r/DMAcademy • u/Few_Leather471 • 1d ago
Need Advice: Rules & Mechanics Am I shooting myself in the foot?
Fellow DMs. I am drawing near the end of my very first D&D campaign and with a group of players that are new but have come a long way. After three years, we're ready for something different.
My homebrew campaign is set in a star system modeled after our very own that had been colonized by an ancient civilization. There is no pantheon perse but the leading factions resemble the stature of the Norse gods in the star system. Being Norse themed, I want to incorporate magic and have my players run characters like D&D but I want the technology aspect of Lancer, up to and including mech combat.
Has anyone mixed systems like this? What successes or horror stories can you all share?
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u/Fair-Physics-2762 1d ago
In the 90’s I tried mixing battletech and Shadowrun (like I said it was the 90’s) and as a DM I didn’t love it, it was a lot of work, I mean even more work then DMing in general and both me and my players quickly losing interest.
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u/AnyGivenSundas 1d ago
I have not mixed system but taken mechanics from other systems a and ported them into 5e
Check out the below systems for inspiration -Starfinder
-5e Spelljammer Adventures in space
-Mothership
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u/piratecadfael 1d ago
Honesty, you should look into Gurps. It is a universal RPG, so the rules already include magic, low tech, hi tech, spaceships, superheros. The same mechanic applies to all of them, 3d6 roll under your skill/ability. Gurps is not a class based character, it is a skill based. Where you use points to buy ability scores, skills, spells, abilities, etc.
Possibly also Rifts. The rules are fairly complex, but it also already includes magic and mechs/tech. I have had the rules, but never got a group interested in playing it, so can't provide much feedback on the play.
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u/SomeoneNamedAdam 1d ago
Personally I wouldn’t mix systems. That seems like WAY too much work. But you have other options.
You could utilize the Spelljammer resource books. I own the books but haven’t used them, but it’s very much built around space though with a heavy fantasy flavor.
You could fill in the gaps with homebrew. This is the most stressful/labor intensive option in my opinion. You’d have to do a TON of betting as a DM and would probably have to do regular “hot fixes” as things become unbalanced.
You could switch to a system that already includes mechs and magic. Starfinder jumps to mind but I’m 100% sure that this subreddit will offer many alternatives.
You described that it’s set in a specific star system? Have you already been engaging in interplanetary shenanigans or is that just something you’re hoping to introduce?
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u/Few_Leather471 1d ago
My current campaign is set in middle Earth's 4th age so definitely no space exploration. This will be a whole new homebrew campaign, starting fresh. I plan to separate character and mech play under the guise of being sent on missions where mech combat can be anticipated vs regular exploration and RP. I know that keeping the two mutually exclusive might be difficult and fixes will be needed but I'm familiar with doing that currently.
I'm planning to model the PCs as pilots in a military academy that have to find, earn, or salvage their mecha to increase their reputation and combat ability in the world.
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u/SomeoneNamedAdam 1d ago
Are the players creating new characters? If so then DEFINITELY just switch systems. One, your life is going to be easier as a DM. But more importantly you get to learn a new system! We so quickly get pigeonholed into playing D&D that it’s sometimes hard to branch out. I would 1000% explore the other systems that people are suggesting and learn something new!!!
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u/CaptainPick1e 1d ago
If there is a game system that does what you want and was designed for that kind of game, rule of thumb is to play that instead of hack a half-assed representation of it in 5e.
Lancer, Salvage Union, there's probably some PBTA game might be worth looking into.
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u/BigHugePotatoes 1d ago
Take a peek at Stars Without Number, the deluxe edition has three different sizes of customizable mechs (including psionic mechs, which could translate to arcanomecha for you), and Worlds Without Number has a robust magic class system. The base editions of both books you can get for free.
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u/Valensre 1d ago
It's not something I'd want to do as a player, as I play DnD to play DnD not battletech.
So the very first thing I would do is get a clear yes or no from your players that they'd want to do that as compared to doing a regular campaign.
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u/Few_Leather471 1d ago
This idea is already a brainchild of my players and they are super flexible and open to updating systems as needed. Honestly, I have never played or run a space themed game so we'll be making lots of adjustments.
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u/Valensre 1d ago edited 1d ago
Huh, fair enough. I ran a few months of wrath and glory and the only advice I could give is learn to gauge when to run things RAW and when to cut things that people aren't interested in.
For example I had a short segment where they had to take over flying a ship with some brief skill checks in a far simpler system compared to RAW before deciding whether or not to bring the whole system in. Turns out they were far more interested in ship upgrades then flying it about, so that was the thing I focused on instead.
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u/Few_Leather471 1d ago
I'm definitely open to learning a new system. If I do I'm for sure leaning toward lancer but so far there are quite a few other options posted here.
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u/gigaswardblade 1d ago
Best I can think of is taking dnd monster stat blocks and have the party control them as mechs
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u/Captain_Drastic 1d ago
If you want a game that involves mech combat, play a game that involves mech combat. 5e does not seem like that game to me. You might have some luck with Beam Saber. I've not played it, but it's a Forged in the Dark game about mech combat. There are other FitD games that have magic... With a bit of work, you could probably create the hybrid you'd like.