The d&d lineage (from old school dungeons and dragons, via advanced dungeons and dragons, through pathfinder and d20 system and on to 5e) can all be played with

The d&d lineage (from old school dungeons and dragons, via advanced dungeons and dragons, through pathfinder and d20 system and on to 5e) can all be played without grid and all that. For a "ready" example see the call of cthulu d20 edition/remake. But in a pick-up game with strangers, and with the current "mainstream" d&d - you probably have to be lucky to enter a campaignwwhere you develop a character as rich as Elminister or the Lord of Waterdeep. For systems that encourage story-telling - I'd look to Cypher as mentioned by others - and of course white wolf's Storyteller system. It can be used for almost anything - but Hunter and Mage are probably most beginner friendly for players. Beware that mage can be quite mind bending. A wiki from our current mage campaign: https://radio-noir.fandom.com/wiki/Radio_Noir_Wiki https://radio-noir.fandom.com/wiki/Radio_Noir_Wiki Old blog from a previous storyteller/mage inspired original setting: http://thebookofworlds.blogspot.com/p/world-of-argos.html http://thebookofworlds.blogspot.com/p/world-of-argos.html Ed: I've also heard good things about: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_Falkenstein_(role-playing_game) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_Falkenstein_(role-pla... And for a fun ruleset (but slightly dated setting) check out Underground! https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underground_(role-playing_game) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underground_(role-playing_ga...