Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
a test for all ruleset tweakers, tinkerers, and houserule madmen
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="GlassJaw" data-source="post: 2486956" data-attributes="member: 22103"><p>I'm a variant ruleset addict. I love combining things, chopping them up, putting them back together, and then disecting them again just for fun.</p><p></p><p>I did such things when putting together my Grim Tales variant ruleset (see sig). Originally, I was slapping rules down and creating crazy mechanics left and right. I had the How answered (or so I thought). What I didn't have was the Why.</p><p></p><p>I've been checking out a lot of variant wound and hp systems, armor as DR, and VP/WP, etc threads in here and in the OGL board and I've noticed a trend in many of them. Most people have the How but they don't have the Why.</p><p></p><p>So that's the test. If you are designing something and you can answer Why, then you're good to go. Let me explain.</p><p></p><p>The Why is why are you doing what you are doing? Why are you altering the system. Why are you changing the rules. </p><p></p><p>During the process of putting together my variant ruleset, I was fortunate enough to be able to discuss some things with the Grim Tales man himself, Wulf/Ben. I threw a lot of mechanics at him and, in his kind and gentle way, told me what was crap. Actually, I think the exact term he used was turd. But I digress.</p><p></p><p>After he broke me down (and broke me down some more), he began to ask me Why. Why was I doing what I was doing. I had to step away from the mechanics themselves and describe what I wanted the mechanics to do and what feel I wanted them to capture in actual gameplay. Once I started to clarify and define my Whys, the Hows fall into place much easier.</p><p></p><p>A game's mechanics are merely a means to resolve actions. How the mechanics accomplish that sets the mood and style and feel of the gameplay. A game with a bunch of mechanics but no Why wouldn't be much fun IMO.</p><p></p><p>So that's the test. Ask yourself Why. Can you describe the style of play you want without resorting to mechanical descriptions? If you can, then I'll listen to your Hows. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="GlassJaw, post: 2486956, member: 22103"] I'm a variant ruleset addict. I love combining things, chopping them up, putting them back together, and then disecting them again just for fun. I did such things when putting together my Grim Tales variant ruleset (see sig). Originally, I was slapping rules down and creating crazy mechanics left and right. I had the How answered (or so I thought). What I didn't have was the Why. I've been checking out a lot of variant wound and hp systems, armor as DR, and VP/WP, etc threads in here and in the OGL board and I've noticed a trend in many of them. Most people have the How but they don't have the Why. So that's the test. If you are designing something and you can answer Why, then you're good to go. Let me explain. The Why is why are you doing what you are doing? Why are you altering the system. Why are you changing the rules. During the process of putting together my variant ruleset, I was fortunate enough to be able to discuss some things with the Grim Tales man himself, Wulf/Ben. I threw a lot of mechanics at him and, in his kind and gentle way, told me what was crap. Actually, I think the exact term he used was turd. But I digress. After he broke me down (and broke me down some more), he began to ask me Why. Why was I doing what I was doing. I had to step away from the mechanics themselves and describe what I wanted the mechanics to do and what feel I wanted them to capture in actual gameplay. Once I started to clarify and define my Whys, the Hows fall into place much easier. A game's mechanics are merely a means to resolve actions. How the mechanics accomplish that sets the mood and style and feel of the gameplay. A game with a bunch of mechanics but no Why wouldn't be much fun IMO. So that's the test. Ask yourself Why. Can you describe the style of play you want without resorting to mechanical descriptions? If you can, then I'll listen to your Hows. :) [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
a test for all ruleset tweakers, tinkerers, and houserule madmen
Top