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View Full Version : Original System I wrote a Zelda RPG



cajbaj
2021-01-13, 06:03 PM
Hey guys. I wrote a Zelda RPG. It's pretty rules light, less than 8 pages of actual text. Most of the rules for the game are inspired by D&D B/X, Into the Odd, and a few of my own past homebrews.

I made it deliberately simple so that my nephew could play it. He's 6, and had a great time with it, as his first RPG experience. So that's a win in my book. It's the most limited system I've ever written, because it almost exclusively uses only a single d6. Most of my family doesn't own dice, and it was written for them.

I'd really appreciate it if you guys could give it a look. It'll help me get my mind of the project and back on school, you know, where it should be. PEACH.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1pk3kRLdrJ804SwSekftt2jrQisLRZ5JS?usp=sharing

John Out West
2021-01-13, 06:50 PM
First off, I think you did a good job making it feel like you're in the video game universe.

Why is magic points derived from courage or wisdom? From wisdom i could see, or from all three, but i couldn't understand why courage or wisdom. Ganon had the Power triforce and he did magic constantly.

Can garudos rest without food or water for a week? That seems weird and out of character for them.

I feel like HP and MP, and ammunition should be able to be increased during battle and while adventuring, not just while resting. I might suggest adding a system of having containers during adventures and fights which can be broken to gain their insides. With that in mind, you could add abilities/weapon types that are specifically good for harvesting these in combat. (Sword spin good for grasslands, etc)

Armor and shields made my eyes glaze over and I didn't read it, much less understand it. Might want to simplify it or present it in an easier to understand way.

You really should explain what each item does. For example, Does a hookshot allow me to stun enemies, or does it launch me towards enemies, or does it drag enemies towards me, or can I grab their weapon, or...
For magic, how did you miss enchanted arrows? That should be the most obvious.Nayru's love is straight up broken. In general I think magic should be overhauled. Less like D&D and more like zelda.

Hope that helps!

cajbaj
2021-01-13, 07:20 PM
I actually nerfed a couple spells compared to how they are in Zelda, it's not very balanced but I don't mind too much. I wanted to keep the list short but I definitely do want to add more arrows. Most of the spells are actually from Zelda 2 and A Link to the Past.

Magic is based on the other 2 because HP growth is based on Power, but it is pretty clunky and I want to revise that

I think the finding things in combat thing may be good, like a table for enemy drops or whatever. But the "better at breaking pots" type thing i feel would be better as a DM creation.

There's actually no hookshot on the items list, and I didn't give them descriptions because they can be used any way the player thinks. I allowed a player to flip a switch behind prison bars by casting a fishing rod at it. I feel giving suggestions limits player ingenuity.

Armor is definitely poorly explained. I'll be fixing that up in the next draft.

Thank you for taking the time to read!

Dienekes
2021-01-13, 07:46 PM
On armor, you have Threshold, Reduction, and Resistance.

Threshold means attacks that deal less damage than the Threshold number deal 0 damage, but over the number deal normal damage.

Reduction just reduces the damage taken by the set amount

Resistance halves all incoming damage.

Do I have that right?

Way I see it, this is too much with a lot of it filling up the same narrative space. Threshold punishes those that make small damage attacks. Reduction also punishes those that make small damage attacks. There really doesn't need to be two such mechanics.

Pick one or the other, and your game will probably run smoother.

cajbaj
2021-01-13, 07:53 PM
Yes, that's right.

I had it that way because thresholds are how shields usually work in the series--blocking up to a certain strength of attack, and then not at all past that. But it's not very elegant at best, and super confusing at worst.

I want to keep something that will help a shield feel like a shield instead of just having it reduce damage. Maybe each shield will just have it's own durability? It would act like extra HP until it breaks. But that could be too much to keep track of.

Dienekes
2021-01-13, 08:09 PM
Yes, that's right.

I had it that way because thresholds are how shields usually work in the series--blocking up to a certain strength of attack, and then not at all past that. But it's not very elegant at best, and super confusing at worst.

I want to keep something that will help a shield feel like a shield instead of just having it reduce damage. Maybe each shield will just have it's own durability? It would act like extra HP until it breaks. But that could be too much to keep track of.

Well perhaps it would be best to start with just calling things what you want them to represent makes it easier for the players/readers to try and figure out what you're doing.

So let's say we have Armor, Shields, and Resistance.

Armor = Reduces damage

Resistance = Halves damage

So what would we do with Shields?

How about: when you are hit if you are using a Shield you may choose to block with it, negating the damage. But the Shield takes 1 damage. When a shield is dropped to 0 it is destroyed.

Then the shields you pick up throughout the game have some amount of health from 1 to 10 or whatever is balanced for the game in question.

cajbaj
2021-01-14, 03:44 AM
I updated the whole game to version 1.2.

Changes include buffs to Courage, simpler stat generation and HP growth, Power increasing damage consistency and Wisdom determining max magic, better wording and formatting in the armor and shields section, disclaimers and art credits.

I forgot elemental arrows. Next update will probably be a bunch of spells and items anyway.