u/Frostybros

I'm looking into Savage Worlds, and it definetly intrigues me. My only concern with the system, is how Fast & Furious is combat really? Is it much faster than 5e?

If not, any other setting agnostic RPGs you would recommend?

I have a pretty specific idea for a game I want to run but I'm not sure what game to use. My requirements.

1. Low fantasy. No Elves, Dwarves and Orcs. Some magic, but it's more mystical and rare.
2. Moderate to highish lethality. Gritty feeling.
3. Rules light.
4. Easy to prep. No hours spent staring at stat blocks. Ideally just need some bullet points.
5. Player driven and sandbox like.
6. Rules for travel.
7. More optional but the conceit of the campaign is anti-heroes seeking redemption. Mechanics to support this would be great.
8. Good for 3-5 players + GM.

Now you may be thinking, I'm just describing Ironsworn. This campaign idea was made with Ironsworn in mind. I have two issues with the game that are making me second guess it.

1. I'll be running the game for 3-5 players. People seem to agree that 5 players is too many for Ironsworn.
2. I just can't seem to get my heard around PBTA's resolution mechanics. I really like Blades in the Darks mechanics. The GM sets Position to determine how dangerous an action is, and Effect to determine how effective it is. This adds granularity that makes some actions more useful than others in a given scenario, which means the players need to think carefully. Stabbing someone with a knife is more effective than a punch. Shooting while knocked prone is more dangerous than when stood up.
3. PBTA, mechanically, whatever the player describes doing, ultimately triggers a move. The consequences of the move are always identical no matter the fictional positioning. The only control the GM has over the difficulty and effectiveness, it seems, is saying "no you can't" when a player tries something. Either making them describe something different, or forcing them to do a setup move first. But that just leads to the first problem, as there is no way to adjust the difficulty or effectiveness of a setup move other than saying "no you can't do that". There appears to be no way to reward a creative idea. All things that are technically possible appear to be equally good ideas due to the game's math.

So coming from D&D, this game is obviously very very different.

D&D combat is fun because you have a long list of spells and special abilities to chose from, and the goal is to use those in the most effective way possible. Pretty intuitive.

Blades in the Dark is a little less intuitive, but still smart. The GM sets the Position and Effect of any given action, depending on the fiction. Players want to be clever and think about the most effective way of fighting an enemy (or solving any other problem), and clever tactics reward better Position and Effect.

I'm struggling to get my head around Ironsworn. It seems players can just strike or clash over and over again. How does the GM reward players for clever solutions? How does fictional position affect mechanical success.

So I recently switched my group from D&D to Blades in the Dark. The reasons for doing so are as follows:

1. Prepping D&D takes forever and I don't have time for it.
2. Since prep takes so long, I tend to railroad my players. If I spent hours making a Goblin dungeon, I expect them to fight through the dungeon, not side with the Goblins instead.
3. Combat takes a really long time, and resource attrition demands many combats in a row.
4. The fun of D&D combat largely comes from planning out a build, and having a deep understanding of the mechanics. My more casual players find this a chore. They just want to hit things, the extra depth from the complex rules doesn't appeal to them.

So I'm looking for more ttrpgs that are easy to prep (save me time), are sand boxy and player driven (rather than the theme park approach D&D tends to take). I want something that's not too complicated so my group can try a couple different games. And combat, if there's any, shouldn't take all day.

Thanks!

The reviews on steam are pretty negative. Should I avoid the expansion? Are the reviews wrong? What's the deal?