Design Challenge #1

[jdrakeh]

Every year, I like to test myself with a design challenge. Something simple, but fun, and a little bit nuts. I should point out that there's no real 'prize' here past getting a chance to toot your own horn a bit. Hard work is its own reward and all of that jazz. Some past examples of these challenge outcomes:

• Boil down the basic elements of d20 into a playable game system less than 10 pages long (Core Elements)
  
  
• Design a playable game in twenty four minutes or less (Dreamweaver)
  
  
• Design a game themed around another game (Hunterz*)

This year I thought it might be fun to issue a public challenge in the spirit of fun and proving that, despite the success of commercial PDF publishing, some folks still design games for fun and make them freely available. So, here are the rules for Design Challenge #1:

• 1. Your game must (at least in its initial form) be released for free in its entirety as a file attachment accompanying a post on this thread, or as file hosted on your own site and linked to from this thread.
  
  2. The text of your game must (at least in its initial form) be released in its entirety under the OGL, save for the title and introduction (if you game has one).
  
  3. Your game may incorporate art. If you use clipart, you must credit the source of your clipart. If you use original artwork, you must either be its creator or owner.
  
  5. Your game doesn't have to be (and given this year's theme, probably won't be) a d20-based game... but that's okay (you can release it under the OGL anyhow).
  
  6. Append to your game or contain in its text a list of all the dice necessary to play it and where one can obtain these dice if they don't already have them (see below).

And that brings us to the theme for Design Challenge #1 - dice. You know 'em, you love 'em, you have a ton of 'em. Get all of your dice - every last one of them, from the oddball d7 and the monstrous Zochhihedron to those funky Rune Dice that you bought for no good reason in your gaming heyday. Got 'em? Good. Now...

Design a game using at least one of every die type that you own.

I realize that some folks will only have a standard set of polyhedron dice available to them, while at least one person who posts here has an absolutely insane amount of dice that he may not feasibly be able to design a game system around. That said, everybody is free to participate. The goal here is to have fun, not turn the world on its ear. So... to your marks, get set, go!

 

[Thanee]

As I see it, it doesn't have to be a role-playing game... dice boccia?

Bye
Thanee

 

[jdrakeh]

*Hunterz is no longer available as a free download anywhere, but if you're wondering, it was a game about delusional players of a popular game about hunting monsters waging a secret war against delusional players of popular games about playing monsters. Lots of pop culture references. Lots of horribly inappropriate fun.

 

[jdrakeh]

As I see it, it doesn't have to be a role-playing game... dice boccia?

Bye
Thanee

You are correct... it doesn't have to be a RPG. I think that would probably intrigue more people here if it was a RPG, but it's by no means a requirment. If you want to design a minis game that uses dice to represent units both physically and mechanically, go ahead. Similarly, if you want to invent 'Bowling for Dice' feel free!

 

[jdrakeh]

Well, I'm about six pages into a kid-friendly (no 'killing' of creatures) fantasy RPG that draws heavily on Michael Ende's Fantasia, the old FGU Swordbearer RPG, D&D 3x, Core Elements, and the old D&D Satuday morning cartoon (no, I'm not kidding). A lot of typically meta-game elements (dice, for instance) actually figure into the setting cosmology ala the vaporous FRUP.

Despite my initial belief that I wouldn't be able to work things like the d30 or my generic hit location die into a d20-based OGL game... I think I've actually found a way to swing all of that. I'll append the document with a conversion matrix for other d20-ish products just to ease transistions, but it shouldn't be too hard.

Right now, the system consists of a step die mechanic tied to level (so you'll always be rolling a single die, but it won't always be a d20 - the higher your level, the mores sides on the die type you roll), a standard d20 skill system, social castes (i.e., classes), the CE combat system (minus blanket offense and defense factors), a damage system that forgoes hit points for descriptive prose, and... well, I haven't gotten 'round to magi just yet.

Anyhow, it's coming along nicely so far.