Generic role-playing game system
Encyclopedia
A generic role-playing game system or universal role-playing game system is a role-playing game system
designed to be independent of setting
and genre
. Its rules should, in theory, work the same way for any setting, world, environment, or genre in which one would want to play.
's Basic Role-Playing
(BRP), published in 1980, was the first generic role-playing system. BRP was a "cut-down" version of Chaosium's RuneQuest
role-playing game (RPG) and formed the foundation for the Stormbringer
RPG, and was also adopted for Call of Cthulhu
, the first horror role-playing game. The development of the Hero System
from the superhero
role-playing game Champions
was a profound influence in popularizing the concept. The publication of GURPS
(Generic Universal Role-Playing System) as a completely setting-independent game and its commercial and creative success added credence to the movement. It truly became a dominant subject in RPG design with the release of the Third Edition of Dungeons & Dragons
and the creation of the Open Gaming License
(OGL) and the d20 System
.
The term "generic" has been used since the earliest days of gaming to describe a system that can be used for any type or style of game. The Fuzion
5.02 rules uses the term to describe its basic ruleset as separate from its Champions and Interlock
forerunners.
In the second paragraph of the introduction to GURPS 3rd Edition the authors define "generic" as a means to satisfy players and game masters of many styles of play and feel for rules.
This is repeated in the updated 4th edition rules along with acknowledgments to Champions as the first truly flexible character creation system.
It is frequently disputed whether d20, which requires massive alteration with each new genre because of its class and level system, really qualifies as a generic system. Some d20 derivatives, however, such as Green Ronin Publishing
's Mutants & Masterminds and True20
Adventure Roleplaying are presented as fully generic systems.
Other influential generic systems include:
such as sword and sorcery
, or specific fictional universes such as that of the Star Wars
series. Conversely, a generic system has basic rules designed to handle the wide variety of situations that can arise in the spectrum of settings. There is a long-standing dispute among RPG professionals over whether any system can be truly generic and whether it produces better games to use them or to build the system around the desired setting and genre.
The advantage of a generic rule system is that players only need to buy and learn from one main rule book, saving money and time. Since most settings share a large set of features, such as the way characters move and fight, players would not have to re-learn such basics when starting in a new setting using those generic rules. This eases players in the move from one setting to another. The players and the game master choose the desired setting before starting a game.
Generic game systems also have their share of disadvantages. Often, the basic rules of a generic system are more complex than those designed for a specific setting. Generic rule books have to cover features and aspects that might be of little use in some settings. Also, game developers still might need to produce rule books designed for specific settings to provide meaningful gameplay. If the developers take this too far, it can offset the original advantages of a generic system in the first place.
s in their own settings with the same character
, or different versions or incarnations of the same character. The character may go from the American Old West
, to four-color superhero
ics, to a mystery, and back to an invasion of Earth
by alien
s. While fantasy
and science fiction
are usually the most common genres, others can include mystery
, western
, horror
, historical, and espionage
.
This doesn't strictly require generic rules; even first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, clearly not a generic system, had rules for interacting with Boot Hill
and Gamma World
settings and characters. However, generic rules clearly make this crossover easier.
Taking a character from one world to another can be one of the strengths of a generic system and may be the point of the game. The default GURPS 4th Edition setting, for example, takes advantage of exactly that strength. However some otherwise generic games do not always allow for transferring the same character to different worlds with the same rules. The d20 system, for example, has special setting-specific rules that mean that you cannot take a character out of one world and put him in another without adding rules to the new world to accommodate him. FUDGE, because of the looseness of the rules system, GURPS and the Hero System, through design, do not need to have rules added for a world change - although a little character adjustment may be necessary because of the different way the new world sees the character (e.g., in a new world the fact that a character is an officer of the law in the previous world may no longer be relevant except for character background).
On the other hand, a multi-genre or cross-genre role-playing game does not have to be the same as a generic game system, since it does not have to have rules for all possible genres, just those for the specific settings or worlds it covers. The below are examples of multi-genre, but not completely generic, role-playing games.
Role-playing game system
A role-playing game system is a set of game mechanics used in a role-playing game to determine the outcome of a character's in-game actions...
designed to be independent of setting
Setting (fiction)
In fiction, setting includes the time, location, and everything in which a story takes place, and initiates the main backdrop and mood for a story. Setting has been referred to as story world or milieu to include a context beyond the immediate surroundings of the story. Elements of setting may...
and genre
Genre
Genre , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or culture, e.g. music, and in general, any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time...
