A couple years ago, I opined about how I thought 4Ed system would have done better if it had been used for a game other than D&D. However, I opened that thread with language that was been taken as more confrontational than I intended (since confrontation was not my intent). Derailment was nearly instantaneous' and the thread shut down quickly.
But the thought has stuck in my mind, and today, I may have hit on it: the 4Ed engine, with just a couple of tweaks, would be a near perfect system for a M:tG RPG or homebrew campaign.
1) though there is a concept of good & evil implied in the color system and backstory, there is no real alignment in M:tG
2) the quasi-Vancian M:tG limitation of 4 cards of any given kind in a deck is just a couple of steps away from 4Ed's AEDU. M:tG recursion cards could be powers or Feats in 4Ed
3) the way some artifacts, etc. are powered/activated in M:tG is similar to the way some items & artifacts work in 4Ed
4) nobody would care about the magic vs mundane divide that gets debated in 4Ed, since it doesn't exist in M:tG.
5) Certain unusual abilities have close analogues in the 2 games. The way that some low-level 4Ed creatures are more powerful in groups is just a tweak from being how M:tG's Slivers work, for instance. And 4Ed marking or certain martial AoE powers would simulate the creature abilities like First Strike, lures, rampage, etc. (Or whatever they're called in current editions of the game). M:tG's Shadow and the 4Ed Warlock's Shadow Walk are kissing cousins. Landwalking would be a situational teleport power.
Thoughts?
But the thought has stuck in my mind, and today, I may have hit on it: the 4Ed engine, with just a couple of tweaks, would be a near perfect system for a M:tG RPG or homebrew campaign.
1) though there is a concept of good & evil implied in the color system and backstory, there is no real alignment in M:tG
2) the quasi-Vancian M:tG limitation of 4 cards of any given kind in a deck is just a couple of steps away from 4Ed's AEDU. M:tG recursion cards could be powers or Feats in 4Ed
3) the way some artifacts, etc. are powered/activated in M:tG is similar to the way some items & artifacts work in 4Ed
4) nobody would care about the magic vs mundane divide that gets debated in 4Ed, since it doesn't exist in M:tG.
5) Certain unusual abilities have close analogues in the 2 games. The way that some low-level 4Ed creatures are more powerful in groups is just a tweak from being how M:tG's Slivers work, for instance. And 4Ed marking or certain martial AoE powers would simulate the creature abilities like First Strike, lures, rampage, etc. (Or whatever they're called in current editions of the game). M:tG's Shadow and the 4Ed Warlock's Shadow Walk are kissing cousins. Landwalking would be a situational teleport power.
Thoughts?
