CORE Value

[Anton85]

So I am in the middle of creating my own RPG system. Its coming together nicely and I already have ideas for additional materiel that I would like to create, but would not go into core book because its to genre specific, or it introduces new subsytems. Eventually I would like to offer the core book for free online, and maybe one day start producing pay-for supplements to the game. Then I had an interesting idea that I call Core Value.

Core Value is a rating that lets a buyer, player or narrator know how easy a rule element (new feat, skill spell etc.) or or subsytem (honor points, fear factor, insanity rating etc.) is to integrate into a game. Core Value is measured in *s. The more * it has, the easier it is for a narrator to plop into the game without considering how it changes the game.

****: Core Material everything in the first book, plus additional material that it seems like every game should have as an option.

***: Material that steps on the toes of the Core Book, and might change the game, but does not require any work on the Narrator's part.

**: Material that introduces new subsytems into the game. Using this material means your taking your game in a new direction. Examples like Honor points, Mecha, Mass Combat etc.

*: Material that simply throws out some of the assumptions of the game and can radically alter character's and their world. Examples like a feat that lets you own a starship for free, leadership etc.

So what do you guys think. Would you like this as a buyer? Any critiques of the system itself? Am I off my rocker?

 

[Wik]

It's a neat idea. But it seems to me like it's so easy for bias to be practically useless. As a salesman, would you honestly sell something that has only one star? If you realize "hey, this has only one star" wouldn't you instead try to make it more compatible with your game? Or, failing that, would you really try to market a product by saying "hey, this is going to be a real pain in the butt to introduce to your game... but, um, buy it anyways?"

I admire the concept, but in actuality, I think it would be pretty much useless.

That being said, something that identifies what the mechanic is meant for could be good. For example, a mechanic could be listed as "Space Opera" - if I'm runnign a space opera game, I might take a look at that mechanic. But if I'm running a modern horror game, I'm probably going to realize the mechanic is not right for me.

Power Levels would flesh really well with that. Your free spaceship feat could be power level 7... meaning if I'm running a game around power level 4, I know that feat is waaaay out of my assumed PC power level.

 

[steenan]

I like the core value rating thing.

I would only rephrase the descriptions of *s a little. As they are now, they suggest that low-star products are, generally, worse, while it is not so. High-stars are generic. Low-stars are specific - they may be very fun when chosen correctly for a game style the group wants, but certainly won't fit every game.

This way, you won't have the problem Wik points out ("why do you publish products that are not compatible?"). It will be rather: do you want to buy something generic and generally useful or something special that will help to customize your game? Both are fun, but in different ways.

 

[kitsune9]

This sounds like a good idea. It would be cool to see some examples in the future.

 

[Umbran]

So what do you guys think. Would you like this as a buyer? Any critiques of the system itself? Am I off my rocker?

As a buyer, unless I already trust your design and editing prowess, and trust you to not bias your ratings to get higher sales, I don't trust your stars. I would have to buy several products, and see if I agree with your stars, before they'd become useful to me.

 

[weem]

I like the idea for the most part, but understand as well the idea that buying "low star" rated products would not be something I would do. But, all the material (regardless of the "star" number) has a value - I just think the star rating makes it seem as though it doesn't

So what about...

"CORE" = (aka 4 star)
Core material

"CORE Add-On" = (aka 3 star)
Material compatible with Core, but not part of the CORE release, etc

"CORE Splice" = (aka 2 star)
Material that complies with the CORE for the most part, but not 100%

"CORE Alter" = (aka 1 star)
This material alters the CORE material in significant, but cool ways! It could have a subtag based on the material/genre as well - see image below for examples (i just tossed it together to give you an idea of branding possibilities making it easier to know at a glance what the material is about - names could be whatever, etc)...

/shrug

Just a quick idea on my way through

 

[weem]

One more thing... do you have a website where more information on this system could be read etc? Forgot to ask that yesterday and was just thinking about it again