. Its rules should, in theory, work the same way for any setting, world, environment, or genre in which one would want to play.
History
There is some dispute among role-playing enthusiasts on when the concept of a generic system originated and which was the first one published. According to Shannon Appelcline, ChaosiumChaosium
Chaosium is one of the longer lived publishers of role-playing games still in existence. Founded by Greg Stafford, its first game was actually a wargame, White Bear and Red Moon, which later mutated into Dragon Pass and its sequel, Nomad Gods...
's Basic Role-Playing
Basic Role-Playing
Basic Role-Playing is a role-playing game system which originated in the fantasy-oriented RuneQuest role-playing game rules...
(BRP), published in 1980, was the first generic role-playing system. BRP was a "cut-down" version of Chaosium's RuneQuest
RuneQuest
RuneQuest is a fantasy role-playing game first published in 1978 by Chaosium, created by Steve Perrin and set in Greg Stafford's mythical world of Glorantha. RuneQuest was notable for its original gaming system and for its verisimilitude in adhering to an original fantasy world...
role-playing game (RPG) and formed the foundation for the Stormbringer
Stormbringer (role-playing game)
The Stormbringer fantasy role-playing game published by Chaosium puts the players in the world of the Young Kingdoms, based on the Elric of Melniboné books by Michael Moorcock. The game takes its name from Elric’s sword, Stormbringer...
RPG, and was also adopted for Call of Cthulhu
Call of Cthulhu (role-playing game)
Call of Cthulhu is a horror fiction role-playing game based on H. P. Lovecraft's story of the same name and the associated Cthulhu Mythos.The game, often abbreviated as CoC, is published by Chaosium.-Setting:...
, the first horror role-playing game. The development of the Hero System
Hero System
The Hero System is a generic role-playing game system that developed from the superhero RPG Champions. It is used as the underlying mechanics of other Hero Games role-playing games such as Dark Champions, Fantasy Hero, Star Hero, and Pulp Hero...
from the superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
role-playing game Champions
Champions (role-playing game)
Champions is a role-playing game published by Hero Games that is designed to simulate and function in a four-color superhero comic book world. It was created by George MacDonald, Steve Peterson, Bruce Harlick, and Ray Greer....
was a profound influence in popularizing the concept. The publication of GURPS
GURPS
The Generic Universal RolePlaying System, or GURPS, is a tabletop role-playing game system designed to allow for play in any game setting...
(Generic Universal Role-Playing System) as a completely setting-independent game and its commercial and creative success added credence to the movement. It truly became a dominant subject in RPG design with the release of the Third Edition of Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
and the creation of the Open Gaming License
Open Gaming License
The Open Game License may be used by game developers to grant permission to modify, copy, and redistribute some of the content designed for their games, notably game mechanics.-Language of the licence:The OGL describes two forms of content:...
(OGL) and the d20 System
D20 System
The d20 System is a role-playing game system published in 2000 by Wizards of the Coast originally developed for the third edition of Dungeons & Dragons...
.
The term "generic" has been used since the earliest days of gaming to describe a system that can be used for any type or style of game. The Fuzion
Fuzion
Fuzion is a generic role-playing game system created by the collaboration of R. Talsorian Games and Hero Games. Fuzion is a combination of the Interlock System, , and the HERO system...
5.02 rules uses the term to describe its basic ruleset as separate from its Champions and Interlock
Interlock System
The Interlock System is R. Talsorian Games' proprietary role-playing system. It is one of the direct parents of the Fuzion system . The Interlock System is a "skill-based" system — characters are created by choosing skills for them, and by advancing those skills individually; rather than by...
forerunners.
In the second paragraph of the introduction to GURPS 3rd Edition the authors define "generic" as a means to satisfy players and game masters of many styles of play and feel for rules.
This is repeated in the updated 4th edition rules along with acknowledgments to Champions as the first truly flexible character creation system.
It is frequently disputed whether d20, which requires massive alteration with each new genre because of its class and level system, really qualifies as a generic system. Some d20 derivatives, however, such as Green Ronin Publishing
Green Ronin Publishing
Green Ronin Publishing is an American company based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 2000 by Chris Pramas, they have published several role-playing game–related products...
