also among the strangest, most horrific, and memorable.

(2) Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition by Wizards of the Coast

This is the only name-brand D&D I would HAVE to keep around - not really because it is current ("state of the art") but because it is actually a pretty darn good game, retaining the best elements of Third through Fourth editions without bringing too much of their immense baggage along. The adventures have been mediocre to good so far. What the game really lacks is a flavorful campaign setting; the new version of old version of the Forgotten Realms is too generic. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like WotC plans to give us a Planescape book or similar anytime soon.

(3) Call of Cthulhu Seventh Edition by Chaosium

Now this would be an exception to the rule of not keeping products from previous editions ... or even from other product lines altogether. There are older sourcebooks and adventures I plan to use with CoC7E and even stuff from totally different games (Trail of Cthulhu). There may eventually be updated "Seventh Edition" versions of some of this but I want them more for the ideas than anything else. I actually don't even have my copy of the 7E books yet! It's been a long, hard road getting that KS fulfilled.

IMO, CoC is an essential RPG. In many RPGs, PCs become stronger, tougher, and more powerful as they adventure. But the Investigators in CoC waste away, mentally and physically, in whatever glimmer of the baleful truths they glimpse. The key to CoC is not so much the Lovecraft "brand" (really the Dereleth brand as far as CoC is actually concerned) but rather this unique opportunity to play a character as she existentially disintegrates.

(4) Traveller by Mongoose

If D&D characters become stronger and CoC characters become weaker - well, Traveller characters generally don't do either! By the time your adventure begins, you already have a lifetime of ups and downs behind you, thanks to Traveller's famous character creation minigame. By and large, you are who you are when the game begins, in terms of your skills at least. So play really comes down to using those skills to make your way in the galaxy. My dream is that Amarillo Design Bureau will one day publish the long-overdue Star Fleet version of Mongoose Traveller. That might well be all the sci fi RPG I would ever need!

(5) The One Ring by Cubicle 7

I have not actually had a chance to play this one but of all the games I have not played this is the one I want to play the most. LotR done right - need I say more?

Interesting question.

1 ) Pathfinder. Of all the editions of D&D, I find it the best balanced.
2 ) Savage Worlds. Rules light generic system.
3 ) Hero System 5th edition. High-crunch generic system
4 ) L5R (1st edition is what I have) Rules might be clunky, but I love the setting, and with some tweaks it can be made to work. The later eds might be better, but 1st is the one on my shelf.
5 ) Shadowrun. Been a while since I played, but enjoy the setting.

I’m probably forgetting something, but that’s the off the top of my head list.

I would keep:
1) 1 Ring (C7)
2) Star wars (FFG)
3) Time of War (Catalyst)
4) Lamentations of flame princess
5) IK RPG

I can narrow it down to two.

D&D 5ed
Runequest, 2nd edition

It's a great idea for a thread.

I have over the decades owned 50 different RPGs of which I only have a dozen still in my bookshelf. These include the most valuable (to me) but also the most recently bought, since it is partly the ravages of time that have depleted my stock, and I've bought a few new titles during the 2000s. Out of these dirty dozen I would keep:

RuneQuest 2nd edition
Traveller original and Mongoose editions, which are basically the same
Savage Worlds
My Life With Master
Panty Explosion Perfect

RQ and Traveller were the 3rd and 4th RPGs I ever bought (Basic D&D and Tunnels and Trolls being the first two.) I've played and GMed more of them than anything else, so there's heaps of nostalgia value. I dream of finding a group to play with again.

If I could get back five books I've lost, it would be these:

James Bond 007
Prince Valiant
Star Wars the RPG by West End Games
Cyberpunk (R. Talsorian Games)
Other Suns

It's extraordinary how many RPGs have been published. There's at least a thousand different games listed in online resources like RPGGeek.

Pathfinder.
DC heroes 2nd/3rd edition.
D20 Star Wars RPg by WOTC.
WFRP 2nd edition


......rereads rules....


WFRP 1st edition.


bit weird for me that I'd keep these over the 40k RPgs, which TBf, I've never really done that much with despite dropping far too much money on initially

Kilkrazy wrote:
If I could get back five books I've lost, it would be these:
...
Cyberpunk (R. Talsorian Games)
...

