Are you a universal polyglot GM?

[Donnadogsoth]

I had a Dungeonmaster who was this. He had a huge collection of TRPGs and was willing and able to run any of them at short notice. I don't just mean setting, I mean system as well. Somehow he had all these systems memorised.

I found this ability impressive, as I am the opposite, I speak only one gaming language and use it for everything.

How about you? Are you a TRPG universal polyglot GM, a multilingual, or a monolingual?

[TheCountAlucard]

Hardly universal, but I know a pretty decent handful of RPGs. I'm often impressed by the ability of others to keep it all in their heads; I often second-guess myself.

[Jay R]

I can run a game of original D&D or Flashing Blades right now. I might or might not have to get up and consult a rulebook.

I could run a game of BECMI, AD&D 1e or 2e, Champions, Fantasy Hero, or TOON with two or three days notice.

Give me a week or two, and I could run Pendragon or 3.5e.

For a game I've never seen before, I want four to six weeks to prepare.

But Chivalry and Sorcery? At least six months, and only if I had nothing else I had to do in that time.

[VincentTakeda]

I'm like OP. I can do 2e or palladium at the drop of a hat. But I pretty much stick to that.

[Koo Rehtorb]

I think if you can't play multiple games you're probably limiting your fun. It's like if a person only played one board game. Different games give different experiences, and variety is fun.

[Esprit15]

While my first language is D&D 3.5, I can also do Mutants and Masterminds, D&D 5e, and either Pokémon Tabletop. My game groups is trying to find the right time for one of the Star Wars systems as well, or World of Darkness.

[Floret]

Considering ones I can do semi-fluently, with little preparation bar creating settings/plots and making BGM-playlists:
Dark Eye (5th, 4th I'd need more time), Shadowrun (5th, 4th I'd need more time), Legend of the Five Rings (4th), FATE, Degenesis (Rebirth), Los Muertos

Considering ones that I own and might as well run, if given a bit more way?
Symbaroum, Tianxia (FATE-Conversion, but gets somewhat in-depth with all additional rules) and Packs!. Also A single Moment and Reflections, though they are both 2-player experiences.

So... I think I am leaning towards multilingual, and have to agree with the people saying "Learn more systems!" Because really, different systems do different things, and shoehorning an experience you want into a system that doesn't fit it really just sours the experience unnecessarily. Try more systems! Most players (And the non-asshat ones in any case) will forgive a learning GM the fact that they are learning

[Saint Jimmy]

I could run all the games I know, about six or seven on short notice, but the plots would generally be lame and cliched.

[Uncle Pine]

Well then, I guess I'll be the first one to say it:

I am a DM who can only run a single system (3.5e) and I gladly stick to it. If you want to play a different system and everyone else agrees, then you run it. I'll gladly play, though.

[erikun]

I own a bunch of RPG systems (I mean, a bunch) although I am only familiar with a handful of them. I'm not sure that I would be able to run a particular game 100% from memory, but I have a good enough idea on World of Darkness, Fate, HeroQuest, IronClaw, and several editions of D&D that I could probably wing it and be fine. Well, be fine with the system; I'm not sure how well off I would be with coming up with plots and NPCs off-the-cuff.

It really isn't terribly difficult. A lot of systems are not that complex mechanically, and they are different enough that you aren't likely to mistake D&D grapple rules for those of another system. D&D weapon damage values tend to be oddly consistent between editions, but past that, trying to remember a distinction between multiple editions of the same system is likely more difficult than trying to remember two completely different systems. Remembering both D&D and WoD is not that hard, although it is a lot more difficult to remember which rules are specific to the old World of Darkness and which specific to the new World of Darkness, outside the obvious.

Also, for a one-shot or short game, it's fine if you fudge the rules. The only thing that really matters with game systems is consistency. And so, if I accidentally rule that a skill behaves in its oWoD manner in a nWoD game, it's not really a big deal. As long as that is kept the same throughout the game, things will usually turn out fine.

[Anderlith]

I memorize most Rpg's I play, I didnt think this was weird. I just sort of read obsesively anyhow so it carries over into Rpgs. Plus I've had my fair share of bad DMs & feel like at least knowing the rules can help protect my character from them to a certain extent

[Gamgee]

Nearly any of the ones I own and have read. I memorize most of them. I have a moderate sized rpg collection, but for the big ones I can run them almost off the top of my head.

[2D8HP]

My first two DM's also had and used multiple game's rules.

For myself it mostly has been old D&D, Call of Cthullu, and Traveller (and despite playing more Traveller I know the CoC rules better).

