System vs. Setting

Okay, so something occurred to me recently.

As some of you may be aware I've been indulging myself in a little P&P RPG research of late, and from this two gems have emerged...

Firstly, Ars Magica. This is quite simply a great idea for a roleplaying game setting.  And the first game I have ever come across that makes me want to take their world and play it as it is (and I'm only 30 odd pages into the rulebook).  And that is not my usual M.O. by any standard.  Typically, I flit through RPGs and pick up on little ideas here and there and incorporate them into my own game system or setting. I have a penchant for creating my own source material where possible.  Partly because I live in a dream world, and partly because I don't like my players knowing anything about the setting save for what I tell them, i.e. no 'outside' knowledge of monsters, enemies, places or histories, etc.  But Ars Magica is such a brilliantly simple and fantastically engaging setting that I'm already thinking about running a de facto session, just to see how it plays.  True, I have taken a few concepts I like and worked them into an alternative 6th Age history of my own fantasy world setting but this is only adds further kudos to the game.  It has some great ideas.  It is founded upon great ideas.  And I eagerly await running my first session.  If you don't know about Ars Magica, check it out, you won't be disappointed.  If you are disappointed, check yourself over for lobotomy scars forthwith.

The second game I have purchased recently (yet to be delivered, and I drool in antici... pation) is Changeling: The Lost.  It bears a similarity to Ars in that they are both set in the real world... in a manner of speaking.  Or an alternate version of the real world, where certain fantastical elements are true.  When I read a little about Changeling it reminded me of Suzanna Clark's superb novel Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrel - which I loved - so I just had to get it.  The setting is, again, enticing.

But all this got me to thinking...  System vs. Setting.

I think I'm right in saying that both of these games won awards.  I can't be bothered to check.  If you want to dispute this, you check it.  I know Ars for certain is generally regarded as having the best magic system of any RPG, and worth taking a look at for that alone.  Especially from my stance where I have put considerable effort into making magick as weird and special as I can in my fantasy games, and not simply trotting down the same old tired path.  Take a look at my posts on my approach to magick if you're vaguely interested in... well... my approach to magick (in RPGs).

But for me, system and setting are two very different things.  Yes, there are links.  Of course there are crossovers.  Games like Call of Cthulhu deserve a sanity stat.  Games like Blood and Honour deserve an honour stat.  But generally settings are, and should be, system non-specific.  With all due respect to the authors of Ars, when I play it, I'll be using my own, tweaked, homebrew system.  I'm going to play-test their game setting, whilst play-testing my new system.

The approach I'm taking with my new system is that, like any decent system, it should be IMHO applicable (with admittedly minor tweaks) to any setting.  As I have mentioned before, if I run a horror game, I use my own system, but I drop in a simple sanity mechanic to cover the insanity side of things.  Essential for a good horror game I would say.  But a decent system should be versatile enough to handle anything you throw at it.  And also flexible enough to handle the odd genre-specific mechanic addendum.

RPG systems basically govern the same sort of tasks pretty much regardless of setting: character generation, character development, task resolution, and combat.  That sort of thing.  The system handles how you roll the dice.  Everything else is setting and should never be constrained by the system.  Monitored, moderated, but never manipulated. Setting is first and foremost.