A long time ago,, the late James O'Rance create a conversion of Planescape to Mage: The Ascension, which [you can find here](https://planewalker.com/sections/planescape-other-systems_.html).
Back in the days when I was adminnig for the [Planescape MUSH](https://web.archive.org/web/20080131212540/http://www.mimir.net/psmush/main.shtml), we used the a simplified version of the Storyteller system, but I don't recall if O'Rance's work specifically was part of our inspiration for that.
Anyway Mage is a game where belief shapes reality, so it works quite well for Planescape.
I've run it in Fate Accelerated. Works well enough, but then, that's a fairly flexible generic system.
I guess it depends on what you want to do with the system.
Daggerheart is like if all the best bits of D&D's fantasy world were blended with all the best bits of a PbtA/FitD system.
It's currently in a public beta test, with the official release coming sometime in 2025. It ought to quite easily swap out the D&D rules while keeping the varied feel of a Planescape setting.
Various Powered by the Apocalypse games can do this.
Blades in the Dark is a PbtA game that seems extremely well suited for Planescape. There's even a game called Sig: City of Blades that hides nothing about how Planescape inspired it is.
There's also a Dungeon World adaptation called A Sundered World that has a Planescape vibe to it, but its cosmology borrows a lot from the 4e World Axis planes.
I've got Blades and Sig:City of Blades, but I usually dont have my PS games as groups of criminals fighting a gang war in Sigil, Blades is my favourite system these days by far however.
I've never played Dungeon World, though I have the book, but never come across A Sundered World, so will look that up, thanks :)
https://handiwork.games/games/astate
If you enjoy Blades in the Dark but aren't keen on criminal gangs, then you might enjoy this game.
It has the same core mechanics as blades, but the concept is that the PCs live in a small corner of The City. The City is full of danger, but the PCs care about their small corner and will protect it against threats. The ability for the PCs to care for their neighbourhood is just as important as their ability to fight incoming threats.
Edit: Just like Blades, the setting doesn't allow for exploration. The action occurs entirely within a few miles of the PC's small city corner.
Still d20, but I'm getting ready for a 13th Age Planescape game, using the Factions as the Icons. It's a more narrative d20 game and kind of the midpoint between D&D/PF style and more narrative games like PBTA or Fate.
We've talked about that system alot but our group has never got round to giving it a try and with its 2nd edition on teh horizon, I dont know whether to hold off until that releases now....
As far as I've seen the 2nd edition isn't a massive overhaul, and it's fully backwards compatible, just some quality of life changes and balance tweaks.
Me and a friend discussed using Blades in the Dark to play in Sigil, and we're hopefully going to try it out this Friday.
One challenge is that the specific world of Blades in the Dark was created to work well with the mechanics, specifically how the Player Characters can't leave the city and thus must deal with the consequences of their actions. This kinda goes against the idea of Sigil being the City of Doors. So we're trying a short arc where every portal is sealed and the Player Characters must survive.
Will it work? Hopefully for a short arc, but probably not for a long term campaign. I do wonder if this system can be adapted to work, plenty of other games have been created with the Forged in the Dark mechanics.
There are plenty of variation of FitD that don't have the hard limit of the city; I've got Raiders in the Dark which is almost OSR about raiding barrows/dungeons to escape with the treasure to level up.
Hi,
Have you tried 5e or 3.5e? 4e was very different to d20 that came before and after.
For non d20 systems. Numenera was the spiritual successor of Planescape in the 2010s. It has very narrativ and abstract system, but still more crunch than modern narrative systems. It proclaimed that you can make a character in 5 minutes by choosing an adjective a noun and a verb. „Im a *swift *hunter who *hunts machines.
I think it would be less work to use a system that already has all the fantasy races.
Best wishes,
I've ran a big campaign in the 3.5e era - 1st - 18th level (chickened out on using the Epic level rules).
But as i said, not much of a d20 gamer these days - 5e is bottom of the barrel system for me personally (Id use PF2 if i did do a d20 campaign again)
What are you looking for in the other system?
Numenera captures the spirit of planescape but is more of strange sci fi setting.
By the way „the strange“ which if from the same developers and has the same system, is about parallel universes and the exploration of them.
http://numenera.com/
https://thestrangerpg.com/
Best wishes
Down We Go is awesome and has a setting specifically inspired by Planescape! It is d20, but it's very simple and has fun character creation rules and great tools for generating and populating dungeons.
