Greetings, folks. Which RPG system is the one that you've repurposed the most for your games/settings?
For me, it's been Mutants & Masterminds, ever since 1st edition. At the time of its release, I've been working on de-classing and de-leveling D&D 3.x to be able to use the d20 system in a less restrictive format than that presented in D&D 3.x as well with products compatible with it. I had purchased d20 Modern on release, hoping that this would help, and while some of its ideas were pretty interesting (such as classes based on the big six), it just didn't hold a candle to Mutants & Masterminds as far as versatility was concerned. From 1st to 3rd edition, M&M has been the RPG system that I've repurposed the most for my fantasy, sci-fi, martial arts, and horror games for at least a decade.
How about you?
Quote from: ronwisegamgee;1056751Greetings, folks. Which RPG system is the one that you've repurposed the most for your games/settings?
For me, it's been Mutants & Masterminds, ever since 1st edition. At the time of its release, I've been working on de-classing and de-leveling D&D 3.x to be able to use the d20 system in a less restrictive format than that presented in D&D 3.x as well with products compatible with it. I had purchased d20 Modern on release, hoping that this would help, and while some of its ideas were pretty interesting (such as classes based on the big six), it just didn't hold a candle to Mutants & Masterminds as far as versatility was concerned. From 1st to 3rd edition, M&M has been the RPG system that I've repurposed the most for my fantasy, sci-fi, martial arts, and horror games for at least a decade.
How about you?
Champions/HERO system for the most part, up until the BBB anyway, there was a large sprinkling of CP2020/Interlock in there as well, which is funny cause I hated Fuzion.
If I get to the point where I need to heavily rework a system, I better already have a group going. As it happens, that has been true every time.
And on systems I have modified or revised: NWOD, WH40KRPG (Only War), The Void, EOTE, Pathfinder in terms of severity. I do so to my tastes (obvs) but primarily to reward player choice and make eccentric/niche builds viable (defo not possible in WH40KRPG or EOTE, for instance -- funny how they're both FFG games...). And then from there, it's case of moving away from the proscribed gameplay of the designers. My Only War game ended up being a seek-and-destroy style game with heavy emphasis on freeform gameplay, some level of non-linearity and a focus on the lives of the soldiers (not just the fighting). Armored Regiment, Maverick colonel, Frontier World (Desert), Scavengers, Poorly Provisioned: it rocked! (if you want, I can PM you the changes made).
If by re-purposed, you mean used to run material intended for another system, then the 4th Ed Hero System.
As a generic system that was the purpose so it wasn't so much re-purposed as much as used to re-purpose other material. Based on your example I think that is the intent of your question.
Spycraft 3rd edition. Tremendously good d20 game system.
Quote from: GameDaddy;1056765Spycraft 3rd edition. Tremendously good d20 game system.
Do you mean 2nd? Or did Crafty finally publish it?
Used to play repurposed 1e AD&D (eg for NightLife modern horror, or my friend's WW2 adaptation) back in the day. I guess these days I use those OD&D > Swords & Wizardry > derived games like White Star; but currently I mostly run 5e D&D with repurposed OSR modules and I haven't repurposed a rules system to a really different genre in a long time.
I'm working on repurposing Games Workshop's new Kill Team skirmish game for an "Agents of SHIELD/GI Joe mash-up" themed RPG campaign.
Beat to Quarters/ Duty and Honour. So far I've re-skinned it for Warhammer 40K, Star Trek:ToS and Aliens/Predator. Currently working on hacks for Strontium Dog (Mutie and Honour!) and weird WW2.
Idk if Savage Worlds count because it is meant for most settings/genres.
But Savage Worlds. Once people had a grasp of the system, we had 6 or so campaigns lined up and those are not even published settings.
Fantasy Hero/Champions, in both senses of the question. I played it straight in multiple settings. Then I twisted and mangled the heck out of it to do some other things. Then I got tired of it, but that's another story.
The SAGA Rules System from Dragonlance: Fifth Age. Used it for Ravenloft (even got that conversion published!), Dragon Quest/Warrior, and Final Fantasy I campaigns back in college.
Hard to call the palladium megaversal system repurposed since megaversal is built into the name and all that... But I pretty much use it exclusively for all the things these days. Only thing it doesnt handle well is netrunning, but lets be honest. Nobody does netrunning well.
I've used the brilliant basics of Spelljammer gravity and air physics in various contexts for a wide variety of fantasy campaigns.
The Hero Quest board game. My god I've used those pieces for everything.
