My name is Justin, I'm coming here from Giant In The Playground forums. I'm building my own tabletop RPG and I'm hoping that here I can get more help (it is a herculean effort with such a small group) than I could over there. (I will admit that I have no idea if this site provides any chance of success, I stumbled across it at random.)
I'm coming here for a number of reasons. First off, I've been getting less and less comfortable with the lazy, zero-tolerance moderation of the Giant in the Playground staff. I haven't gotten in trouble there in a long time, but I'm sick of walking on eggshells. Second, my attempts to get help on GITP have been met entirely with failure. Nobody is interested in making a new system there, just playing the old ones. Third, the site has been down for (I think) a couple weeks, and while that's not a big deal it's kinda the last straw for me. I'm not leaving that forum entirely, but I need a new one and I hope this is it.
I'm here *only* for my new system and nothing else. I want to make it work, but making an entire system from scratch is rather difficult and my real life friends are putting in very sparse efforts on it if any at all, so if this system is to work, I will need a lot of help.
So you want to develop a RPG engine rather than a setting.
Three stats (1d6 each initial): strength, memory, bravery. All three sum to provide action points.
Actions:
move one square: 2pt
Use stat specific skill: up to stat limit
I'm a lot farther than that. And this system actually has six major stats, rather than three, and uses a point-buy system instead of die rolls. It also has a setting built-in, which I'm working on at the same time.
Avian Mosquito wrote: I'm a lot farther than that. And this system actually has six major stats, rather than three, and uses a point-buy system instead of die rolls. It also has a setting built-in, which I'm working on at the same time. Fantasy or scifi?
Why "or"? I like "and" better. The setting varies technologically from "rock, bone and metal" to "space ships, robots and nuclear fusion" based on which interconnecting world you're in, but magic is an inherent trait of life and so ubiquitous that it's impossible not to have a significant amount of it in one form or another.
Avian Mosquito wrote: Why "or"? I like "and" better. The setting varies technologically from "rock, bone and metal" to "space ships, robots and nuclear fusion" based on which interconnecting world you're in, but magic is an inherent trait of life and so ubiquitous that it's impossible not to have a significant amount of it in one form or another. So magic is the wonder of your childhood...depleated over time by the horrors you experience or perpetrate and revitalized by new and wonderful discoveries?
Uh, no. Magic in this setting is an inherent trait of life, basically a life energy organized into supernatural traits based mostly on the user's psychological traits. (Those psychological traits are represented by classes.)
Hi Justin! Welcome to the forums, hope you enjoy your time here and the company of the lovely folks that inhabit the same. You might also want to check out the Gamer Talk and Other RPG sub-forums, as this seems like something that might resonate with them too.
As to the new system building, good luck with the project. It's certainly quite an undertaking. I have a couple of friends who have built their own systems (which I've played and enjoyed) over time, but they've mainly limited their focus to restrict the scope of the undertaking. It sounds like your concept has a GURPS level of detail, which is quite a lot of work.
How far along are you so far? It'll help for giving input if we know what's done. For example, I see you mention having 6 stats in the system, and that it is point buy as opposed to die rolls. Do you mean at character creation, or for performing tasks? For example, in Pathfinder, at character creation, you can do a point buy, where you have X points and can distribute them among your stats, or you can roll your stats. Or do you mean your stats determine what "pools" of action points you have, that can be spent on different tasks, depending on which pool it comes from? If the former, have you considered what die type(s) you're going to use, and how the difficulty of tasks and what determines success?
The interconnecting world thing reminds me of one of the systems my friend built, though we had "gifted" individuals and high tech tying the planets together, as opposed to magic.
I've got the core mechanics working, a few need changing but I know what to do with those. Mostly I just don't have much content and I haven't worked in many of the minor mechanics yet.
By "point buy" I mean when creating a character. You have a set total for your base stats, a minimum and a maximum. You can't roll for stats. You do roll a die and add modifiers for most actions, or you can choose an automatic value to remove the chance.
As for spending points on tasks, that's done an awful lot.
For time, each turn has six seconds in it, which are spent on actions, but how many seconds an action takes can be stat-dependent. Attacks, for instance, use the "attack rate" derived stat, which for melee both strength and agility raise. This means they take 6/AR seconds, rounded up. Base attack rate is 1, most people have a strength and agility total between 20 and 29, which means +2 to attack rate, so an attack rate of 3 and thus two second basic attacks. (Some attacks take more or less time. Power attacks, for instance, take twice as much time.)
