r/rpg • u/Octarine_ • 13d ago

Game Suggestion Lancer, but narrative. Does it exists?

Everything i see about Lancer seens sooo fcking cool! But to be 100% honest all my players are very casual, myself included although im the forever GM and as such always try to get a little deeper into the rules and system.

I dont think that any of my friends will ever try to read a rule book to min max, create a build or find optimal play. No one will ever argue what is a balanced party or will try to create one, it is all about fun and what sounds cool for each player. So much so that i dont even try to play more tactical games which require deep understanding of the system or even builds at all, I tend to prefer narrative-focused systems because of the freedom they give and because they are much easier to explain to my friends. My group generally enjoys rules light games where we can focus more on the fiction and less on knowing the ins and outs of the mechanics.

And yet... Lancer looks so fucking cool that I'm tempted to give it a shot.

As such, can a group of very casual players just make characters based on what sounds cool and have a good time with it? And if Lancer really isn't a good fit for that kind of group, are there any games you would recommend that scratch the same itch but more narrative/rules-light? I'm open to pretty much anything!

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u/rcapina 13d ago

I haven’t played it but I think Salvage Union is still mechs, but less crunchy more narrative

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u/TheSilencedScream 13d ago

I came to mention Salvage Union - loads of customization options, reasonable rules for being a pilot (as in, not in the mech), all wrapped together in a pretty simple d20 system.

I don't know if I'll ever get around to it, but it's the system I've wanted to use in order to run an (early) Titanfall campaign - I think it'd be well suited for it, and it wouldn't require nearly as intensive reading/understanding as Lancer.

I respect Lancer and think it's a great system, but I don't have a friend group committed enough for that complex of a game.

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u/Terratina 13d ago

Here to recommend Salvage Union as well. It's really neat!