RPG a Day 2017 Question 15

What is RPGaDay2017?

I’ll link here to the actual group. Basically, it’s a series of questions that you can answer. There are 31 questions that you can answer to help shine a light on the different reasons people play role-play games. This is my answer to the 15th question. For my full list of answers check here.

Question #15: Which RPG do you enjoy adapting the most?

While I’ve never adapted anything, I did look at some different systems last year during my year of gaming challenges and experiments. At one point I had decided to try and write my own rules set or adapt an existing one. I learned very quickly that creating your own rules system is a skill set I do not have. However, when it came to adapting an existing rules set to play my setting I came down to two different games that looked like they would suit my purposes.

The first was the Apocalypse World system. AW is a quick, character driven system that is built around the idea of being adapted to suit the purposes of the game. In fact there are a ton of different games available that use the Powered by Apocalypse system. It really struck a chord with me that made me want to look into it more. Unfortunately, my timing is awful. They had just started their Kickstarter for second edition and had discontinued the sale of first because of it. At the time I write this, it’s my understanding that second edition is still not out yet. Once it is I want to get a copy and look into it with a more critical eye. For right now, it has a promising light that shines on my project.

The second, was FATE Core. FATE is another fast, character driven game. It allows for the group, both players and game master, to sit and create a setting and system in a single session. You get your characters, ideas, and guide lines in place. Using this system I would have had to do significantly less work to create my own setting but much like AW I’ve never played it. This one I do own, and I’m trying to carve out time to play it with a couple of friends and see how it functions. But much like AW it also shines a promising light, just one of a different color. All I need to do now is decide between green and blue.

I realize that this isn’t a particularly satisfying answer. I have watched videos of both systems in action I just haven’t played either. I hope to fix that. I hope to attempt to get back to that unfinished project from last year.