Spells use a spell slot system, kinda like D&D, except for a few classes. Sorcerers, bards, physicians and sentinels don't prepare spells. Martial artists use an energy pool, and many classes have magical abilities that just have a limit on the number of uses per rest, or can be used infinitely. (Bards, for instance, have magic songs, poems and mantras that are infinite, but take time and only work while being used.)
For other actions, there's a fatigue counter that builds as you act. This inflicts a -1 penalty to all attributes for every 100 points, depleting over time and especially when a character rests.
Most special abilities and equipment types also have a unique counter or pool associated with them, like the rage counter used by the "rage attack" feat, the armour points used by reactive and ablative armour, or the shield points used by energy shields.
Hmm, it does seem like you have quite a bit done. When you say content, do you mean spells, abilities, and minor mechanics, or do you mean the system setting? The history, civilizations, and politics of the world(s) the system is based in?
Sounds likes good stuff. For the spells, how do you gain new spells? Are there levels, and you get X spells per level? Or is there a downtime / cost investment? Both? Do prepared casters need spellbooks, or do they prepare them by memory? For the non prepared casters, are they like sorcerers of D&D, or do you have a different mechanic in mind for them? Can new spells be researched / developed? The energy pool of the martials sounds like the ki pool of Monks or the Grit pool of Gunslingers, which, as far as I'm concerned, works well as a mechanic.
Speaking of levels, is it a level based advancement or do you get xp, which you can spend flexibly on different stats and skills? I'm getting a D&D basis vibe, which makes sense given the GITPG background, and coming to Paizo next, but just thought I'd make sure.
LordSynos wrote: Hmm, it does seem like you have quite a bit done. When you say content, do you mean spells, abilities, and minor mechanics, or do you mean the system setting? The history, civilizations, and politics of the world(s) the system is based in? I mean spells, feats, minor mechanics, creatures, weapons, equipment, that kind of thing. I'll handle the settings entirely on my own, and I've got a whole 13 worlds already. (Not necessarily in that great of detail, but one thing at a time.)
Quote: Sounds likes good stuff. For the spells, how do you gain new spells? Are there levels, and you get X spells per level? Or is there a downtime / cost investment? Both? Depends. Those that use divine magic know all possible spells of their level automatically. Arcane casters learn a certain number each level, and two of them (mages and wizards) can learn new spells independently if they have the time. Others have a hard limit on how many they can know, and learning new spells means replacing old ones.
Quote: Do prepared casters need spellbooks, or do they prepare them by memory? Given the setting, a spell book wouldn't make any sense. No class needs a spell book. Some spells might have a material component or focus requirement, but casters can take the a feat that lets them skip a single component. (The second level of that lets them skip two.)
Quote: For the non prepared casters, are they like sorcerers of D&D, or do you have a different mechanic in mind for them? They're like D&D sorcerers. In fact, one's even called a "sorcerer". Or "sorceress", as the case may be. Their main weakness is the inability to know more than a few spells, but being able to cast whichever they know whenever they want to.
Quote: Can new spells be researched / developed? Not yet. Maybe later, in the form of homebrewing, but not yet.
Quote: The energy pool of the martials sounds like the ki pool of Monks or the Grit pool of Gunslingers, which, as far as I'm concerned, works well as a mechanic. Why yes. Also the power pool of psions, or the mana pools of all casters in almost any video game. All perfectly applicable comparisons, because they're exactly the same mechanic. And for once, I think mine might be the most unique version, because it allows you to choose how much of it to use, and some of it is used continuously.
Quote: Speaking of levels, is it a level based advancement or do you get xp, which you can spend flexibly on different stats and skills? A little from column A, a little from column B. There's an experience system that gives you levels to take in classes, awarding skill points and feats, a lot like D&D. But there's other ways to increase your stats. Trainers are a good way to increase your stats immediately, and GMs have it at their discretion to award skill/attribute bonuses after quests either as quest rewards or for the actions of the players. There's also supposed to be an optional extra "deeds" mechanic that rewards XP and skill/attribute progression, but that's in the "when I get to it" pile. Which unfortunately is quite a pile.
Quote: I'm getting a D&D basis vibe, which makes sense given the GITPG background, and coming to Paizo next, but just thought I'd make sure. Kinda-sorta. I used a lot of D&D terminology and some basic mechanics, but the game doesn't play like D&D at all. In fact, it's specifically designed to not play like D&D. It includes mechanics like body damage and bleeding, and has body damage based death conditions in addition to health based ones. (Although not all enemies are vulnerable to death from body damage, and not all enemies have health.)