Sometime in the early to mid 1980's my players really wanted to try other games with different settings, chiefly Call of Cthullu (horror), Champions (comic book superheroes), and Top Secret (espionage), since I just didn't care as much about those games (I don't think I ever read all the rules of Top Secret), and I really "phoned it in".
One day after I'd GM'd a little Call of Cthullu, but no Champions or Top Secret yet, my players craved yet another RPG table top adventure game. I studied the Champions rules and just got bogged down learning them, and I barely had time to glance at Top Secret.

So what did I do?

I ran a "Top Secret" campaign using about 10% of the Top Secret rules, 70% of the Call of Cthullu rules (my thinking was that the 1920's was close enough to the 1980's, and CoC proved very easy to adapt), and 20% were rules I made up on the spot to hold it together. I described scenes I remembered from movies, and I made up most everything on the spot with little to no prep work on my part (I did have years of experience DM'ing already though).
It worked great! My players loved it (they loved it too much, I really just wanted to be a D&D player again, the closest I ever got to that in the next couple of decades was a little Rolemaster, some Runequest, and Shadowrun,. I barely got to play any D&D again until last year).
I don't know if I can improvise now like I could then, but after that experience I decided that setting is much more important than rules anyway, so now my "go-to" rules are:

1) GM describes a scene.*
2) Player says an action that their PC attempts.
3) GM decides if the PC has no chance of success, no chance of failure, or a partial chance of success.*
4) If a partial chance of success, GM makes up on the spot a percentage chance of success.*
5) Player rolls D100 (two 0-9 twenty-siders once upon a time).
6) If the player rolls under the made up number their PC succeeds in attempting the task, if over the PC fails.
7) GM narrates the immediate consequences until it's time to again ask, "what do you do".
8) Repeat.

Other than as a template for character creation, I don't see much point in most RPG's rules anymore, just do it like Dave Arneson did, and make it up on the fly.

[Satinavian]

I could probably run about 20 systems.

However that doesn't mean i like them all or would run them all.

[RedMage125]

I can run 3.5e, 4e, or 5e at the drop of a hat.

I'm familiar enough with Pathfinder and Star Wars RPG (both d20 revised and Saga) to PLAY, but not enough to GM the game. I'm working on becoming more familiar with Pathfinder, though, because I want to run Maximum Xcrawl.

For what it's worth, I could also guide a group through 3 Dragon Ante, Munchkin, or Dungeon Command.

[Frozen_Feet]

Hardly a polyglot, especially since I lack expertise with some fairly mainstream systems (notably Fate, GURPS and all White Wolf games).

This said, I own several systems. Of them, I could run Tähti, Praedor, Noitahovi, Lord of the Rings RPG or Lamentations of the Flame Princess right off the bat. Would take some preparation to run Twilight 2000 or AD&D. If I could get the books, I could probably run d20 D&D or Cyberpunk 2020 at fairly short notice.

I've played lots of other RPGs (Elhendi, MERP, Paranoia etc.) but it's been long enough that I no longer remember the rules.

[2D8HP]

I can run a game of original D&D or Flashing Blades right now....

Please sign me up!

....I could run a game of BECMI, AD&D 1e or 2e....

Please sign me up for those as well!

...Champions, Fantasy Hero, or TOON...

I just didn't like Champions or Toon, and I assume that Fantasy Hero, will be close to Champions.

...Give me a week or two,I could run Pendragon

Over the past three decades, I've bought four editions of Pendragon, and it has topped my list of "games I wish I could finally get to play".

...or 3.5e...

Not my preferred edition, but with you as DM?

Sure.

....Chivalry and Sorcery?

Oh man, the bragging points would make it worth it (Hint: don't tell the players, but just do a mashup of Pendragon and One Ring, and call it C&S).

I've played lots of other RPGs...
....but it's been long enough that I no longer remember the rules.

Same here.

[Fri]

I'd like to be a polyglot GM, and I think I could be one if my friend want to play in my games. Sadly, no matter what system or premise I propose, my friends rarely bite, for whatever reason. Not even weird system, I can't even get my friends to play in a common system. There's so many rules I'd like to try. This seems silly, but honestly this is one of my point low self confidence. Like you know there might be a successful professional athlete that has low self confidence because he has speech impediment, my inability to have people to play in my games is mine.

Though rules wise, I guess I prefer less rule-heavy games. I don't think I can run exalted well, for instance. But I ran MnM games, it's alright. But given time to learn a rule, I confidently think I can do it. I've run MnM, Fate, 3.5, d20 modern, Star Wars d20, Freeform, some made-by-myself homebrew, and some weird indie games like Old School Hack.

[Yora]

I am the type of GM who runs a campaign and people are invited to join in playing. And usually I am running B/X D&D. I never had any requests to run something else.

