Originally posted by Reginald de Curry
Is anyone playing RL in another system besides D&D? (ex.: Deadlands, Savage Worlds, Gurps, etc.) I'm currently developing a hybrid system for my own games, and I'd like your take on things.
Ravenloft is a campaign setting within the D & D game. The mechanics(Of Ravenloft) are made to be compatible with the Dungeons and Dragons core rule books.
~B4Real
Originally posted by Reginald de Curry
Er...that's kind of the point. What I'm wondering is has anyone played or attempted to play the setting using a different set of mechanics?
That would take a heck of alot of work and if your going to do that why even call it Ravenloft which is a licensed D & D setting therefore made specifically for D & D ? Call it GuRP-loft because that is what it is....
A cheap knock-off of the real thing.
~B4Real
I know somewhere you can download a quickstart rules. The PC's enjoyed it immensely - we played through Neither Man Nor Beast.
Originally posted by B4Real
A cheap knock-off of the real thing.
Now, now. d20 isn't the ultimate game system for all people. Some people actually like point-based instead of level-based characters, or spell systems that make sense, or hit points that mean something rational.
To answer the question: I dunno if Andrew Hackard reads these, but he's definitely the one I would ask. As former Kargatane now writing for the GURPS line, I bet he'd know how to translate Powers Checks into 3d6 off the top of his head.
My headache is trying to figure out what magic system would best model the style of magic we see here. The standard GURPS Magic is close, though the prerequsite hierarchy is a bit unwieldy for really major wizards like Azalin (I'm also not sure how you'd best model his curse in that situation). I'm also not sure if I like it for clerical magic. GURPS Spirits has been recommended to me for an alternative magic system but I haven't found a copy yet.
One thing's for sure: a GURPS Ravenloft would definitely have lower-powered magic and deadlier combat...
That aside I've heard of several people on the board as a whole who have converted other worlds to Gurps, palldum and even Shadowruns system.
Dig around the D20 boards some you may find some there that have.
That aside I agree that d20 is a good system but not the best, I've played enough different ones to see that things could be done differently.
For example I altered Shadowruns (2e) negeotion rule to fit my D&D game and I'm looking at some stuff from my LOTR rpg to use as well.
It would be interesting to see how it could be done tough. Also IIRC Dragonlance was licensed out to be done as a gurps set as well as an AD&D one you may want to see if you can find somebody with it or knows of it to see how it was "officially"done.
Hope that helps.
In the early 90s I did consider trying to convert elements over to the heroes system (best known for the superhero game Champions) but gave it up as too mammoth an undertaking. That and the villians became riduclously too overpowered. I vaugely remeber needing about 280-300 points to make what I though was a adequate "normal" vampire". Bring something like Strahd or Azalin over was beyong by creative ability at that time. Magic isn't well represented by that system either.
Good luck to you though. 80% of Ravenloft is mood, history and style in my opinion so I wish you well with it! Even if you dramatically change the villians abilities they are still who they are for what they've done (not what their stats indicate they can do). At the very least there is a wealth of storrylines and plot hooks to "borrow".
-Eric Gorman
See, piece of cake? Ah, who cares... just tweak the stats for Dr. Destroyer.
Matthew L. Martin
Anybody know of a webpage where I could learn more about it? Or summarize it for me?
DL is probably one of the better settings to translate into Raveloft, i suspect.
thought it seems the Weird West is kind of its own domain.
Ravenloft is a campaign setting within the D & D game. The mechanics(Of Ravenloft) are made to be compatible with the Dungeons and Dragons core rule books.
I've used the Ravenloft setting in both the Saga system and in Castle Falkenstein. Both were a great success.
One of the old Dragon Magazines actually has rules for converting Ravenloft to Saga using the taroka cards.
Ravenloft is cool because of the setting. Not the mechanics.
Originally posted by Plunderer_of_the_planes
Considering RL has it's own PHB, DMG, And MM I'd veture a guess it's becoming it's own system.
That aside I've heard of several people on the board as a whole who have converted other worlds to Gurps, palldum and even Shadowruns system.
Dig around the D20 boards some you may find some there that have.
That aside I agree that d20 is a good system but not the best, I've played enough different ones to see that things could be done differently.
For example I altered Shadowruns (2e) negeotion rule to fit my D&D game and I'm looking at some stuff from my LOTR rpg to use as well.
It would be interesting to see how it could be done tough. Also IIRC Dragonlance was licensed out to be done as a gurps set as well as an AD&D one you may want to see if you can find somebody with it or knows of it to see how it was "officially"done.
Hope that helps.
RL is still owned by WoTC. Wizards owns the d20 label as well(That was why Arthaus had to up-grade to v3.5 to keep their license with WoTC. The WizO's still own it but do not make material for RL any longer. Arthaus is under license.). Therefore Ravenloft will remain a d20 system label.
Just because Arthaus puts out an RL PHB and DMG does not mean it is going to go switch to its own system of mechanics separate from d20(The up-grade was neccessary for them to keep their license.). That is ludicrous. The RL PHB and DMG is just a campaign setting.
~B4Real
And given the differences in the PHB and DMG for RL to the core D&D system it is a valid observation. Take other D20 games for example X-crawl, Deadlands d20, Coc, etc all are based off the system that D&D holds but they are completly different games altogether.
Hell, even FR is moving far enough away from core D&D it could be considered a different system.
Plus there are D20 games that are considered 2nd generatin wich have varied the d20 system to be differing mechanics.
Originally posted by Plunderer_of_the_planes
That still doesn't mean that you can't alter the game to use it in another system.
And given the differences in the PHB and DMG for RL to the core D&D system it is a valid observation. Take other D20 games for example X-crawl, Deadlands d20, Coc, etc all are based off the system that D&D holds but they are completly different games altogether.
Hell, even FR is moving far enough away from core D&D it could be considered a different system.
Plus there are D20 games that are considered 2nd generatin wich have varied the d20 system to be differing mechanics.
Regardless of how much people may think that FR, X-Crawl, Deadlands d20, and Ravenloft systems vary(from the d20 system) the point is they still utilize the d20 system hence it is not their own systems.
The rest is window dressing.
~B4Real
Originally posted by Drinnik Shoehorn
I want to get the D20 version of CoC and use the sanity system from that instead of madness checks.
I have been looking at a few CoC books as well but have not actually purchased any as of yet.
~B4Real
Originally posted by B4Real
Regardless of how much people may think that FR, X-Crawl, Deadlands d20, and Ravenloft systems vary(from the d20 system) the point is they still utilize the d20 system hence it is not their own systems.
The rest is window dressing.
~B4Real
whatever.
Originally posted by B4Real
Regardless of how much people may think that FR, X-Crawl, Deadlands d20, and Ravenloft systems vary(from the d20 system) the point is they still utilize the d20 system hence it is not their own systems.
The rest is window dressing.
~B4Real
Methinks thou hast missed the point.
As a 2E holdout, I convert basically every new thing I come across, and while I don;t call it MY system, the question was not on "official" conversions of RL. It's on homebrew.
Originally posted by Plunderer_of_the_planes
An interesting idea would also be the Bug City sourcebook for 2e Shadowrun. It would take some obvious tweaking but I think it would work.
For sure...either you can modernize Ravenloft (which would be kinba cool in its own right), or you can de-evolve the sourcebook so that it fits into mainstreamed Ravenloft. Probally some sort of island...with appropriate ruins of some forgotten (and long-since "claimed") civilization...Chicago even. CR would be off-the-scale, as far as Ravenloft goes, but that'll only add to the culture shock being thrown at the PCs.
Buh.