I've mostly converted adventures, even from differnet genres.  Using a simple system as your base helps immensely.  My best ones were an AFMBE adventure for D6 Adventure, and a Star*Drive one for D6 Space.

I second the idea of converting concepts instead of mechanics.  I've tried converting mechanics before, and that way lies madness, let me tell ya.  My most disastrous example was trying to convert the Dragonlance modules to 3e, with an almost OCD-like level of detail.  This was long before the official adaptations were available.

There is however, a caveat where you just can't seem to get the same, intangible "feel" of a game.  RIFTS is a common example.  I feel D&D is another.  You can do "dungeon fantasy" with another system all you want, but nothing feels like D&D.

Otherwise, I think you have to content yourself with just ripping off the spirit of a game, rather than the exact concept.  For example, I don't think I could do Mage faithfully with D6 Adventure, but I could do modern-day magicians in a secret war against Illuminati-like technocrats and other supernatural threats

Quote from: Spinachcat;586992Every time I have ported Rifts to another system, I have had fun, but there was definitely something missing. I definitely feel that for most conversions, you do lose something when you gain something and the big issue for you and your group is whether the gain is substantial enough.

In general, I have been happy with my Savage Worlds conversions, but for those groups who are more casual and happy to avoid the specifics of a setting and just play around in the generalities with a fast, easy system.

In my experience, conversions usually are not worth it. I prefer to tweak a system built around a setting, as opposed to converting, or having to do a total rebuild of a ruleset for a setting.

One problem I have is what I call 'Baggage'
If you try to use Pathfinder for a setting like Game of Thrones, players will be asking things like...so I can play a Tiefling Sorceror Oracle right?

Tons of the stuff in DND just don't fit that setting.
 



As for 'Feel'; that matters a lot to me.

I would use Rolemaster for a Conan setting, but I would not use 4E dnd for a Conan setting.

Quote from: RPGPundit;587350I've never really converted systems; I've modified systems sometimes, and I've converted settings to other systems than the ones they came with.

RPGPundit

What's the difference between converting systems and converting a setting to another system?

Quote from: Ronin;587362Ive pondered converting Rifts for example. (System wise or porting the setting to another system) But just looking at the breath of what just the main book has. It seems like a LOT of work. To the point I dont want to bother with it.

I've done this before, converting Rifts to Silhouette (Heavy Gear, Jovian Chronicles, Tribe . It was a tremendous amount of work, mainly because the actual stuff (robots, armour, weapons, magic, TW, races, monsters, etc.) are what make Rifts great. And I'm talking about just the main rulebook.

Converting that takes time, no matter how you do it. My personal preference for doing so was along the lines of what was recently mentioned in another thread: describe the item from Rifts in plain english, then build that description in Silhouette (or other desired system). Again, it's not terribly difficult, it's just the sheer volume that sucks up time.

Others have mentioned the difficulty in maintaining "feel" between different systems, but I think that's a bit of a red herring; many systems produce a particular "feel" due to their fundamental nature, and if you feel the need to significantly alter the new system to achieved that desired "feel," it's probably not the right system for the job.

Quote from: Bobloblah;591062What's the difference between converting systems and converting a setting to another system?

I will answer your question with you own post

Quote from: Bobloblah;591062Converting that takes time, no matter how you do it. My personal preference for doing so was along the lines of what was recently mentioned in another thread: describe the item from Rifts in plain english, then build that description in Silhouette (or other desired system). Again, it's not terribly difficult, it's just the sheer volume that sucks up time.

This is converting the setting. Converting the system involves trying to figure out how to convert the rules over to the new system. Ex: How does MDC convert over to D20?

Converting the setting is taking the elements of story, culture, etc from the game and simply rebuilding them with the new mechanics instead of trying to port them over directly.

Most conversion projects do a mixture of both.

Quote from: Stephen (Alto);591074I will answer you question with you own post


This is converting the setting. Converting the system involves trying to figure out how to convert the rules over to the new system. Ex: How does MDC convert over to D20?

Converting the setting is taking the elements of story, culture, etc from the game and simply rebuilding them with the new mechanics instead of trying to port them over directly.

Most conversion projects do a mixture of both.

That's the thing...they are virtually never seperate. Anything in the setting that needs to be converted has rules in both systems. Hence you are converting the rules for such from one system to another.

I'm trying to think of an example of truly converting only system, and I can't. What would that even look like? How is it any different from taking a few mechanics in one system and using them in another?

Put another way, when one talks about "converting an RPG," how is there any difference between the two? Most RPGs have a "setting" that is, at some level, tied to the rules, even if it's only implied.

No doubt this is simply my own lack of imagination; can someone throw out an example?

Quote from: Bill;591006In my experience, conversions usually are not worth it. I prefer to tweak a system built around a setting, as opposed to converting, or having to do a total rebuild of a ruleset for a setting.

One problem I have is what I call 'Baggage'
If you try to use Pathfinder for a setting like Game of Thrones, players will be asking things like...so I can play a Tiefling Sorceror Oracle right?

Tons of the stuff in DND just don't fit that setting.

I think when you're trying to do an adaptation of an existing setting, the GM has a bit more work communicating with the players because he can't just throw them the book and be done with it. It is more prominent with D&D because of the "everything goes" mentality of 3.0+ vs say the "everything optional" culture of Rolemaster or GURPS but not really unique to it.

To a lesser degree you're already forced to do this in systems that support multiple settings anyway (what do you mean I can't play a Noldor Elemental Warrior?) so I think it is normal and no big deal.

As to the feel of the system, no doubt it's going to influence the game and there is often a best fit, but it can also be interesting to see how the different approaches will provide distinct experiences and if you would actually enjoy it for a change of pace. D&D 4e might not be a great fit for R.E.Howard's Conan (as if any D&D was) but it can give you Blizzard's Conan, so to speak, which may be an entertaining romp in its own right.