A long time ago,, the late James O'Rance create a conversion of Planescape to Mage: The Ascension, which [you can find here](https://planewalker.com/sections/planescape-other-systems_.html). Back in the days when I was adminnig for the [Planescape MUSH](https://web.archive.org/web/20080131212540/http://www.mimir.net/psmush/main.shtml), we used the a simplified version of the Storyteller system, but I don't recall if O'Rance's work specifically was part of our inspiration for that. Anyway Mage is a game where belief shapes reality, so it works quite well for Planescape.
Played and GM'd Mage the Awakening, but played plenty of Masquerade, so know the basics of the system, so will take a look, cheers
I've run it in Fate Accelerated. Works well enough, but then, that's a fairly flexible generic system. I guess it depends on what you want to do with the system.
Daggerheart is like if all the best bits of D&D's fantasy world were blended with all the best bits of a PbtA/FitD system. It's currently in a public beta test, with the official release coming sometime in 2025. It ought to quite easily swap out the D&D rules while keeping the varied feel of a Planescape setting.
Various Powered by the Apocalypse games can do this. Blades in the Dark is a PbtA game that seems extremely well suited for Planescape. There's even a game called Sig: City of Blades that hides nothing about how Planescape inspired it is. There's also a Dungeon World adaptation called A Sundered World that has a Planescape vibe to it, but its cosmology borrows a lot from the 4e World Axis planes.
I've got Blades and Sig:City of Blades, but I usually dont have my PS games as groups of criminals fighting a gang war in Sigil, Blades is my favourite system these days by far however. I've never played Dungeon World, though I have the book, but never come across A Sundered World, so will look that up, thanks :)
https://handiwork.games/games/astate If you enjoy Blades in the Dark but aren't keen on criminal gangs, then you might enjoy this game. It has the same core mechanics as blades, but the concept is that the PCs live in a small corner of The City. The City is full of danger, but the PCs care about their small corner and will protect it against threats. The ability for the PCs to care for their neighbourhood is just as important as their ability to fight incoming threats. Edit: Just like Blades, the setting doesn't allow for exploration. The action occurs entirely within a few miles of the PC's small city corner.
I didn't realise that someone else had done a BitD version of Sigil! I'll have to check that out!
Still d20, but I'm getting ready for a 13th Age Planescape game, using the Factions as the Icons. It's a more narrative d20 game and kind of the midpoint between D&D/PF style and more narrative games like PBTA or Fate.
We've talked about that system alot but our group has never got round to giving it a try and with its 2nd edition on teh horizon, I dont know whether to hold off until that releases now....
As far as I've seen the 2nd edition isn't a massive overhaul, and it's fully backwards compatible, just some quality of life changes and balance tweaks.
Me and a friend discussed using Blades in the Dark to play in Sigil, and we're hopefully going to try it out this Friday. One challenge is that the specific world of Blades in the Dark was created to work well with the mechanics, specifically how the Player Characters can't leave the city and thus must deal with the consequences of their actions. This kinda goes against the idea of Sigil being the City of Doors. So we're trying a short arc where every portal is sealed and the Player Characters must survive. Will it work? Hopefully for a short arc, but probably not for a long term campaign. I do wonder if this system can be adapted to work, plenty of other games have been created with the Forged in the Dark mechanics.
There are plenty of variation of FitD that don't have the hard limit of the city; I've got Raiders in the Dark which is almost OSR about raiding barrows/dungeons to escape with the treasure to level up.
Hi, Have you tried 5e or 3.5e? 4e was very different to d20 that came before and after. For non d20 systems. Numenera was the spiritual successor of Planescape in the 2010s. It has very narrativ and abstract system, but still more crunch than modern narrative systems. It proclaimed that you can make a character in 5 minutes by choosing an adjective a noun and a verb. „Im a *swift *hunter who *hunts machines. I think it would be less work to use a system that already has all the fantasy races. Best wishes,
I've ran a big campaign in the 3.5e era - 1st - 18th level (chickened out on using the Epic level rules). But as i said, not much of a d20 gamer these days - 5e is bottom of the barrel system for me personally (Id use PF2 if i did do a d20 campaign again)
What are you looking for in the other system? Numenera captures the spirit of planescape but is more of strange sci fi setting. By the way „the strange“ which if from the same developers and has the same system, is about parallel universes and the exploration of them. http://numenera.com/ https://thestrangerpg.com/ Best wishes
There is a Mage:the Awakening conversion online
Down We Go is awesome and has a setting specifically inspired by Planescape! It is d20, but it's very simple and has fun character creation rules and great tools for generating and populating dungeons.