Also, while I'm here, how do I get the message board to start notifying me when replies are made? I'm not going to be online all the time.
Avian Mosquito wrote: I mean spells, feats, minor mechanics, creatures, weapons, equipment, that kind of thing. I'll handle the settings entirely on my own, and I've got a whole 13 worlds already. (Not necessarily in that great of detail, but one thing at a time.) Gotcha, gotcha. So, how many classes do you have in mind? Will item crafting be a thing? Other races? Will creatures have "classes" or their own type of magic? Are there psionics? Is there psionic/magic transparency, i.e. magic affecting things also affects psionics? Is sufficiently high level tech to balance with magic, or will magic always trump tech?
I'm no game maker / mechanics master, but I will ask questions and help where I can. :)
Avian Mosquito wrote: Depends. Those that use divine magic know all possible spells of their level automatically. Arcane casters learn a certain number each level, and two of them (mages and wizards) can learn new spells independently if they have the time. Others have a hard limit on how many they can know, and learning new spells means replacing old ones. So, kinda how D&D does it then?
Avian Mosquito wrote: Given the setting, a spell book wouldn't make any sense. No class needs a spell book. Some spells might have a material component or focus requirement, but casters can take the a feat that lets them skip a single component. (The second level of that lets them skip two.) Okay. So, how do Arcane casters record their spells known? Is there a physical medium for it at all, or all mental/memory? Are scrolls/wands/potions/staffs a thing? Will any spells have expensive material components, such as the diamond dust required for Wish in D&D? If so, can they be skipped with that feat?
Avian Mosquito wrote: They're like D&D sorcerers. In fact, one's even called a "sorcerer". Or "sorceress", as the case may be. Their main weakness is the inability to know more than a few spells, but being able to cast whichever they know whenever they want to. Makes sense. Maybe more like the Warlock? Even fewer spells than a D&D Sorcerer, but infinite casting of those spells.
Avian Mosquito wrote: Not yet. Maybe later, in the form of homebrewing, but not yet. Grand so.
Avian Mosquito wrote: Why yes. Also the power pool of psions, or the mana pools of all casters in almost any video game. All perfectly applicable comparisons, because they're exactly the same mechanic. And for once, I think mine might be the most unique version, because it allows you to choose how much of it to use, and some of it is used continuously. Spot on. So, kinda like committed mana to sustain an effect then? In works in video games, I don't see why it couldn't work in tabletop too.
Avian Mosquito wrote: A little from column A, a little from column B. There's an experience system that gives you levels to take in classes, awarding skill points and feats, a lot like D&D. But there's other ways to increase your stats. Trainers are a good way to increase your stats immediately, and GMs have it at their discretion to award skill/attribute bonuses after quests either as quest rewards or for the actions of the players. There's also supposed to be an optional extra "deeds" mechanic that rewards XP and skill/attribute progression, but that's in the "when I get to it" pile. Which unfortunately is quite a pile. Oh, cool. Quite a few GM dependent bonuses. Which can work fine.
Avian Mosquito wrote: Kinda-sorta. I used a lot of D&D terminology and some basic mechanics, but the game doesn't play like D&D at all. In fact, it's specifically designed to not play like D&D. It includes mechanics like body damage and bleeding, and has body damage based death conditions in addition to health based ones. (Although not all enemies are vulnerable to death from body damage, and not all enemies have health.) Ah, wonderful. That was something that put me off trying D&D for some time. "1HP is the same as full HP? How silly."
Avian Mosquito wrote: Also, while I'm here, how do I get the message board to start notifying me when replies are made? I'm not going to be online all the time. You can't, as far as I'm aware. Maybe a post in the Website Feedback forum would be best though, to be sure?
Quote: Gotcha, gotcha. So, how many classes do you have in mind? Will item crafting be a thing? Other races? Will creatures have "classes" or their own type of magic? Are there psionics? Is there psionic/magic transparency, i.e. magic affecting things also affects psionics? Is sufficiently high level tech to balance with magic, or will magic always trump tech? There are twenty classes. Crafting is a thing and there's an entire class, the artisan, built around various forms of crafting, although it's just better at crafting, you don't need to be an artisan to craft. There's 20 playable species, but I haven't written one of them out yet. Creatures have classes, but their classes are based on their mental faculties. After all, classes are personality powers. So only reasoning creatures perform normally. Non-reasoning creatures are impaired, non-sapient creatures can only ever get one level because they can't learn, and non-sentient creatures don't have levels at all. There are no dedicated psionics, per se, but mental magic is built into standard casting and some creatures have inherent psionic abilities. (None of those are playable, though.) As for magic vs. technology, why does it have to be in competition? They're not contradictory at all. Magic also isn't allmighty, or even anything special, and technology provides benefits for casters just like it provides for combatants.
