Scraping all the rules and starting over...

[scourger]

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

I've come to a similar realization. And, the shine is off the d20 D&D penny for me. I could still probably work up enough interest to run Judge Dredd d20 or Omega World d20, but d20 D&D is just more work than play for me right now--even though I use pre-printed modules exclusively. I honestly think it's the magic that kills it for me. Tracking all the hit points gets tedious, too; but I could live with it by itself.

Lately, I've been fascinated by Savage Worlds. I'm trying to buy Tour of Darkness from my FLGS, but they can't (or won't) get it. I've downloaded a couple of adventures, but they just didn't grab me. But the core game is awesome. It generic and simple, but it keeps enough complexity and advancement to seem interesting for the long haul without becoming overwhelming.

Here's a link:

http://www.peginc.com/Games/Games.htm

 

[amethal]

Have you considered Green Ronin's True 20 system?

It approaches the problem from the opposite direction to Castles and Crusades. There are only 3 classes (warrior, adept and expert), there are no class abilities, and everyone gets a feat every level.

 

[Aus_Snow]

Have you considered Green Ronin's True 20 system?

Huh, beat me to it.

Probably couldn't get closer to what the OP seems to want/intend. That I've seen, at least. d20 deconstructed and partially reconstructed in a sleek new form? In one.

edit --- But if you want things deconstructed in a different way, there's always Buy the Numbers. Scrapes them rules good!

 

[fuindordm]

I did that with the HERO system long ago, trying to come up with a 'HERO lite' tailored to a homebrew arabian nights setting. I think the rules were pretty good, and we played a couple of sessions with them, but I have no idea if they were balanced or not. They took me about six months of here-and-there effort to design.

Do it for fun, not in hopes of finding the one true system.

What specifically about 3.5 would you scrap? You can change the feel of the game a lot with relatively simple rules changes (see Unearthed Arcana).

If you don't like the skill system, check out Iron Heroes (coming soon from Malhavoc) for inspiration.
If you don't like feats, try C&C.
If you don't like the magic system, check out Blue Rose.
If you want a low-magic, grim game, check out Grim Tales.
If you're sick of D&D and D20, but like high fantasy, try Earthdawn.

Ben

 

[Akrasia]

I like both True 20 and C&C a lot, and think that both systems can be tweaked quite a bit, but if you are serious about wanted to design your own system, I think this is very good advice:

Sounds to me like you need to immerse yourself in FUDGE for a while....

FUDGE gives you the tools to design your own game (as simple or complex as you want).

 

[Driddle]

Scrapping, with two Ps.

 

[Ourph]

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

Yeah, a couple of times.

Was doing so enjoyable or just a big headache?

A little of both while I was in the middle of doing it. At the end though, when I realized I'd spent tons of time I could have been thinking up adventures or playing; doing something that other people (who are better at design and have lots more resources than I do) are more than willing to do for me for a measly $20-30 a book, I felt like kicking myself in the head.

What did your players/playtesters think?

I never got to that point, because (after looking over the "new" rules) I realized they weren't significantly different than any number of other rulesets available to me in nice pretty books with tons of support material. So I just bought the books and played those games instead.

 

[Ulrick]

Have you considered Green Ronin's True 20 system?

It approaches the problem from the opposite direction to Castles and Crusades. There are only 3 classes (warrior, adept and expert), there are no class abilities, and everyone gets a feat every level.

This sounds like the direction I was going to take after looking at similar rules in Unearthed Arcana.

I fiddled around with FUDGE some years ago. I ran a superhero game with it.

I have HARP and its ancestor MERP. I like both rulesets, but could do without the 2 second rounds in HARP.

And I'll check out talislanta.

Thanks ya'll