Delicious Taffy
2016-10-08, 07:19 AM
Back in high school, I came up with an idea, which I thought was completely original at the time. My idea was to create a narrative-driven game wherein each player controlled one character, describing their actions and dictating their dialogue. There would be one player who took note of everything, taking the role of a sort of narrator or "game master". Dice could maybe be involved, somehow, possibly to determine the outcome of some of these actions. D&D? Isn't that that weird board game super-nerds play in abandoned sheds in the woods? No, thanks. I don't really like board games all that much. Several years later, I stumbled across the webcomic DM of the Rings, and was instantly whisked away into the world of tabletop roleplaying. I looked upon my own creation and felt humility. The game I had dismissed before turned out to be one of the most interesting hobbies I'd ever learned of.
Fast-forward to the present day. With just a tad over 2 years of experience as my group's Dungeon Master, I've recently grown a bit tired of managing handbooks, item charts, and character sheets. I needed something fresh, something light on rules, something I could run without having to check something every few minutes to settle an argument with a player. I looked back on my older work, my early proto-RPG, and I felt inspiration again. I had never thought to add more than a few basic rules on how much players could carry, as well as how time worked in the setting I'd created. This was something I could flesh out and make into something of a proper gaming system.
I spent a few days refining and polishing my old creation, and I'm reasonably satisfied with the results. Originally, there was the assumption that everyone would be playing as a human, so I had never felt the need to create races. Now, I've combined in a few other ideas I came up with over the years, and the result is four playable races, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. I've also streamlined the inventory system - each player gets a certain amount of free carry space, courtesy of a portable gadget, and the rest is restricted to what they can carry in their pockets and whatever storage they can reasonably carry, like a backpack or purse. Naturally, I've added dice to the game, specifically the d20, d10, d8, and d6, each with their own separate purpose. The only combat rules I added were hit points and energy. Taking damage reduces HP, exertion reduces Energy, and rest, medicine, and food can replenish both. Aside from these basic guidelines, everything else will be decided based on context and whatever seems fun at the time.
If anyone is interested in trying this creation out, there are only two small files to download. I've created the basic rules (https://www.dropbox.com/s/pol8xaf10tyn9zz/New%20World%200-Startup.rtf?dl=0=0), as well as a very simplistic character sheet. (https://www.dropbox.com/s/5yfl48ipnvs7r32/New%20World%200-Character%20Sheet.rtf?dl=0) Feel free to provide feedback on anything. I'm always open to suggestions.
Fast-forward to the present day. With just a tad over 2 years of experience as my group's Dungeon Master, I've recently grown a bit tired of managing handbooks, item charts, and character sheets. I needed something fresh, something light on rules, something I could run without having to check something every few minutes to settle an argument with a player. I looked back on my older work, my early proto-RPG, and I felt inspiration again. I had never thought to add more than a few basic rules on how much players could carry, as well as how time worked in the setting I'd created. This was something I could flesh out and make into something of a proper gaming system.
I spent a few days refining and polishing my old creation, and I'm reasonably satisfied with the results. Originally, there was the assumption that everyone would be playing as a human, so I had never felt the need to create races. Now, I've combined in a few other ideas I came up with over the years, and the result is four playable races, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. I've also streamlined the inventory system - each player gets a certain amount of free carry space, courtesy of a portable gadget, and the rest is restricted to what they can carry in their pockets and whatever storage they can reasonably carry, like a backpack or purse. Naturally, I've added dice to the game, specifically the d20, d10, d8, and d6, each with their own separate purpose. The only combat rules I added were hit points and energy. Taking damage reduces HP, exertion reduces Energy, and rest, medicine, and food can replenish both. Aside from these basic guidelines, everything else will be decided based on context and whatever seems fun at the time.
If anyone is interested in trying this creation out, there are only two small files to download. I've created the basic rules (https://www.dropbox.com/s/pol8xaf10tyn9zz/New%20World%200-Startup.rtf?dl=0=0), as well as a very simplistic character sheet. (https://www.dropbox.com/s/5yfl48ipnvs7r32/New%20World%200-Character%20Sheet.rtf?dl=0) Feel free to provide feedback on anything. I'm always open to suggestions.