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Message: <blockquote data-quote="woodelf" data-source="post: 1241905" data-attributes="member: 10201">To the first problem (work involved in translating) there's another solution that is just as effective as using the same system: simpler systems.  I can translate anything into Over the Edge in less time than i can create an original character--regardless of the system it's coming from.  Because the whole damn system is just that simple.To the 2nd problem (lack of time), simpler systems are a better solution.  Complex systems (like every instantiation of D20 System i've yet seen) are gonna inherently require more time for prep on the part of both players and GMs, and they frequently take more time in play, thus leaving less time for the pure plot/story elements which are what make an RPG different from other games you could be playing.  However, i think the real solution to the Real Life problem (running out of time) is to reexamine what exactly constitutes an RPG.  There is nothing inherent to the nature of an RPG that it must be complex or long-term.  There is no inherent reason that RPGs couldn't be built around the same gameplay model as board games, or Settlers of Catan: get together for an evening and play a self-contained game.  Repeat at a later date, with no worries about continuing characters/players/stories.  It's just that most RPGs currently on the market aren't designed for that.  Only ones i can think of right off hand that specifically expect a single session to be the entire game are the various New Style games, and the new Marvel Universe RPG. Most others either take too long to create characters, or have such complicated mechanics that you can't get through a satisfying story in one session, or both.But you can support both models with one RPG, too.  At an extreme example, let's take Over the Edge: all of the rules, including chargen, can fit on a single page.  The setting is deliberately modular and fluid, designed to minimize GM prep work.  So a group can pick teh game up, learn it, and be playing in, oh, say 30min.  However, it certainly supports long-term play, and here the modular setting still minimizes GM work--if the GM doesn't prep enough, just make something up and it'll fit the setting.  And if she accidentally contradicts herself, it doesn't matter, it just adds another wrinkle to the nature of the setting, because of its fluidity.And to the 3rd problem (learning a new system when you switch settings/genres), simpler systems are at least as good of a solution as multi-genre systems--and simple multi-genre systems are better than both separately.  The amount of mental effort and new learning to go from D&D3E to Spycraft is still more than that required to go from Trollbabe to Over the Edge.</blockquote>

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