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Author Topic: Mixing fantasy/sci-fi/western in od&d retro clones?  (Read 1250 times)

cnath.rm

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Mixing fantasy/sci-fi/western in od&d retro clones?
« on: June 12, 2013, 09:21:07 PM »
I jumped on the Swords & Wizardry kickstarter awhile ago and have enjoyed reading over it.  I've also been looking at Hulks & Horrors (sci-fi OD&D), and the Westwater Kickstarter (western B/X D&D) and I've been wondering about mixing them all together...  maybe having people from the one genre caught in a storm and finding themselves in the other...

Any thoughts on how the three rulesets might mesh/not-mesh? Thoughts on mixing the three genres?
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Ronin

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Mixing fantasy/sci-fi/western in od&d retro clones?
« Reply #1 on: June 12, 2013, 09:44:18 PM »
Sure why not? Didnt Gary G run/play a clint eastwood/man with no name character in Greyhawk?
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JeremyR

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Mixing fantasy/sci-fi/western in od&d retro clones?
« Reply #2 on: June 12, 2013, 10:17:25 PM »
Honestly, I always wished there were D&D based SF/Wester/Whatever rules back in the day. I know Gamma World was kinda close, and the DMG had Boot Hill conversions.

The questionable thing though, is do you really need a whole RPG to do it?

Just come up with classes and stats for weapons (and maybe skills), and boom, you're done.

In my retro-clone that I entered in that ENWorld RPG contest (got 4 votes!), I came up with Star Trek style classes readily enough, and I cribbed the skills from Traveller

VectorSigma

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Mixing fantasy/sci-fi/western in od&d retro clones?
« Reply #3 on: June 12, 2013, 10:30:02 PM »
You certainly don't need a whole new rpg to do it, but some people may prefer that, organization-wise.  Any mixing will require some house-ruling, but probably not much, unless you have parties of mixed (rules) origin.
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Benoist

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Mixing fantasy/sci-fi/western in od&d retro clones?
« Reply #4 on: June 12, 2013, 10:31:32 PM »
Of course it will work with the right group! Have a blast, by all means!

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Mixing fantasy/sci-fi/western in od&d retro clones?
« Reply #5 on: June 12, 2013, 11:08:21 PM »
As always it's all about buy-in from the players. If genre mixing is fun for everyone, then it will rock hard.

cnath.rm

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Mixing fantasy/sci-fi/western in od&d retro clones?
« Reply #6 on: June 12, 2013, 11:13:27 PM »
Quote from: Ronin;662103
Sure why not? Didnt Gary G run/play a clint eastwood/man with no name character in Greyhawk?
Was that the one that ended up a minor deity?

So if I started the game in one setting as far as char construction, should I warn the players that they are likely to be world hopping?

How hard would it likely be in a fantasy world to recharge energy weapons? Could tech just be another kind of magic assumming that the tech was sufficiently advanced?
"Dr.Who and CoC are, on the level of what the characters in it do, unbelievably freaking similar. The main difference is that in Dr. Who, Nyarlathotep is on your side, in the form of the Doctor."
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Take care Nothingland. You were always one of the most ridiculously good-looking sites on the internets, and the web too. I'll miss you.  -"Derek Zoolander MD" at a site long gone.

The Butcher

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Mixing fantasy/sci-fi/western in od&d retro clones?
« Reply #7 on: June 12, 2013, 11:14:59 PM »
Right off the bat you'll have to standardize saving throws, and figure out some minor quibbles (e.g. are wights vulnerbale to energy beam weapons?). But for the most part, just run everything as written and deal with inconsistencies as they arise. When in doubt, go with your gut.

If your players are vocal, whiny types (I have a couple of those in my extended gaming group) you might have to put on the Viking Hat and put on a display of dominance when an argument of the "my Colt should totally ignore plate mail" sort comes up.

