jdrakeh
Front Range Warlock
Don't be so modest. . . wasn't that published (if briefly)?
Home made game systems
- Thread starter FriarRosing
- Start date
Don't be so modest. . . wasn't that published (if briefly)?
The Green Adam
First Post
I make them all the time...
Seriously. I've been gaming over 30 years and seem to work on my own homebrew at least once every few years. Currently I'm trying to put the finishing touches on my Galaxy Quest RPG, technically in its 2nd Edition. Its based on the film of the same name of course and a game system I've been messing with on and off for several years now. The inspiration for it comes from WEG D6 System (especially Star Wars D6), LUG ICON System (Star Trek) and the original WEG Paranoia game.
Other systems I've designed include a medieval fantasy RPG based on classic Traveller and my newest project, an OD&D based/inspired SciFi/Space game.
I think I made my first game when I was 15-16...a super hero game system based on D&D/V&V and a lot of my own ideas that resembled a game that would come many years later, Deeds Not Words.
AD
"By Grabthar's hammer... what a savings."
Seriously. I've been gaming over 30 years and seem to work on my own homebrew at least once every few years. Currently I'm trying to put the finishing touches on my Galaxy Quest RPG, technically in its 2nd Edition. Its based on the film of the same name of course and a game system I've been messing with on and off for several years now. The inspiration for it comes from WEG D6 System (especially Star Wars D6), LUG ICON System (Star Trek) and the original WEG Paranoia game.
Other systems I've designed include a medieval fantasy RPG based on classic Traveller and my newest project, an OD&D based/inspired SciFi/Space game.
I think I made my first game when I was 15-16...a super hero game system based on D&D/V&V and a lot of my own ideas that resembled a game that would come many years later, Deeds Not Words.
AD
"By Grabthar's hammer... what a savings."
I'm A Banana
Potassium-Rich
Final Fantasy Zero. Link's in the sig.
As a semi-pro designer (I've had a few credits under my belt, and hope to have more), I think it's been working pretty stellarly. It's d20-based, shamelessly inspired from videogames, extremely narrative, and the times I've run it, it has worked quite well (and has been a blast). It's not as extensive as I would like, and I'm still working on the details and page layout, but it's niiiiiiiice.
If anyone wants to help me play-test the thing, I'm thinking about running a few combats/lite adventures in something like MapTool (or some other VTT) around this weekend.
As a semi-pro designer (I've had a few credits under my belt, and hope to have more), I think it's been working pretty stellarly. It's d20-based, shamelessly inspired from videogames, extremely narrative, and the times I've run it, it has worked quite well (and has been a blast). It's not as extensive as I would like, and I'm still working on the details and page layout, but it's niiiiiiiice.
If anyone wants to help me play-test the thing, I'm thinking about running a few combats/lite adventures in something like MapTool (or some other VTT) around this weekend.
Last edited:
Wik
First Post
Yeah, me and my buddies used to make RPGs all the time. Mostly, we'd just think up "awesome" ideas and make up our own rules, because porting rules over was apparently "lazy". Most of the time, our made up rules kind of sucked.
Later, in high school and whatnot, it got a bit better. Then, it was just sort of house-ruling the bajeezus out of a system to get what was desired.
In 2003 or so, I made "the mutant game", which was initially based off the d20 Omega World mini-game but then stripped down of all silliness and made into a more D&D-like game. It was a lot of fun, and it's gone through numerous versions.
I also wrote up the "d12 system", which is sort of a fast-running game that worked pretty well - the problem with it was that character experience wasn't handled very well, with only five "levels" of ability for a character (sort of like Savage Worlds).
Currently, in between 4e games and in those rare moments I have free time, I'll fiddle with an unnamed percentile system. I don't really have it tied to a setting yet, but I know it'll be modern or futuristic, and probably either space opera-y (sort of like Mass Effect meets Shadowrun) or gritty post-apocalyptic. The system works pretty well, with some 4e influences in the way of "encounter powers" (powered by tokens, a la Savage Worlds). The current problems are the damage system (it's really easy to die) and making the numbers work in what is essentially a d% game. The big plus for the game is that there are no XP, and characters do 95% of their improving through actual play - the equivalent of class abilities and feats are purchased only rarely, as PCs level up their skills to required minimums.
