Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
White Dwarf Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Nest
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions, OSR, & D&D Variants
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
EN Publishing
Twitter
BlueSky
Facebook
Instagram
EN World
BlueSky
YouTube
Facebook
Twitter
Twitch
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions, OSR, & D&D Variants
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Making the same character work in different systems
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="wingsandsword" data-source="post: 5719558" data-attributes="member: 14159"><p>Thinking about Edition Wars, and arguing over which edition/system of any game with wildly different versions is best, has had me thinking about the implications of it all.</p><p></p><p>So often, we create a character with the stats & splats in mind first. "I want to play an Elf Wizard." or "I want to play an assassin droid." or "I want to play a Lancea Sanctum Mekhet"</p><p></p><p>However, outside gaming, the characters we know and love from books and movies and TV don't have stats. You could make that character in any one of many games that caters to that genre, or a universal system.</p><p></p><p>Myself I've grumbled that I couldn't translate a favorite character from one edition to another, or a concept from one system to another, because the "crunch" wasn't there to make it work. </p><p></p><p>To help us transcend issues of system and edition, what if we write up well known fictional non-gaming characters in a variety of systems to show the way the same concept and skill set can be portrayed with various toolkits. Try to make the character to standard for that game (i.e. made through normal rules for a PC, and advanced as appropriate given the guidelines in the system for how experienced/powerful the character should be).</p><p></p><p>For those characters that already have a licensed game depicting them, let's try them with other systems. For example: I remember an old Traveller rulebook, Citizens of the Imperium, had examples of various famous Sci Fi characters written up in Traveler (with Traveller stats for Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader circa Episode IV in it).</p><p></p><p>So, as an example:</p><p></p><p>Special Agent Dana K. Scully, M.D.</p><p></p><p>Summary: FBI Special Agent assigned to the semi-secret "X-Files" Branch devoted to investigation of paranormal events. Licensed medical doctor and qualified forensic pathologist with B.A. in Physics. Practicing Catholic and generally skeptical, but at least somewhat knowledgeable about and experienced with the paranormal.</p><p></p><p><strong>d20 Modern:</strong></p><p>Race: Human</p><p>Class: Smart Hero 5/Dedicated Hero 5</p><p>Occupation: Doctor (Permanent Class Skills: Knowledge: Earth and Life Sciences, Treat Injury)</p><p></p><p>Ability Scores:</p><p>Strength 10 +0</p><p>Dexterity 10 +0</p><p>Constitution 10 +0 </p><p>Intelligence 15 +2</p><p>Wisdom 16 +2</p><p>Charisma 13 +1</p><p></p><p>Skills:</p><p>Computer Use +10, Diplomacy +9, Drive +6, Investigate +20, Knowledge (Arcane Lore) +15, Knowledge (Physical Sciences) +15, Knowledge (Earth and Life Sciences) +20, Knowledge (Theology and Philosophy) +15, Research +15, Search +10, Treat Injury +20</p><p></p><p>Feats:</p><p>Simple Weapon Proficiency, Personal Firearms Proficiency, Brawl, Iron Will, Trustworthy, Educated, Vehicle Expert, Weapon Focus (Glock 17), Surgery, Medical Expert</p><p></p><p>Talents</p><p>Savant (Earth and Life Sciences), Savant (Investigate), Savant (Research), Skill Emphasis (Treat Injury), Healing Knack, Healing Touch 1</p><p></p><p>Base Attack Bonus: +5</p><p>Attacks:</p><p>Melee (unarmed) +5, 1d6 (Nonlethal)</p><p>Ranged (Glock 17) +7, 2d6 </p><p></p><p>Saving Throws:</p><p>Fortitude: +4 </p><p>Reflex: +2</p><p>Will: +8</p><p></p><p>Hit Points: 37 (6+9d6)</p><p>Defense: 15 (+5 Class) </p><p>Reputation: +4</p><p>Wealth: +7</p><p>Allegiances: Good, Law, United States</p><p></p><p>Equipment:</p><p>Glock 17, Cell Phone, Flashlight (standard), First Aid Kit, Clothing (Business)</p><p></p><p>10th level heroic character, 25 point buy ability scores, roughly equal to the generic FBI agents given in the Menace Manual suppliment.