Quote: I'm no game maker / mechanics master, but I will ask questions and help where I can. :) Okay. So you know, I've posted my first (fairly short) post on the system in "Other RPGs".
Quote: So, kinda how D&D does it then? Kinda, yeah.
Quote: Okay. So, how do Arcane casters record their spells known? Is there a physical medium for it at all, or all mental/memory? Are scrolls/wands/potions/staffs a thing? Will any spells have expensive material components, such as the diamond dust required for Wish in D&D? If so, can they be skipped with that feat? They don't need to record it. They might decide to write down what they know, but they don't *need* to. Scrolls are a thing, a cheap single cast of a spell they can use easily. Wands and staves are used to cast spells of a particular level, but they are expensive to produce and recharge and only hold so many charges. All material components and focuses are roughly the same expense at the same spell level, and usually are the same if from the same spell list, element and level. Sometimes spells of different levels even share a material component and just use different amounts, like the various arcane fire spells all require alcohol. And there's no god spells, but rituals require expensive ritual components, take a long time to perform, and since the ritual requires the components and the spell is part of the ritual, not the other way around, the feat doesn't impact the added components of the ritual, just the spell itself.
Quote: Makes sense. Maybe more like the Warlock? Even fewer spells than a D&D Sorcerer, but infinite casting of those spells. No, not really. The only caster able to use any ability infinitely is the bard, not for spells, and their songs, poems and mantras can be used infinitely because they barely require any magic to function, so the fatigue build can cover it.
Quote: Grand so. Pardon?
Quote: Spot on. So, kinda like committed mana to sustain an effect then? In works in video games, I don't see why it couldn't work in tabletop too. Basically. Like the "unbreakable defence" ability some martial artists can choose gives a +4 to guard saving throws for each point of ki invested, per turn. (The guard save is blocking and deflecting of targeted attacks.)
Quote: Oh, cool. Quite a few GM dependent bonuses. Which can work fine. Yeah, if the GM wants to bother and knows what they're doing. Which is why I'm hoping to make a good number of built-ins to point them the right way.
Quote: Ah, wonderful. That was something that put me off trying D&D for some time. "1HP is the same as full HP? How silly." Here, we move in smaller increments. Every 25% of your health or 50% of your body part integrity incurs a penalty. (And it's not a small penalty, let me tell you.)
Quote: You can't, as far as I'm aware. Maybe a post in the Website Feedback forum would be best though, to be sure? Well, that sucks. That really, really sucks.
Wait, this thread just got moved. Now I have two threads is "Other RPGs". That just feels superfluous.
Avian Mosquito wrote: There are twenty classes. Crafting is a thing and there's an entire class, the artisan, built around various forms of crafting, although it's just better at crafting, you don't need to be an artisan to craft. There's 20 playable species, but I haven't written one of them out yet. Creatures have classes, but their classes are based on their mental faculties. After all, classes are personality powers. So only reasoning creatures perform normally. Non-reasoning creatures are impaired, non-sapient creatures can only ever get one level because they can't learn, and non-sentient creatures don't have levels at all. There are no dedicated psionics, per se, but mental magic is built into standard casting and some creatures have inherent psionic abilities. (None of those are playable, though.) As for magic vs. technology, why does it have to be in competition? They're not contradictory at all. Magic also isn't allmighty, or even anything special, and technology provides benefits for casters just like it provides for combatants. Quite a lot of options. That's really cool, but does increase the creation load. Are you hoping the classes to be balanced? There's always a lot of talk about balance bringing homogeneousness, but I feel things can be balanced while still bringing their own individuals flavours to the table. I dislike the idea of trap options. 20 is a lot of classes, my only concern is ending up with "class X is class Y but better. People with system mastery never pick class Y, because X does it all and then some." But that level of choice is very nice, to be sure.
Oh, I didn't mean it had to be in competition. Poor phrasing on my part. Just wondering how they measured up. Clarifying it in my own mind. Of course, if everyone has magic and it manifests in different ways, that would be how it works. I definitely like the idea.
