Tal_Akaan
2017-08-31, 12:54 PM
For years I've kicked around an idea for a game where the PC's jump around different settings/genres. A good example of this would be something similar to Ready Player One. I'm not sure if I'm going to go the "immersive digital world" route or something more like alternate realities/dimensions, but what Ready Player one illustrates nicely is that the player has the ability to equip their avatar with different equipment/abilities, i.e. spells, depending on what the "setting" they are going in to supports.
My thoughts on handling this hurdle have ranged from using a universal system that lets you buy into your abilities individually and any setting that doesn't support a thing you have just doesn't function, for example if you build a heavy magic user and you travel to the Star Trek universe your magic just doesn't function there and vise versa, to having players build different characters for each setting, the drawback to this option seems fairly obvious.
I guess my question would be. Has anyone run this kind of game with any success, or does anyone just have any suggestions on how to handle it.
Here is a list of systems I've considered and why I'm not completely sold on using them:
The Strange: this is an obvious choice and a natural fit, but my group and I tend to like game games with a little bit more crunch, but it's still a top contender.
Fate: I've never played or run Fate, and again we prefer more crunch.
Mutants & Masterminds: there are two drawbacks for me with using M&M. 1. the way you build characters in M&M works well for mixing magic and tech, but turning abilities off and on depending on what the setting supports means the players could very in power levels, and 2. I'm just not a huge fan of how the system handles equipment. I understand it from a mechanical stand point, and it works well for supers games, but it does present a challenge when acquiring loot and needing to be able to pay it off with power point the players hopefully have in reserve.
Savage Worlds: This runs into similar issues as M&M the "equipping" of abilities and gear to suite the setting.
FFG Genesys: The biggest issue with this one is just that it's not out yet, but further more, like SW and M&M, the issue of "equipping" abilities is here as well.
How the characters play in the game seems to be a pretty big hurdle to get over. Either either they are built on the premise that magic and tech can be applied to the character build with the understanding that in a setting based on magic, tech doesn't doesn't function, and vise versa. Or characters are build in such a way that they are allowed to "kit" out their character to suit the setting they are going in to that day. Doing this in a simple and elegant way so players aren't essentially rebuilding their characters every time they enter a new setting.
Hopefully I've explained my dilemma well enough. Thanks in advance for any help.
My thoughts on handling this hurdle have ranged from using a universal system that lets you buy into your abilities individually and any setting that doesn't support a thing you have just doesn't function, for example if you build a heavy magic user and you travel to the Star Trek universe your magic just doesn't function there and vise versa, to having players build different characters for each setting, the drawback to this option seems fairly obvious.
I guess my question would be. Has anyone run this kind of game with any success, or does anyone just have any suggestions on how to handle it.
Here is a list of systems I've considered and why I'm not completely sold on using them:
The Strange: this is an obvious choice and a natural fit, but my group and I tend to like game games with a little bit more crunch, but it's still a top contender.
Fate: I've never played or run Fate, and again we prefer more crunch.
Mutants & Masterminds: there are two drawbacks for me with using M&M. 1. the way you build characters in M&M works well for mixing magic and tech, but turning abilities off and on depending on what the setting supports means the players could very in power levels, and 2. I'm just not a huge fan of how the system handles equipment. I understand it from a mechanical stand point, and it works well for supers games, but it does present a challenge when acquiring loot and needing to be able to pay it off with power point the players hopefully have in reserve.
Savage Worlds: This runs into similar issues as M&M the "equipping" of abilities and gear to suite the setting.
FFG Genesys: The biggest issue with this one is just that it's not out yet, but further more, like SW and M&M, the issue of "equipping" abilities is here as well.
How the characters play in the game seems to be a pretty big hurdle to get over. Either either they are built on the premise that magic and tech can be applied to the character build with the understanding that in a setting based on magic, tech doesn't doesn't function, and vise versa. Or characters are build in such a way that they are allowed to "kit" out their character to suit the setting they are going in to that day. Doing this in a simple and elegant way so players aren't essentially rebuilding their characters every time they enter a new setting.
Hopefully I've explained my dilemma well enough. Thanks in advance for any help.