Freaky Friday: Swapping Settings From One System To Another
There are a lot of great RPGs out there, and even more great settings. For a lot of settings, the rule system they’re attached to is fine, but there are a lot of other good systems you can apply them to as well that can really make the world shine. I’ve collected a set of RPGs that would work great if you shifted the setting over to a different game.
Hellboy/Atomic Robo: There’s been a lot of complaints about the new Hellboy RPG on Kickstarter that just wrapped up, utilizing the D&D 5e rules. They say they don’t match the setting well. Wanna know what REALLY doesn’t match the setting well? GURPS. But Steve Jackson Games still tried it! I own it, but have never played it. So, what to do about finding the right setting? Luckily, there is both a comic and an RPG that closely mimic the aesthetics of our favorite Right Hand of Doom: Atomic Robo. It covers all the weird science and zany antics, and even has a similar art style. It utilizes Fate, but goes off on its own with all kinds of different rules that really make it pop. Having recently picked this one up, it’s perfect for the whole Hellboy setting, and far better than 5e or GURPS is.
Midnight/The One Ring: I always swear that someday I’m gonna run a game in the Midnight setting. Hailing from the 3.5 D&D days when FFG was making all kinds of source books, this is an original setting from them that imagines a world in which a band of heroes rose up against the Dark Lord… and lost. Now Orcs swarm over the world, having conquered nearly everything except a few last elven strongholds. Essentially: What would have happened if Sauron won in LotR? It’s a world full of bleakness and despair. While it would work fine adapting it over from 3e to 5e, I would really love to see it run as The One Ring. The whole game is centered around trying to overcome the darkness, dealing with despair, and hoping when there seems to be no hope left. It would be difficult to play, as nearly all the lands are Shadowed Lands, making life incredibly painful and difficult for the players. Expect a high turnover.
Middle Earth/Burning Wheel: I’ve waxed poetic about my love of The One Ring, but the crown jewel, the Silmaril in my crown that I have such a hard time touching, is Burning Wheel. It’s such a great and elegant system I’m always afraid I’ll break it. But their Humans, Dwarves and Elves are VERY Tolkien inspired, so running a game in Middle Earth using The Burning Wheel would be just… *chef’s kiss*.
Android/The Sprawl: Android has a setting book for Genesys and I like that system a lot! However, before there ever was a setting book, there was Worlds of Android, a system agnostic book that served as a repository for all the gorgeous art from Netrunner, as well as a complete setting book that explored the universe FFG had created. It is a book as thick as a standard RPG, without any of those pesky rules. The Sprawl is a cyberpunk PBtA RPG that feels perfect for Android, and one I was considering running the setting with long before Shadow of the Beanstalk was ever released. With the Worlds of Android and The Sprawl, you have a complete campaign.
The Red Star/Comrades: Comrades: A Revolutionary RPG is a PBtA game of rebels rising up against an authoritarian regime. Perfect for running The Red Star, perhaps? Red Star is a sci-fi comic series set in a fictionalized sci-fi USSR, following heroes who rise up against the cruel Imbohl, a cruel sorcerer who rules the URRS with an iron fist. It’s a very cool and beautiful setting, and while D20 Modern works fine for a lot of it, I feel like centering the mechanics specifically around revolution would be cool. Honestly, one of the main reasons I’m featuring this one is because I want more people to know about The Red Star.
Warhammer Fantasy/Zweihander: This one seems kinda like a shoe-in. Zweihander originated as a set of rules to modify Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. It’s smoothed out a lot of the edges, and I really enjoy it. If I were to run a campaign set in The Old World, I’d likely use Zweihander instead. It has a huge following online, was written by a great guy, and it’s just a really solid, beautiful book.
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So those are a few suggestions. What mashups would you like to see? Have you run anything out-of-system before? Lemme know in the comments.
