LUG vs Decipher

[Capt. Chris]

I think Coda has the potential of being better than LUG. I think the rules are slightly better on a whole but it really depends on what direction they go with the ever elusive support books that are due out.
I plan on using Coda over LUG (I have all the LUG books btw) when more stuff is out for it. I only got so much time and cerversion and creating things I should be able to pick up is not one of the things on my to do list. That and convinving my players to give it another shot.

[Balok]

I prefer Coda to LUG, because of the lack of a drama die, the wider range of stats, and the simpler way skills and specialties are handled. I wish there was more support material for Coda; there is a bunch in the pipeline that we'll hopefully see soon.

Character generation requires a bit of jumping around in the Player's Book, but do it once or twice and you'll get the hang of it. And there's a kind of flowchart in the book that helps. If they ever revise the Player's book, I hope they take a look at the chapter order, and thing about a bit of restructuring.

[Owen E Oulton]

I dislike CODA intensely - "class'n'level" mechanics, no matter how gussied up, have been obsolete for role-playing for 25 years, and have never really suitable for high-tech milieux.

[Don Mappin]

I prefer Coda for two reasons: It lets my Betazoid character seduce someone from a room away and I simply want to help drown out the nay-sayers.

Oh, and Icon is no more "class'n'level"-less than Coda is. (I know Owen didn't say as much but I figured I might as well point this bit out.) Obsolete, eh? That's pretty damn funny!

[Sea Tyger]

I'm with Don here. Coda is the best of the four Trek systems. It took me about 2-3 characters to get the generation system down (well, 2-3 characters and picking the brains of the Coda braintrust for about a week ), but once I did, I've had no problems. I particularly like the simplicity and structure of the advancement system.

I also feel (and have said so in net-published reviews) that the Narrators' Guide is the best RPG book ever made. It's that good. I've used it to covert over 100 starships from FASA, LUG and Spacedock. I've used it to write up most of the TOS races for my campaigns. I've created new creatures with it (I think I still owe you those bird stats, Styro ). As someone who has been playing RPGs for 22 years (everything from 1st Ed. AD&D and the old Top Secret to a half-dozen d20/OGL games and Coda Trek), I would recommend making the switch....besides, you'll only need to buy two books right now...and print anything extra you might need from the vast amount of work presented on these boards.

I won't even legitimize the "obsolete" garbage with a comment. You all know my views on the d20 bashing crap.

Bloody automotons.

[Phantom]

Originally posted by Sea Tyger

I also feel (and have said so in net-published reviews) that the Narrators' Guide is the best RPG book ever made.
Bloody automotons.

I think you are going a little overboard here, Tyger. I for one, and I don't think I am alone on this, can think of a lot of other RPG books that are better.

And in case you ask;

L5R, both editions.
Ars Magica, White Wolf edition
Mummy: The Resurrection, again White Wolf
Pendragon

Don't get me wrong, the Dec Guys did a good job, but "...the best RPG book ever made?" Hardly. IMO of course. I think we should stay away from sweeping statements like this, they don't really answer the gentlemens question about what we think makes either game superior to the other.

[KillerWhale]

We prefer Coda as well, the mechanics have been incredibly thought up. I'd just like to have more official material - but I'm sure this will get better.

We played 3 years with LUG and really reached its limitations. Which came too fast IMO.

[Jabara Eris]

My only beef with the LUG rules is the Drama die -- and I fixed that problem with a handy-dandy set of house rules.

Add to that the fact that all of my players know the ICON system and the knowledge that I've got every ICON book that was ever published (both on paper and on the Web).

The result is that, although the CODA system may be better in some ways, I'm sticking with ICON for the indefinite future.

[Calcoran]

If I had to rate them, I'd say (the higher the better of course):
Icon: 6/10
Coda: 8/10
I think if I asked my players, it'd be:
Icon: 5/10
Coda: 9/10
(they really didn't like Icon)

Now if only I could get my hands on the Narrator Screen!

[Kronok]

Originally posted by Jabara Eris
My only beef with the LUG rules is the Drama die -- and I fixed that problem with a handy-dandy set of house rules.

Would you care to post them for me?

Actually, that would be off-topic.