I have Cyberpunk 2020 and a fistfull of chromebooks on my shelf. It just never caught my imagination like shadowrun. I don’t recall the mechanics being anything special.

reds8n wrote: bit weird for me that I'd keep these over the 40k RPgs, which TBf, I've never really done that much with despite dropping far too much money on initially

I played in a Rouge Trader game, and have the Deathwatch book on the shelf. While I love the setting, the mechanics they went with are not my favorite. Reminds me of when my old group was playing 1st edition Shadowrun. There were some pretty glaring flaws in the mechanics, but we loved the setting. Tried to port the campaign to different systems, but none of them really meshed, so we went back.

After looking at my shelf, I need to add one more thing to my list. Rolemaster (the old version) While I don’t own the main books, I do have Spell Law, and the second Companion (plus the first C&T, but that’s less relevant). As there are two die hard fans of the system in my group, the odds of it actually being run are decent, so I’d probably want to hold on to them if I had to thin out my collection.

@Nevelon

I have a complete set of L5R4E ... I am a sucker for the setting and the system isn't unplayable. That said, I find it difficult to get players to invest the proper amount of interest into getting into the setting and their characters, which is why it ultimately doesn't make my Keep Five list.

@Kilkrazy

You may want to look at Classified. There is also an adventure for it, Operation Rogue Lion.

@Reds8n

I have so much FFG 40k RPG stuff ... and I have played so very little of it. The system is just way too clunky. Still - I am glad I bought all of Black Crusade, which I consider the crown jewel of all those efforts.

 Manchu wrote:
@Nevelon

I have a complete set of L5R4E ... I am a sucker for the setting and the system isn't unplayable. That said, I find it difficult to get players to invest the proper amount of interest into getting into the setting and their characters, which is why it ultimately doesn't make my Keep Five list.

In addition to the setting, I really like the roll/keep mechanics. It’s an elegant was of balancing stats and skills.

Getting into the setting is not a problem exclusive to L5R. I do recall a few memorable moments where I was almost forced to cut fellow PCs in half because they made a slight on my honor. “In character” those sorts of things shouldn’t happen casually, but when you aren’t quite in gear, they do slip out. But we’ve also had issues with a Mutant’s and Mastermind game that was supposed to be done in the golden age, 4-color style, but a few people went for more gritty iron age type characters. That campaign took far to long to self destruct painfully. Or the RT campaign with the risk-adverse trader and the anti-authority blaspheming armswoman.

TBH I have always found superhero RPGs to be the absolute trickiest.

 reds8n wrote:
Pathfinder.
DC heroes 2nd/3rd edition.
D20 Star Wars RPg by WOTC.
WFRP 2nd edition

D20 StarWars intrigued me as it is often cited as a very flawed RPG ruleset. What made you pick this one?

Saga Edition perhaps?

The original Star Wars by West End Games was excellent. Based on the system used in their Ghostbusters game (which I also had.) The sourcebooks were so good that apparently Lucasfilm used them as required reading for new writers.

WEG's SW RPG (2E R&E) was my second RPG and the one I spent the most time/money on as a kid. I have also heard that rumour about EU authors using the sourcebooks - but I always chalked it up more to the strategy of building a coherent setting rather than being a testament to their quality. I think the reason is, RPG writers tend to be more deferential (whether by choice or obligation, I don't know) to the folks who write novels and comics than vice versa.

In no particular order:

Star Wars (2nd edition)
L5R (4th edition)
Shadowrun (2nd Edition)
TSR's Advanced Marvel Super Heroes
FUDGE

Edit: I have never successfully gotten to play Dark Heresy or CoC and that saddens me greatly and might possibly have changed my top 5.

Every RPGer deserves at least one CoC-induced death/breakdown.

EDIT: that will be my campaign slogan

1) Call of Cthulhu 3rd edition.

My personal favourite to run or play, and I don't think more recent edition (4th/5th) got any better (I didn't bother with 6/7th), loads of stuff to do, not (nearly) SAN to do it all even if you survive, and a strong reason for players not to run in guns blazing/swords swinging


2)MERP (I'd rather have Rolemaster as the system, but the buckets of excellent LotR background in MERP wins it for me)

I confess I like tables, lots and lots of tables, and if you're looking for a prebuilt fantasy world with minimal magic (accessible to the PCs) this is a great choice, playing with the full rolemaster ruleset instead of the cut dowm MERP version is even better

3) SLA Industries

The setting is the big thing here Serial Killers as advertising mascots, Halloween jack, what's not to love (such a shame it never really took off, some of the social comentry on the media is even more accurate today than when it was first written), the system is ok too

4) Original Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay

I really like this, taking a humble graverobber almost to the top of the imperial hierarchy, and I still love the way the system works

