TheAlkaizer
Game Designer
So, I'm continuing the TTRPG expedition that I began after the start of the pandemic. I've invested a good amount of money and time in the past two years to explore different systems: Zweihander, Symbaroum, Forbidden Lands, Vampire the Masquerade, Lancer, etc.
One type of product that I haven't approached are generic rulesets that are promoted as being adaptable to any settings. Setting-agnostic rulesets. I think that includes the well-known: GURPS and Fate. In all honesty, I had zero interest in any of these systems. My thought process is that systems that are designed to be okay at a ton of things can't possibly be better at specific things. But that might be a bad shortcut to make. I also understand that a big part of the appeal of these systems is saving time and using the same rules to play different things. But I have time to invest in learning and exploring systems, so that's not something that's really a selling-point for me.
This leads me to having a dozen people praising Fantasy Flight Games narrative dice systems, notably used in the Star Wars TTRPG. I've promised myself that I would take a loot at it and now that I'm down to two books to read on my beside table, I took half an hour to look it up. I now realized that Genesys, the system which name I've seen often in the past years, is actually the standalone version of that ruleset!
So, I will definitely look into it. Just out of professional curiosity. But I could also be interested in running it and seeing what it's good at.
So, I'm maybe more interested in Genesys; but I'm curious as to what are your experiences with generic rulesets (Genesys, Fate, GURPS) and the experience of taking a ruleset and adapting it for your setting or type of experience. Is it worth it? How much work is it? Does it really play that well in most situations or do you encounter weird issues or contradictions?
One type of product that I haven't approached are generic rulesets that are promoted as being adaptable to any settings. Setting-agnostic rulesets. I think that includes the well-known: GURPS and Fate. In all honesty, I had zero interest in any of these systems. My thought process is that systems that are designed to be okay at a ton of things can't possibly be better at specific things. But that might be a bad shortcut to make. I also understand that a big part of the appeal of these systems is saving time and using the same rules to play different things. But I have time to invest in learning and exploring systems, so that's not something that's really a selling-point for me.
This leads me to having a dozen people praising Fantasy Flight Games narrative dice systems, notably used in the Star Wars TTRPG. I've promised myself that I would take a loot at it and now that I'm down to two books to read on my beside table, I took half an hour to look it up. I now realized that Genesys, the system which name I've seen often in the past years, is actually the standalone version of that ruleset!
So, I will definitely look into it. Just out of professional curiosity. But I could also be interested in running it and seeing what it's good at.
So, I'm maybe more interested in Genesys; but I'm curious as to what are your experiences with generic rulesets (Genesys, Fate, GURPS) and the experience of taking a ruleset and adapting it for your setting or type of experience. Is it worth it? How much work is it? Does it really play that well in most situations or do you encounter weird issues or contradictions?