There Really is No Point to Some Conversions
Posted 13th January 2009 at 07:05 AM by pawsplay
If you are a tinkerer, and many long-time gamers are, there comes a time when you are tempted to convert from one game system to another. I recently mused, "I wonder what a GURPS conversion of Warhammer would look like?" Sure enough, several versions have been done, including one version so polished it may have incurred legal attention (it is MIA at the moment). The second question, that came to me some time later, was, "What would be the point?"
Both games have relatively static hit point totals, with heroic characters having possibly more, but probably no more than double an ordinary foe's, at the top end. Both games are heavily skill-based. Adding GURPS's tech level adds basically nothing, since the available technology is already well detailed. It would open the door to Dwarven Gadgeteers, but then the question becomes whether it might not be simpler to adapt the GURPS gadgetry rules to Warhammer instead.
The cost of conversion? Tedious adaptation of some of the more popular careers as Templates. Writing up an entirely new magic system and somehow implementing Tzeentch's Curse or something like it. Deciding what, if anything, you wanted to do about Fate points. Deciding if allowing one or two Extra Attacks to simulate a higher Attacks score in Warhammer matches your GURPS play style. Figuring out how much a gold crown is worth in bucks ($). Trying to correlate various Advantages to various Talents. Trying to parcel out Disadvantages.
It's just not worth it. The sensible thing is just to play Warhammer Fantasy as it is written. Or play a GURPS fantasy game and import any elements you like, such as experimental firearms, Troll Slayers, and broad-brimmed hat wearing Witch Hunters.
Similar objections can be raised with Warhammer to Runequest, Warhammer to HARP, Warhammer to Ars Magica, and, to an extent, Warhammer to Hero System.
On the other hand, converting Warhammer to Dungeons & Dragons might be worthwhile. D&D is class-based, has escalating hit points, a skill system that emphasizes adventuring skills, and various other major differences. D&D 3.5 offers a host of Feat options, whereas 4e has a powers-based approach. Converting Warhammer to either game would give you something new, a different kind of experience inspired by the Warhammer world.
Converting Warhammer to D6 is also not a bad idea. Warhammer D6 would be more of a swashbuckling adventure game, with Trade (apothecary) taking a back seat. Tzeentch's Curse would be pretty easy to implement, using the Wild Die, perhaps, and looking at the existing feedback rules as an inspiration. Warhammer careers can easily fit on a notecard... D6 templates can, too. You would gain a lot of flexibility and the whole suite of D6 advantages and flaws system, while losing some of Warhammer's structure and the lovingly crafted percentile tables.
Of course, there is no rule that says you have to make things tidy. If you could swing it, there's no law against using a percentile table with D6 or even GURPS.
You could do something radically different with Warhammer if you converted it, say, the Dying Earth rules. How about using Mutants & Masterminds and letting everyone play Elven High Wizards, legendary Champions, and Ogres? Old World of Darkness? Toonhammer Fantasy Roleplay?
Both games have relatively static hit point totals, with heroic characters having possibly more, but probably no more than double an ordinary foe's, at the top end. Both games are heavily skill-based. Adding GURPS's tech level adds basically nothing, since the available technology is already well detailed. It would open the door to Dwarven Gadgeteers, but then the question becomes whether it might not be simpler to adapt the GURPS gadgetry rules to Warhammer instead.
The cost of conversion? Tedious adaptation of some of the more popular careers as Templates. Writing up an entirely new magic system and somehow implementing Tzeentch's Curse or something like it. Deciding what, if anything, you wanted to do about Fate points. Deciding if allowing one or two Extra Attacks to simulate a higher Attacks score in Warhammer matches your GURPS play style. Figuring out how much a gold crown is worth in bucks ($). Trying to correlate various Advantages to various Talents. Trying to parcel out Disadvantages.
It's just not worth it. The sensible thing is just to play Warhammer Fantasy as it is written. Or play a GURPS fantasy game and import any elements you like, such as experimental firearms, Troll Slayers, and broad-brimmed hat wearing Witch Hunters.
Similar objections can be raised with Warhammer to Runequest, Warhammer to HARP, Warhammer to Ars Magica, and, to an extent, Warhammer to Hero System.
On the other hand, converting Warhammer to Dungeons & Dragons might be worthwhile. D&D is class-based, has escalating hit points, a skill system that emphasizes adventuring skills, and various other major differences. D&D 3.5 offers a host of Feat options, whereas 4e has a powers-based approach. Converting Warhammer to either game would give you something new, a different kind of experience inspired by the Warhammer world.
Converting Warhammer to D6 is also not a bad idea. Warhammer D6 would be more of a swashbuckling adventure game, with Trade (apothecary) taking a back seat. Tzeentch's Curse would be pretty easy to implement, using the Wild Die, perhaps, and looking at the existing feedback rules as an inspiration. Warhammer careers can easily fit on a notecard... D6 templates can, too. You would gain a lot of flexibility and the whole suite of D6 advantages and flaws system, while losing some of Warhammer's structure and the lovingly crafted percentile tables.
Of course, there is no rule that says you have to make things tidy. If you could swing it, there's no law against using a percentile table with D6 or even GURPS.
You could do something radically different with Warhammer if you converted it, say, the Dying Earth rules. How about using Mutants & Masterminds and letting everyone play Elven High Wizards, legendary Champions, and Ogres? Old World of Darkness? Toonhammer Fantasy Roleplay?
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