D&D 5E 5e as an universal gaming engine ?

[Paraxis]

The class based thing only ever works well in D&D for D&D to me.

Modern, sci-fi, horror, super heroes, historical, and pretty much anything else just doesn't feel right with classes and levels. For a good universal rpg I use Savage Worlds, but usually just pick a game that does whatever type of play I am looking for already if it exists.

 

[Tony Vargas]

I don't think it's possible to have a truly universal game engine.

FUDGE/FATE prettymuch are. The former's on the simplistic side and the latter is very story-oriented, but they can work for any setting or genre.

GURPS didn't quite pull off universal but it's a very accomplished multi-genre system.

Hero's mechanics work for a universal system. Though traces of Champions! superheroishness remain in the tone it tends to imply.


So, no, not impossible. At worst, a number of system have come pretty close.
It's just not at all what 5e was aiming to be. 5e is just D&D trying to be D&D.

 

[Tormyr]

I am not sure how much fantasy medieval Europe is baked in to the system, but maybe I am thinking about more stuff being stripped out. I see it as ability scores, d20 to measure success and proficiency. Backgrounds, races, classes, skills, spells and equipment are stuff that can be replaced in a different setting. It would be a little more involved than that, but you get the idea.

 

[mcbobbo]

I'll break from the majority here - yes 5e can do it, and do it well.

You see d20/3e did it, and wasn't completely horrible at it either. Cthulu was already mentioned, but also there was Mutants and Masterminds, Traveller, Deadlands, etc, etc, etc. And 5e has a lot of 3e heritage without many of its drawbacks.

Heck, old school D&D was applied universally back in its day, too.

 

[dd.stevenson]

If I'm going to agree, for the sake of argument, that d20 was a pretty solid universal game engine, then I don't see how 5E's basic ruleset is going to be any worse.

In many ways could turn out to be better, since flatter progression and natural language rules are probably give more scope for adaptation.

 

[RevTurkey]

I think it could do Classic Space Opera Science Fiction well.

Anything that isn't too involved in the skills department and more concerned with action, running about and fighting critters. Yes, I think D&D 5th would be a good fit for that.

 

[amerigoV]

I'll break from the majority here - yes 5e can do it, and do it well.

You see d20/3e did it, and wasn't completely horrible at it either. Cthulu was already mentioned, but also there was Mutants and Masterminds, Traveller, Deadlands, etc, etc, etc. And 5e has a lot of 3e heritage without many of its drawbacks.

And about the only thing those products share in common is you use a d20. Now, that is an exaggeration, but only a little one. If you have to redo the core mechanics (most notably damage/HPs) each time you move to a different genre, that pretty much nixes it as a universal system.

And since you referenced Deadlands, it should be noted that Pinnacle (who developed both Deadlands and the Weird War 2 line) abandoned d20 basis and developed Savage Worlds. The Deadlands line (under Savage Worlds) is still their biggest seller. https://www.peginc.com/freebies/SWcore/MakingofSW.pdf


D&D is awesome at D&D. No other system quite scratches that itch. But it does does not do other things well without a ton of mods.

 

[Steely Dan]

D&D is awesome at D&D. No other system quite scratches that itch. But it does does not do other things well without a ton of mods.

2nd Ed and I disagree.

 

[Morrus]

You could do sci-fi with it, though I agree with others that class systems somehow don't feel "technical" enough for it - Star Wars could work, but Star Trek maybe not so much. You'd really struggle with superheroes and the like, and you'd have to make some fairly big changes to change the heroic D&D system work for a gritty type of game where characters are afraid to get shot.

 

[Steely Dan]

You could do sci-fi with it, though I agree with others that class systems somehow don't feel "technical" enough for it - Star Wars could work

Yeah, I am working on a Star Wars Saga Edition conversion, lends itself extremely well.

SWSE was nice, wish they leaned that way more with 4th Ed than ToB/Bo9S.