Alright, let's take a wee little ride with none other than @theDMinYellow81 who took a couple of hours and chatted with me about working with other systems.

Let's talk by talking about what I presented to him by referencing yet another chat with @ninbinz (TM). /1

I'm talking with Ninz on the second run-through of a campaign concept when he says, "Hey, maybe D&D isn't the system for this and you could try 'Mage the Awakening' or something like that instead."

I ask some things and utimately agree that I need something other than D&D. /2

So I google. I find out things about aspects and types of magic. I get a copy of the PDF to read these rules about the game and understand what's happening.

I'll let this image speak for me. /3

As a player, I'm to read this and grasp how to build a character. As a DM, I'm supposed to grasp this and understand how to make a compelling story with this.

I mean, OK, reading is fundamental, but let's talk about the environment I am supposed to do this in. /4

If I have a question about D&D - literally anything - I have no end of people to talk to about any point of the game. Navigating a narrative, stat blocks, making up variant rules... literally anything will have no less than 50 people in the comments like "Yes, can I help you?" /5

That resource for questions and such when it comes to, "OK, so the text says this, but can I...." or "OK, but what's the best way to do this?" requires knowledge the text alone usually doesn't have when you're trying to grasp things. /6

That more lateral knowledge usually comes with exposure to other systems and then experience. Much like programming or video game genres.

In fact, @LuchaLibris wrote a fantastic thread on that concept right there. Avail yourselves: https://twitter.com/LuchaLibris/status/1265332787642601472?s=20 /7

Here's some more informal commentary from @GlossandGadgets here: https://twitter.com/GlossandGadgets/status/1265393954855550977?s=20

And lacking the support she describes makes going into a system you don't know daunting at best and at worst? Impossible. Let's talk about that a bit. /8

It's almost like being an alchemist in the Fullmetal universe when it comes to a concept. You would need to:

+ Abstract central concepts
+ Scan your knowledge of systems where those concepts can be applied with as little adjustment as possible
+ Make your new home /9

And the part where things break down is that "where does this concept apply?"

That means I need to either (a) read every book ever and try them until one works well or (b) ask labor of people who aren't offering it while I'm trying to get situated in this new ruleset. /10

If you're out there and want to offer that AMA knowledge on other systems? Let us know. I'd be down for that adventure. Thank goodness for this convo with @theDMinYellow81 and his willingness to let me ask him about what my ideas are. Here's how that went. /11

"So I'm thinking about a concept where elemental powers are a thing!"

"Oh, well I know of some systems for that. How about Mage the Awakening? Here's how it handles those concepts, but you may need to tweak these things..."

"Hm. Well, what if I want X?" /12

"Ah. Then FATE might be good. Here's a sum-up on how that works. Here's some pros and cons."

"Ooh, maybe I could learn that!"

"Go for it!"

Shoutout to @mrvalorisalive for having a similar convo about these things a few nights ago, too. /13

"You could use this and it handles this type of story, but doesn't have real good mechanics if you need to...."

If we want people to grow away from D&D, we're going to need a lot of this type of interaction with people.

I hope we see more of these convos happening! /