I envy your players, this sounds like a truckload of fun.
« Last Edit: June 12, 2013, 11:25:30 PM by The Butcher »

RPGPundit

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Mixing fantasy/sci-fi/western in od&d retro clones?
« Reply #8 on: June 13, 2013, 04:05:40 AM »
I love doing this kind of thing.
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deadDMwalking

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Mixing fantasy/sci-fi/western in od&d retro clones?
« Reply #9 on: June 13, 2013, 10:39:45 AM »
If you have the time and money, you might want to take a look at Deadlands (original version).  The Origins winning game was set in 'the Weird West', which basically shifted from 'real world' history beginning with the California Gold Rush.  Instead of gold, they found Ghost Rock - a magical/mystical power source.  

The regular books are all set in the 1800s and have an orange cover.  They also have books that have a green cover and are effectively 'modern' days subject to the time line changes. These are the ones that I think would work for you, best.  

As a system, I think it could do exactly what you're hoping to do pretty effectively.  I always keep an eye out for any books I'm missing at Used Book Stores and the like.  

It sorta plays like a 'Wild West meets Gamma World', which seems to match what you're looking for.
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The Ent

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Mixing fantasy/sci-fi/western in od&d retro clones?
« Reply #10 on: June 13, 2013, 10:51:32 AM »
I Think mixing fantasy and sf is a great idea and yeah an osr game that did that would rock.

cnath.rm

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Mixing fantasy/sci-fi/western in od&d retro clones?
« Reply #11 on: June 13, 2013, 11:50:59 AM »
Quote from: deadDMwalking;662206
If you have the time and money, you might want to take a look at Deadlands (original version).  The Origins winning game was set in 'the Weird West', which basically shifted from 'real world' history beginning with the California Gold Rush.  Instead of gold, they found Ghost Rock - a magical/mystical power source.
I had the original orange cover version (might still, I haven't opened all the boxes from my last move) but I'm more looking at combining the genres via jumping between them.  The DL book was great, I just couldn't grok the system well enough at the time to try teaching it to others, and it I don't think it would give me quite the feel I'm looking for r/now.  

The western version of B/X I linked in the op has both historical and fantasy modes to it, so I figure that should help in the combining.  The first time I'd had the urge was while reading the Weird War II books for 3.0 as the idea of racing with nazi's to get to some kind of artifact/temple, and then getting tossed into a strange new world for your trouble...  it just amused me and made me want to play in a campaign like that.  As I haven't seen such a campaign from anyone else, I figure I just might have to create it myself.
"Dr.Who and CoC are, on the level of what the characters in it do, unbelievably freaking similar. The main difference is that in Dr. Who, Nyarlathotep is on your side, in the form of the Doctor."
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Take care Nothingland. You were always one of the most ridiculously good-looking sites on the internets, and the web too. I'll miss you.  -"Derek Zoolander MD" at a site long gone.

K Peterson

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Mixing fantasy/sci-fi/western in od&d retro clones?
« Reply #12 on: June 13, 2013, 12:05:17 PM »
Quote from: Ronin;662103
Sure why not? Didnt Gary G run/play a clint eastwood/man with no name character in Greyhawk?
No, it was Don Kaye who played that character in Greyhawk, and he did have a name: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murlynd

cnath.rm

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Mixing fantasy/sci-fi/western in od&d retro clones?
« Reply #13 on: June 13, 2013, 04:03:42 PM »
Quote from: K Peterson;662237
No, it was Don Kaye who played that character in Greyhawk, and he did have a name: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murlynd
Myself I'd rather have gunpowder as opposed to EGG's magic wands, once I started I remembered reading it, but it was still a great read the second time around.  I liked the canonfire write up as well. http://www.canonfire.com/wiki/index.php?title=Murlynd
"Dr.Who and CoC are, on the level of what the characters in it do, unbelievably freaking similar. The main difference is that in Dr. Who, Nyarlathotep is on your side, in the form of the Doctor."
-RPGPundit, discovering how BRP could be perfect for a DR Who campaign.

Take care Nothingland. You were always one of the most ridiculously good-looking sites on the internets, and the web too. I'll miss you.  -"Derek Zoolander MD" at a site long gone.

Arkansan

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Mixing fantasy/sci-fi/western in od&d retro clones?
« Reply #14 on: June 13, 2013, 04:31:11 PM »
With od&d and its variants I like either sword and sorcery or going gonzo, so yeah mixing genres could be awesome. I like a little scifi in my fantasy anyway, well science fantasy to be more exact.