I have always been a fan of the Amazing Adventures system. This SIEGE Engine, Castles & Crusades style game covers genres from black powder to science fiction. Like C&C, it is level-based and a d20 system and uses the same "roll over AC" combat system and the SIEGE Engine for skills and saves.
The newest edition has been cleaned and revised, and the OGL has been removed. Thank you! No one can threaten the games we love, and creators get to do "new stuff" other than what is expected under the OGL and SRD. The death of the OGL is a fantastic birth of new games, indie projects, and fresh ideas - and it is long overdue.
The game is written in a pulp style and defaults to a Call of Cthulhu meets Indiana Jones setting, with a bit of the classic Gangbusters game thrown in for good measure. The classes are more "action movie archetypes," while they have pulp-style names, they can be anything you want them to be. The investigator class can be anything from a federal agent, police detective, hardboiled PI, space cop, and intelligence analyst to a newspaper reporter.
The class describes a role in a story, not a job title.
This game is in the same genre as Savage Worlds, Call of Cthulhu/Basic Roleplaying (BRP), and other pulp-action games. For C&C players, you are not changing rules systems, and you can stay in a d20 system that works well for modern adventures. Combat is deadly at low levels, and at higher levels, you get that "the last blow is fatal" thing going on when hit points drop below zero.
Why play this over Savage Worlds? This is simple, meshes well with B/X fantasy and C&C, and is a fast system. You do not need to learn as many rules concepts as you do with Savage Worlds, and it uses the familiar d20 game structure. I taught Savage Worlds to someone, and the first session was always to stop and start, explain something new, and get playing again. Savage World also uses a lot of "toys," like poker chips, cards, and other items during play, and Amazing Adventures is a more familiar d20 system. AA is much more straightforward and uncomplicated to "sell" to players who have only played D&D or B/X-style games.
Why play this over Call of Cthulhu? Well, for one, CoC has the mystique, lore, and monsters. I recommend Adventures Dark and Deep's "Swords of Cthulhu" book, which gives you a bestiary and information on magic and cults. This is an excellent book that is easily convertible to both C&C and AA. It even has d20 rules for Cthulhu cultists (and for playing them, if your players are suitably insane). Seeing how the cultists and magic of "the other side" makes for some fascinating reading and opens your mind to how the different cults would use these dark magics on characters. This take on the Cthulhu mythos is well-written and researched and would make for a fantastic combination with AA. It also gives you an entirely different view of the mythos and evil contained within.
I would play a game like this in a heartbeat.
What I love about the Amazing Adventures system is how simple the rules are. Of the 306-page book, the game's rules are about 26 pages at the end of the book, with everything being the familiar d20-style rules, roll AC or higher to-hit; ability scores control all other saves, ability checks, and skill rolls; and damage comes off hit points. Anyone who played 5E or B/X knows this game already. Characters are roll ability scores, pick a class, write down 3-4 abilities, set hit points, and describe your gear, armor, and weapons.
Unlike most games, you just say what your characters start with, usually within reason. Armor is a "pulp style" based on your outfit and accessories, and while the system could be gamed for maximum AC, use your judgment and only allow what is reasonable given the situation. You can also use a more realistic armor system, and your DEX bonus works with either (up to the AC cap). Don't worry about it; make costumes fit the social situation, and don't abuse the system.
The game also has a 144-page referee's book, the Chronicle Keeper's Guide, which offers suggestions on how to run the game, modding information, new rules, and rules the referee will use often. A new OGL-free "monsters" book will be available for the game, and the older OGL monsters book is currently a free PDF download and works just fine with the game.
https://trolllord.com/product/amazing-adventures-manual-of-monsters-oop-free-pdf/
The CK Guide also has corruption rules, and the Player's Handbook has sanity rules, so you are all set if you want to play eldritch horror-style games. Sanity loss in this game is fierce, especially when reaching zero, almost like dying in B/X. Luckily, recovering is fast, and you typically begin adventures with your total sanity score. Also, you gain more sanity points as you level, so the buffer between you and complete madness improves. Corruption is based on total lifetime sanity loss, which accumulates and is irreversible (but honestly, it takes a lot of sanity damage to accumulate).
Amazing Adventures is, pardon the pun, an "amazing" game. I have not seen a game like this, and it feels like a simple, B/X-style, fresh take on the d20 Modern genre. I was surprised to get this in the mail. I have given up on this one a little and never thought I would have that much interest. I was wrong.
If you play B/X, OSR games, or C&C and want modern adventures or a fresh take on a d20 Cthulhu game (with the book mentioned), this is the game to get. Highly recommended.
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