When I say “RPG material,” I mean things like statblocks, classes, etc.
I’ve played what was essentially Traveller but with Fate mechanics. You’d think the hard sci-fi ethos of Traveller would not mesh well with the dramatic engine of Fate, but it’s all in the narration. And Fate is such a great system to deal with things up close and personal, with high lethality and still loads of fun.
Savage world Rifts. The setting is fantastic, the 1st party rules are a mess as the best of times. Savage worlds rules set enrich the rifts world by making it a playable.
Honestly, especially after their team up with Paizo, SWADE has been really, really improving and become my favorite system to reskin things in.
Hell I’m thinking about running a Curse of Strahd campaign in Savage Worlds.
In the same vein, I was in a Shadowrun campaign that switched over to the Sprawlrunners rules for Savage Worlds (which can be used for either Shadowrun or Cyberpunk). Savage Worlds brought out the dynamic action and calculated hacking scenes that define good cyberpunk fiction without being dragged down by clunky rules.
It is an unfortunate fact that Shadowrun tends to suffocate under its own density.
I really enjoyed the D&D 3rd Edition days, with the popcorn of d20-based games. Star Wars d20, d20 Modern, and the Sword & Sorcery Ravenloft were all great fun. The best part is that it was super easy to get your group to try new things, because the mechanics were all similar, if not exactly the same. People like to hate on D&D, but it’s consistently been a great base to start from and inspiration for a multitude of other games.
Honestly, the “hate on d&d” train really became a thing after WotC bought TSR. Also, I completely agree with you: cross-fluidity of game systems was fun to distro hop, basically, for a change of pace/theme — though the recent boom of innovation is especially exciting! So many new concepts and styles of play, and even reimaginings of timeless classics like Planescape, et al. 🥰
Hating on D&D is a past time that’s as old as D&D. I agree though, the attitude towards the franchise ignores that they are generally making a few good small steps for each corporate, huge step back. It’s still my workhorse system while I explore games with deeply different tones and mechanics but I haven’t found a want to replace it at my table at all.
Removed by mod
I’m pretty hyped the Fate of the Eclipse which is an official port of Eclipse phase in the FATE system, but I haven’t played it. There is so many stuff I’d like to play and so few time
I think you meanEclipse Phase: Transhumanity’s Fate