</p><p>-------------</p><p></p><p><strong>World of Darkness:</strong></p><p>Intelligence ****</p><p>Wits ***</p><p>Resolve ***</p><p></p><p>Strength **</p><p>Dexterity **</p><p>Stamina **</p><p></p><p>Presence **</p><p>Manipulation **</p><p>Composure ****</p><p></p><p>Skills:</p><p>Academics *** (Specialty: Religion)</p><p>Computer *</p><p>Investigation ***</p><p>Medicine **** (Specialty: Forensics)</p><p>Occult *</p><p>Science *** (Specialty: Physics)</p><p></p><p>Athletics **</p><p>Brawl *</p><p>Drive **</p><p>Firearms **</p><p></p><p>Empathy *</p><p>Expression *</p><p>Persuasion **</p><p>Socialize *</p><p></p><p>Merits:</p><p>Resources **</p><p>Status (Medical) ** (Licensed Physician)</p><p>Status (Police) *** (Federal Agent)</p><p></p><p>Morality: 7</p><p>Willpower: 7</p><p>Health: 7</p><p></p><p>Flaws: None</p><p></p><p>Virtue: Faith</p><p>Vice: Pride</p><p></p><p>Equipment: Flashlight, First Aid Kit, Pistol (Light)</p><p></p><p>Total Experience: 100 (typical for a fairly advanced "heroic" character that's highly trained and has a fair bit of real-world experience)</p><p></p><p>(I'd try to write her up in GURPS, but I'm not that good with the system and would probably mess it up)</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="wingsandsword, post: 5719558, member: 14159"] Thinking about Edition Wars, and arguing over which edition/system of any game with wildly different versions is best, has had me thinking about the implications of it all. So often, we create a character with the stats & splats in mind first. "I want to play an Elf Wizard." or "I want to play an assassin droid." or "I want to play a Lancea Sanctum Mekhet" However, outside gaming, the characters we know and love from books and movies and TV don't have stats. You could make that character in any one of many games that caters to that genre, or a universal system. Myself I've grumbled that I couldn't translate a favorite character from one edition to another, or a concept from one system to another, because the "crunch" wasn't there to make it work. To help us transcend issues of system and edition, what if we write up well known fictional non-gaming characters in a variety of systems to show the way the same concept and skill set can be portrayed with various toolkits. Try to make the character to standard for that game (i.e. made through normal rules for a PC, and advanced as appropriate given the guidelines in the system for how experienced/powerful the character should be). For those characters that already have a licensed game depicting them, let's try them with other systems. For example: I remember an old Traveller rulebook, Citizens of the Imperium, had examples of various famous Sci Fi characters written up in Traveler (with Traveller stats for Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader circa Episode IV in it). So, as an example: Special Agent Dana K. Scully, M.D. Summary: FBI Special Agent assigned to the semi-secret "X-Files" Branch devoted to investigation of paranormal events. Licensed medical doctor and qualified forensic pathologist with B.A. in Physics. Practicing Catholic and generally skeptical, but at least somewhat knowledgeable about and experienced with the paranormal. [b]d20 Modern:[/b] Race: Human Class: Smart Hero 5/Dedicated Hero 5 Occupation: Doctor (Permanent Class Skills: Knowledge: Earth and Life Sciences, Treat Injury) Ability Scores: Strength 10 +0 Dexterity 10 +0 Constitution 10 +0 Intelligence 15 +2 Wisdom 16 +2 Charisma 13 +1 Skills: Computer Use +10, Diplomacy +9, Drive +6, Investigate +20, Knowledge (Arcane Lore) +15, Knowledge (Physical Sciences) +15, Knowledge (Earth and Life Sciences) +20, Knowledge (Theology and Philosophy) +15, Research +15, Search +10, Treat Injury +20 Feats: Simple Weapon Proficiency, Personal Firearms Proficiency, Brawl, Iron Will, Trustworthy, Educated, Vehicle Expert, Weapon Focus (Glock 17), Surgery, Medical Expert Talents Savant (Earth and Life Sciences), Savant (Investigate), Savant (Research), Skill Emphasis (Treat Injury), Healing Knack, Healing Touch 1 Base Attack Bonus: +5 Attacks: Melee (unarmed) +5, 1d6 (Nonlethal) Ranged (Glock 17) +7, 2d6 Saving Throws: Fortitude: +4 Reflex: +2 Will: +8 Hit Points: 37 (6+9d6) Defense: 15 (+5 Class) Reputation: +4 Wealth: +7 Allegiances: Good, Law, United States Equipment: Glock 17, Cell Phone, Flashlight (standard), First Aid Kit, Clothing (Business) 10th level heroic character, 25 point buy ability scores, roughly equal to the generic FBI agents given in the Menace Manual suppliment. ------------- [b]World of Darkness:[/b] Intelligence **** Wits *** Resolve *** Strength ** Dexterity ** Stamina ** Presence ** Manipulation ** Composure **** Skills: Academics *** (Specialty: Religion) Computer * Investigation *** Medicine **** (Specialty: Forensics) Occult * Science *** (Specialty: Physics) Athletics ** Brawl * Drive ** Firearms ** Empathy * Expression * Persuasion ** Socialize * Merits: Resources ** Status (Medical) ** (Licensed Physician) Status (Police) *** (Federal Agent) Morality: 7 Willpower: 7 Health: 7 Flaws: None Virtue: Faith Vice: Pride Equipment: Flashlight, First Aid Kit, Pistol (Light) Total Experience: 100 (typical for a fairly advanced "heroic" character that's highly trained and has a fair bit of real-world experience) (I'd try to write her up in GURPS, but I'm not that good with the system and would probably mess it up) [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Making the same character work in different systems
Top