Experiment #4,221: PENDULUM (a double game system game?)

[Nathan]

Yup, I had a freak idea over the weekend, and here is the first punch out of it. It seems like we've had games without systems, games with very lite systems, game with big heavy systems, but no games with more than one system.  I don't mean different versions of the same game with different systems (like Deadlands D20, Deadlands, GURPS Deadlands..) I mean like, you learn two game systems to play the one game... Okay, sure, it is probably unnecessary and stupid, but let's rock and roll. Why not?

You can download a quick writeup -- and bad grammar - version here:

http://www.mysticages.com/Pendulum.pdf

Let me know. It is very simple -- and maybe unclear.... But it is the idea that counts. :)

The whole thing in a nutshell is - planar, extra-dimensional city where LAW and CHAOS battle it out - and the momentum of each side effects how powerful the characters are and how the system works.. etc?

(Of course, one could make a case that AD&D 2nd Edition was a game system with half a dozen game systems within it, I guess.)

Thanks,
Nathan Hill

[Mike Holmes]

Hmm. Do you want us to comment on the actual mechanics (which seem very rough at this point), or the concept of having two resolution systems at different times during play? Or both?

Mike

[Nathan]

You don't have to comment at all, Mike!

Actually, you could do both.

Here are some of my own thoughts:

Why two systems? I don't know. Perhaps in a situation or setting, it would serve a purpose to have creatures or individuals bound by a different natural law than the norm. So, you might have a set of adventurers who have amazing ability among their people, but then an alien might show up who simply operates on another completely different level.

For example, if your heroes fail on a roll of a 1 and automatically succeed on a roll of 20, what if this alien creature operates thousands of years ahead of it -- a failure to it is equal to a roll of a 20 (something the human would think is amazing or perfect)? I don't know.

But then again, gamers love systems, so wouldn't it be interested if there was a game with a variety of systems -- all characters were compatible with each -- but the gamers got to bid and do a sort of metagame to see which systems resolve which conflict. Therefore, a character would thrive in one reality and not thrive in another -- this would be very interesting. I wouldn't know how to do it either -- the Pendulum is my first quandary of such.

The mechanics are entirely not original. A basic throw and add system and a keep the highest system -- and really, you could just pick one system and stick with it. The game would still work. So, it is not an entirely good example. Since the attributes flip, one method of die rolling would still be fine, it would just be the characters that are affected -- not the world. So, how can the characters stay the same -- and yet the game system switch?

I don't know. Like, the characters have to be compatible, but it would seem to work better if, depending on your choices, the character creation systems were different for the different factions. The problem is - is it really compatible? Weird stuff.

I am rambling, and I just got back from class. It's raining too.

Have fun,
Thanks,
Nathan Hill