Could you email them to me or start a new thread so we could discuss them?

[Don Mappin]

Originally posted by Phantom
I think you are going a little overboard here, Tyger. I for one, and I don't think I am alone on this, can think of a lot of other RPG books that are better.

It doesn't necessarily invalidate his opinion (e.g. "I feel").

[Edit] Removed section taking a jab at Phantom. His attitude towards Sea Tyger pushed my button but doesn't add anything to the discussion or the original poster's comments.

[Sea Tyger]

Originally posted by Phantom
L5R, both editions.
Ars Magica, White Wolf edition
Mummy: The Resurrection, again White Wolf
Pendragon

White Wolf is crap, pure and simple. I played the system in the early 90s, and can't stand the mechanic (or the utter hopelessness of the WoD).

Pendragon is good, but not as smooth. None of the Pendragon books have the quantity and quality of "crunchy bits" that are contained the DecTrek NG.

As for L5R, I have never played that game, specifically, but I've played 7th Sea (also by AEG) and don't like the core mechanic. I will agree that L5R has a richly done campaign setting.

I've been playing RPGs for 22 years, and GMing for 20 years. My experience includes just about everything TSR put out from 1979 on, four versions of Traveller (Classic, New Era, 4th Ed., d20), FASA's Battletech/Mechwarrior and Behind Enemy Lines, WEG Star Wars, Vampire: The Masquerade, Space: 1889, Twighlight: 2000 (1st and 2nd Ed.), GURPS, Hero System, ICE (Rolemaster/Spacemaster/MERP), three versions of Trek (FASA, Icon and Coda), several d20 products (D&D, Star Wars, Sidewinder, Spycraft, etc.), and many, many others.

Given the length and breadth of my experience, I'm not just some munchkin fanboy who's major concerns in life are bigger guns, uber ships, cheesecake, and hiding his porn mags from his mom. If you've ever read any of my posts on these boards, you'd know that I write with an intelligent, informed opinion.

You may not agree with my assessment, Phantom, but I certainly never intended to consult you concerning my opinion of the system.

[Phantom]

Originally posted by Sea Tyger
White Wolf is crap, pure and simple. I played the system in the early 90s, and can't stand the mechanic (or the utter hopelessness of the WoD).

Pendragon is good, but not as smooth. None of the Pendragon books have the quantity and quality of "crunchy bits" that are contained the DecTrek NG.

As for L5R, I have never played that game, specifically, but I've played 7th Sea (also by AEG) and don't like the core mechanic. I will agree that L5R has a richly done campaign setting.

I've been playing RPGs for 22 years, and GMing for 20 years. My experience includes just about everything TSR put out from 1979 on, four versions of Traveller (Classic, New Era, 4th Ed., d20), FASA's Battletech/Mechwarrior and Behind Enemy Lines, WEG Star Wars, Vampire: The Masquerade, Space: 1889, Twighlight: 2000 (1st and 2nd Ed.), GURPS, Hero System, ICE (Rolemaster/Spacemaster/MERP), three versions of Trek (FASA, Icon and Coda), several d20 products (D&D, Star Wars, Sidewinder, Spycraft, etc.), and many, many others.

Given the length and breadth of my experience, I'm not just some munchkin fanboy who's major concerns in life are bigger guns, uber ships, cheesecake, and hiding his porn mags from his mom. If you've ever read any of my posts on these boards, you'd know that I write with an intelligent, informed opinion.

You may not agree with my assessment, Phantom, but I certainly never intended to consult you concerning my opinion of the system.

Hmm, let's see;

1) Nice resume.
2) I never called you a "munchkin fanboy."
3)Never called your opinions into doubt. I said you were 'going a little overboard' with your description.
4) I apologize if you were insulted, though I'm not sure where the insult was?

I would be most interested in reading some of your reviews, if I knew where to find them.

[Rayaru]

Well I've decided to order a copy of the Decipher Players' and Narrator's guides... I will look them over and maybe try them out in a future scenario with my players... see which one they like best.

Coda is d6 or d20?

Oh, and also, could you give me any examples of some of the sourcebooks that are scheduled for release?

Thanks for your help guys.

[Perrryyy]

Here is the product schedule.

Coda uses 6-sided dice