All-in-one games and cross-overs

[Ariosto]

But, as I said, my experience of fantasy RPGs was that only bows were "kosher".

So, your statement was actually supposed to be in the past tense, and applicable even within its temporal window (of about a decade) only to one particular brand of fantasy game.

It was so very particular, indeed, as to reject as "not kosher" the treatments of the subject not only in Dragon magazine (which in at least one instance dealt with characters transported to 1980s Earth) -- but in the very Dungeon Masters Guide (which gave Boot Hill and Gamma World crossovers as examples)!

OD&D referred to Chainmail, which naturally included gunpowder weapons along with plate armor and two-handed swords and halberds and longbows and other armaments of the same historical period. D&D Supplement I had the arquebus among the weapons with "versus armor" factors. So, firearms were in the game texts before they were left out.

 

[Wolf1066]

So, your statement was actually supposed to be in the past tense, and applicable even within its temporal window (of about a decade) only to one particular brand of fantasy game.

Probably.

 

[rgard]

Inspired by @dm4hire:'s "Quest for the "perfect" all-in-one game" thread:

Just thinking of one of the meanings of "all-in-one game" and wondering:

How many here run a game that requires the versatility to change/mix genres, time lines, tech levels or whatever?

I've sometimes joked about running a game in which you can expect to find anything from pretty much any genre (Dr Who, a mage, Billy the Kid, a Kzin, a spandex-suited mutant superhero and a cyborg going up against Daleks, lesser demons, vampires and Shadow ships, anyone?) and I have seriously thought of mixing in aspects of space travel (beyond Earth's solar system) and steampunk into a cyberpunk game and wondered what'd happen if I introduced "real" vampires and werewolves - a la WoD - into the mix. (The latter being fairly easy to do, thanks to Ianus Games' excellent source books...)

What "cross-overs" have people around here run, if any?

Obviously, bringing together related material is "simple" enough - even if it does mean spending hours converting ST, BSG, B5 and Serenity ships etc into a common format for a "grand space opera" scenario wherein the Enterprise and a White Star can take on Centauri warships, Cylon Vipers and Klingon Birds of Prey before tackling the Death Star. What about scenarios where magic and high technology must be reconciled? Or running a Cthulu campaign against a Cyberpunk or far-future background (instead of early C20)?

What sort of things do your games need to be able to handle? What game mechanics have had to be put in place?

I ran a game where the PCs discovered a room of portals to different times and places. As part of their adventures they found crystal rods of different materials that when placed in slots in a bricked up door way would open the portal.

They were able to go to:

1. Tatooine (and beyond if they had ever made it to the space port)
2. Atlantis (10,000 BC)
3. Egypt (2,000 BC)
4. Traveller Universe
5. Mesozoic Era (65,0000,000 BC)
6. Elric's Melnibone
7. Hyboria
8. Mesopotamia with Cthulhu (3,500 BC)
9. Arthurian Britain (500 AD)
10. US Wild West (1875 AD) Sidewinder.

We did this all with D20 and for Traveller, Sidewinder and Star Wars we needed to convert to Armor as DR and Con = wound points.

The players only had rods for Tatooine, Traveller and Atlantis and only visited Tatooine and Atlantis before the campaign ended.

 

[Wolf1066]

I ran a game where the PCs discovered a room of portals to different times and places. As part of their adventures they found crystal rods of different materials that when placed in slots in a bricked up door way would open the portal.
...
The players only had rods for Tatooine, Traveller and Atlantis and only visited Tatooine and Atlantis before the campaign ended.

Sounds like a fun game, too bad they didn't get further.

What was their place/era of origin? Or were they a mixed bunch to begin with?

 

[rgard]

Sounds like a fun game, too bad they didn't get further.

What was their place/era of origin? Or were they a mixed bunch to begin with?

Thanks.

The PCs place of origin was my home brew and it wasn't based on any place or specific time. Mixed bunch is a good description as I allowed them to roll up any 3E character they wanted.

Thanks again,
Rich