the_david
2014-02-02, 03:32 AM
Hey all,
I'm DMing 2 Pathfinder campaigns, but I really don't like Pathfinder that much. It's just that everybody here wants to play Pathfinder. (That and the adventurepaths are really nice.) I had some time to think about what I don't like about RPGs and it comes down to this.
- I don't like classbased systems. (Especially if they make thousands of options)
- I don't like the way abilities are handled in D&D 3rd and 4th edition and Pathfinder. You could get rid of ability scores pretty easily and just use ability modifiers instead.
- I don't like a long list of skills on my sheet that I can't use anyway.
- I don't like it when I have to roll a ranged touched attack, the target has to roll a save, I have to roll a casterlevel check to see if I get through spell resistance, and when I finally succeed having to roll damage to have most of it ignored by energy resistance.
- I don't like to teach new players Pathfinder.
- I'd like battles to be faster.
I'm sorry for that rant, but it's just that this train of thought leads to a brilliant idea:
Why don't we just write down the descriptors we want on our sheets, and not everything we don't need.
So if you want to play a thief, just write down thief, assign a bonus and your done. Does a thief need strength? No? Than you don't write it down, and if it ever comes up we'll assume your strength is average.
This allows players to just make up their own specialties, so instead of a wizard, you could be a pyromancer, or a shadowcaster.
Now this is the basic idea, but I need to work this out. I based this largely on my own experience with Marvel Universe RPG, and some stuff from XDM. Can anyone help me build a system around this?
I'm DMing 2 Pathfinder campaigns, but I really don't like Pathfinder that much. It's just that everybody here wants to play Pathfinder. (That and the adventurepaths are really nice.) I had some time to think about what I don't like about RPGs and it comes down to this.
- I don't like classbased systems. (Especially if they make thousands of options)
- I don't like the way abilities are handled in D&D 3rd and 4th edition and Pathfinder. You could get rid of ability scores pretty easily and just use ability modifiers instead.
- I don't like a long list of skills on my sheet that I can't use anyway.
- I don't like it when I have to roll a ranged touched attack, the target has to roll a save, I have to roll a casterlevel check to see if I get through spell resistance, and when I finally succeed having to roll damage to have most of it ignored by energy resistance.
- I don't like to teach new players Pathfinder.
- I'd like battles to be faster.
I'm sorry for that rant, but it's just that this train of thought leads to a brilliant idea:
Why don't we just write down the descriptors we want on our sheets, and not everything we don't need.
So if you want to play a thief, just write down thief, assign a bonus and your done. Does a thief need strength? No? Than you don't write it down, and if it ever comes up we'll assume your strength is average.
This allows players to just make up their own specialties, so instead of a wizard, you could be a pyromancer, or a shadowcaster.
Now this is the basic idea, but I need to work this out. I based this largely on my own experience with Marvel Universe RPG, and some stuff from XDM. Can anyone help me build a system around this?