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#RPGaDay2017 Day 15: House rules always win!

#RPGaDay2017 week three is here! Thanks for sticking around. Here we go…

August 15: Which RPG do you enjoy adapting the most?

I’m not a house ruler. Of course, I’ve written some house rules here and there, but incredibly in all these years, I haven’t really done so many.  I usually tend to play games RAW, at least on the first pass, so I can change them with some knowledge of how they system works. I usually move to a new system by then and end up never modifying them.

There are two old games for which I wrote extensive house rules documents. These were more a case of necessity that actual enjoyment. I compiled a long house rules list for Rifts and other Palladium systems back when I played them. I also wrote a hose rule document for AD&D 2nd edition, but this came out of a player trying to exploit the rules rather than my desire to do it.

You could argue that I’ve always enjoyed tweaking D&D, from making up new classes in D&D BECMI, to monsters and pantheons in all other editions. One system enjoyed modifying was D20 Modern. I adapted the skill system simplified it, altered the classes. That was fun!

But, the one system I enjoy adapting the most is Savage Worlds. From toying, around with the rules (you can see my house rules document here) to adapting the system to different genres. I had great success with the system for my Wanderers of the Outlands campaign. That’s my pick for today!

An honorable mention goes to the Cypher System. I haven’t played it, but reading it I think it will be a breeze to adapt and it offers a remarkable toolset to work with.

Remember, the team at Desde la Fosa  is posting video replies in Spanish on our YouTube channel to the questions of #RPGaDay2017. We are grateful for your views and your shares!

So, what game do you enjoy adapting the most? Let us know in the comments.
Sunglar

Welcome, reader; thanks for taking the time to discover who I am! My name is Roberto, although I usually go by Sunglar online. I am a longtime tabletop RPG player, primarily a GM for the better part of that time; some will say that’s because of my love of telling a good story, others because I’m a control freak, but that’s debatable. I was born and raised in Puerto Rico, an island in the Caribbean with a small but active gaming community. I’ve played RPGs for almost 40 years, and for most of that time, I played D&D in all its permutations, including Pathfinder and D&D 5th edition. Other games our regular gaming group plays include Mutants & Masterminds, Castles & Crusades, Savage Worlds, Stars Without Number, Alien, and more. I have played many games through the years and plan to play many more. I am a compulsive homebrewer and rarely play a campaign I have not created myself. You can follow me on social media as Sunglar, and I’m regularly active on Facebook where you can find me posting regularly in the Puerto Rico Role Players group. I am looking forward to hearing from you!

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rolemasterblog

It will be no surprise to here that I modify Rolemaster! The thing about RM is that it was built on a modular basis right from the ground up and all the companions offered self contained modular alternatives to the RAW books. If you wanted more detail in a specific area such as second by second combat rather than rounds then you could swap in the advanced combat time options. If you wanted a less crunchy system you could swap out bits you didn’t like and plug in simplified rules.

This created a culture for modding Rolemaster amongst its GMs. I have even published my house rules for other GMs to play with. http://www.rpgnow.com/product/191814/Professionless-and-Levelless-Gaming-with-Rolemaster-Classic
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    Sunglar

    You modified Rolemaster, who would have thought! 😉

    All kidding aside, that’s the beauty of systems that are built that way. I really hated fidgeting with D&D 3rd, 3.5 and Pathfinder. It felt like the changes would cascade into so many things. I’m a little more comfortable with D&D 5e. But as you’ll see in tomorrow’s post (spoilers!) I don’t tweak D&D that much.

    I Really need to play Rolemaster one of these days!

    Thanks for dropping by and leaving a comment, thanks for the link.
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