I guess the take away for those starving indie devs mentioned in the tweet….create a 5e based game for money to then help fund their individual game creation?
The Expanse RPG is based on Modern AGE, which uses Green Ronin's AGE System, first developed for the Dragon Age RPG (2010). It's not exactly a coincidence that "it still feels very D&D like." History lesson time.Most of my TTRPG time is spend running 5e. But when I want to try a different system, I like to try something VERY different than D&D. As someone else mentioned above, even different core mechanics don't appreciably change the general experience for me with most systems. For example of one recent game, The Expanse uses very different rules to give a more theatrical, episodic style of play (I believe it is based off the FATE system). And, of course, the theme and setting is very different than typical D&D games. But, really, it still feels very D&D like to me. I feel that I could get a similar experience playing Starfinder. Others will argue with me strongly on this point, but in so many of the TTRPGs I play, I could just swap the mechanics. I don't feel that they create a very different play experience.
All that said, I can personally vouch for the success of Chris Pramas's design goals with the AGE System. My non-TTRPG gaming partner and some of my neophyte gamer friends absolutely bounced hard off 5e D&D, but they found Fantasy AGE so much easier to learn and fun to play. My partner has even asked if we could play it again once we try a few other games that have been on our list (e.g., Numenera, Fate, The One Ring, Avatar Legends, etc.). This is all, of course, anecdotal, but from what I have seen through running a number of other groups, the AGE System succeeds at Chris Pramas's design goals. It's not perfect. No game is. But if I can play something that "still feels very D&D like" while also playing something that my partner and table finds more enoyable and easier to learn than D&D 5e, then MAZEL TOV! to everyone.
I also have a tweet for this situation...
Thanks for the history lesson! I love this stuff. I agree that the AGE system, or at least as it was adapted for The Expanse is easy to pickup and runs smoothly. I definitely want to try some other systems that use the AGE engine. While I like the mechanics of The Expanse and really enjoy reading through the book (big fan of the TV show, never read the books), the setting itself doesn't do much for me. I wouldn't enjoy trying to run a campaign for it. I also don't like running games in well known IPs with heavy amounts of canon, especially if the players are big fans of the setting. I'd rather take a more generic setting and make it my own. But I do like the rules.The Expanse RPG is based on Modern AGE, which uses Green Ronin's AGE System, first developed for the Dragon Age RPG (2010). It's not exactly a coincidence that "it still feels very D&D like." History lesson time.
I have played Fantasy AGE to about 16th level across various groups. I also ran the playtest at various levels to try things out. I don't find that the game "[breaks] horribly," though this is not to say that the game is without problems, though opinions about the problems and solutions will naturally vary with gaming preferences. I have heard that Fantasy AGE dialed down some of the problems from Dragon Age. Likewise, I do think that overall Modern AGE is a more polished product than Fantasy AGE.If you don't mind a question, what level did you folks play up to? While the group I ran Dragon Age for quite liked some elements, we found it started to break horribly about level 8, and my reading of FAGE didn't suggest it was going to avoid the same problems.
I have played Fantasy AGE to about 16th level across various groups. I also ran the playtest at various levels to try things out. I don't find that the game "[breaks] horribly," though this is not to say that the game is without problems, though opinions about the problems and solutions will naturally vary with gaming preferences. I have heard that Fantasy AGE dialed down some of the problems from Dragon Age. Likewise, I do think that overall Modern AGE is a more polished product than Fantasy AGE.
I also have no idea, however, what Fantasy AGE 2e will look like, since they apparently decided to flat out call it a 2nd Edition, which they resisted doing during the initial playtest in 2020. They may make more changes than we saw then. I personally wish that Green Ronin would move towards making a more generic system, much like they did with True 20 rather than separate Fantasy Age and Modern Age lines.
You may find this Fantasy AGE 2E preview article interesting in light of your earlier question: "Fantasy Age 2nd Edition Preview: Advancement and Damage!"My read of Modern AGE was at least the problems would be far less severe. I was interested in your experience with Fantasy AGE because a similar read did not suggest the problems would be reduced much. Thanks for the response.
Yeah, I'm not clear what purpose the separate games are doing, per se.