I figure we've got a "worst RPG" list, we should do a "Best RPG" list, too.
My guess is that most people are going to say D&D because of its popularity, but I'm not really thinking about popularity here. So I'm asking people not pick based on your choice's popularity.
What do you think is the RPG with the best writing, the best system, and the best setting. You know - the works all together in a single package.
I would have to say that Shadowrun (3rd) would be the best that i have come across. This is due in part to the fact heavy setting, with enough information to boil your imagination out of control. The realistic but at the same time fluid rule system- from the way damage is track to how combat phases are run.
I've only gotten to play 3rd edition once, but I enjoyed it.
Right now, I'm running 4th edition SR, and while I love the opportunity to dig into that universe again, those rules are massive and complex. I've gotten used to running WitchCraft, which is very easy to run.
Wushu is the greatest RPG for my needs.
It doesn't have a setting, it can be played with any background.
Writing is clear and keeps to the point (although the Reloaded edition is better laid out and has more examples)
The system empowers players, reduces GM prep time, encourages creativity, makes for awesome gaming anecdotes (ask me about the fight over a parachute at 10,000 feet and falling!), and encourages everyone involved to concentrate on what is important and gloss over the tedious.
For the genre, I have to say Call of Cthulhu is one of the best (BRP version). Although I have a complaint with some awkwardness in hand-to-hand fighting (dodges & parries), I think it's one of the best for character development in skills, and concurrent degeneration due to sanity loss. The system is simple, easy to learn, and NOT level-based. AND, there are 30 years' worth of supplements out there that *still* work with the current rules set. Though I have to say, I want to look into Trail of Cthulhu (Gumshoe system), because it should keep the GM from having to hand out unearned clues just to keep the game moving...
Honorable mention: King Arthur Pendragon (for quantifying personality traits and passions as an aid to character development & role-playing, and for its immersive pseudo-historical setting that remains true to Arthurian fiction.)
BTW, I hear the new Spycraft rocks, but the modern setting isn't my group's thing, so I haven't picked it up yet...
All Thieves Are Gay Anyway:
http://www.1km1kt.net/rpg/all-thieves-are-gay-anyway
or maybe Fight Battle:
http://mearls.livejournal.com/123678.html
Although I object to the pejorative use of "Gay" in "All Thieves are Gay Anyway", it looks quite amusing.
Fight Battle must surely be the greatest game ever though. I retract my previous answer, and henceforth I shall be known as Kal-Elvis (Part Superman, part The King)
D10,000,001 FTW!
I just got it, but I'm thinking Anima: Beyond Fantasy might be a good contender. I like to think of it as the love child of Final Fantasy and D&D. The system's got more fiddly bits than I'm used to, but nothing too complex. And the various classes, magic systems, etc. allow for a great amount of diversity. I'm about halfway through the book and loving it so far.
Class-based fantasy RPG? What is this, the 70s?
Get with the programme Grandad ;-)
My personal favorite RPG of the last decade is WitchCraft, partly because I think it runs on one of the best point buy systems I've ever seen* without classes, easy to run combats, and easy math. I love the magic system for its malleability and grounded underlying structure. And I'm a huge fan of the setting- modern urban dark spell-slinging fantasy.
I've translated several characters from the 2 years I spent playing White Wolf games and have found that I write up a full character sheet for WC in less than 20 minutes.
* Don't get me wrong, Unisystem isn't perfect. The cinematic version develops a serious "glass ninja" problem at higher point totals. But even with that issue, it's an incredible system that deserves a lot more respect and play.
Fudge.
Adaptable by the GM to play in any genre, in any setting, and for any style of play from hack-and slash to story telling. Character creation can be a crunch fest or a narrative process. Simple basic mechanic of 7 adjectives understandable by even the novice gamer. And if you don't want to adapt it, the text includes 5-point Fudge. For me as a GM who always wanted to tinker with d20 but never could without messing with game balance and who always wanted to tinker with GURPS build point system but didn't want to have to figure out how many feet and inches a chasm is to make it a challenge for my characters with a 15 jump it was like a dream come true.
The .pdf is free! And the book (which I bought while smitten) adds a lot but not so much that you *need* it.
Its my pick for best RPG and my pick for most underrated RPG. -zerfinity
I agree with RobWard I find Witchcraft (Unisystem) tends to be an excellent system. It's simple while at the same time allowing for plenty of options. It can be used to run anything from survival horror, to Sci Fi, to Fantasy.
There are the occasional glass cannon issues, but they don't come up too often in classic (Although a Psychic with tons of Mindhands strength can manage it, but that's a choice).
FUZION, the imaginary final edition with power/magic rules and period/genre skill lists.
I'm going to cop out and post a theoretical answer to the question that contradicts what Rob asked. If the game system is supposedly 'generic' then the setting should be clearly separated from the rules. If I can use D&D as an example, the default setting information shouldn't be intermingled with the rules, but clearly separated so that its easier to tell the rules from the setting. (Clearly the gods don't apply to every D&D setting, so why do they exist in the core rulebook?)
An example of this is Savage Worlds or GURPS, where you can buy a separate rule book and then buy the setting books that you want. I also wouldn't object to a book that combines setting and rules as long as I can also buy just the rules in a book by themselves; I dislike being forced to pick out the setting from the rules if I want to play something other than the default setting.