Avian Mosquito wrote: Okay. So you know, I've posted my first (fairly short) post on the system in "Other RPGs". Good plan. The more possible inputs, the better.
Avian Mosquito wrote: They don't need to record it. They might decide to write down what they know, but they don't *need* to. Scrolls are a thing, a cheap single cast of a spell they can use easily. Wands and staves are used to cast spells of a particular level, but they are expensive to produce and recharge and only hold so many charges. All material components and focuses are roughly the same expense at the same spell level, and usually are the same if from the same spell list, element and level. Sometimes spells of different levels even share a material component and just use different amounts, like the various arcane fire spells all require alcohol. And there's no god spells, but rituals require expensive ritual components, take a long time to perform, and since the ritual requires the components and the spell is part of the ritual, not the other way around, the feat doesn't impact the added components of the ritual, just the spell itself. Ah, so from memory then, it doesn't need physical recording. That's a nice change. Scrolls and wands/staves sound much the same, which is good, I like the flavour of them. The material components makes sense, and the removal of god spells can only be a good thing. When it comes to ritual magic, can people work together to make a ritual more powerful? If a long ritual is started and targeted against a particular person, do they know they're on a time limit, as it were? Or are rituals offensive? Is there magic that can reach between planets, or would one need to travel to another planet to affect people there with their magic?
Avian Mosquito wrote: No, not really. The only caster able to use any ability infinitely is the bard, not for spells, and their songs, poems and mantras can be used infinitely because they barely require any magic to function, so the fatigue build can cover it. Ah, okay. I get you now. Are the songs low power or high fatigue? Or are there enough to have a little column A, little column B? Or, is the aim for there to be enough for both, and the mix in-between, and they're just not made yet?
Avian Mosquito wrote: Pardon? Ha! Sorry. Local phrase. Just means, gotcha. I understand. Sounds reasonable/good. :)
Avian Mosquito wrote: Basically. Like the "unbreakable defence" ability some martial artists can choose gives a +4 to guard saving throws for each point of ki invested, per turn. (The guard save is blocking and deflecting of targeted attacks.) Yeah, that kinda thing. Sounds good. I'm guessing save DC's must get pretty high, to give a +4 to saving throws? Or would a 1 ki per turn be a high cost? I know you said fatigue would go by 100 for a -1, so I wasn't sure how high you'd hope other pools to go.
Avian Mosquito wrote: Yeah, if the GM wants to bother and knows what they're doing. Which is why I'm hoping to make a good number of built-ins to point them the right way. Definitely a good thing to do. Having a structure to it is good, in case of GM-pets. :P A solid setting which people can invest themselves in helps for this kind of thing too. Though that'll be limited by the GM relating the story as much as by the story itself.
Avian Mosquito wrote: Here, we move in smaller increments. Every 25% of your health or 50% of your body part integrity incurs a penalty. (And it's not a small penalty, let me tell you.) Good, good. Getting messed up having actual consequences is a good thing, as far as I'm concerned.
Avian Mosquito wrote: Well, that sucks. That really, really sucks. Hey, as I said, maybe post in the Website Feedback forum asking about it, to be sure. They're pretty friendly and active, far as I can tell, so they'll clear it up one way or the other. And if they think it's a good idea and it's not in yet, they may even consider implementing it. They're receptive to their users. :)
Avian Mosquito wrote: Wait, this thread just got moved. Now I have two threads is "Other RPGs". That just feels superfluous. I just noticed that. How odd. I suppose they felt it did belong in the Other RPG section, and didn't notice that you'd already posted there. Well, hopefully, if this is the right section for this, you'll get more feedback now too. You can always delete the other one. Or ask a mod to.
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So I have to ask, is this a personal project done simply for grins or are you hoping to turn around and sell the end result?
LordSynos wrote: Quite a lot of options. That's really cool, but does increase the creation load. Are you hoping the classes to be balanced? There's always a lot of talk about balance bringing homogeneousness, but I feel things can be balanced while still bringing their own individuals flavours to the table. I dislike the idea of trap options. 20 is a lot of classes, my only concern is ending up with "class X is class Y but better. People with system mastery never pick class Y, because X does it all and then some." But that level of choice is very nice, to be sure. The classes are actually done. I need to make one big change to all of them, since I changed one major system a bit ago. As for balance, yeah I expect them to be balanced. There are a few that simply won't work in some campaigns, (like taking levels as an artisan may well be a waste of experience if you can't make anything in that campaign, and taking savant levels in a short campaign is also a waste of experience) but they all have a good purpose and they can all at least pull their weight outside of their ideal circumstances. And if you'd believe it, most of the choices are entirely unique within the system, and those that fill the same role have big enough benefits and drawbacks to play differently. (Like the rogue and scout. Scouts are more mobile and better combatants, but get far inferior sneak attacks.)
