Development Blog

Introduction:
A while ago, I set about creating a tabletop RPG system that captured the nuances of realism, roleplaying, and fun.

A bit of my personal RP history:
Having had an interest in RPGs and game mechanics since childhood, I eventually began tabletop RPing with D&D 3.0. Around the time 3.5 came around, I had become sufficiently skilled at roleplaying and understanding dice statistics that I was able to break the whole of the d20 universe into a point based system and run completely free-form games that were class-less and psuedo level-less. All the while I had been broadening my horizons with other systems like WoD and GURPS.

It wasn't long before I started to shy away from systems that were written in a way that draws you into min-maxing and number crunching. Building a detailed character in some cases took more research time than a college term-paper. This particular problem stems from an over-abundance of source material. Searching for reprieve, I turned to numerous indie games, the most well-known of which were dX-TriStat BESM and the FUDGE system. They were all interesting and playable, but each had its own inherent flaws and limitations.

With the release of D&D 4.0 evaporating any interest I had left in the d20 system, and the release of Pathfinder unable to re-invigorate my excitement, I decided it was high time to put my knowledge to good use and make something fresh and fulfilling.

Resources for development:
Aside from learning and playing with numerous existing system, I studied a decent amount of statistics and psychology. Other than internet reading, I took at least 1 college course on each.

The single best read for understanding dice mechanics is this essay by Torben Mogensen:
"Dice-Rolling Mechanisms in RPGs"

Here are two sites containing a lot of relevant information and links, as well as summaries of existing systems:
John H. Kim's "RPG System Design" Site
Chris's Compendium of Free RPGs

Problems to be solved:
I came into the project with a very specific list of problems to be solved. Additionally, I kept a list of things that other systems did particularly well. In some cases one system managed to solve a problem that other systems ignored. In other cases I found some features or mechanics that added a uniquely creative or fun factor to the experience. All of these concept will be covered in greater detail in my next post.

Here is the list of problems:

• Nature vs Nurture - the balance of Stat/Attribute versus Skill Rank
• Realism vs Fantasy - the balance between sensible reality and epic awesomeness. Closely related to the next problem.
• Roll Consistency vs Variability - the balance between the drama of a wide range of roll results, the realism of a bell-curve roll distribution, and the occasion of a dice roll entirely overshadowing or being overshadowed by an added or subtracted number.
• Dice Type and Quantity - the cumbersome nature of an overgrown dice pool vs the unpredictable nature of a single die. Closely related to the previous problem.
• Hit Points (Wound Mechanics) - the unwavering focus on physical damage, coupled with an inability to portray purely mental fatigue or emotional trauma.
• Classes and Levels - the forcing of characters, players, and GMs into a rigid framework.
• Book-keeping - the widely varied accumulation of "experience", costs of character features (in point-based systems), and measures of wealth and equipment. All of these result in a lot of game time lost to accounting and an increased difficultly of double-checking should any mistake be made.

Good ideas from other systems:

• Diminishing Returns - Present in many systems including GURPS and D&D, it is done best in d% Call of Cthulhu.
• Opposed Rolls - More engaging than rolls against static target numbers.
• Exploding Crits - Bitches love exploding crits. They're just so satisfying.
• Point-buy Systems - Allows for infinite customizability of characters, while not precluding the creation of optional "templates" or "classes" for beginner use. BESM is an example with particular elegence.
• Wealth Systems - The "Wealth Check" system in d20 Modern (and later in True20) was an elegent and fun solution to the tedium of tracking actual currency that plagues standard D&D.

Next Up:
That's it for the first installment of this development blog. My next post will begin the aforementioned detailed discussion of problems, solutions, and fun features.