What Licensed RPG Do You Wish Used A Different System?

[CleverNickName]

What in 5e demands black and white heroes and villains from your perspective, if I may ask?

I now realize that "heroic" can mean different things to different people, so I think I should clarify: when I say "heroes" I don't necessarily mean "the good guys." I mean "central protagonists, united in a common purpose against a common threat." Like the Fellowship of the Ring, or the Rebel Alliance, or Starfleet.

But for other types of games--where one player at the table is secretly the BBEG, and two other guys at the table have to die or be driven to madness before the last man standing "wins"--I'm not sure 5E has the right toolset to handle it. The 5E character classes are designed to be complimentary, not opposed. The DCs and CRs all assume the players will be working together, not against each other. I think it would be too much trouble to be worth my time.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

So to play Star Wars, for example, our DM had to find a 5E/SRD based version. And fortunately for us, it exists (and it's awesome.) But when I posted about it in another thread, I was surprised at all of the "ugh why 5E, play something else" comments. I'd love to, buddy, but my gaming group will. not. switch.

I go back and forth on how much effort I want to put into it, but I’ve realized you can play SW pretty well using 5e with SW Saga Edition equipment and vehicles, and only martial classes with the monk filling the force adept spot, using 3 Force Ability skills (Alter, Control, Sense). Or replace Spellcasting with force skills. The force is the main point where you need to do work if you don’t want to use spells for it…

 

[Thomas Shey]

For Supers you either have to strip it to bare bones and build it back up as classless (like Mutants and Masterminds), or go the Heroes Unlimited route and have a class for everything.

Even the latter doesn't really work because you run into in between cases galore over time. Mutants that are also mages. Gadgeteers that also have a superpower. And that's just the class part; don't even get me started on the level part.

 

[CubicsRube]

Avatar the Last Airbender. I don't like narrative games.

Avatar is one of the few IPs I think would actually work really well in d20/d&d

 

[CubicsRube]

I pray that Shadowrun gets a full system reboot. Anarchy is okay but it leans to far into "simplified". I have 0 faith in Catalyst, though.

It frustrates me because I like the core dice pool system of Shadowrun as is.

Then catalyst add a million modifiers and limits to roles and introduce a dozen sub systems.

I'd be happy just to see a "Shadowrun Essentials" version.

 

[Reynard]

Even the latter doesn't really work because you run into in between cases galore over time. Mutants that are also mages. Gadgeteers that also have a superpower. And that's just the class part; don't even get me started on the level part.

I worked on S5E from Sigil Entertainment and it is very much in the Heroes Unlimited vein. It works really well for that style of game. Admittedly, you do have to concede that you might not be able to create any and every sort of super, but most people hew pretty close to the archetypes even when playing something like Champions or M&M.

 

[CubicsRube]

The Witcher by R. Talsorian, just feel the system does not do the game justice but that could be game design focus. Would have like to see it in a variation of a WFRP system.

I'd like the witcher in a BRP variant myself.

 

[CleverNickName]

Avatar is one of the few IPs I think would actually work really well in d20/d&d

I...may or may not have backed that Kickstarter for the sole purpose of doing exactly that.

 

[CubicsRube]

I...may or may not have backed that Kickstarter for the sole purpose of doing exactly that.

If you get anywhere with a conversion I'd be interested to see it.

 

[Thomas Shey]

I worked on S5E from Sigil Entertainment and it is very much in the Heroes Unlimited vein. It works really well for that style of game. Admittedly, you do have to concede that you might not be able to create any and every sort of super, but most people hew pretty close to the archetypes even when playing something like Champions or M&M.

The moment someone sits down next to me and asks "How do you do character X?" in a SHRPG game system, and it answers "You can't" other than on game balance grounds (there are some characters who even in-setting are clearly only restrained by the writers) I consider the superhero game has to that degree, failed its job. When someone goes into the design knowing its going to do that, I hold that as an even higher order of failure (unless it was never designed to cove the range in the first place--AMP Year One and its sequels was never intended to be a full featured supers game in the first place so the fact there's a number of not supported character types gets a pass.)