D&D 5E D&D compared to Bespoke Genre TTRPGs

[dave2008]

Whereas for me I can and do mod systems. But having already playtested games is one of the few things I think is actually worth paying money for, with the other being approaches I wouldn't have thought of. I can write my own adventures (and adapt them on the fly) and even develop my own systems and balance them by eye. But playtesting takes time.

Again, for me personally there is not point to playtesting. We play with them and if they don't work we change them or get rid of them. No issue. You can try so many new ideas this way, and it is not like playtesting solves all the issues. 5e and PF2e had huge playtest, but you can find tons of threads about their problems.

 

[Marc_C]

But plenty of 3PP have. Maybe you missed it because you don't play D&D anymore

I actually bought Esper Genesis and Ultra Modern 5. They were disappointing.

 

[dave2008]

Then you are basically playing two separate games. One for in space, the other on the ground. The Star Trek space combat rules would take nothing for from the D&D ground combat rules, and the ground combat rules would take nothing from the Star Trek rules (which use action points and include the Kirk roll). Given that a hit from a phaser either stuns or disintegrates it's target, you wouldn't get any millage out of hit points either.

I'm not sure what you are trying to argue, but I think space combat (with spaceships) could be different than combat between people.

Also, are you saying a phaser hit to spaceship either stuns it or disintegrates it? That doesn't seem very much like Star Trek to me.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I actually bought Esper Genesis and Ultra Modern 5. They were disappointing.

Esper Genesis is D&D in space. Which is fine, but it doesn't play remotely like FASA Star Trek, or WEG Star Wars, or Traveller (classic) to name the SF RPGs I have played.

 

[Imaro]

I actually bought Esper Genesis and Ultra Modern 5. They were disappointing.

Hey I can respect that... though I thought Esper Genesis had gotten some pretty good reviews (not sure about Ultra Modern 5). But being personally disappointed by something is not the same as it not existing.

 

[dave2008]

I actually bought Esper Genesis and Ultra Modern 5. They were disappointing.

You have it covered then - got it

I mean how many 3pp or even WotC products in 3e were disappointing? Personally I would say like 95%+, but that is just me.

 

[Imaro]

Esper Genesis is D&D in space. Which is fine, but it doesn't play remotely like FASA Star Trek, or WEG Star Wars, or Traveller (classic) to name the SF RPGs I have played.

Huh? Wait the premise of the thread isn't that you can exactly replicate a specific property using D&D...

 

[Marc_C]

You have it covered then - got it

I mean how many 3pp or even WotC products in 3e were disappointing? Personally I would say like 95%+, but that is just me.

I was very happy with d20 Modern, d20 Future and Star Wars Saga. I didn't buy 3pp products so I can't tell.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Huh? Wait the premise of the thread isn't that you can exactly replicate a specific property using D&D...

It's not the property that makes them different. it's the gameplay. Like Chess is different to Go. Star Wars D20 is D&D (3rd edition) with the Star Wars IP. It is a very different game to WEG (D6) Star Wars. And not just in the number of sides on the dice.

Runequest is a very different game to D&D, even though they are both fantasy games.

 

[dave2008]

For anything else I prefer using a system that has been modified slightly to fit each genre. The AGE system by Green Ronin does that. Fantasy AGE (classes) doesn't work exactly like Modern AGE (no classes) or like The Expanse AGE (no hit points) but they have enough familiarity with each other you don't have to learn a new system every time. Blue Rose AGE does romantic fantasy extremely well.

That sounds interesting. Still easier (and likely more fun) for me an my group to play 5e modern or space than try the Fantasy system. I personally wouldn't want to play a system without hit points for example.