D&D General How Insane Is This Idea?

[overgeeked]

That's my fear. Thanks,

If you used a generic system it could work perfectly. The idea of hopping dozens of genres is awesome. The idea of hopping dozens of systems as you go...not so much. But that's me. Maybe your players would absolutely love it. I don't know them.

 

[Zaukrie]

If you used a generic system it could work perfectly. The idea of hopping dozens of genres is awesome. The idea of hopping dozens of systems as you go...not so much. But that's me. Maybe your players would absolutely love it. I don't know them.

Partly I want to try new systems, but every month might be too often.....The idea that your powers are just slightly different in every reality is intriguing....

 

[overgeeked]

Partly I want to try new systems, but every month might be too often.....The idea that your powers are just slightly different in every reality is intriguing....

There's a game you might like to check out. It's called TORG.

 

[Clint_L]

So if you're going to change systems, I suggest really changing systems. Maybe they are all transformed into animals and its suddenly a game of Trash Pandas or something.

Quoting myself because I just realized that I have to do this in an upcoming session.

Edit: and I do think the key is keeping the new game pretty simple so that your players don't have to spend a ton of time learning the system.

 

[cbwjm]

I wanted to do something like this, but instead of world hoping it was going to be a time travel game using past editions. I wanted to use BECMI, 2e, PF 1e (was originally going with 3e, but I like the updates in PF), and 4e before finishing in 5e, sort of a showcase of past editions. Might have to change Thac0 for the two earlier editions, too many people are vehemently against it, no idea how my group would react to it (I know at least one would be fine, but the others, who knows?!)

For the world spanning adventure based in Sigil, any version of DnD should be fairly easy to pick up by current players, at least the basics. If I was going to assign game systems, I might go something like the following:

• Greyhawk, 1e
• Forgotten Realms, 2e
• Eberron, 3e/PF 1e (at least use the simplified skill system from pathfinder)
• Dark Sun, 4e
• Dominaria, Savage Worlds (I think the spells and trappings work well with magic the gathering). If wanting to keep it d20, then Mutants and Masterminds 2e or 3e.
• Mystara, BECMI
• Titan, advanced fighting fantasy. I loved these books as a kid, so thought I'd throw it in here as an option.

 

[Zaukrie]

My players find the idea interesting, and scary....

 

[Lanefan]

Unless those systems are nearly identical, it's going to be a massive burden on the players to play. Most people refuse to learn a new system as is. Learning a dozen in a short time...not a great idea. The other option is to run it as a black box, i.e. the players just don't know what the rules to the game actually are...which presents a whole host of other problems. Unless the players are 100% on board with the idea this could crash and burn quickly. It's definitely not something you surprise your group with.

I'm not sure here. Personally, I think it would work better as a surprise - the PCs change planes (for whatever reason) and suddenly things work differently. All the mechanics then move DM-side, the players just say in-character what they are trying to do and the DM sorts it out using the new system. Each time something doesn't go as the character sheet says it should the DM would have to narrate what happened instead, and maybe why; and eventually the players would figure out the mechanical basics through repetition and what were player-side mechanics would slowly migrate back to the players.

However, this would only work if the game was shifting to that new plane for the medium-to-long term - long enough for this process to play out such that the players learn and absorb the new system piecemeal during play. Switching every real-world month or so would be a nightmare.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

I've played every DnD version, and Savage Worlds (twice, long ago). I own Level Up and 13th Age and PF2e and a few starter sets of other games.....

I'd like to try new games, and one idea is.......My party ends up in Sigil (they've chosen to follow a Nothic and Neogi thru a portal), and every time they go thru a new door, they go to an alternative universe where the world is just a bit different. So different, we run a different game for 2-3 sessions to learn their new powers.

This would require me to roll up (for the first world anyway, as a surprise) three PCs above level 1, and to learn new systems (at least enough to run a game). this would be online, as we are in different states.

While I think it would be interesting to run a rogue in 4-7 different systems, I'm not sure I have the bandwidth to learn that many systems. This isn't my only hobby....