For years my group used Call of Cthulhu both for generic horror and generic 20s/30s pulp when we weren't using it for Lovecraftian themed games.
Barbarians of Lemuria (and its variants) has become my go-to "generic" system, which I've used for my Carpathia game (Hammer Horror-esque Victorian monster-hunters/weird gaslamp fantasy), Fading Suns, and modern espionage. Apparently I'm not alone in seeing BoL's potential as a generic system, since Everywhen is now a thing (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/249193/Everywhen).
Re-purposing in the sense if hacking the rules to run a different setting, genre, or style of game, I'm trying to think of when I've actually done this sort of thing.
I did try adapting RuneQuest to Travelleresque play, definitely before the Ring World RPG came out, maybe before I got Call of Cthulhu. I really don't remember much about it. Play only lasted for one session before I dumped the idea and switched to Traveller.
Ok, maybe Traveller would count since for said campaign, I did replace Traveller's star ship system with my own, and eventually I did hack up the rules in various ways and eventually actually landed in Hero System. And I guess that would count also, since that was before Space Hero came out, so it was a Hero System hack drawing from Champions, Espionage!, Justice Inc!, Danger International, and Fantasy Hero (this was all before the release of Star Hero).
These days I'm not so much into hacking.
Frank
TSR's Gangbusters to run Gathox Vertical Slum
I'd say BRP, although I'm not sure "repurpose" is exactly right, since part of the purpose of BRP is to provide a system that can be applied to many genres.
I took Star Wars D20 Revised and remade it to run a Legion of Super Heroes campaign.
Quote from: nightlamp;1057021Barbarians of Lemuria (and its variants) has become my go-to "generic" system, which I've used for my Carpathia game (Hammer Horror-esque Victorian monster-hunters/weird gaslamp fantasy), Fading Suns, and modern espionage. Apparently I'm not alone in seeing BoL's potential as a generic system, since Everywhen is now a thing (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/249193/Everywhen).
BoL with different iterations and supplements have been more or less my universal system. Been waiting for BoL:Everywhen for quite some time so thanks for the link. Now I just gonna wait for a PoD.
Quote from: Philotomy Jurament;1057068I'd say BRP, although I'm not sure "repurpose" is exactly right, since part of the purpose of BRP is to provide a system that can be applied to many genres.
That's what I was going to say too. So either we're both right or we're both wrong.
Palladium. Can jury-rig it to do anything.
Quote from: ffilz;1057025I did try adapting RuneQuest to Travelleresque play
I used Call of Cthulu BRP for ALIENS and that certainly worked great. :D
Drawing from this post (https://www.therpgsite.com/showthread.php?39595-The-Danger-of-Creating-the-Perfect-RPG-Ruleset&p=1057500&viewfull=1#post1057500), I haven't done it yet, but Mekton Zeta is rife with potential.
Quote from: RandyB;1057500I *could* run damn near anything with it (to the best of my admittedly limited GMing abilities), but the work done to adapt it would vary greatly depending on what I was trying to run. OTOH, if you want a Star Wars/Star Trek/Babylon 5/Battlestar Galactica/etc. themed mash-up? Mekton Zeta is your game.
I have two systems:
1) D&D 5e can be reskinned to Wild/Weird West with no effort, just add guns (they are in the DMG). We've also successfully reskinned 5e as a cyberpunk/shadowrun style game. It's hardly any effort to reskin abilities as augmentations (cyber,bio,chemical,etc.). Weapons and gear can be reskinned into sufficiently sci-fi-ish sounding stuff, but still keeping listed qualities and damage dice.
2) I've also repurposed Starships & Spacemen 2e for a squad-based Colonial Marines game. The class structure of S&S makes military style games simple. Lots of GMing railroading however (the PCs are soldiers, and thus, always taking orders), put players loved the battles where they've fought mutants, space pirates, alien robots, xenomorphs, and yuatjas.
I have two systems:
1) D&D 5e can be reskinned to Wild/Weird West with no effort, just add guns (they are in the DMG). We've also successfully reskinned 5e as a cyberpunk/shadowrun style game. It's hardly any effort to reskin abilities as augmentations (cyber,bio,chemical,etc.). Weapons and gear can be reskinned into sufficiently sci-fi-ish sounding stuff, but still keeping listed qualities and damage dice.
2) I've also repurposed Starships & Spacemen 2e for a squad-based Colonial Marines game. The class structure of S&S makes military style games simple. Lots of GMing railroading however (the PCs are soldiers, and thus, always taking orders), put players loved the battles where they've fought mutants, space pirates, alien robots, xenomorphs, and yuatjas.