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General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Your thoughts on Generic versus Bespoke systems.
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<blockquote data-quote="deganawida" data-source="post: 8933709" data-attributes="member: 67836"><p>Hmm, good question. I will try to answer to the best of my ability, though I reserve the right to contradict myself at times.</p><p></p><p>In general, I prefer bespoke. I want a system that plays to the strength of the concept. I do not want to pound a square peg into a round hold. Back in the 90s, in my teen years where I had glorious hair, I tried to make AD&D 2nd Edition fit every genre. It was a major exercise in frustration. </p><p></p><p>Continuing, as I have (allegedly) matured, and as I have posted here previously, I have grown to believe that certain settings or themes demand a bespoke system. For example, I really feel that DragonLance suffered from using AD&D classes and mechanics, as those are geared more towards hard-scrabble treasure seekers than epic fantasy heroes that Chronicles represents. Now, I haven't played the modules, but GP for XP doesn't make much sense in light of the first two trilogies, nor does a ruleset that focuses on dungeon-delving as opposed to persuasion or investigation (or running away, which they do a lot of).</p><p></p><p>Here comes the contradiction: During the whole OGL debacle, I broke down and purchased Savage Worlds Adventurer's Edition and the Fantasy Companion. Though I still don't have the hardcover for either (my order for SWADE was made the day the ran out, and too late to get a copy), I do have the PDFs, and those illustrate what is to me a neat way of mixing general with bespoke. By this I mean that the base SW system is generic, but they have companions and settings that change things significantly via new options and dials so that it becomes more bespoke. That might be my favorite path, but I suck at reading PDFs and so won't give it a real spin until I have the hardcovers.</p><p></p><p>Hope this addresses adequately the topic question.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="deganawida, post: 8933709, member: 67836"] Hmm, good question. I will try to answer to the best of my ability, though I reserve the right to contradict myself at times. In general, I prefer bespoke. I want a system that plays to the strength of the concept. I do not want to pound a square peg into a round hold. Back in the 90s, in my teen years where I had glorious hair, I tried to make AD&D 2nd Edition fit every genre. It was a major exercise in frustration. Continuing, as I have (allegedly) matured, and as I have posted here previously, I have grown to believe that certain settings or themes demand a bespoke system. For example, I really feel that DragonLance suffered from using AD&D classes and mechanics, as those are geared more towards hard-scrabble treasure seekers than epic fantasy heroes that Chronicles represents. Now, I haven't played the modules, but GP for XP doesn't make much sense in light of the first two trilogies, nor does a ruleset that focuses on dungeon-delving as opposed to persuasion or investigation (or running away, which they do a lot of). Here comes the contradiction: During the whole OGL debacle, I broke down and purchased Savage Worlds Adventurer's Edition and the Fantasy Companion. Though I still don't have the hardcover for either (my order for SWADE was made the day the ran out, and too late to get a copy), I do have the PDFs, and those illustrate what is to me a neat way of mixing general with bespoke. By this I mean that the base SW system is generic, but they have companions and settings that change things significantly via new options and dials so that it becomes more bespoke. That might be my favorite path, but I suck at reading PDFs and so won't give it a real spin until I have the hardcovers. Hope this addresses adequately the topic question. [/QUOTE]
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