Looking for Assistance on a New project

[Qball]

Hi, as an Avid roleplayer I have played many roleplaying systems and all specialize in one area of expertise, or get so convoluted that the system is no longer "Playable". What I'm doing is proposing a new roleplaying system that for the benefit of us all will provide a suitable alternative to the d20 madness and all other roleplaying game systems. There is some "Universal" systems out there but many points following they "miss" completely.

Here is some solid points I must insist on since I am initiating this project. from this point I will call it project "Role-Play Daemon" or "RPD" for short.

1. This game will be Multi-Genre(i.e. Fantasy, Sci-fi, Time Travel, etcetera), and Multi-Paradigm(Realistic, Cartoon, Anime, Dramatic, etcetera) with SIMPLE to learn rules whose essence can be summed up in 1 or 2 pages.

2. This system must have 2 different "Modes" first mode is an advanced mode, that using a component based system you can create virtually any balanced "Powers","Abilities", or "Functions" of things. This of course can take some time as it is meant to customize abilities to suit a Genre or Paradigm. the second "mode" is basically the final result mode, this is where abilites are summed up in simple form to quickly pick and play. That way, this truely is a Multi-Genre, Multi-Paradigm system that will apease roleplayers, rule lawyers, tinkerers, and maybe even Wargamers and Card Game players if the rules are simple enough to port over.

3.These rules shall be copyrighted by those that contribute to the cause with appropriate royalties and rights according to percentage contributed. HOWEVER, this is only in the case that a deal can be stricken up for public exposure. I want and EXPECT the final result to be 100% free and downloadable. otherwise, whats the point in creating yet again, ANOTHER roleplaying system. the linux of roleplaying you might say.

4. Todays roleplaying market is not looking for exact results for roleplaying purposes, it's looking for a quick and simple system to create a "FLOWING" story for the fun and benefit of all. This system should be made with that intention in mind. So originality in how something is handled is welcome, as long as it does not encumber the system with useless rules.

5. The character creation system must STRESS "character" development at the beginning of the character creation as opposed to the end. I have some ideas to create "unique" characters with limitless possibilities.

6. The main book will be printable with less then 150 pages(or 300 half pages) the contain the bulk of the system. they must also include a 1 or 2 page summary of the basics of the system and an initial Genre and Paradigm included for quick play and testing(my vote is for Dramatic[Anime-like] Fantasy).

with the previous points in mind I hope we can make a useful system for everyones enjoyment for years to come.

I bring plenty of goodies to this project, as I am rather good with Acrobat writer, Photoshop, Gimp, 15 years roleplaying experience, HTML, and even have access to a server to host this project.

Looking for other talent that would like to contribute for the good of the roleplaying community.

Sincerely,
Temporary Self-Appointed Project Manager
Quentin Schilling
quentinschilling@hotmail.com

 

[SylverFlame]

As with all things roleplaying, I will be willing to throw in what remains of my two cents. (Exchange rates as they are, that's not much.) And since my summer rp-ing list is heavy with new developments I wish to make, I'll help as I can.

 

[Thimble the Squit]

RP Daemon

I am a rules lawyer and mechanics junkie - so not really the kind of designer you might want on your "character"-based RP idea. However, your concept seems to be very generic, which I believe hinges very heavily on the function of the rules within the game; character and roleplay potential are then the province and responsibility of the players and the gamesmaster.

So, as regards the rules, I have a few questions:

• Exactly how simple do you want your ruleset? There are a few generic systems out there already, of wildly differing complexities, from the exceptional simplicity of FUDGE and Over The Edge to the immense weightiness of GURPS -- where, between these polar extremes, do you anticipate RPD to stand?
• In style, you require the versatility to encapsulate anime, fantasy, horror, sci-fi and everything else -- but do you envision a 'high' or 'low' action-based game? By this, I mean, do you expect plenty of combat or more investigation-style adventures to be run within your system?
• How 'realistic' do you want the system to be? Will combat be fairly abstract, like d20 or World of Darkness, or grim and gritty, like RuneQuest or GURPS? Or somewhere inbetween?
• What dice do you want to use? Just d6's, like WEG's old Star Wars RPG, Classic Traveller or Shadowrun? d10's, as per Vampire, et al? All the dice under the sun, like Earthdawn or d20. Maybe you don't want to use dice at all, just a deck of cards (Psychosis, Everway) or no randomness at all (Amber).
• If you have decided on your die convention, do you have a core rules mechanic, such as WotC's d20 System, Chaosium's Basic Rules or Decipher Games' CODA System?

These considerations may just sound like "game-dropping" but there's a reason so many games are out there -- each of the above designers has had an idea which is in some way distinct from its competition. With the justifiable exception of the original Dungeons & Dragons game, which grew by osmosis and accumulation, the more successful systems are those which have remained true to a clear vision of their finished product.

Give us more to go on, particularly with a couple of ideas regarding a conceptual ruleset, and we can help you better. Without this, you will be inundated with a flood of (probably wholly incompatible) suggestions and you will lose all intended managerial authority, which will cause the project to collapse into anarchy and eventual apathy.

Otherwise, go for it, mate! I look forward to your ideas.

 

[Qball]

Thank you for the input so far.

· Quentin: Alright, in response to you as assisting as a game designer you are very much mistaken, I would GLADLY accept your help. And this is exactly the kind of help I’m looking for. One mans vision is not every mans, and I don’t expect this game to be the catch all, just a new and innovative way that paves the road for the next generation of roleplaying. But for NOW, perhaps we can improve our roleplaying with what we have at hand, and with others assists such as yours, we can make a Roleplaying system that could very well suit the majority of gamers out there.


· Well, Literally, RPD is just a temporary name until we can come up with a better more appropriate name. Figuratively, I would like the final result to be a flexible system like fudge, however not so open ended as to be almost unplayable like fudge. But in answer to complexity, I guess what I’m proposing is both a Meta-RPG system and a RPG system created with that Meta-System. The meta system would get rid of the necessity of mass amount of books like GURPS, but also be flexible enough to use as a RPG system for Anime, Cartoon, Realistic, and other Paradigms.

· In response to style, combat will actually consist of optional components. The more components, the more realism for the game. As for whether I plan on games being either more or less combat, I plan on the system being able to be used for either. In other roleplaying systems the rules do not account for the GM/DM to discard certain things he doesn’t like or feels encumbers the game. Even the rule of it’s the DM/GMs call I plan to remind them of that within the rules and actually account for it by making things easily customizeable. This should answer two of your questions.

· As for Dice, I see this system best used with d10’s but not in the style of White Wolf, perhaps in the style similar but not the same as Ars Magica. A deck of card would be a nice “Alternative, however I don’t want to alter the probabilities of the game, so the probability medium would have to be consistent.


· Well, the rule system is the bulk of the project. I don’t want something thrown together, I want it well thought out, and tested but required to be in line with KISS(keep it simple stupid.)

I hope this presents a SEED for the rule set and a better understanding of intended goal.

Rebuttle?

 

[Qball]

More

anybody else have any thoughts on this subject?