Acid Death Fantasy

 

The older I get, the more I read RPG books only for their settings. 

I've seen so many different takes on core rules that wading through mechanics has become like wading through stereo instructions, with precious few novel ideas to learn between systems. As such, I haven't read TROIKA! and don't know how well it plays, but I did enjoy the supplement for it called Acid Death Fantasy. It was recommended to me as Moebius / Heavy Metal adjacent, but it's got a lot more rolled up in it than just that. There isn't much art, and though the art really fits that ligne claire aesthetic, the setting seems like an interesting blend of elements from John Carter of Mars, Dune, Naussica, and Dark Sun, with a little Al-Qadim thrown in for spice. It's a short read, but it is an interesting one, even if it's about 50% optional character backgrounds / classes and 50% interesting entities you can encounter, which leaves the world background mostly up to you to craft. It's also indie, so you're supporting a person instead of just a hungry faceless corp picking this up.