5) Original World of Darkeness/Vampire the Masquerade

the system is basically non existent but the world works really really well and opens up tons of roleplaying opportunities, but the whole thing became overcrowded by too many supernatural players all of whom were meant to be stars of the show (Werewolf or Changeling were also fun, but you really needed to pick one 'star' and stick to them)

OR if i'd have to take the whole WoD i'd rather have Paranoia instead (the computer is my friend)

Sooo many RPGs that are good. I'd have to go with:

1) Savage Worlds - the Fast, Fun, Furious slogan says it all
2) WEG 2E Revised and Expanded Star Wars - I've tried all the various Star Wars RPG and this is simply the best
3) 2E D&D - Honestly, I'd like to keep the 5E rules and all the 2E/1E supplements, but if I have to be edition pure, 2E is what I'd keep
4) OWoD Vampire - I've had great fun with the new World of Darkness games, but my old Vampire campaign, with the old rules, is the one I love the most
5) Legend of the Five Rings - I just love the setting for this game, and it just barely beats out 7th Sea for much of the same reason (7th Sea seems to have better rules, but Ninja-posing-as-Samuria wins any day, and twice on Saturdays)

 Orlanth wrote:
I can narrow it down to two.

D&D 5ed
Runequest, 2nd edition

With the handle of the storm pantheons chief god, yeah wasnt surprised to see RQ in there
If I had the space to add 1 more, yeah Runequest would be in there, Love that system and setting! still can acquire some stuff from noble knight for it, managed to almost complete all the box sets ...5th ed, can burn in the fires..

RuneQuest 2nd edition has recently been reprinted in a Kickstart project, including a lot of the original source book (Big Rubble, Cults of Prax, etc.)

I think most early RQ adopters valued it for its differences to most other fantasy RPGs; the Gloranthan background, the use of skills rather than levels, and so on. Thus, it was a great disappointment when Avalon Hill bought the licence and started to convert it into another typical fantasy RPGs witha generic mediaeval background, wizard magic and so on.

I know for a fact that the re-publishing of 2nd edition has prompted something of a renaissance of people playing it.

 Manchu wrote:
Saga Edition perhaps?

nah, flicked through it, but too much like 4th edition D&D for me.

 jmurph wrote:


D20 StarWars intrigued me as it is often cited as a very flawed RPG ruleset. What made you pick this one?

We've had/have fun every time we play it.

I like the d20/pathfinder/3rd edtion system with the skills, feats etc etc.

It's a bit awkward as there were 2 different editions so some of the rules shift and we've added one or 2 house rules to fix/buff things a wee bit, but in essence the system works well enough so we're happy with it.

When Saga Edition first launched, it was rumoured to be a preview of what we would see in D&D4E. TBH I was actually disappointed that 4E was not more like Saga Edition, which struck me as a beautiful continuation of the logic of 3E, especially in light of what we were seeing from Pathfinder Alpha and Beta at the time. When 4E finally arrived, it was so different as to be kind of disorienting but I gradually discovered it was indeed just 3.5 "turned up to 11." Pathfinder ended up being too little of a change and 4E too much of a change for me. Saga Edition hit the sweet spot, mechanically and in terms of presentation. I managed to get most of the line together before it went OOP, including one of my most beloved RPG possessions - the KotOR sourcebook!

I don't think actual rules are all that important, at least not as much as an interesting milieu and a good GM and players. Most people tend to make some modifications to anything they use, anyway.

I'm a pretty casual roleplayer, but I'll give it a shot.

1. Pathfinder. I'm most familiar with the ruleset, and I'll freely admit I like it best because of that.

2. D&D 3.5. Because I can use most of the material for Pathfinder.

3. Golden Sky Stories. Very light, story driven game.

4. Mouseguard. I love the idea of tiny mice trying to survive in a world filled with Giants.

5. Engine Heart. Quirky little game with robots.

 Kilkrazy wrote:
RuneQuest 2nd edition has recently been reprinted in a Kickstart project, including a lot of the original source book (Big Rubble, Cults of Prax, etc.)

I think most early RQ adopters valued it for its differences to most other fantasy RPGs; the Gloranthan background, the use of skills rather than levels, and so on. Thus, it was a great disappointment when Avalon Hill bought the licence and started to convert it into another typical fantasy RPGs witha generic mediaeval background, wizard magic and so on.

I know for a fact that the re-publishing of 2nd edition has prompted something of a renaissance of people playing it.

