Saturday, August 2, 2008

Thinking of a new RPG

I have now twice before tried to create my own tabletop roleplaying game. First was the Omnisystem, a blatant rip-off of 3.0 D&D forced into a classless, level-less system, stealing character creation from 3rd edition GURPS. It was a bad system overall. It was called the Omnisystem.

Then I tried creating a more unique, d100-based system, but it still borrowed much of its mechanics from 3.5 D&D and much of its character creation ideas from GURPS 4th. Also, I never finished it, because I saw the over-borrowing problems inherent in the system before I finished it, so it remained incomplete. It was named the Dream System.

Why do I keep trying to borrow elements from both of these systems? Well, After 3.0, D&D (including, now, 4th), has some of the best concepts in its mechanics, particularly for combat. However, I love being able to create EXACTLY the character I want, and GURPS lets me do that. But I've tried playing GURPS a few times, and it isn't quite a fun when it comes to play time because the rules are so complex and sometimes counter-intuitive. It just cannot compare with the streamlined rules of D&D (3rd and beyond).

What I want from an RPG:
* Streamlined mechanics.
* Fast-paced, cinematic or almost-cinematic combat.
* Minis-heavy combat.
* Ability to create almost any character concept I can think of, potentially.
* No classes.
* Mechanics that make the game-world(s) make sense internally.

Things I explicitly don't want in an RPG (this may reiterate the above-- this is a journal for a reason!):
* Classes.
* I can live with levels but I'd rather not.
* Overly complex mechanics, especially for combat.

Some ideas I had:
* Point-based character creation like GURPS, HERO, Champions, etc, but have 3 pools for points: one for attributes, one for combat-based abilities, one for non-combat abilities. The idea here is game balance. Optionally a GM can throw them all into one pool for an even more diverse system and this would be an option in the books, but the "core default" would be 3 separate pools, although characters would be given some points that could be spent ANYWHERE, for a bit more diversity.
* In combination with the above idea: have powers, skills, etc, cost a certain number of "combat points," "non-combat points," and/or "any points." Some abilities will cost only combat points, some will cost only non-combat points, and some will cost a combination. Conversely, flaws or disadvantages will grant bonus combat points, non-combat points, or a combination thereof.
* Builds. Builds are like a cross between D&D classes and GURPS templates. They simulate classes in a sense but are still optional.
* Steps. Not sure if this is a good idea. Steps basically simulate levels.
* Cool idea: Use icons for the different types of points. For example, when listing the cost of a power, list it as something like "5 C" where "C" is a little sword icon (for "combat points").

I can't think of anything to add at the moment. I'll post more as ideas come to me.

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