's Mutants & Masterminds and True20
True20
True20 is an award winning universal generic role-playing game designed by Steve Kenson and published by Green Ronin Publishing.-Settings:...
Adventure Roleplaying are presented as fully generic systems.
Other influential generic systems include:
- Eden StudiosEden Studios, Inc.Eden Studios, Inc. is an award-winning American role-playing game publisher founded in 1996 by George Vasilakos, M. Alexander Jurkat, and Ed Healy. Currently run by Mr...
' UnisystemUnisystemUnisystem is a generic role-playing game system produced by Eden Studios, Inc. It is used in All Flesh Must Be Eaten, the Buffyverse role-playing games, CJ Carella's WitchCraft, Conspiracy X , and several other games. Games designed using Unisystem have been nominated for, and won, Origins... - Grey Ghost Press' FUDGEFudgeFudge is a type of Western confectionery which is usually very sweet, and extremely rich. It is made by mixing sugar, butter, and milk and heating it to the soft-ball stage at , and then beating the mixture while it cools so that it acquires a smooth, creamy consistency...
- Guardians of OrderGuardians of OrderGuardians of Order was a Canadian company founded in 1996 by Mark C. MacKinnon in Guelph, Ontario. The company's business output consisted of role-playing games . Their first game is the anime inspired Big Eyes, Small Mouth. In 2006 Guardians of Order ceased operations due to overwhelming...
's Tri-Stat System - Pinnacle Entertainment Group's Savage WorldsSavage WorldsSavage Worlds is an award-winning, universal generic, role-playing game and miniatures wargame, written by Shane Lacy Hensley, and published by Great White Games doing business as Pinnacle Entertainment Group...
- R. Talsorian GamesR. Talsorian GamesR. Talsorian Games, based in Renton, WA , is a publisher of role-playing game books and accessories. Their titles include the Cyberpunk 2020 series and for anime-related titles such as Dragonball Z. Their major product line today is the Fuzion system.The company's chairman is Mike Pondsmith,...
's FuzionFuzionFuzion is a generic role-playing game system created by the collaboration of R. Talsorian Games and Hero Games. Fuzion is a combination of the Interlock System, , and the HERO system...
and Interlock SystemInterlock SystemThe Interlock System is R. Talsorian Games' proprietary role-playing system. It is one of the direct parents of the Fuzion system . The Interlock System is a "skill-based" system — characters are created by choosing skills for them, and by advancing those skills individually; rather than by... - West End GamesWest End GamesWest End Games was a company that made board, role-playing, and war games. It was founded by Daniel Scott Palter in 1974 in New York, but later moved to Honesdale, Pennsylvania...
's D6 SystemD6 SystemThe D6 System is a role-playing game system published by West End Games and licensees. While the system is primarily intended for pen-and-paper role-playing games, variations of the system have also been used in live action role-playing games and miniature battle games...
and MasterbookMasterbookMasterbook is a generic role-playing game that was created by West End Games as a follow-up to the multi-genre role-playing game Torg and the science fiction game Shatterzone, which used a modified version of the Torg system...
system
Advantages and disadvantages
Many role-playing games have rules designed for a specific genreGenre
Genre , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or culture, e.g. music, and in general, any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time...
such as sword and sorcery
Sword and sorcery
Sword and sorcery is a sub-genre of fantasy and historical fantasy, generally characterized by sword-wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent conflicts. An element of romance is often present, as is an element of magic and the supernatural...
, or specific fictional universes such as that of the Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
series. Conversely, a generic system has basic rules designed to handle the wide variety of situations that can arise in the spectrum of settings. There is a long-standing dispute among RPG professionals over whether any system can be truly generic and whether it produces better games to use them or to build the system around the desired setting and genre.
The advantage of a generic rule system is that players only need to buy and learn from one main rule book, saving money and time. Since most settings share a large set of features, such as the way characters move and fight, players would not have to re-learn such basics when starting in a new setting using those generic rules. This eases players in the move from one setting to another. The players and the game master choose the desired setting before starting a game.
Generic game systems also have their share of disadvantages. Often, the basic rules of a generic system are more complex than those designed for a specific setting. Generic rule books have to cover features and aspects that might be of little use in some settings. Also, game developers still might need to produce rule books designed for specific settings to provide meaningful gameplay. If the developers take this too far, it can offset the original advantages of a generic system in the first place.
