D&D General How Insane Is This Idea?

[Lanefan]

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.

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.

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.

Ah - I was assuming the same genre, just different worlds or planes. For example, jumping from 5e Forgotten Realms to 1e Mystara not just in setting but in rules at the same time.

I was also assuming this wouldn't be a forever change, just a side trek in a longer ongoing campaign. So, for example, you'd start out in 5e FR for a year or two, then due to in-game reasons jump to Mystara, adventure there for six months using 1e rules, then jump back to FR (5e rules) and carry on from there.

 

[overgeeked]

Ah - I was assuming the same genre, just different worlds or planes. For example, jumping from 5e Forgotten Realms to 1e Mystara not just in setting but in rules at the same time.

I was also assuming this wouldn't be a forever change, just a side trek in a longer ongoing campaign. So, for example, you'd start out in 5e FR for a year or two, then due to in-game reasons jump to Mystara, adventure there for six months using 1e rules, then jump back to FR (5e rules) and carry on from there.

Yeah. I think I read the OP as about jumping game systems and genres. Looking back at it, there’s no mention of genres.

 

[Benjamin Olson]

I think it's a great idea in theory but one you have to have actual player buy-in for. If you try to do it on the typical "sure, whatever the DM wants, we can give it a shot" acquiessence that so many gamers will freely give to things they are lukewarm on for the sake of being friendly and making the DM feel appreciated, then all the multi-system rules juggling work falls on you and in all likelihood nobody has much fun. If the players are actually excited to try a bunch of systems it will probably be a blast.

 

[Starfox]

There is a conversion of Savage Worlds to play Pathfinder-like. I have tried this a little and am scheduled to try more of it. It has taken a very broad-strokes view of the conversion of Pathfinder into Savage Worlds. The rules are firmly Savage World, with new perks that emulate the class structure in Pathfinder. These are packets, so a wizard gets lots of magic for cheap, but gains flaws related to wearing armor, and so on. But this is a sort of opt-in system. Pick the Figther background and all you get is a single combat perk.

We have only had session zero so far, but this does seem very promising to me. I thought about this reading the OP, tough I have only cursorily browsed the rest of the thread.

 

[Voadam]

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.

I expect different D&D versions to be fairly easy. Most classes and races translate fairly well. Lots of people are familiar with core D&D and a number are familiar with different editions. It should normally be fairly easy to let people recreate their 5e characters into 3.5 using the SRD for instance.

The farther away from D&D the weirder things get and the fewer people are familiar with them and I would expect the more mental load in converting and running a few games.

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.

Depending on their familiarity with the systems you can let a player do the conversions of their characters as well if they have the resources. A player of a 5e eldritch knight might want to be a 4e fighter multiclass wizard, or a hybrid one, or they might want to play a spellsword. I would think letting them make such decisions would get them more invested, generally.