LordSynos wrote: Oh, I didn't mean it had to be in competition. Poor phrasing on my part. Just wondering how they measured up. Clarifying it in my own mind. Of course, if everyone has magic and it manifests in different ways, that would be how it works. I definitely like the idea. And that's how it is, so that's how it's designed. And as for how offensive spells fair against weapons, which is the standard comparison, it depends on circumstance. Weapons are almost always superior against a single target. By a lot. Spells, on the other hand, tend to have better special effects and outperform weapons against multiple targets. Spellcasters also have the advantage, important in high-tech settings, of casting support spells that enhance their allies or debuff their enemies, and not having to carry a physical object to use their magic.
LordSynos wrote: Good plan. The more possible inputs, the better. I guess. Except I'm sure that now this thread is the only one that'll get responses, since it's in the same section.
LordSynos wrote: Ah, so from memory then, it doesn't need physical recording. That's a nice change. Scrolls and wands/staves sound much the same, which is good, I like the flavour of them. The material components makes sense, and the removal of god spells can only be a good thing. When it comes to ritual magic, can people work together to make a ritual more powerful? If a long ritual is started and targeted against a particular person, do they know they're on a time limit, as it were? Or are rituals offensive? Is there magic that can reach between planets, or would one need to travel to another planet to affect people there with their magic? Ritual spells vary pretty heavily. Most are local effects, and the most common is the permanency ritual for summon spells. There are offensive rituals, but these don't have much longer of a range than regular offensive spells, and their long prep time means you need to have them ready in advance so they're usually used defensively. A good example of that is the weather control ritual, used with weather spells to increase their radius and duration. Another is the mind control ritual, used with emotion spells to increase their range/radius and duration.
LordSynos wrote: Ah, okay. I get you now. Are the songs low power or high fatigue? Or are there enough to have a little column A, little column B? Or, is the aim for there to be enough for both, and the mix in-between, and they're just not made yet? Another "little from column A, little from column B" situation. Their power is charisma-based, but there are different grades. Low-level ones are cheap but low power, high-level ones are expensive but high power.
LordSynos wrote: Ha! Sorry. Local phrase. Just means, gotcha. I understand. Sounds reasonable/good. :) Right, just never heard it said like that before.
LordSynos wrote: Yeah, that kinda thing. Sounds good. I'm guessing save DC's must get pretty high, to give a +4 to saving throws? Or would a 1 ki per turn be a high cost? I know you said fatigue would go by 100 for a -1, so I wasn't sure how high you'd hope other pools to go. Your ki total is equal to your constitution plus martial artist level. When you start, expect ~20 for most low-level PCs. The guard DC is your opponent's attack roll, with a DC bonus based on their weapon's weight if melee and their weapon's velocity if ranged. (+1 for each kilogram for melee or fifty metres per second for ranged. A heavy enough melee weapon or fast enough projectile and it's impossible to guard against.)
LordSynos wrote: Definitely a good thing to do. Having a structure to it is good, in case of GM-pets. :P A solid setting which people can invest themselves in helps for this kind of thing too. Though that'll be limited by the GM relating the story as much as by the story itself. Right. And the first campaigns will be run by somebody with an extremely intimate understanding of the system. Specifically me. Hopefully my example and the content I create on the fly for it will help any future GMs out.
LordSynos wrote: Good, good. Getting messed up having actual consequences is a good thing, as far as I'm concerned. Same here. And in a game like this, where a sword can lop an arm off without much issue, you can get messed up really fast.
LordSynos wrote: Hey, as I said, maybe post in the Website Feedback forum asking about it, to be sure. They're pretty friendly and active, far as I can tell, so they'll clear it up one way or the other. And if they think it's a good idea and it's not in yet, they may even consider implementing it. They're receptive to their users. :) I'm not going to rock the boat on my first day. Just seems like a bad idea in general.
LordSynos wrote: I just noticed that. How odd. I suppose they felt it did belong in the Other RPG section, and didn't notice that you'd already posted there. Well, hopefully, if this is the right section for this, you'll get more feedback now too. You can always delete the other one. Or ask a mod to. Well, I can only hope. I'll keep them both up, for the sake of redundancy.