Multi-genre role-playing games
A cross-genre or multi-genre role-playing game allows the exploration of different genreGenre
Genre , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or culture, e.g. music, and in general, any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time...
s in their own settings with the same character
Player character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
, or different versions or incarnations of the same character. The character may go from the American Old West
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
, to four-color superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
ics, to a mystery, and back to an invasion of Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
by alien
Extraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
s. While fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
and science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
are usually the most common genres, others can include mystery
Mystery fiction
Mystery fiction is a loosely-defined term.1.It is often used as a synonym for detective fiction or crime fiction— in other words a novel or short story in which a detective investigates and solves a crime mystery. Sometimes mystery books are nonfiction...
, western
Western fiction
Western fiction is a genre of literature set in the American Old West frontier and typically set from the late eighteenth to the late nineteenth century. Well-known writers of Western fiction include Zane Grey from the early 1900s and Louis L'Amour from the mid 20th century...
, horror
Horror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
, historical, and espionage
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
.
This doesn't strictly require generic rules; even first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, clearly not a generic system, had rules for interacting with Boot Hill
Boot Hill (role-playing game)
Boot Hill is a western role-playing game designed by Brian Blume and Gary Gygax. First published in 1975, Boot Hill was TSR's third role-playing game, not long after Dungeons and Dragons and Empire of the Petal Throne.-System:...
and Gamma World
Gamma World
Gamma World is a science fantasy role-playing game, originally designed by James M. Ward and Gary Jaquet, and first published by TSR in 1978. It borrowed heavily from James M. Ward's earlier product, Metamorphosis Alpha.-Setting:...
settings and characters. However, generic rules clearly make this crossover easier.
Taking a character from one world to another can be one of the strengths of a generic system and may be the point of the game. The default GURPS 4th Edition setting, for example, takes advantage of exactly that strength. However some otherwise generic games do not always allow for transferring the same character to different worlds with the same rules. The d20 system, for example, has special setting-specific rules that mean that you cannot take a character out of one world and put him in another without adding rules to the new world to accommodate him. FUDGE, because of the looseness of the rules system, GURPS and the Hero System, through design, do not need to have rules added for a world change - although a little character adjustment may be necessary because of the different way the new world sees the character (e.g., in a new world the fact that a character is an officer of the law in the previous world may no longer be relevant except for character background).
On the other hand, a multi-genre or cross-genre role-playing game does not have to be the same as a generic game system, since it does not have to have rules for all possible genres, just those for the specific settings or worlds it covers. The below are examples of multi-genre, but not completely generic, role-playing games.
Examples
- MultiverserMultiverserMultiverser is a multi-genre role-playing game published by Valdron Inc. that has the player character moving from dimension to dimension with each dimension being based on varying rules of reality which determine what is possible in that dimension...
- the player characters moving between dimensions based on varying rules of reality. - RiftsRifts (role-playing game)Rifts is a multi-genre role-playing game created by Kevin Siembieda in 1990 and published continuously by Palladium Books since then. Rifts takes place in a post-apocalyptic future, deriving elements from cyberpunk, science fiction, fantasy, horror, western, mythology and many other genres.Rifts...
- on a post-apocalyptic future Earth with different universes connected through "Rifts" in space, time, and reality. - TorgTorgTorg is a cinematic multi-genre role-playing game created by Greg Gorden and Bill Slavicsek and released by West End Games in 1990, which uses several innovative techniques...
- Storm Knights, deliberately larger-than-life heroes engaged in fighting the invasion of Earth, to prevent it being conquered by invading dimensions, largely corresponding with popular role-playing genres. - Worlds of Wonder - the earliest (1982) multi-genre role-playing game, based on Basic Role-PlayingBasic Role-PlayingBasic Role-Playing is a role-playing game system which originated in the fantasy-oriented RuneQuest role-playing game rules...
, including three worlds, Magic World, Superworld, and Future World, and a thin booklet for moving characters between them.
External links
- Reviews of Generic RPGs at RPGnet
- "What generic systems are out there?", a discussion (begun 2009-05-14ISO 8601ISO 8601 Data elements and interchange formats – Information interchange – Representation of dates and times is an international standard covering the exchange of date and time-related data. It was issued by the International Organization for Standardization and was first published in 1988...
) at RPGnet