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<blockquote data-quote="Blue" data-source="post: 7817028" data-attributes="member: 20564"><p>Classless (and sometimes level-less) D&D-type RPGs is actually one of the common Fantasy Heartbreaker tropes. There is a lot of prior work there to inspire you or perhaps just <s>steal</s>^H^H^H^H^H adopt. Though if you enjoy futzing with a system as it's own hobby, that may not be for you. (That doesn't describe me. Nope, nope, not at all.)</p><p></p><p>BTW, I use the term "Fantasy Heartbreaker" in a loving way. I've made them myself, though never played outside me personally running. If you haven't heard the term before it's basically "I want to make D&D - but BETTER". Or "I'm going to FIX all the things I don't like about D&D". In other words, it's aiming for telling the same type of stories with much of the same design aesthetic (combat-focus, ability scores, skill lists, races, etc.) but tailored to what you want to see at the table. They are immensely fun because they scratch your own itch in just the right spot.</p><p></p><p>But if you want to publish, 5e is already doing quite well in it's niche, and there are plenty of games from blockbusters like PF (and it's new edition) to retro-clones to more narrative d20 games like 13th Age (a Fantasy Heartbreaker that was a recent commercial success) or Blue Rose. So to publish successfully you need to find a different fantasy niche.</p><p></p><p>But that may be at odds with making the game YOU (and your group hopefully) want to play.</p><p></p><p>So figure out up front if you want to try to publish and then take a hard turn away from all of those games with their already staked-out market niches. Or if you want to make the game that fits you personally like a glove - but may be too close to an already saturated market area to become more than a "pay what you want" on DriveThruRPG.</p><p></p><p>This isn't to discourage you. Both paths can be rewarding. It's that they aren't always the <em>same</em> path, and which direction to head is an early decision in design.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Blue, post: 7817028, member: 20564"] Classless (and sometimes level-less) D&D-type RPGs is actually one of the common Fantasy Heartbreaker tropes. There is a lot of prior work there to inspire you or perhaps just [S]steal[/S]^H^H^H^H^H adopt. Though if you enjoy futzing with a system as it's own hobby, that may not be for you. (That doesn't describe me. Nope, nope, not at all.) BTW, I use the term "Fantasy Heartbreaker" in a loving way. I've made them myself, though never played outside me personally running. If you haven't heard the term before it's basically "I want to make D&D - but BETTER". Or "I'm going to FIX all the things I don't like about D&D". In other words, it's aiming for telling the same type of stories with much of the same design aesthetic (combat-focus, ability scores, skill lists, races, etc.) but tailored to what you want to see at the table. They are immensely fun because they scratch your own itch in just the right spot. But if you want to publish, 5e is already doing quite well in it's niche, and there are plenty of games from blockbusters like PF (and it's new edition) to retro-clones to more narrative d20 games like 13th Age (a Fantasy Heartbreaker that was a recent commercial success) or Blue Rose. So to publish successfully you need to find a different fantasy niche. But that may be at odds with making the game YOU (and your group hopefully) want to play. So figure out up front if you want to try to publish and then take a hard turn away from all of those games with their already staked-out market niches. Or if you want to make the game that fits you personally like a glove - but may be too close to an already saturated market area to become more than a "pay what you want" on DriveThruRPG. This isn't to discourage you. Both paths can be rewarding. It's that they aren't always the [I]same[/I] path, and which direction to head is an early decision in design. [/QUOTE]
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