Conversions seem to be the fashion right now – way more than ever before. Don’t misunderstand me here, GURPS & co provided an opportunity to do so for quite some time now, but in the last years they pop up more often than before. Savage Worlds, FATE and Pathfinder are probably the big favorites for recycling settings, even if these are of course not the only systems available!
There are even a few game engines out there which weren’t even meant to be used as universal systems but are used as such anyway (BoL for example).
Why?
Of course most of you know the answer anyway, but bear with me here please.
The question can be answered from two directions.
On the one side, there are those who simply have no time or fancy for a new system. Before they (or more likely their group) set out to learn a new way to play, they just pick out the fluff and try to plant it in their known crunch.
On the other side are the optimizers. There are in fact systems – and we all know one or two of them – which simply do not work. Sometimes they are objectively bad, sometimes they just don’t work in this group. Either way, a known system would work better, so they use that one.
Of course these are the two endpoints of a spectrum with lots of space in between.
Still, I for once are pretty close to the second type. I really enjoy reading new games and not only fluff but crunch, too. You never stop learning and the author probably had something in mind when he wrote it. The first kind of conversion player however… well, I don’t have such a favorable view of them. Of course, if there is no time due to family, work or other solid commitments, that is a good reason, no questions asked! Still, there are those who have the time and still just convert it. Each to their own of course, but still… sometimes I am a bit shocked due to this “can’t be bothered” attitude particularly in roleplayers.
I mean, for a good conversion you have to skim the rules anyway, so why not try them even once? You might be surprised.
At least considering our articles you don’t have to fear. Everything comes prepackaged, ready to eat.
Of course you (the English speakers) might get a not so happy surprise this week.
There is no English article. After we adopted the d6 ideas (articles) schedule per week our name implies, it was only a question of time until something like this would happen.
We rolled a 1.
So we are publishing only one article, and a German one at that, this week.
It is:
Das lachende Drachenamulett (The Laughing Dragon Medallion), due on Wednesday, a collaboration between some of our members and our first Earthdawn article.