Advice for a multi-system campaign

Hi all!

In order to try out FATE, Savage Worlds, and D6, I’m going to run an adventure trilogy. The same characters will be played in three different stories, with each story using a different rules system. I’m planning on an 80s action comedy with some modern fantasy (something like Big Trouble in Little China or...well, there aren’t really a lot of movies with quite the same feel, so that’s the best example that I have).

We’re most likely going to start with FATE to take advantage of the character creation rules.

I’m interested in advice on a couple things.

First, how should I go about representing the appropriate character experience levels? I can already say that they’re going to start more advanced than the starting levels in any of the systems I’m using. I want to go with the kind of action heroes that can take down a reasonable number of mooks, but still are likely to have to run or get their rears handed to them against really tough foes. I’m going for that comedic feel of somewhat competent characters who seem to get by on luck as much as skill, but really are quite good at some things. Does anyone have any gut instincts on what ranks we would be talking about in Savage Worlds, milestones in FATE, or “years” advancement in D6?

Second, does anyone have any experience jumping between systems like this? It’s preplanned from the start and the players know about it, so we can try to avoid any issues before we get started.

We designed a system for this.

Hey, this is exactly what we made: a universal genre-shifting RPG. We call it Universal Horizons.
Here are some features:

1) It is completely skill based. No messy level convertions
2) Easy to use with percentile-based skill checks and d6 for damage
3) 8 Abilities
4) 4 Resources (Hit point categories)
5) 3 types of skills (Universal, Adaptable, and Exclusive)
6) Supports Magic and Powers
7) Monsters convert with templates, but are unique to the genre
8) Genres have their own flavor where certain skills only exist in specific genres. Also combat rules can change in each genre if the author (or game master) set it up that way.
9) Story plot and heroic action rewards.
10) Overlaying plot arcs with all genres and adventures.

We have a future apocalyptic genre (Araqunidia) and a circa 1980s conspiracy theory campaign (Bloodtooth) sort of like you explained... many cinematic plots. We also run other products using our system. We especially like Pathfinder modules. Check out our FB Universal Horizons for art and plot lines. I will let you know when the web site is up.

We have a Player's Handbook published and Bloodtooth Vocations with 60 types of starting characters.
thanks _AJ_

Vesve said:

Hey, this is exactly what we made: a universal genre-shifting RPG. We call it Universal Horizons.

Click to expand...

Not to put down your game, but I think he is doing this campaign specifically to try out those systems.

I don't have any experience actually using those systems, I've just read a lot of stuff about them. I have run games where we switched systems though. It was never really planned. One campaign we started with DnD and then switched to a homebrew system I made. the conversion was fairly straightforward because ability scores and skill were similar. assigning exact skill level and experience was somewhat difficult as there were no direct correlations. I ended up just guessing as best I could based on their DnD level. I just used the level as a guideline, levels 1-5 i just gave basic skill proficiencies, lvls 6-10 I gave relatively average skills, and the higher levels I gave them pretty mush the best proficiency level I could. At one point in the campaign we had DnD characters in the same group as non DnD characters. that proved to be more challenging as I needed to know both rule sets well.

In general I would say don't worry about converting specific things like skills or ability scores unless the conversion is obvious. Instead create three characters, one for each system, which all adhere to the background/general idea of who the character is and what they can do. If you are trying to get to know a system, character creation is usually a huge part of learning the game anyway.

That's a very interesting premise to start with.

The closest we came to something like this an Amber game using 1st edition Fantasy Hero (way before the Amber Diceless RPG came out). My character was essentially the best at Warfare (a characteristic in the Amber RPG) before that was even a term. The way that was done in HERO via explicit points on combats skills and martial arts was completely different than how the Amber Diceless RPG handled character creation (even though both are point buy systems).

Vesve said:

Hey, this is exactly what we made: a universal genre-shifting RPG. We call it Universal Horizons.

Click to expand...

Sounds like an interesting system, and thinks for bringing it to my awareness. As Wangalade said though, right now I'm primarily looking at how to get the best experience out of this experiment. I'm actually working on my own "universal" system, and part of the motivation of this adventure trilogy is research oriented. The other part is just because I want to try out the systems for fun. It's great to love what you do.

Wangalade said:

In general I would say don't worry about converting specific things like skills or ability scores unless the conversion is obvious. Instead create three characters, one for each system, which all adhere to the background/general idea of who the character is and what they can do. If you are trying to get to know a system, character creation is usually a huge part of learning the game anyway.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm leaning that direction. Rather than attempting to convert actual skills and attributes, just have an image of who the characters are, and then try to build the same characters using each of the systems on that system's own terms.

Hyper-Man said:

That's a very interesting premise to start with.

The closest we came to something like this an Amber game using 1st edition Fantasy Hero (way before the Amber Diceless RPG came out). My character was essentially the best at Warfare (a characteristic in the Amber RPG) before that was even a term. The way that was done in HERO via explicit points on combats skills and martial arts was completely different than how the Amber Diceless RPG handled character creation (even though both are point buy systems).

Click to expand...

How did the feel change when you converted over? I used to have a copy of Amber, but never got to play it. I'll admit the lack of randomness threw me a bit, although it wouldn't have stopped me from giving it a spin or enjoying the material. In my own design I've determined that lack of randomness can be a good thing when it is clear how to resolve tasks. Amber's system (as I recall it) felt like it needed a bit more GM direction than "The person with the best score wins. Unless someone else finds a way around it."

Anyway, I probably shouldn't hijack my own thread into an Amber discussion.