Zylphryx wrote: You can subscribe to a thread and you will get notices through whatever RSS Reader you use. The RSS link is at the top right of the thread. Alright. I'll see to that, I guess.
Zylphryx wrote: So I have to ask, is this a personal project done simply for grins or are you hoping to turn around and sell the end result? I'm making it because I want to play it. Simple as that. (Although having the system handy for other purposes later is also nice. My friend Jeremy wants to make video games, this isn't a bad system for that either.)
Also, I'm not the only one invested in this, just the one the most invested. My best friend and by daughter are also both involved in it. My daughter made a lot of the player races and templates, my friend made a lot of the rules. I did everything else, though, including the setting.
Avian Mosquito wrote: The classes are actually done. I need to make one big change to all of them, since I changed one major system a bit ago. As for balance, yeah I expect them to be balanced. There are a few that simply won't work in some campaigns, (like taking levels as an artisan may well be a waste of experience if you can't make anything in that campaign, and taking savant levels in a short campaign is also a waste of experience) but they all have a good purpose and they can all at least pull their weight outside of their ideal circumstances. And if you'd believe it, most of the choices are entirely unique within the system, and those that fill the same role have big enough benefits and drawbacks to play differently. (Like the rogue and scout. Scouts are more mobile and better combatants, but get far inferior sneak attacks.) Oh. Well, good. Certainly seems like you've got the vast majority of the work done then. Sounds like you've given them plenty of thought and planning too, considering short and long campaigns, fast and slower paced ones.
It seems like you've got all the main stuff done, so, in regards to what you need help with, what exactly are you looking for? So that those who read and are interested in helping know where to focus. You said up-thread "spells, feats, minor mechanics, creatures, weapons, equipment, that kind of thing". What do you have so far? Are you trying to keep away from too strong a D&D feel? Importing classic things from other systems can quicken things, but may take from the originality. Are there any thematic restrictions or flavours that others should be aware of?
Avian Mosquito wrote: And that's how it is, so that's how it's designed. And as for how offensive spells fair against weapons, which is the standard comparison, it depends on circumstance. Weapons are almost always superior against a single target. By a lot. Spells, on the other hand, tend to have better special effects and outperform weapons against multiple targets. Spellcasters also have the advantage, important in high-tech settings, of casting support spells that enhance their allies or debuff their enemies, and not having to carry a physical object to use their magic. So, offensively, they aim to fill different niches. Magic as utility / multi-target, tech as spike. Good to know.
Avian Mosquito wrote: Ritual spells vary pretty heavily. Most are local effects, and the most common is the permanency ritual for summon spells. There are offensive rituals, but these don't have much longer of a range than regular offensive spells, and their long prep time means you need to have them ready in advance so they're usually used defensively. A good example of that is the weather control ritual, used with weather spells to increase their radius and duration. Another is the mind control ritual, used with emotion spells to increase their range/radius and duration. Rituals seem mainly focused around supporting / enhancing more immediate magic then. Would that be accurate? Or just the specific examples you chose there?
Avian Mosquito wrote: Your ki total is equal to your constitution plus martial artist level. When you start, expect ~20 for most low-level PCs. The guard DC is your opponent's attack roll, with a DC bonus based on their weapon's weight if melee and their weapon's velocity if ranged. (+1 for each kilogram for melee or fifty metres per second for ranged. A heavy enough melee weapon or fast enough projectile and it's impossible to guard against.) Seems like ability scores go high enough then. What are the ranges? Min, max, average? I get with 20 races that could vary greatly, so, by human, for a baseline. That rule seems to strongly favour the big, heavy weapons. Are there modifiers for the smaller, quicker, rapid fire weapons as well?
Avian Mosquito wrote: I'm not going to rock the boat on my first day. Just seems like a bad idea in general. I wouldn't worry about it too much. As I say, the mods are the staff of Paizo, so generally friendly, customer focused folks. Of course, I can understand not wanting to rock the boat either. zylphryx's suggestion seems to fit the bill. Not everyone uses a RSS though (I don't) so not a solution for everyone.
LordSynos wrote: Oh. Well, good. Certainly seems like you've got the vast majority of the work done then. Sounds like you've given them plenty of thought and planning too, considering short and long campaigns, fast and slower paced ones. Well, it's just the classes and player species (save one) that are done. I haven't made much progress elsewhere.
