so i've been working for quite some time on a variant version of an entire RPG. i have a killer name picked out.
i'm designing a variant d20 fantasy game. i'm taking on this ridiculously-large task w/out any actual hopes of getting paid for it. on the contrary: if/when this is finished, i will likely publish it for free as a PDF for download.
my basic gripes with d20 are the following:
1. magic system sucks ass. the defining characteristic of this game engine, the d20, isn't even used in it. this thing is a kludge and doesn't represent anything remotely resembling the majority of how magic is employed in fiction, legend or myth.
2. the power scale as a character progresses from the beginning onwards is insane and puts a real cramp in my suspension of disbelief.
3. there's just way too much magic stuff everywhere. heroes of legend had < a magic sword (arthur, siegfried) or maybe a magic shield (perseus).
unfortunately, this game will not be compatible really w/ anything else using d20, which is slightly problematic, but hey, i'm not making any money off it so this should be OK by the licensing agreement. :>
ed
silverwhisper posted on Jul 07, 2006
| views: 689
Comments
-
Lysander said on Jul 07, 2006....
Iron Heroes. ^_^ http://www.montecook.com/cgi-bin/page.cgi?iron-lore You made me think of that with your magic bit. So, how do you view magic, or how would you like to see magic done in these games? Personally, I like magic best of all, so I am always looking for people's take on them. -
silverwhisper said on Jul 07, 2006....
magic will be a function of a structure analogous to the BAB. this will help make multiclassing actually [i]useful[/i] for spellcasters. i dislike the fire & forget mechanic b/c i think it's goofy, antiquated and not particularly dramatic. i dislike how irrespective of a caster's condition/state, a caster of [level] always produces [results]. so i'm introducing a roll. i'm also introducing threats/crits for skills. and spells. :> ed -
Lysander said on Jul 07, 2006....
I never liked Wizards for the reason of memorizing spells. I prefer Scors because of that. You only have so much energy in a day to bend the fabric of the world, but once you know how to get that effect, you can keep doing it until you are tired. -
silverwhisper said on Jul 07, 2006....
i'm sorry: "scors"? -
Lysander said on Jul 07, 2006....
It is how I abbreviate Sorcerers. Get with the program! -
silverwhisper said on Jul 07, 2006....
ah. you kids and your wacky alternate spellings... :> ed -
SuccessWarrior said on Jul 08, 2006....
I have always thought the fire and forget was stupid especially if you memorize a spell twice so you can use it twice. Memorize it twice? -
PencilDragon said on Jul 08, 2006....
Thats why I keep trying to get you to check out Earthdawn Actually, I have no problem with the fact that spells are fire and forget, or always have the same effect etc I dislike the fact ammo is limited and you cant reload until the next calendar day and a nap If its spell memorization, why cant the wizard decide to at 3 o'clock in the afternoon after vaporizing an ork sit down for 2 hours and rememorize all his spells? Thats whats always irritated me -
silverwhisper said on Jul 08, 2006....
successwarrior: yeah, basically my problem right there. pencildragon: meh...i know how FASA designs a game. it's vastly too easy to die in FASA games: it's just how they do things. i know it's similar to the shadowrun core mechanic and frankly, that isn't one i care to emulate or think is particularly flexible. :> ed -
PencilDragon said on Jul 12, 2006....
Its not at all similar to the Shadowrun core mechanic unless you use a very alien definition of the word similar. Its actually far closer to the DnD core mechanic than it is to the Shadowrun one. Now, Earthdawn has its own share of blemishes, but assigning Shadowrun's blemishes to it is patently unfair Though your not wrong about the mortality factor of it compared to DnD. Its about on par with the West End Games Star Wars of the 2nd and Revised version on lethality -
Gibson said on Jul 20, 2006....
Why d20? d10 is much better because of how easily it can be calculated to % Warhammer is my all time favorite RPG (Cyberpunk being a close second), what I especially liked about Warhammer was its straight forward and easy to understand use of stats and skills durings play. And that was largely thanks to the d10 and % system. -
silverwhisper said on Jul 20, 2006....
pencil dragon: sorry man, i didn't see this. can you give me a brief description of the earthdown mechanic? i seem to recall something about it and thinking it kinda blah, frankly. gibson: i don't see calculations of percentages as being terribly useful, frankly, b/c i think they lend an artificial sense of accuracy while at the same time not scaling particularly well in scope. i like games that play to a larger than life sensibility. while i'm not particularly familiar with warhammer, i'm defiinitely familiar w/ cyberpunk, which still is one of the single best visually-designed RPGs ever. it's really a personal preference thing. ed -
PencilDragon said on Jul 22, 2006....
Wound up pretty long, so I put it on my blog -
Sigmar said on Oct 11, 2007....
Wow, you have your work cut out ! I think the biggest challenge will be where to get all the nice artwork.
Sigmar
Comment on "on creating a variant version of a RPG"
Related Posts:
burn_a_nigger
posted 8 days ago
| views: 31
|
I have a company of game design but have no employees of any kind and also if you join you grt to make nigger killing fps games of any kind and its not retail so its FRREEEEEEEE!!!!... read entire post