I had never planned to do such a thing, but today the idea came to my mind and i think that, all in all, it is necessary to do such a thing.
It is time to make a definitive list of which are the greatest fantasy rpg's of all time.
To say "great", or "greatest" doesn't really say anything after all, so the right word should be "spellbinding". I could have used "the most enthralling" or "the most mesmerizing", because we are talking about FANTASY here, so what must be sought after is something enchanting, something that has the capability of make us dream, in order to achieve the "Grand Illusion", as Ed Simbalist once wrote down.
What else should we be after? Isn't fantasy something faery-like, the world of dreams and imagination? The world where MAGIC exists?. So we are on a quest to discover the most magical game.
There are fantasy rpg's which better convey all of these sensibilities and feelings, while there are others which are capable to do that only for a brief time, but their inner power soon vanishes.
Why this happens?
Basically, because the system and the rules matters. They cannot be considered pointless in this respect.
"The most spellbinding", "the most enthralling" or "the most mesmerizing".
Hence the name of my blog. The adjective i chose was not an adjective chosen randomly.
I am not going to go into deeper details about the rpg's that i'll cite, though i already know i'll devote time and i'll dedicate several posts to some of these games in the future.
To choose which fantasy rpg to play is a decision of paramount importance. I will cover the period starting from 1974 until here (more or less 1990). The games appeared after 1990 just don't interest me, i consider them to be "modern", albeit i recognize that is not automatic.
I said, choosing which fantasy rpg to play is a very important decision, though most of us became hooked to the hobby by stumbling upon-quite by accident- just on one single game and then getting enamoured of it. After that, we usually don't change our mind.
Curiosity, unsatisfaction, or the desire to delve deeper into the history of the hobby might lead us to discover other games. Doing so, at times we change the previous game for another one.
But looking for the "faery-like" aspect of the various fantasy rpg's is not mandatory, of course.
It is likely that many among us are looking for something else.
As an example, i could never play Pathfinder because to me it doesn't contain anything whatsoever which resembles this facet, though it is true that a good DM could achieve any result regardless of the system he is using.
Without further ado, here is the list. I compiled what i regard as the definitive list of this kind, and as i said i am not going to offer explanations now even though many long-time players will immediately guess and understand what i mean whenever i put a game on the list.
As a last word, there are several fantasy rpg's that won't be in the list albeit i hold them in high esteem. I will cite them perhaps in a future list.
TEN IN THE STANDINGS:
ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS 1st edition
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