LordSynos wrote: It seems like you've got all the main stuff done, so, in regards to what you need help with, what exactly are you looking for? So that those who read and are interested in helping know where to focus. You said up-thread "spells, feats, minor mechanics, creatures, weapons, equipment, that kind of thing". What do you have so far? Are you trying to keep away from too strong a D&D feel? Importing classic things from other systems can quicken things, but may take from the originality. Are there any thematic restrictions or flavours that others should be aware of? I can make it non-D&D enough, and in fact already have. When we're talking about a game where the typical NPC starts with 200hp, (health is barely impacted by hits when they first happen, only bleed is effective against health) and with their body parts having 12-60hp (immediate damage is mostly aimed at breaking body parts) and does 10-30 damage in melee, that should make it feel far enough away from D&D that they'll get the message. When their character's health doesn't increase as they level, (unless they put points into constitution) and especially isn't multiplied by their level, that'll finish off any D&D comparisons. (I hope.)
As far as importing things, that's totally fine. I don't really care as long as it's not copyrighted. I can give an original spin on just about anything if I feel it's too direct of a port, and the system was designed to allow porting from everything under the sun. In fact, the list of things I have ported at least one thing in from (on the other thread) is very long. The system is original and so is the setting, and I'm confident that allowing other things into it and taking a few good things from other places won't hurt that.
LordSynos wrote: So, offensively, they aim to fill different niches. Magic as utility / multi-target, tech as spike. Good to know. That's one way to look at it, but another thing they can do is create openings for melee attackers. See, melee is extremely powerful but dangerous to attempt and lacking in range, so many enemies are defended against one way or another. Long reach, flight, speed, a positional advantage, so on. So casters can help melee find a way around that. They can cast spells that do things like weaken enemies so melee attackers can get through their reach intact (withering, weakness), ground flying enemies so melee attackers can reach them (burden, anchor, grounding) or let the melee attackers fly (levitation, bounding), slow down fleeing enemies (burden, anchor, slow), let melee attackers progress through ranged attacks (any defensive spell helps) or teleport them to the target (teleport, obviously), or speed them up (haste, marathon). These support abilities allow melee attackers to use their melee attacks when they couldn't otherwise, and since melee is so very powerful that's an important role.
LordSynos wrote: Rituals seem mainly focused around supporting / enhancing more immediate magic then. Would that be accurate? Or just the specific examples you chose there? Well, weather control is an offensive ritual. Weather spells are frequently damaging in nature. The issue is the prep time, that particular ritual taking a 24-hour period. (It's an especially long ritual, though. Most rituals are only one hour.) So they'd be used to, say, run off an attacking army with acid rain, a lighting storm, blizzard, tornado or somesuch. (Or to attack a city/fortress with something similar, if you're stealthy and can prepare the ritual close enough to work without being detected. But the one-day prep time and the 1km range make that difficult. Especially since only shamans can cast weather spells at all.)
LordSynos wrote: Seems like ability scores go high enough then. What are the ranges? Min, max, average? I get with 20 races that could vary greatly, so, by human, for a baseline. That rule seems to strongly favour the big, heavy weapons. Are there modifiers for the smaller, quicker, rapid fire weapons as well? It depends on how many points you're given. The numbers GMs are recommended to use for points are 72, 84 and 96, but they're allowed as low as 60 or as high as 108. (Technically, you can do whatever, but I figure if I say DON'T DO THIS they won't do much beyond it.) Those mean averages of 12-16 recommended, 10-18 allowed. Minimums are always 0.5x average, maximum 1.5x average. So the maximums will range from 15-27, usually 18-24, and then you add your level. "Low level" generally translates to 1-5, so the ~20 guesstimate would be a bit low if it wasn't for the way martial artists require both constitution and resolve.
LordSynos wrote: I wouldn't worry about it too much. As I say, the mods are the staff of Paizo, so generally friendly, customer focused folks. Of course, I can understand not wanting to rock the boat either. zylphryx's suggestion seems to fit the bill. Not everyone uses a RSS though (I don't) so not a solution for everyone. I have one on Chrome. It works fine. Apparently it takes about ten minutes, but that's about it.
I'd like to quickly add to the things I need help with "Coming up with names for things.", for example the names of the bard mantras and poems. (I've only named one of each.)
I'm somewhat intrigued. How many pages of this do you have. In terms of a 1-100 scale with 1 being "Just thought of it" to 100 "Now I need to format it and add pictures and then publish it" where would you say you are.
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Between the two books, about 150 pages of (mostly) size 10 Times New Roman. For how far, don't know. Somewhere between 25% and 50%, depending on how much content I need to call it done.
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