Systems and the fun of Homebrewing in them

[ErisIndomina]

List two or more systems you like to play or run, then how much you enjoy (or don't) making homebrew for them! Bonus points if they contrast.

Exalted Essence: I love playing it, and I enjoy running it. It really does capture the feel of being powerful demigods in a vast world full of problems. Downside? I loathe homebrewing custom enemies, charms, and artifacts, simply because of how many moving parts the system uses and needs, even while being the most streamlined version of Exalted.

Daggerheart: Though I've spent less time with it, all of my experience has been great thus far. What really sets it apart for a lot of systems for me as a GM though, is that I actually adore making homebrew content for it. I've made gobs of adversaries, some of which I don't know if they'll ever see use, just because it was fun to make them.

 

[aramis erak]

Daggerheart: One of the few I don't absolutely detest homebrewing for... Right Knight to Fight's homebrewing guide shows all the ranges he used in creating the monster list in the book, so my homebrews, sticking by his guide, all felt right on first play.

AD&D 2e: I used to love AD&D 2e (back in the 90s)... it didn't feel like there was any real balance in AD&D 1e/2e, so I found it utterly unnerving to homebrew for. Largely because my homebrew either was a minor tweak to existing entries in the MC, and so barely felt different, or were whole cloth unpredictable in resulting relative power. I have, since, outgrown my like of AD&D 2... by 2012 I no longer found it fun to run or play.

I'll note that WEG Star Wars also lacks consistency, but never claims to be balanced anyway, so was less an issue; homebrewing for it was stabbing in the dark at a moaning target. I still like running it (last run in 2022)... I don't trust anyone else's homebrew for it, but have homebrewed a few things for myself.

 

[Jahydin]

Pathfinder 2e: One of the few systems that I play and GM regularly, but have zero desire to homebrew for. I'm more than happy to pay the professionals for this one.

Savage Worlds: On more than one occasion I've setup entire campaigns on the fly with zero prep thanks to how easy it is to create PCs, NPCs, monsters, and adventures on the spot.

Castles & Crusades: I own a lot of systems, but this is the one I love to homebrew rules for the most. It has that perfect balance of a great system that's just a little broke, so if I just tweak these few things it might just be perfect...

 

[Laurefindel]

The One Ring RPG (both 1st and 2nd edition): Both editions have their own appeal IMO

Why I don't like to homebrew TOR: I don't loathe homebrewing for TOR as much as I don't feel I need to; the game is self-contained and captures the elusive Tolkien feel that many games, while good games, failed to evoke. TOR defines itself as much in what it allows you to do as in what it doesn't allow. The amount of choice is just right and I find those restrictions liberating.

Why I do like to homebrew TOR: I find that the system and mechanics philosophy is easily exportable. I hacked the first edition of TOR to make a Twilight Imperium RPG (based on the board game, before the Genesis-based TIRPG became a thing). In this case, the cultural approach of TOR was easily adaptable to the factions approach of Twilight Imperium. I also hacked the second edition of TOR for my Star Wars RPG. It that case the hope/shadow axis played well with the themes of Star Wars.

 

[DrunkonDuty]

HERO System is, by definition, a system for tinkering. I've just started running a campaign of Legend of the 5 Rings using HERO. I have a 250 page campaign book detailing schools and spells and skills, and systems for elemental rings, honour and glory. The whole kaboodle. I've also homebrewed some stuff, like changing stats to just be their bonus (plain got rid of one stat) and changing the roll under mechanic to roll over. And a few other small time changes.

So far it's working well. Very happy with how it has turned out.

I did up a set of rules for running Pathfinder 1e as an E8 game. I feat-ified a lot of stuff and added a lot of flexibility to the spell system. I ran a campaign using it, but at the end of the day it just ran like PF 1e. None of the spell casters wanted to use the flexible options and we only got to level 8. That being said, I found homebrewing it a fun exercise.

 

[jdrakeh]

Years ago (13, I think), I created an expansion for Holmes Basic D&D in the form of PDF inserts for one of those customizable DM screens. It included some of my house rules, expanded character levels, and a few other goodies. It was really the first time that I can recall tinkering with somebody else's system. I also just released a "weird west" hack of Holmes Basic for free (free for now, anyhow).

Over the past week, I've been reading source material as I prep for working on a Dolmenwood-compatible project inspired by the works of Professor Tolkien (Middle Earth-inspired classes and magic, specifically). I'm really looking forward to it as it's somewhat outside of my regular wheelhouse and I am a big fan of both Middle Earth and Dolmenwood.

 

[Endie]

Traveller (Mongoose 2e but fairly true from CT onwards) - it’s made to homebrew for: the homebrewing element is literally the entire game for many people. The rules to homebrew anything in the game are there for me to use, whether it’s an opponent, a vehicle, a robot, a spaceship or a cluster of star systems. The task resolution system is flexible enough to do the same with systems (eg to replace the Byzantine, flawed Mercenary rules that MJD came up with - but did not playtest - in a fever dream).

D&D (5e) - astonishingly obscure to hit the right balance, probably due to the sheer number and range of values to perform balance-calculus across. I find that I’ll almost certainly have to just adjust on the fly at game-time. With AD&D it was still tricky where magical effects were involved, but balance was less prominent as an idea and it was a foolish party that went into a fight with something they didn’t recognise without a way of getting out.