I might run Star Wars d6 some day and I also can run Barbarians of Lemuria, but B/X is covering pretty much the same area for me and doing it well so far.

[Altair_the_Vexed]

I can run a D&D BECM in about 20 minutes. I can pick up Cyberpunk 2020 and pull something together with an hour or two's notice.

I've invented my own rules lite games: Fistful of Aces (standard playing cards and poker style mechanic for westerns, spies and gangster action), and d02 Unlimited Power (dice pools for crazy action movies and superheroes). I can run those with a couple of minutes notice.

But really - I only tend to run one rules-deep RPG system, but I use it for just about anything - d20.
Having said that, I've spent years stripping the system down and building hacks out of it, so if I'm running a d20 game, it usually isn't quite like anything anyone outside my usual group would know. It especially isn't D&D. D&D is what I want to get away from.

[Jormengand]

I can run practically any system just given the time to read through the book and think about it, plus long enough to create the setting (or if it works in generic high fantasy, just put it straight into Thirteen Blades Campaign Setting which I know inside out because I made it). I'm pretty sure I could run any system I've played pretty much straight off the bat, too.

[Pugwampy]

Well all those nice thousands of dollars worth of DND products would kinda go to waste if I DM,d another system .

Sure i could DM a Star Wars or Mechwarrior using coins or pins.

Or I could use my tools of my chosen game and give the players the best experience ever complete with all the frills , doilies and with plastic and cardboard industrial light and magic special effects I can imagine .

Props make everything better .

[Jay R]

Please sign me up!

San Francisco to Dallas and back is a long weekly drive. I only DM tabletop games.

Over the past three decades, I've bought four editions of Pendragon, and it has topped my list of "games I wish I could finally get to play".

Then DM it yourself. You don't get to play any game until the DM loves it. So step one is to DM it for all your friends, so they will fall in love with it.

But Chivalry and Sorcery? At least six months, and only if I had nothing else I had to do in that time.

Oh man, the bragging points would make it worth it (Hint: don't tell the players, but just do a mashup of Pendragon and One Ring, and call it C&S).

That ... kind of loses the only point to playing Chivalry and Sorcery in the first place. It's the most lush, vivid, glorious, realistic, carefully detailed, immersive, unplayable mess ever designed.

[2D8HP]

... kind of loses the only point to playing Chivalry and Sorcery in the first place. It's the most lush, vivid, glorious, realistic, carefully detailed, immersive, unplayable mess ever designed.

It would be akin to

taking a train to win the Tour de France

[Honest Tiefling]

I am an AMERICAN, so I only speak one language in all situations. MURICA!

Actually, it has more to do with the fact that the group I play with tends to try a system, see if they like it, move on if they don't. I like to be the sort of DM who can allow side material, which requires a bit of research and often tweaking. Getting mechanics to agree with the setting is also a big thing for my group, which takes time. I don't think there's a published campaign setting for DnD that my group particularly likes, so custom settings are also preferred.

[Necroticplague]

Not quite 'universal', but I am pretty good at picking up new systems, and have quiet a wide variety. It's actually not that hard to pick up new systems. Most systems can be basically boiled down to two things: 'how do I create character?' and 'what's the primary means of conflict resolution'. Everything else is minor details.

[RazorChain]

Things I could run right now

Gurps (most any setting from fantasy to transhuman space)
Exalted 2nd edition
Runequest
Ars Magica
Call of Chtulhu (the edition I own :) )
Cyperpunk 2020
Toon (who couldn't)

With a little prep work

most anything within oWoD
DnD 2nd and 3rd edition.

I also speak 3 languages fluently and get by in the 4th.

[Knaight]

There's maybe four systems I can run entirely from memory, with a book that number jumps to a dozen or so that can be done quickly. Anything outside of that set I'd need to study a bit, and there's a handful of games which just aren't happening.

[Earthwalker]

Reading the replies and thinking about it.
a lot of the skills required being a GM are outside of the system chosen.

If you find yourself a good GM mostly likely they will be a good GM in any system. They might just have some they prefer (or fit their style better)

The more systems I have run the better my GMing has gotten and the more confident I am in my GMing. Very few systems I can play from memory only the really rules light ones really. Of course knowing the rules is a very small part of the process and the resident rules lawyer can handle this... the good rules lawyer not the only the other one, you know the guy that only tells you rules that help him never rules that hinder him. (Or is that only my group)

[Professor Chimp]

I'm only really fluent in 3.5/Pathfinder, but with a book on hand I could probably run a game of most d20 systems.

Also, we have 3 nationalities (used to be 5) at our table, each with a different 1st language. Luckily, English is 2nd language for all of us, so that's what we use.