On the Epic Tragedy RPG
There is a type of RPG in my collection that perhaps makes me sadder than any other.
The Epic Tragedy is not a Fantasy Heartbreaker, certainly not in the classic sense. Its author is not blissfully unaware of any game but D&D. These are passion projects from hobbyists, but they are RPG hobbyists with (I suspect) a good grasp of other RPGs.
They do share a few general traits.
The vast majority are high fantasy, with a significant minority being gritty fantasy instead. The number in other genres are miniscule and generally either science fiction or post apocalyptic fantasy.
Normally, this is the only game by that designer you'll find for sale, although some of the most dedicated may have dabbled in supplements.
They come with the assumption that you'll be using them for lengthy campaigns. And this is a group that considers anything less than a year a "short campaign". These are games made to play over extended periods of time.
Mechanically, they tend to come from the 90s "crunch and long list of skills" school of design. And they implement that well, with rules ranging from adequate to excellent.
But where they really shine is the world building. Every single one of them comes with a living breathing world, with the love poured into them on full glorious display. Each one is its own unique world not beholden to anything else on the market. Each one has things that make it different, that make it beautiful and special. Each one has something of its own to recommend it that no other game has.
And the reason for that is that with every Epic Tragedy I can see the group behind this. The group that loved their GM's campaign world so much that they persuaded them to write a game to go with its brilliance. And they were right to. These are good games.
I repeat, these are good games. Not "mediocre games with a few good ideas". Not "glorious failures". These are games with wonderful worlds that are well designed with mechanics to support those worlds.
So where does the tragedy come in?
Because I own these games and sometimes I read them. And each time I fall in love with them. And I try to tell myself that next campaign I'll bring the game I'm reading to the table. But deep down, I know it will never happen.
Because they're too epic. I can't commit to this particular game for the years and years it deserves. Running them for a few months would be almost disrespectful in the way it refuses to play for their strengths. And I have so many great fantasy campaign worlds and they're not competing with other good games, they're competing with Glorantha and the Old World and that was never a fair fight.
And so they go back in the PDF folder until next time.
I just hope that at least some of them manage to find that second group that loves them as much of the first. That they find another GM willing to give them the love that each single one of them truly deserves.
Because I'm not good enough for them.