This requires a lot of commitment to the bit from both you and the players, and probably work best if you're all experienced in multiple systems, but it could be pretty hilarious and also possibly a good way to find out what systems you enjoyed most.

 

[Ondath]

I've played every DnD version, and Savage Worlds (twice, long ago). I own Level Up and 13th Age and PF2e and a few starter sets of other games.....

I'd like to try new games, and one idea is.......My party ends up in Sigil (they've chosen to follow a Nothic and Neogi thru a portal), and every time they go thru a new door, they go to an alternative universe where the world is just a bit different. So different, we run a different game for 2-3 sessions to learn their new powers.

This would require me to roll up (for the first world anyway, as a surprise) three PCs above level 1, and to learn new systems (at least enough to run a game). this would be online, as we are in different states.

While I think it would be interesting to run a rogue in 4-7 different systems, I'm not sure I have the bandwidth to learn that many systems. This isn't my only hobby....

Making them learn 4-7 game systems would be too much IMO. But I had an idea similar to this, at some point: The PCs in my 5E campaign would go to an alternate dimension and suddenly switch to the AD&D 2E versions of their characters, to show that the fundamental rules of the universe were different here. In the end the plot reason for doing this ended up getting abandoned, so I never followed through with it.

Most importantly, while I understand the desire to keep this a surprise, I think this is the sort of thing that the GM should say upfront, at least to some extent. I wouldn't be happy if I signed up to a 5E game with a really cool race/class combination, and then found out all of the cool abilities I was looking forward to will be abandoned when we switch to the Savage Worlds universe. Perhaps you can keep the identities of the specific games a secret, but you should absolutely let your players know this is a system-hopping adventure, and that they shouldn't be wed to a particular ruleset.

Since you need to reduce friction to learn a new system as much as possible, perhaps you can do one of the following:

• There are at most 3 specific universes they can travel to, and each of these have different rulesystems. The party gets enough time to learn the kink of each system and has the option to switch back and forth between them. I'd say this is still quite a hard bargain.
• It's not the same ongoing campaign that switches universes, but there is a specific oneshot scenario that you run in each game system separately. Think of it like "What If?" for that oneshot's story. This way, the story will be the same across all games, which can help with player buy-in. Also, people are more likely to give a new system a shot for a oneshot (or, well a series of oneshots in your case, but you get the idea).

 

[overgeeked]

Personally, I think it would work better as a surprise - the PCs change planes (for whatever reason) and suddenly things work differently.

Only if, as you say next, that the referee runs all the mechanics. Otherwise the players are likely to revolt. Still, suddenly taking the perceived security of the rules away from the players could still lead to a revolt of sorts.

All the mechanics then move DM-side, the players just say in-character what they are trying to do and the DM sorts it out using the new system. Each time something doesn't go as the character sheet says it should the DM would have to narrate what happened instead, and maybe why; and eventually the players would figure out the mechanical basics through repetition and what were player-side mechanics would slowly migrate back to the players.

That's describing black box play. It's one common mode in FKR gaming, which is my preferred style. But selling that to the players is a big ask. Most don't want to deal with it. They get a sense of security from knowing the rules. As if the rules will somehow protect them from a capricious referee. They can't, of course. But...players.

However, this would only work if the game was shifting to that new plane for the medium-to-long term - long enough for this process to play out such that the players learn and absorb the new system piecemeal during play. Switching every real-world month or so would be a nightmare.

If the goal is to gain a sense of genre-mastery, then sure. You'd want to settle in so the players could get a sense of the genre's "rules" in game...as if the players themselves wouldn't already have a sense of the genres involved. Unless the genres involved are a surprise. But that would only last 1-2 sessions at most. Seeing a superhero flying through the sky would give it away, as would a zombie apocalypse, or the sudden appearance of Cthulhu or dozens of bodies and their murders to solve. If the goal is the fun of genre-hopping, it would be fine.