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<blockquote data-quote="Blue" data-source="post: 7816036" data-attributes="member: 20564"><p>Okay, I'm assuming this is a project for you, to satisfy the game you want to run. If this is a game to publish, that's a different story.</p><p></p><p>First, I'm a huge proponent of the rules mechanically supporting the setting. So what about your setting (not your rules preferences at this point, those are later) can't fit well into another RPG. Write all of those down as goals. For example, Eberron needed dragonmarks. Some setting have their own magic system. Many stories having things fuel by willpower, or by blood, or the bonds between people, or by whatever. Make sure you can mechanically represent this. Is your setting gritty or high fantasy? Pendragon had various things like honor, and a generational approach. Cthulhu games requires soemthing like sanity. These games had different base requirements for their setting, and made sure to reflect them mechanically.</p><p></p><p>Second, what are the types of challenges you envision in the game? D&D is particularly combat-focused as the type of challenge to be mechanically overcome (as opposed to overcome in other ways). That need not be the case. Make sure that your system can address them, and that it's meaningful - investing at-table time to resolve something mechanically should have a meaningful repercussion.</p><p></p><p>Identify pain points in those challenges. For example a game focused around Heists will have issues with gobs of table time being spent on planning, which often is based on incomplete information and quickly becomes wasted time. Have mechanisms for both robust information gathering, but also potentially things like flashbacks where you can spend narrative currency to "have planned" a response to something you could have known about, allowing players to get to the action quicker as well as streamline the planning process.</p><p></p><p>Make sure that you can support all of the actions around the main thrust of play. In D&D 5e that's the other pillars - what are they for your game?</p><p></p><p>Think about character creation. What do is the minimal set to realize the above. You'll also need to determine if you a writing a zero to hero game, or is it like superhero or cyberpunk games where you start quite competent and then slowly grow from there? Players like options at character creation and advancement, and complexity can be put there that does not enter play as complexity during a session.</p><p></p><p>Now pare everything back. Practice subtractive design. If something isn't vital, try without it. Or with a lower impact version of it. Maybe it really adds to flavor, maybe it doesn't.</p><p></p><p>Along those lines, how fast does the game play at a table once you have knowledgeable players? This is related but separate. Streamline the most common mechanical actions - the ones that eat up the most wall clock time at the table.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Blue, post: 7816036, member: 20564"] Okay, I'm assuming this is a project for you, to satisfy the game you want to run. If this is a game to publish, that's a different story. First, I'm a huge proponent of the rules mechanically supporting the setting. So what about your setting (not your rules preferences at this point, those are later) can't fit well into another RPG. Write all of those down as goals. For example, Eberron needed dragonmarks. Some setting have their own magic system. Many stories having things fuel by willpower, or by blood, or the bonds between people, or by whatever. Make sure you can mechanically represent this. Is your setting gritty or high fantasy? Pendragon had various things like honor, and a generational approach. Cthulhu games requires soemthing like sanity. These games had different base requirements for their setting, and made sure to reflect them mechanically. Second, what are the types of challenges you envision in the game? D&D is particularly combat-focused as the type of challenge to be mechanically overcome (as opposed to overcome in other ways). That need not be the case. Make sure that your system can address them, and that it's meaningful - investing at-table time to resolve something mechanically should have a meaningful repercussion. Identify pain points in those challenges. For example a game focused around Heists will have issues with gobs of table time being spent on planning, which often is based on incomplete information and quickly becomes wasted time. Have mechanisms for both robust information gathering, but also potentially things like flashbacks where you can spend narrative currency to "have planned" a response to something you could have known about, allowing players to get to the action quicker as well as streamline the planning process. Make sure that you can support all of the actions around the main thrust of play. In D&D 5e that's the other pillars - what are they for your game? Think about character creation. What do is the minimal set to realize the above. You'll also need to determine if you a writing a zero to hero game, or is it like superhero or cyberpunk games where you start quite competent and then slowly grow from there? Players like options at character creation and advancement, and complexity can be put there that does not enter play as complexity during a session. Now pare everything back. Practice subtractive design. If something isn't vital, try without it. Or with a lower impact version of it. Maybe it really adds to flavor, maybe it doesn't. Along those lines, how fast does the game play at a table once you have knowledgeable players? This is related but separate. Streamline the most common mechanical actions - the ones that eat up the most wall clock time at the table. [/QUOTE]
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