Looking for a System...

[Natzapo]

Hello everyone!

I'm currently in the early prep stages for a campaign with my local group of gamers, and I'm looking for a good system to use.

The vast majority of my group's experience has been with AD&D, DnD3.0,3.5 and 4e, along with a stint in pathfinder land as well.

The campaign I'm planning is quite a bit different than our normal fare, and I'm not thinking that the systems we're used to are going to cut it without some major changes. Each player is going to have a minimum of two characters, hailing from different time periods. The game will shift between a modern setting (influenced by TSW, World of Darkness and others) and a pseudo traditional fantasy setting (influenced by A song of Ice and Fire and others.) The shifting between them will be somewhat similar to Ted Dekker's The Circle series.

At this point I'm pretty much open to anything. I do own a copy of the GURPS core books, which I've looked at, but never played. I'd like to avoid using two systems (one for modern and one for fantasy) as the timelines will converge late game.

Sooooo, any suggestions for a system that is flexible, simple, and would mesh well with both settings?

Thanks for any and all help/suggestions!

 

[Stormonu]

Some of the systems I think would probably handle both:

- Savage Worlds
- World of Darkness (there used to be a Vampire: Dark Ages game)
- D&D 3E/Pathfinder and d20 modern (or just d20 modern)
- GURPS
- Palladium (Rifts should handle it)
- 4E + Gamma World
- Alternity (though out of print)
- Cortex system

 

[TreChriron]

If you like GURPS, it would be perfect. Read through it and give it a whirl. Start with the GURPS lite, and then add stuff to flavor as you go along. It will serve your needs perfectly.

For a lighter approach, check out Unisystem using All Flesh Must Be Eaten, and Dungeon Zombies as ideas to tailor Unisystem to your setting.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

HERO could handle this, no problem. However, until you grasp the system, it can seem very complicated, and PC design can take a while. Despite this, once you're used to it, you hardly need the books during play, and HERO is no more complicated than GURPS. Still, on a certain level, it potentially fails on your "simple" criterion, at least on the surface.

In which case I'd go to the RPG I think is closest to it in terms of flexibility: Mutants & Masterminds. Based on D20, your group would probably grasp it quickly, and with its Books of Magic and Warriors & Warlocks FRPG supplements, should be able to handle this fairly well.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

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[pogre]

It's an oldie, but it is d20 based and would handle the settings well:
Grim Tales

My second choice would be:
Savage Worlds

 

[Razjah]

Could you use two different systems for characters? If the characters have different abilities, using different systems would help differentiate the characters. Or are they supposed to be the same character being in different time periods/worlds?

Savage Worlds works well for jumping genres. I think d20 Modern could be tweaked for your needs.

 

[mach1.9pants]

Basic Roleplaying would do it very easily with one book, it is a good system that has been used for all sorts.

 

[Argyle King]

Hello everyone!

I'm currently in the early prep stages for a campaign with my local group of gamers, and I'm looking for a good system to use.

The vast majority of my group's experience has been with AD&D, DnD3.0,3.5 and 4e, along with a stint in pathfinder land as well.

The campaign I'm planning is quite a bit different than our normal fare, and I'm not thinking that the systems we're used to are going to cut it without some major changes. Each player is going to have a minimum of two characters, hailing from different time periods. The game will shift between a modern setting (influenced by TSW, World of Darkness and others) and a pseudo traditional fantasy setting (influenced by A song of Ice and Fire and others.) The shifting between them will be somewhat similar to Ted Dekker's The Circle series.

At this point I'm pretty much open to anything. I do own a copy of the GURPS core books, which I've looked at, but never played. I'd like to avoid using two systems (one for modern and one for fantasy) as the timelines will converge late game.

Sooooo, any suggestions for a system that is flexible, simple, and would mesh well with both settings?

Thanks for any and all help/suggestions!

If you already own the Basic Set of GURPS and you would "like to avoid using two systems (one for modern and one for fantasy) as the timelines will converge late game," GURPS seems like a pretty good fit.

Which edition of GURPS do you have? Also, what style of game do you want to run? If you're going for something a little more cinematic and want to have some of the work already done for you, you might want to look into either the Dungeon Fantasy line or the Action! line of pdfs. Neither is necessary, but both are very good as well as being very helpful.

Also, GURPS Lite is free; I've found that it's helpful to have a few copies of Lite at the table for a quick reference. Likewise, there are plenty of other free game aids offered by SJ Games which are very helpful.

edit: I also felt it was important to point out that the 'default setting' (if there is honestly such a thing) of the GURPS 4th Edition books is one which revolves around world/genre hopping.

 

[karlindel]

If you want to stick to D20 systems, Mutants and Masterminds with the supplements that Dannyalcatraz mentioned or D20 modern would probably be your best bet.

If you want to branch out and try a different system, you've got a number of good options:
FATE System (among other options, Dresden Files does modern occult, Legends of Anglerre does D&D style fantasy, Strands of Fate is usable in modern, fantasy, or sci fi genres)
Savage Worlds is good for any genre, and it should be easy to switch between the times.
World of Darkness has a lot of supplements for modern occult games, although the newer books don't have any supplement particular to medieval times that I'm aware of (someone mentioned in a thread that the Mirrors supplement has some information on running a fantasy style game), the old World of Darkness had Vampire Dark Ages and Mage the Sorceror's Crusade. The system should be easy enough to alter to fit into a medieval fantasy game without any supplements, though, basically just a few skill changes and removing/modifying a few benefits/drawbacks and equipment and you should be good to go.
GURPS should work, particularly as you already have the book. I haven't played it, so I can't speak much about it.
HERO System is ideal for playing any genre, and has supplements for modern games (Dark Champions, despite the name, is good for any modern HERO game) and fantasy games (Fantasy HERO in particular). The 6th edition books are more recent, but the 5th edition books can usually be found online for cheaper, and the system works just fine.