I think, if you want to make your own rules set, you need to know what you want to get out of it. If you're just making a system that "makes sense", it'll fall apart or be hugely derivative (and if you're spending time making a derivative... why not just play the original game and save yourself some time?). I'd just write down on a piece of paper your main goal. For the three big ones I've made, the goals were:
[sblock=design goals for my games]
1) Mutant Game:
a) Character Generation based off random rolls for powers/drawbacks
b) Fairly open character classes that could be viewed multiple ways
c) Characters that are killed more easily than in standard d20 D&D (a heavy reliance on massive damage was used).
2) d12 System
a) Really fast skill resolution (roll the required number of d12s, take the best two results, doubles meant a critical success or failure, depending on the number rolled)
3) d% system
a) Remove the need for levelling your character and slowing down the game by increasing your level.
b) Keep the math as simple as possible (this was actually pretty easy to do, even with percentile modifiers!)
c) Every player should only bring two dice to the table.
d) Make sure that each PC was different and specialized in different zones, despite being a classless system (there are around 40 skills, and about half of those are useful in every session... "necessary" skills like Dodge and Perception are natural skills that every PC has, though every player must choose where to focus training in their natural skills).[/sblock]
Also, there are a lot of people who have made their own RPGs, and some are downright FUN. I'd recommend any RPGer check out this site:
http://www.darkshire.net/jhkim/rpg/freerpgs/index.html
It's a list of free RPGs, many made by random joes trying something out. Some are good, some suck, but if you want to make your own system, it's a good place to look for inspiration.
Later, in high school and whatnot, it got a bit better. Then, it was just sort of house-ruling the bajeezus out of a system to get what was desired.
In 2003 or so, I made "the mutant game", which was initially based off the d20 Omega World mini-game but then stripped down of all silliness and made into a more D&D-like game. It was a lot of fun, and it's gone through numerous versions.
I also wrote up the "d12 system", which is sort of a fast-running game that worked pretty well - the problem with it was that character experience wasn't handled very well, with only five "levels" of ability for a character (sort of like Savage Worlds).
Currently, in between 4e games and in those rare moments I have free time, I'll fiddle with an unnamed percentile system. I don't really have it tied to a setting yet, but I know it'll be modern or futuristic, and probably either space opera-y (sort of like Mass Effect meets Shadowrun) or gritty post-apocalyptic. The system works pretty well, with some 4e influences in the way of "encounter powers" (powered by tokens, a la Savage Worlds). The current problems are the damage system (it's really easy to die) and making the numbers work in what is essentially a d% game. The big plus for the game is that there are no XP, and characters do 95% of their improving through actual play - the equivalent of class abilities and feats are purchased only rarely, as PCs level up their skills to required minimums.
I think, if you want to make your own rules set, you need to know what you want to get out of it. If you're just making a system that "makes sense", it'll fall apart or be hugely derivative (and if you're spending time making a derivative... why not just play the original game and save yourself some time?). I'd just write down on a piece of paper your main goal. For the three big ones I've made, the goals were:
[sblock=design goals for my games]
1) Mutant Game:
a) Character Generation based off random rolls for powers/drawbacks
b) Fairly open character classes that could be viewed multiple ways
c) Characters that are killed more easily than in standard d20 D&D (a heavy reliance on massive damage was used).