What made Runequest special as a rules system was that it was very visceral and it was assymetric and got away with it in a way that no other fantasy RPG has managed to achieve.
The Borderlands campaign pack has some pre-generated characters, four are "low level", four are "intermediate level" and one is a "high level" character with multiple maxed out combat skills. This would flat out not work in D&D and most other systems. You couldn't have game with a 10th level character, two 5th, and two 2nd, with Runequest it doesn't even seem unusual. Hving assymetric power in the party allows a lived in social structure between the characters to develop.

What made Runequest special as a background..... well there is too much to list. Not only was the world system superlative, but the religions were detailed in a way that no other game has come close to replicating, even later editions of Runequest. there is a depth to it which is also unmatched and the scenario design set that standard which is still in use today.

D&D 5th is a good rules system but the scenario support is very thin. but it is sufficiently connected to 1st edition that the classic scenarios from TSR and White Dwarf are usable.

I would keep the only ones I currently have:
Pathfinder Beginner Box
Mutant Future
Gamma World (2nd ed)
Gamma World (D&D 4th ed)
Alternity

Hmmm....there is plenty of systems I haven't played (I'm not into D&D really) but here goes....

*Runequest
-I think it's 'RuneQuest Advanced', something between 2nd and 3rd which I've played.

*L5R
-I've only played 2nd edition (I know, I'm supposed to hate it) but the setting is so awesomely awesome.

*Twilight 2000 2nd edition
-I just like Twilight. The ruleset needs some tuning but there is so much GUNS one cannot but like it

*WHFRP
-I don't think I've played anything else but 2nd edition? I love it.

*Lamentations of the Flame Princess
-Oh yeah.

Great thread idea!
1. 5th Ed Dungeons and Dragons - Really like this system and I've been playing D'n'D since I started roleplaying and I'm not tired of it yet.
2. In Nomine - Game about angels and demons fighting for humanity's soul. Really fun modern game with a lot of though provoking stuff mixed with sheer melodrama.
3. GURPS - might be an ugly system, but it's damn versitile. I played Traveller originally through GURPS, will have to give the game a go with the original system.

I'd need to think more about my other includes...

Mongoose are about to release an updated version of their Traveller rules from 2006(?) that were very similar to the original 1979 rules.

This is a really cool thread.

Killcrazy, I have a bunch of Cyberpunk and Cyberpunk 2020 sitting on the shelf in my old house, annoying my ex-wife. Send me a PM if you want it -- I would want some cash for it but mostly just want to get rid of it, so it won't be crazy money. I probably want to get rid as a job lot though. It includes a bunch of supplements, copies of Interface magazine, etc.

My five...

1) Amber Diceless. This is my favourite RPG bar none. It really works best for big-ish groups (8-10 players) and long campaigns, though, in my experience. So I don't get to play it that often...

2) Dragon Warriors. Disclaimer: I am the current publisher of this game. Still, it's been one of my faves since the mid-1980s. D&D-ish dungeon bash stuff, but with a consciously low-fantasy, more folkloric kind of world. It's a bit like WFRP, if WFRP were set in low-fantasy Anglo-Norman England rather than than low-fantasy Renaissance Germany. Nice simple game system, oodles of atmosphere.

3) Something Glorantha-ish. Currently I own HeroQuest (1st edition), which is brilliant but has too many problems for me to be likely to run it any time soon; and RuneQuest III (Avalon Hill / Games Workshop editions), in some quantity, which is also deeply flawed (combat takes even longer than it does in RQ2). Chances are pretty good that if I ran this again, I would use a different game system but keep the fluff from RQ3.

4) The Princes' Kingdom. I love this one purely for its deliberately, specifically child-friendly design. It's effective for a mixed group of adults and kids of various ages, with kids as young as 5-6 having no difficulty grasping the basics. The system and setting are quite gentle, but have a strong moral underpinning which ends up being thought-provoking to kids and adults alike.

5) Hillfolk. Absolute genius. I like this one almost as much as I like Amber... Very simple system that concentrates on interpersonal drama, giving you Game of Thones- or Sons of Anarchy- or Sopranos-like games.

Honourable Mentions: these are games that I don't really need to own, because I don't feel that I'm especially well-suited to GMing them, but I love, love, love playing them. The One Ring (fantastic system, atmospheric and elegant, but I'm not quite enough of a Tolkien buff to make it amazing); Call of Cthulhu (likewise with Lovecraft, and horror in general); Pendragon (likewise with the Arthurian mythos). The difficulty with all these games is that I've had some world-class GMs for them, and know I wouldn't be able to do them justice in comparison...