You experience on combining rules from different editions

[Li Shenron]

Title says it all! But you can also consider rules from a different game, not necessarily D&D.

What have been your group's experiences with combining rules from different editions or games, e.g. adding a particular rule or subset from a past edition to your current edition of play?

Do you like the idea at all, do you consider it very much normal business or something to do sparingly, or are you against it?

If you have indeed done it in the past, how difficult did you find your specific pick to be adapted? And were you satisfied with the results?

(This questions came to my mind while considering adding the mass battle rules of BECMI into 5e, in case the latter won't have any, and thinking that at least in this specific case there should be little to no problems in doing so)

 

[Lord Mhoram]

My experiences have been positive, but they can be a lot work, depending on the level of merging included. The thing that is most important is to really understand the core system you are using, and what rules you are importing and what you intend to do with it.

Grafting a mass combat system shouldn't be too bad for the overall game. You start adding classes, feats, spells and such you really have to watch what happens. Sometimes it cal be game breaking - sometimes it can be really cool*. You just have to understand the game you are playing and the rule you are adding well enough to get them to give you the result you want.

As for my experience - I grafted Rolemaster magic onto Mythus to replace the Mythus magic system, and ran it for a couple of years. Pretty fun, but a lot of work.

My current D&D game - we use pathfinder as a base, use most classes, races and spells from Monte's Arcana Undearthed, plus 3.5 stuff, and some elements from 1st edition, and ideas borrowed from 4th. Plus third party for all of the above (and introducing the 13th Age escalation die). But our game is a waahoo game where balance is not as important, and the players are fine with it.


* The really cool - with bits of Pathfinder and D&D 3.x we have a warforged wizard - using pathfinder cantrip rules and the spell "launch bolt" (which allows the wizard to launch a crossbow bolt he is touching as if fired from the crossbow) allows the wizard to carry a buch of bolts and lauch them at will. Then the warforged had an "ammunition box" as a piece of built in equipment on his shoulder - which the GM rules as part of the character so it was "touching". The player put 50 bolts in it, and now the warforged can look like a mecha launching missles from a shoulder mounted launcher.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

1) I have been a part of a long running campaign that started in 1985, and, at one point, combined the 1Ed & 2Ed rules...that was nearly seamless.

2) I combined multiple editions of D&D classes in a Fantasy HERO game. Since HERO was the mechanical underpinning, there was no issue in overall compatibility- I could drop 4Ed classes into that campaign no problem...as well as character types from Talisanta, Harn or Warhammer as well.

 

[Lord Mhoram]

2) I combined multiple editions of D&D classes in a Fantasy HERO game. Since HERO was the mechanical underpinning, there was no issue in overall compatibility- I could drop 4Ed classes into that campaign no problem...as well as character types from Talisanta, Harn or Warhammer as well.

Well using a Universal system like HERO is almost cheating when talking about merging rulesets.

I know in my FH game, I replicated the Rolemaster Magic system, Incarnum from 3rd, a Final fantasy bonded/summon kind of thing, and a system of small "traditional/hedge" magic that were all 1 pt abilities. Did similar with Races, classes and such. That is one of the reasons I love it - you can make it anything you want. But I also love frankenstiening other games (like the two I mentioned before).

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Well using a Universal system like HERO is almost cheating when talking about merging rulesets.

That is but one reason HERO is my favorite system.

 

[Lord Mhoram]

That is but one reason HERO is my favorite system.

Mine too.

D&D is my second system - HERO the main one.

 

[Rune]

When I was first getting into D&D, we played basic characters alongside 2e characters. Worked fine for the loose-style of play we favored.

 

[Jhaelen]

I used to like it but do no longer. As me and my group are settling into a more casual play style, rules become less important.

The hassle of creating, documenting, and constantly reminding everyone about house rules just seems too much effort.

 

[Oryan77]

I started DMing a 3.5/Pathfinder hybrid game that seems to be working out well (not that the rules are that much different).

I'm allowing PF core classes in a 3.5 game, but they choose 3.5 feats, spells, domains, and even 3.5 skills. They don't multiply the starting skill points and instead use the PF rule where they gain 3 bonus points for each class skill they put a point into, and cross-class skills are 1 for 1.

I also am using the CMB & CMD rules for combat. Everything else is 3.5. So far so good.

 

[Desdichado]

I've done lots of crazy combinations. I'd say that currently my preffered ruleset is either a heavily modifed D&D 3.5, or a somewhat less heavily modified d20 Past. Both of them use a lot of the same houserules, though--including some action point usages that are borrowed from 4e (and even other sources), chase ruleset that comes from a third party publisher, a custom XP table that slows progression down a lot, and sanity rules that were originally borrowed from Call of Cthulhu, but which now use a more "native" d20 variant from a different third party source.

Mixing the rules up for reasons of tone or flavor is easy. The hard part can occasionally be keeping them all straight at the table, and communicating the galimauphry to the players without being confusing. I also think it's nice to try and focus houserules on stuff that doesn't necessarily happen on a regular basis in the game; for instance, much of my houserules are around chargen options, which naturally only come up when your creating (or advancing) a character, but not day in and day out in the game.