Who else is a maniac who cannot but tweak all gaming stuff?

[Turanil]

A friend of mine today pointed out to me, that I cannot use any gaming material without twisting and tweaking it in some way. Well, over time I have grown used to keep the game mechanics as they are (no houserules). However, I do add classes and feats form other sources, adapt modules from different games, combines settings, etc. Let me tell you about my 4 campaign settings:

Science-Fiction: I will use OGL Cybernet + d20 Modern d20 Future for a campaign based on the GURPS Transhuman Space setting. As it wasn't enough tweaked, I added several races (essentially genetically altered humans), plus another GURPS setting Alpha Centauri. All in all this is the least modified of my d20 games... until I have finished my writing of a d20 sci-fi lite game.

Call of Cthulhu d20: I will use d20 CoC, Grim Tales, and Dreamland + Mesopotamia Ancient Kingdom totally adapted to Earth (Iraq) in 1935, for a campaign that could be summarized as "Indiana Jones meets Cthulhu". Of course, I am preparing a document in which creating characters is slightly modified from Grim Tales, and gets new talents and feats.

Warhammer: I got the World of Warhammer atlas. I will use Grim Tales for rules, but also adds some non-spellcasting classes from D&D 3.5 and AU, and tweak the races. Then, I add stuff from Medieval Player's Manual so there is no pantheon of deities, but a monotheistic religion of Law against the gods of Chaos. I have also an history magazine detailing many cities of Europe during the middle age that I will use in this game.

Dragonlance: It's basic D&D 3.5. However, I decided to add many character classes from Arcana Unearthed (converted to 3.5) and Unearthed Arcana, plus replace a race by another. In addition, I introduce the 3.5 psionics, just telling it is some sort of innate magical abilities (rather than "psionics") of elves and Irda. Then, I will mix sevral aspect of various periods of Krynn, running the classic War of the Lance adventures in the Age of Mortals with serious tweakings.

It appears that I am absolutely unable to use gaming material as it was intended to be used in the first place. I cannot but adapt, tweak, modify, and mess everything. I guess I am suffering from some rare sort of neurosis?

Anyway, what about you?

 

[Nifft]

I'm a tweaker. In fact, I'm tweaking right now. I just can't stop... well, mostly I can't stop.

Sometimes the rules "catch up" to me, like when 3.5e came out, and I got to throw away a whole host of house-rules. That was kinda nice.

Now, though, I tend to tweak new stuff when I intruduce it into my Core rules based campaign. This fulfills my USRDA for tweaking, while allowing my players to retain some use from their Core books.

-- N

 

[Sephiroth no Miko]

Mmm... ditto. It's so hard not to tinker with something here, fiddle with something else there... Classes, races, feats, spells, skills, environmental modifiers, you name it, I think I've probably tweaked it.

But the nice thing about 3rd edition is that is much more customization friendly than 2nd... which, of course, just exacerbates the situation.

 

[Ravellion]

I am now running a game with UA's Expert and Warrior, the standard wizard and sorcerer, but without evocation, and clerics with spontaneous casting. Added 4 home brew prestige classes, and use new death door rules about every session. UA is the book I've used a lot though. Instead of making up my own rules, then throw them away a month later, I can hand out an UA page number, then strike it out. Saves paper too. Eventually I'll get tired of the thing though, so I'll end up creating entirely new rules again.

Rav

 

[GlassJaw]

If I'm running a 3.35 game, I tend to keep it pretty simple and "by the book". I have run campaigns where I tweaked to no end and I really found that it wasn't worth it. Most of the house rules had little effect on actual gameplay. I quickly found that it wasn't the house rules that made the game fun.

Now that said, if I'm running a homebrew or non-standard d20 game (I'm working on a Grim Tales campaign right now), there will be a lot of tweaks, but most of those will be tailored to the world itself rather than the actual mechanics.

I'm not a fan of rewriting huge parts of the rules. I don't have time for that. I'd rather spend my time on the adventures and storyline because in the end, that's what everyone remembers.

I voted for "minor tweaks".

 

[broghammerj]

I would be completely opposite. I am a cannonist and by that I don't mean I sling a lot of lead or propel myself through the air. I generally play by the setting or rules. I'll give you an example. I DM D20 modern for my group. We have made minimal house rules to this point. In general we prefer armor to do damage reduction and heres where the crippling paralysis sets in. Do you use the Star Wars system, Unearthed Arcana, Modern Dispatch, etc? I don't know The more books and sources you sling together for the game the less access to the material the players have. For whatever reason, that really annoys me. Maybe it's the desire for both myself and the players to have a firm grip on the rules we all play by. Just wait until I try to find a good source for cyberware.

 

[taliesin15]

Seems like I realized I *had* to customize any module or system from the first time in 1979 or so when I ran a 1st ed AD&D Module--if nothing else, to fit it to the ongoing campaign. It just seems natural to do now.

BTW, anyone else think its weird that the 3rd ed. DMG has the same sample dungeon that appears in the 1st ed DMG?

 

[Sammael]

I run a 3.5.9 game, approaching 3.6. Although I'm itching to just write a complete revision and not call it D&D anymore.

 

[Ryltar]

Must ... tweak ... more ...

 

[BiggusGeekus]

It isn't my fault. Half-Orcs need a racial bonus to hit poitns. And Arcana Unearthed has some terrific feats. And why shouldn't the party get some kind of bonus if they all create their characters with a common theme? And no one really just uses the core rules magic items, right?

Like I said, it's not my fault. Besides, I can quit any time I want.

Really!