If you are going to go as far as RuneQuest or Rolemaster, then Palladium Fantasy is another classic. This is still a good game, but it's older than the OSR, and it's another game we played back in the day.
The love and nostalgia for this system are real.
This is without Rifts or any other Palladium game. Just fantasy.
Every character class is a mini-game. Every system of magic works differently. It feels on the level of a Pathfinder 2, where a player plays one character class and becomes the expert in that class for the group. It uses a d20 for combat (roll high) and percentage rolls (roll under) for skills. That does not bother me and feels natural. The characters take a while to craft, since there are many choices.
The level of depth and customizations to each character class blows 5E away.
Some classes are wildly more combat-capable than others, but it does not matter since advancement is based more on story and choices than killing and treasure. You can be a clever and resourceful "peasant farmer OCC" and out-think and out-play Conan and rocket up the levels faster.
The XP system rewards defeating enemies and avoiding violence equally. Ideas and plans of action get you XP far faster than killing rooms full of enemies. Putting yourself in danger and self-sacrifice gains you XP. Skill use and daring actions give you XP. Helping others gets you XP.
Finding a thousand gold in a dungeon and donating it to the local down-on-its-luck town so they can rebuild their aqueduct will probably gain you more XP than the adventure itself. Sure, you could keep it for yourselves and be rich, but the love and adoration of the entire community are worth so much more.
The game rewards action, daring, ideas, clever play, helping others, playing in character, saving lives, avoiding violence, and roleplaying. Combined with the radically different alignments, this creates a different play dynamic where character motivations and actions come first, and treasure and killing are far behind.
Print out that XP chart and keep it handy.
This is playable with just the core book, and the only other books I recommend getting after this are the Monsters & Animals book as a bestiary. If you want "dark elves, " start with an elf, change their skin color to anything you want (ebony, white, blue, violet, gray, etc.), and give them an evil alignment.
Another handy book is Adventures on the High Seas, which is perfect if you want to include bards and other entertainers in your game. The core game does not have "magical music," it keeps the traditional magical traditions as pillars of the world's magic system. I like that, as it keeps magic from being too much like high-fructose corn syrup, and in every character class imaginable.
If you wanted a "magical bard," that would be a Mind Mage (core book) with a few performance skills. Looking this over, it would be a much more enjoyable (and powerful) bard than the ones they have in most games, including 5E.
Again, power is not everything. Even if you have extraordinary powers, that does not make you invincible. The entire game is built on the idea of asymmetric power, but puts advancement on gameplay and creativity, not power and loot.
This is still a worthy, fun, fantastic game that challenges you to think outside the box, create detailed characters, do something different, and enjoy a game that isn't D&D.
Or one that retains the same old D&D loot and power sensibilities and focuses more on character actions and creative gameplay.
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