Scraping all the rules and starting over...

[Ulrick]

Right now I'm in this limbo of choosing which RPG system to play. I definitely would like something different that D&D 3.5. Yes, the d20 system is great. I like it. No big deal. The main problem I have with it is, as Gary Gygax said, "The magic is gone." And the stat blocks ruin my creativity.

So I pick up Castles & Crusades. I like that system. I think its okay. I really don't like all the grammatical and spelling errors in that book, however. It's strongest point is that it is compatible with other editions of D&D. And, like older editions of D&D, the books take awhile to come out.

I've been looking at other game systems. But then I realized something, maybe its time for me to create a gaming system that I'd like to play. The core mechanic would be d20. The stats would probably be the same, but everything else would be different. And then that's about as far as I got and realized what a huge project this would be.


Has anybody else attempted to scrap all the rules and built a game system from scratch?
Was doing so enjoyable or just a big headache?
What did your players/playtesters think?

 

[Shallown]

I've done that of course spread out over about 15 years.

I still enjoy lots of other systems so I have toyed with it on and offover the years. It is a complete system and I have run 4-5 campaigns in it so far. My players love it and are trying to get me to run it again after the currentgame. The major draw back is it is best suited for small groups and having 6 players may make it a pain to run.

Som aspects that make it fun is no one knows didly about the monsters and such so they are much more challenged by the new things I can create.

Its both enjoyable and a big headache.

I put it down for months on end and then pick it up and do some more editing and shuffling around of rules to make it run just a little quicker.

It's easier to just steal a system and design a new system around it. I have like 3-4 variations of the system used in seventh sea and they run pretty well. It can be fun to change things around but you have to have a group that will accept rules changing every week. I would print out new rule books all the time highlighting what changed from week to week as play testing went on.

later

 

[Silverleaf]

Maybe you ought to have a look at Talislanta:
http://www.talislanta.com/T4sampler.pdf

 

[Psion]

I used to tinker around with systems for my SF RPG.

I eventually decided that gaming was funner than making games or playtesting them.

Since then, I am more of the mind to tweak something that's close that start from scratch.

 

[der_kluge]

I like C&C, but it's a bit too extreme the other direction. Scadgrad, who GM's our C&C game, house ruled feats (not all, but most) back into the game. He removed most of the pre-reqs on them as well, and simplified them somewhat. So, it's a bit like C&C with 3rd edition thrown in. Simple, but still has some room for variety. I like it. It's a happy medium.

 

[greywulf]

Sounds to me like you need to immerse yourself in FUDGE for a while. It's sticky and gooey and gets in your toes - but it's also a great mega-game system for creating your own rulesystem.

Well worth a read through by anyone with Those Kinds of Thoughts.

http://www.fudgerpg.com/fudge.html

 

[Man in the Funny Hat]

Has anybody else attempted to scrap all the rules and built a game system from scratch?

Yep.

Was doing so enjoyable or just a big headache?

My skull melted, my spirit reached up my throat and strangled my brain just on general principles, and then my pituitary exploded. Yeah, it was a headache.

What did your players/playtesters think?

Playte.... ha. Ha-ha. HA! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! You mean actually INFLICT rules upon my friends? Dude, they have LAWS about that kind of thing...

Fortunately somebody finally DID do exactly what I was trying to do for YEARS. It's called Third Edition. No really. EVERYTHING I was trying to do was pretty much done in 3E. I am not making this up.

 

[Mythmere1]

I'm in almost the same point of view as Der Kluge (although I like the base C&C system much better than he does). The thing to do is take C&C and then design the particular house rules combination you like. It lessens the HUGE hassle of designing the whole thing (which I've also tried - sucked, both the effort and the result).

But C&C works well to get you halfway to a new game design, I think.

 

[Rasyr]

Has anybody else attempted to scrap all the rules and built a game system from scratch?

Yup, you can download a free version of the result from the following link:
http://www.harphq.com/free_downloads/3000L_HarpLite.pdf

Was doing so enjoyable or just a big headache?

Both actually.... At times it was very cool, especially when the ideas would come (usually from multiple sources) and form something that I never really intended, but which worked out so much better than what I had originally planned.

What did your players/playtesters think?

So far, just about everybody who has tried HARP has liked it. There are some who haven't, but they just have tastes that didn't mesh with the system.

If you want to give HARP a try, but want to use a d20 rather than percentile dice, then download the following file along with the free pdf linked above.
http://www.harphq.com/free_downloads/HARPd20fied.zip

 

[GlassJaw]

The core mechanic would be d20. The stats would probably be the same, but everything else would be different. And then that's about as far as I got and realized what a huge project this would be.

Well it's already been done for you: Grim Tales.

Seriously. If you are looking for a totally different d20 game, GT is for you. It will get your creative juices flowing again, I promise.