Help me not reinvent the wheel

[Ry]

I have this really weird compulsion, when I get to a certain stage of designing a new game, where I feel like I need to do everything from scratch.

I mean, this is especially dumb for my new campaign, which I have sold my players on as being very D&D. And yet I keep finding myself going "Hmm... aboleths. What can I make that is essentially an aboleth but isn't an aboleth?"

Can someone help me remember why it's a good idea to have a setting where you can bring in cool ideas from other sources, and not reinvent the wheel (and the lever, and the horse, and the cart, and the damn dirt)?

 

[Mark CMG]

Do you have a job and family?

 

[JustKim]

Do you have a job and family?

Don't listen to him, it's a trick!

 

[Mark CMG]

Don't listen to him, it's a trick!

I was only going to suggest that he could do more campaign prep at work (on company time and utilizing their otherwise-squandered resources) and, if he has children, delegate a lot of the busy work to idle little hands as was the fashion during the early part of the industrial revolution.


What . . ? Is that wrong?

 

[Ry]

(Looks at Mark) Yes, yes, (looks at JustKim) and yes.

I was just hoping someone could pipe in with the really nice, succinct philosophical line, sort of like "Look at all the great stuff that can make your life easier and is really, just cool!"

 

[Mark CMG]

(Looks at Mark) Yes, yes, (looks at JustKim) and yes.

I was just hoping someone could pipe in with the really nice, succinct philosophical line, sort of like "Look at all the great stuff that can make your life easier and is really, just cool!"

Oh! You mean stuff like this and this. I must be slipping.

 

[Ry]

I was only going to suggest that he could do more campaign prep at work (on company time and utilizing their otherwise-squandered resources) and, if he has children, delegate a lot of the busy work to idle little hands as was the fashion during the early part of the industrial revolution.

My only child isn't due till November 26th, so I'm sure it will be the new year before I can get it to stat up characters for me. As for work, it's amazing how many things people don't notice as long as you're doing them in a VB window and excel tables.

 

[Ry]

Oh! You mean stuff like this and this. I must be slipping.

More like, I need a mantra to repeat.

I must not reinvent the wheel. Reinventing the wheel is the game-killer. Reinventing the wheel is the little creative urge that brings total campaign meltdown.

 

[Wik]

Dude, for years I was a "tinker GM" just like you. I'd change many factors about the game - rework orcs, write up a half dozen PrCs, fiddle with the magic system, and so on and so forth.

When I started running STAP, I did it with the caveat that it was wholly core - no fiddling on my part. And, for the first time in YEARS, we're in a campaign that has passed the six month line. Also, because I've kept my hands clear of fiddling, the group is encountering many critters they've never seen before (giant centipedes, for example).

And much enjoyment was had by all. It's almost like we're discovering a new game.

I would suggest for you, though, to not curtail your creative urges altogether. Instead, limit yourself to three or so "changes". After you pass that limit, you're not allowed to reinvent anything else.

Use your changes wisely, young one.

 

[Stormborn]

I too love tinkering but there is a very good reason to take the time to comb through good sources for material and use those to incorporate into your homebrew rather than make things up from scratch, or at least this is what I tell myself:

1) Even if you are a published game designer, most well done published materials are going to be less likely to run into unexpected problems down the line, either due to playtesting or the fact that the writers have more experiance that you, than pure homebrew.

2) The more published material you use the more likely it is that you can steal from and incorporate new material that may be published while you are running the campaing.

Basically the possibility of problems cropping up through play testing and the possibiliyt of using a published adventure or other materials when needed is what I try to keep myself from overdoing homebrewing. Doesnt always work.