Mash Ups

Apparently, Fridays are difficult for me to post on now. Not sure what is going on, but here it is:

Mash up games can be a lot of fun, but what exactly is a mash up? Mash up games happen when you take two different themes from different systems and put them into one game. For example, Shadowrun and Werewolf. The players can take on the roles of werewolves and/or runners that exclusively infiltrate and sabotage Pentex companies. Or you can flip it, and make characters that work for Pentex that target Werewolf activities.

In this specific example, it can also highlight specific mechanics from the game, such as Essence and Cybernetics. How would a werewolf feel about cybernetic implants? While the concept is completely anathema to them, would there be instances where a werewolf would be willing to compromise their souls to fight the Wyrm better?

Call of Cthulhu and D&D would be another good one. The players can suddenly encounter horrific monsters and magics that previously didn't exist in the world; that attack their sanity more than their bodies. This would be a fairly easy mash up since a d20 Call of Cthulhu was released years ago and there is already a precedent with abberrations.

So how do you mash two games together into one? This requires knowing the rules of both games very well so you can convert one game into the other. The game you choose to convert will also affect how the game plays. If I chose to convert Chaosium's BRP into d20 the game would focus more on combat and adventure, with the characters able to take and deal damage. However, if you choose to go the other way, d20 to BRP, then the game takes on a completely different tenor. The characters suddenly aren't able to receive damage and healing becomes more complicated and the game takes on a more life or death feel.

You have to be willing to put the work in to convert the rules, and that can take a good deal of work, especially if they games are very dissimilar. You have to know what rules need to be added to the new system and what rules can be handled by it without change. Additionally, you can fold both systems into a generic system such as GURPS, HERO, or Savage Worlds.