Beans
2014-05-20, 02:44 PM
The PDF is located here. (https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B09a6oxxCnopYmljbUN6Rlg3Qkk/edit?usp=sharing)
RIDER: THE TRANSFORMATION is a game that started with me wishing there was a Kamen Rider RPG while also flipping through the NWOD fangame Princess: The Hopeful. I threw some ideas at a notepad file and went to bed, but when I brought it up with a couple of friends who like Kamen Rider, they seemed interested enough that I figured we could make it actually a thing. Only problem? Only one of us had played any tabletop before (my friend had done a game of Exalted at his college) and only one of us was currently involved in anything tabletop (also an Exalted game, actually played here, that I am in).
At first, we drew heavily from P:TH (which you can still see, especially in the parallels between the Heretic Paths and the Twilight Kingdoms), but soon we discovered that the NWOD system didn't quite work out for us, or not all of it. When we actually looked at NWOD, we honestly didn't like a lot of how it worked, but we also did like a good deal of what existed. We decided to cobble together a system that took what we liked from NWOD/Exalted and left what we didn't like; as a side effect of our TTRPG inexperience, it was also one we wanted to be fairly accessible to other TTRPG noobs---not quite "babby's first gaem", but not quite as convoluted as... well, Exalted.
And so we decided on six core stats (STR, END, DEX, MNT, SPD, CHA) and eighteen abilities, three tied to each stat. The idea of "inborn splats" and "chosen splats" remained in the three Beginnings (more or less classes) and the seven Paths (each with a philosophy, a favored powerset, and one little boost in an ability). We kept the dots system and the d10s, though unlike Exalted you hopefully won't need a trillion of them.
We decided not to really bother with distinctions between things like blunt and sharp weapons since, in Kamen Rider, basically anything will just make sparks spew from your armor and send you stumbling back. Weapons boiled down to two types (Melee and Ranged) and two weight categories (Light and Heavy); the weight of a Melee weapon determined how much of a speed penalty it imposed on the wielder and the weight of a Ranged weapon determined the "Steady Aim" speed, which the wielder cannot exceed while firing without taking a penalty to their Accuracy roll. Heavy weapons generally have a higher damage bonus than Light ones, and Ranged weapons overall have lower damage bonuses than Melee ones.
As anyone familiar with Kamen Rider knows, we had to include finishing moves and form changes. Both rely on a mechanic called the Finishing Gauge that we're still working out; a full Gauge can be used either for a finisher or changing to your next Form. Every Rider can have three forms total; the basic one, the Alpha Form, and the Omega Form. Each Form has its own Beginning, which changes how it boosts one's stats (for example, Bio Riders start with high STR and low CHA; a Bio Form boosts STR by 2 to a max of 7, boosts MNT DEX SPD END by 1 to a max of 5, and doesn't boost CHA). Form stats stack, so Omega's boosts build on Alpha's boosts.
One recurring choice of sorts we want to present a player with is this: "Do you want to be more specialized, or more well-rounded?" This is why every character gets two Focused Powersets---the one from their Path and one they choose. This is why only two stats are chosen by your Beginning and the rest can be assigned points at player discretion. This is why Forms have their own Beginnings.
TL;DR: Three people with little TTRPG experience and lots of love for Kamen Rider try to make a working Kamen Rider TTRPG, drawing heavily from Exalted and Princess: The Hopeful.
Love to hear any suggestions you might have.
RIDER: THE TRANSFORMATION is a game that started with me wishing there was a Kamen Rider RPG while also flipping through the NWOD fangame Princess: The Hopeful. I threw some ideas at a notepad file and went to bed, but when I brought it up with a couple of friends who like Kamen Rider, they seemed interested enough that I figured we could make it actually a thing. Only problem? Only one of us had played any tabletop before (my friend had done a game of Exalted at his college) and only one of us was currently involved in anything tabletop (also an Exalted game, actually played here, that I am in).
At first, we drew heavily from P:TH (which you can still see, especially in the parallels between the Heretic Paths and the Twilight Kingdoms), but soon we discovered that the NWOD system didn't quite work out for us, or not all of it. When we actually looked at NWOD, we honestly didn't like a lot of how it worked, but we also did like a good deal of what existed. We decided to cobble together a system that took what we liked from NWOD/Exalted and left what we didn't like; as a side effect of our TTRPG inexperience, it was also one we wanted to be fairly accessible to other TTRPG noobs---not quite "babby's first gaem", but not quite as convoluted as... well, Exalted.
And so we decided on six core stats (STR, END, DEX, MNT, SPD, CHA) and eighteen abilities, three tied to each stat. The idea of "inborn splats" and "chosen splats" remained in the three Beginnings (more or less classes) and the seven Paths (each with a philosophy, a favored powerset, and one little boost in an ability). We kept the dots system and the d10s, though unlike Exalted you hopefully won't need a trillion of them.
We decided not to really bother with distinctions between things like blunt and sharp weapons since, in Kamen Rider, basically anything will just make sparks spew from your armor and send you stumbling back. Weapons boiled down to two types (Melee and Ranged) and two weight categories (Light and Heavy); the weight of a Melee weapon determined how much of a speed penalty it imposed on the wielder and the weight of a Ranged weapon determined the "Steady Aim" speed, which the wielder cannot exceed while firing without taking a penalty to their Accuracy roll. Heavy weapons generally have a higher damage bonus than Light ones, and Ranged weapons overall have lower damage bonuses than Melee ones.
As anyone familiar with Kamen Rider knows, we had to include finishing moves and form changes. Both rely on a mechanic called the Finishing Gauge that we're still working out; a full Gauge can be used either for a finisher or changing to your next Form. Every Rider can have three forms total; the basic one, the Alpha Form, and the Omega Form. Each Form has its own Beginning, which changes how it boosts one's stats (for example, Bio Riders start with high STR and low CHA; a Bio Form boosts STR by 2 to a max of 7, boosts MNT DEX SPD END by 1 to a max of 5, and doesn't boost CHA). Form stats stack, so Omega's boosts build on Alpha's boosts.
One recurring choice of sorts we want to present a player with is this: "Do you want to be more specialized, or more well-rounded?" This is why every character gets two Focused Powersets---the one from their Path and one they choose. This is why only two stats are chosen by your Beginning and the rest can be assigned points at player discretion. This is why Forms have their own Beginnings.
TL;DR: Three people with little TTRPG experience and lots of love for Kamen Rider try to make a working Kamen Rider TTRPG, drawing heavily from Exalted and Princess: The Hopeful.
Love to hear any suggestions you might have.