What mechanics or subsystems do you use regardless of the game you are running/playing?

aramis erak · Feb 15, 2024

Reynard said:
How so?

Because the rules are the basis for understanding how the setting differs from reality,

VHawkwinter · 2026-03-13T05:27:19+0000

Reynard said:
Do you have a favorite mechanic or subsystem that you port into most or all of the games you run (or play, but this is usually a GM level decision).

Do you have a mechanic you like that you import most or all of the time?

I made a homebrewed replacement for D&D alignment inspired by the old White Wolf personality traits and one of the psychological test + severe selfishness & severe selflessness that profiles a person's morality relative to the rest of the population on a number of axes that quantify moral values by type, though I simplified it to just a sort of +X, 0, -X granularity, and customised it a bit.

Anyway, I find it a useful way to sum up the values of an NPC, and I have found it a useful reminder to players (and me as the GM) what the PCs values are, if we miss a couple sessions, so we don't just slip into playing ourselves.

No mechanical impact, and yet, still useful.

Li Shenron · 2026-03-13T09:29:31+0000

Reynard said:
Do you have a mechanic you like that you import most or all of the time?

Not a mechanic as such, but rather a couple of "house rules" that are beyond the system:

- PC death is always negotiable between player and DM (e.g. traded for a penalty or another condition/outcome)

- PvP is not allowed by default, unless everyone at the table agrees

DEFCON 1 · 2026-03-13T14:40:25+0000

During character creation for any game that doesn't already have something similar, I give everyone the Hubris table from 7th Sea 1st edition so that everyone can select their one "fatal flaw" for their character that they can easily play. I have found that when players have a single "character problem" they always have at hand (like Greedy, Inattentive, Reckless, Trusting, Hedonistic etc)... it makes it simpler for them to really play different types of characters with different attitudes. The one Hubris colors all of their actions and interactions.

Micah Sweet · 2026-03-13T14:44:45+0000

Reynard said:
Less often but still regularly, I import the Warmachine and Domain Management systems from the BECMI rules into all forms of D&D and most D&D adjacent games, since they are effectively bolt-on.

I have used and am using worldbuilding mechanics from the ...Without Number series and ACKS II in my Level Up game. Did that yesterday in fact. I expect I would do the same in any game I run; it's really good stuff.

Micah Sweet · 2026-03-13T16:06:27+0000

aramis erak said:
Because the rules are the basis for understanding how the setting differs from reality,

Not for me. The setting description and worldbuilding details are the basis for that understanding. The job of the mechanics IMO is to explain how that translates to something we can play.