Out with the old (Game design traditions we should let go)

[Hex08]

I would say there aren't really many, if any, that are screaming to go away. Don't like the D&D (or whatever game) mechanics or traditions? Fine, there are many, many other games out there so go broaden your horizons a bit and leave the existing game and it's mechanics for those who enjoy it.

 

[Hex08]

Bingo! You've hit the mark!

And the question then becomes:

Why not just use D&D* which the vast majority of players and GMs already know, and save everyone the time and bother involved in learning a new system?

* - or another quasi-universal system that people at the table are already familiar with.

Because some of us would find that boring. I change the games I play not just because I want a different setting or genre but because playing the same ruleset becomes stale after a while.

Also, not every ruleset is created equal. Some are designed to encourage roleplaying, some tactical combat, some to reflect that characters are supposed to be heroic and mighty world savers and others where they are tiny and insignificant fighting a hopeless fight. When I play Call of Cthulhu I don't want to play D&D with a different skin on it. Game system matters. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you couldn't run a Cthulhu game with D&D rules but in my opinion D&D (any edition) does a bad job if used as a horror system (at least compared to those designed from the ground up to do it).

 

[Fenris-77]

I would say there aren't really many, if any, that are screaming to go away. Don't like the D&D (or whatever game) mechanics or traditions? Fine, there are many, many other games out there so go broaden your horizons a bit and leave the existing game and it's mechanics for those who enjoy it.

I locked the idea of MDC/SDC in a gimp box about 20 years ago and I still hear the occasional moan or plea for freedom. I remain resolute.

 

[Jd Smith1]

Bingo! You've hit the mark!

And the question then becomes:

Why not just use D&D* which the vast majority of players and GMs already know, and save everyone the time and bother involved in learning a new system?

* - or another quasi-universal system that people at the table are already familiar with.

Because D&D is an awful system with very few redeeming qualities?

 

[Staffan]

Ability scores. As in, hard-to-alter values that cascade into other related areas of competence. They cause two problems:

• Characters who seek competence in one field need to make sure that they have good values in the associated ability scores. That is, if you want to be a good wizard, you must be smart. If you want to be a good fighter, you must be stronk.
  • This in turn leads to assorted workarounds: what if good at fighting, but fast instead of stronk? Take this feat/special ability that lets you use Dexterity instead of Strength. What about a dumb wizard? Well maybe make that a sorcerer?
• Since characters need to have good values in their primary ability scores, it means they will also be at least OK at other things based on that ability score. If ranged attacks are based on Dexterity, snipers automatically become good acrobats. If paladin magic is based on Charisma, you won't have holy warriors that are shy and bad at talking to people.

The Troubleshooters, for example, does away with ability scores entirely (or rather, incorporates things that are traditionally ability scores as skills). So there's no correlation between Strength and Melee, or between Ranged, Vehicles, and Agility. You can be an academic who knows everything about every battle fought by the French military since Charlemagne, and not know the first thing about Electronics.

 

[Hex08]

Because D&D is an awful system with very few redeeming qualities?

I don't play D&D anymore but considering that it's the most popular system by far out there it obviously appeals to a lot of people.

 

[Staffan]

I'd prefer a simple universal system that can cover most everything and be done. Picking three books at random from my shelves, I'd love to be able play something based on 1491, As Told at the Explorer's Club, and Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse without having to learn three different systems. I'm infinitely more interested in worlds than rules.

Man, I could not disagree more. To me, system matters. Star Wars makes for a very different game in WEG's D6, Wizards of the Coast's D20, and Fantasy Flight Games' Genesys. It would be even more different in Savage Worlds or GURPS.

Even in a game like TORG, which is explicitly multi-genre, the different genres are given different mechanical expressions. The difference between the Living Land and Tharkold is not just that one has strong miracles and the other strong tech and magic – they also work differently. The Living Land is a world that rewards living life to its fullest, acting on primal instincts, and taking risks, while Tharkold is a place where the strong dominate the weak and inflicting pain is rewarded.

 

[Fenris-77]

Simple universal systems do everything and often none of it well in terms of genre emulation. To each his own.

 

[James Gasik]

I locked the idea of MDC/SDC in a gimp box about 20 years ago and I still hear the occasional moan or plea for freedom. I remain resolute.

Ugh, MDC was the worst idea ever. I was a Glitter Boy in a Rifts game, and I was terrified of ever getting out of the robot. Meanwhile, there was an Amazon in our group who not only had MDC buck nekked, but then she had a fraggin' WETSUIT from Rifts: Atlantis for MORE MDC!

 

[James Gasik]

Man, I could not disagree more. To me, system matters. Star Wars makes for a very different game in WEG's D6, Wizards of the Coast's D20, and Fantasy Flight Games' Genesys. It would be even more different in Savage Worlds or GURPS.

Even in a game like TORG, which is explicitly multi-genre, the different genres are given different mechanical expressions. The difference between the Living Land and Tharkold is not just that one has strong miracles and the other strong tech and magic – they also work differently. The Living Land is a world that rewards living life to its fullest, acting on primal instincts, and taking risks, while Tharkold is a place where the strong dominate the weak and inflicting pain is rewarded.

TORG is an amazing game, and yet...it's stupid hard to get people to play it. I mean, there's a CYBERPAPACY! It's fun just saying the word!