2) d12 System
a) Really fast skill resolution (roll the required number of d12s, take the best two results, doubles meant a critical success or failure, depending on the number rolled)
3) d% system
a) Remove the need for levelling your character and slowing down the game by increasing your level.
b) Keep the math as simple as possible (this was actually pretty easy to do, even with percentile modifiers!)
c) Every player should only bring two dice to the table.
d) Make sure that each PC was different and specialized in different zones, despite being a classless system (there are around 40 skills, and about half of those are useful in every session... "necessary" skills like Dodge and Perception are natural skills that every PC has, though every player must choose where to focus training in their natural skills).[/sblock]
Also, there are a lot of people who have made their own RPGs, and some are downright FUN. I'd recommend any RPGer check out this site:
http://www.darkshire.net/jhkim/rpg/freerpgs/index.html
It's a list of free RPGs, many made by random joes trying something out. Some are good, some suck, but if you want to make your own system, it's a good place to look for inspiration.
smeagolsaur
First Post
Hi Guys,
The game system I created is not an a typical RPG game, but relevant to this thread nonetheless.
I created a set of rules so that you can battle your Transformers figures against each other. The rules are quite simple and are based on the figure's tech specs (the stats found on the back of the box).
I wanted a simple system that utilizes the toys' tech specs and this is what I came up with - a game that you can play with one die, a ruler, and 30 minutes of your time, at most.
I hate math so I tried to make the system as simple as possible. The highest level of math required is simple division, and that's only for a few select actions.
It's all pretty straight forward and based on die-rolling, so once you get the hang of it the math is quite painless.
Try it out and leave comments, suggestions, etc!
http://sites.google.com/site/transformersd20/
The game system I created is not an a typical RPG game, but relevant to this thread nonetheless.
I created a set of rules so that you can battle your Transformers figures against each other. The rules are quite simple and are based on the figure's tech specs (the stats found on the back of the box).
I wanted a simple system that utilizes the toys' tech specs and this is what I came up with - a game that you can play with one die, a ruler, and 30 minutes of your time, at most.
I hate math so I tried to make the system as simple as possible. The highest level of math required is simple division, and that's only for a few select actions.
It's all pretty straight forward and based on die-rolling, so once you get the hang of it the math is quite painless.
Try it out and leave comments, suggestions, etc!
http://sites.google.com/site/transformersd20/
Last edited:
ExploderWizard
Hero
It sounds interesting but that link looks a bit odd. Care to copy/paste the rules into a post?
smeagolsaur
First Post
http://sites.google.com/site/transformersd20/
I would copy & paste but but for the fact that there are several pages of rules + images that would take up a load of space. Check it out, you have my word that it's not a virus or unsafe site.
I would copy & paste but but for the fact that there are several pages of rules + images that would take up a load of space. Check it out, you have my word that it's not a virus or unsafe site.
Last edited:
Logan_Bonner
First Post
I've designed the skeletons of a few RPG systems. I was working on two in the time between my graduation from college and being hired at WotC, but they were more experiments than attempts at making full games. In college, I created a Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy system that was highly open-ended. Before I got into RPGs, I made up a ridiculous number of TCGs (or TCG-like card games), most of which were terrible. Part of it was an excuse to make art for them as well, and I still drag out the old stuff and look at it once in a while.
I made the back bones to a couple. I could never write them down or finish them since no one was paying me for it.
One I made in high school was New York Movie. It was about being a human living in New York City during a movie/book/comic. "cause everything happens in NYC, baby. Aliens, supervillians, natural disaters, and monsters. You could aid Spiderman in a fight against zombie Godzilla. Or trying to get to high ground during a flood before the other people. D6 based with trading cards. Your stats affected your deck and your cards were your bonuses.
I'm curring working on one called Sunken world and another called Rogue Notes which are both adventure style sword and magic type games... if I ever have the time.
One I made in high school was New York Movie. It was about being a human living in New York City during a movie/book/comic. "cause everything happens in NYC, baby. Aliens, supervillians, natural disaters, and monsters. You could aid Spiderman in a fight against zombie Godzilla. Or trying to get to high ground during a flood before the other people. D6 based with trading cards. Your stats affected your deck and your cards were your bonuses.
I'm curring working on one called Sunken world and another called Rogue Notes which are both adventure style sword and magic type games... if I ever have the time.
Similar Threads
