u/viscio85

(posting this on both r/rpg and r/planescapesetting)
Hi all,

I love the D&D Planescape setting. I've been running it for quite some time, using 2nd edition material, and mostly using 2nd edition D&D rules. I've never been satisfied with them, but for that setting, that was the system we stuck with.

Well, I want to change a bit. I feel like 2nd ed. D&D is for once not the best system to really convey its themes. Mostly, it's the "roleplay" aspect of beliefs shaping reality, how it influences the PC and the worlds at large. There are no satisfactory "mechanics" for that. I know that I can, as the DM, invent something on the spot based on the narrative, but I would love something that, even slightly, nudges in that direction also mechanically.

There's another thing: I believe that my group became to "expert" with the system. It happens that, naturally, players default to """best""" builds, since they know the rules in and out, and some of the wonder of really building characters without a full, complete knowledge of the system, has been lost.

I admit that I am not very expert on all the possible RPGs out there, that there's a spectrum of possibilities, everything with pros and cons, and so, I set up some bullet points for something I am searching:
- it should not be too complex (we're all middle aged in my group, and we don't have time to really navigate something with the complexity of Pathfinder, for example)
- it should have at least an OSR "feel" (did I tell you we're middle aged? 😄 )
- it should be somewhat either retro-compatible with old D&D stuff, or easy to convert (again, not much time to really do rewrites from scratch!)
- (this is the most difficult part) it should support, as I was saying before, some type of "narrative reward" for the themes that are embedded in the Planescape setting.

I've searched a bit. OSE, Witehack 4e, Worlds Without Numbers, Cypher system, Shadowdark, etc... Even some systems tied to a setting that maybe can be reskinned? (mythic bastionland?) But I am not really an expert in any of these, so I am hre asking your opinion and your help!

What would be your choice?
Thank you!

(posting this on both r/rpg and r/planescapesetting)
Hi all,

I love the D&D Planescape setting. I've been running it for quite some time, using 2nd edition material, and mostly using 2nd edition D&D rules. I've never been satisfied with them, but for that setting, that was the system we stuck with.

Well, I want to change a bit. I feel like 2nd ed. D&D is for once not the best system to really convey its themes. Mostly, it's the "roleplay" aspect of beliefs shaping reality, how it influences the PC and the worlds at large. There are no satisfactory "mechanics" for that. I know that I can, as the DM, invent something on the spot based on the narrative, but I would love something that, even slightly, nudges in that direction also mechanically.

There's another thing: I believe that my group became to "expert" with the system. It happens that, naturally, players default to """best""" builds, since they know the rules in and out, and some of the wonder of really building characters without a full, complete knowledge of the system, has been lost.

I admit that I am not very expert on all the possible RPGs out there, that there's a spectrum of possibilities, everything with pros and cons, and so, I set up some bullet points for something I am searching:
- it should not be too complex (we're all middle aged in my group, and we don't have time to really navigate something with the complexity of Pathfinder, for example)
- it should have at least an OSR "feel" (did I tell you we're middle aged? 😄 )
- it should be somewhat either retro-compatible with old D&D stuff, or easy to convert (again, not much time to really do rewrites from scratch!)
- (this is the most difficult part) it should support, as I was saying before, some type of "narrative reward" for the themes that are embedded in the Planescape setting.

I've searched a bit. OSE, Witehack 4e, Worlds Without Numbers, Cypher system, Shadowdark, etc... Even some systems tied to a setting that maybe can be reskinned? (mythic bastionland?) But I am not really an expert in any of these, so I am hre asking your opinion and your help!

What would be your choice?
Thank you!