New TRPG Design! BBSS

[Scopt1]

I have begun designing a new Tabletop RPG game. I call it Big Breasts and Super Strength, or BBSS for short, because I intend it to be very anime. So far, I have only done stats and defences, but I will post any updates. Without further ado, here is my day's hard work:

[Scopt1]

Stats:
Luck - Every check and defense uses the luck bonus as an additional, but the bonus is low and modified for each type of check
Physical
Strength: Used for any laborious task, and determines Fortitude and Hitpoints. Luck bonus halved
Dexterity - Determines stamina, dodge and is used for any skill type checks. Luck bonus doubled
Mind
Intelligence - Determines Magic and Knowledge, used for research based checks. Luck bonus ignored
Wisdom - Determines instinct and experience gain, used for charisma based checks. Luck bonus +2


You can use the table below to determine what modifiers you have for each stat.

1 2-3 4 -5 6-7 8-9 10-11 12-13 14-15 16-17 18-19 20-21 22-23 24-25 26-27 28-29 30-31 32-33 34-35 Etc…

-6 -5 -2 -1 +0 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5 +6 +7 +8 +9 +10 +11 +12 +13 …

Players must choose which sub-stat to apply the stat's bonus to, and the other sub-stat automatically receives a -2 penalty. In this way, characters that choose a sub-stat with increased damage potential lose their potential luck bonus.
Luck's bonus is always equal to the bonus you would receive minus your lowest bonus. In this way, specialist characters are much more effective.
Luck is still a factor in every situation, as a die roll is required, but the luck stat shows the supernatural luck that certain types of characters could have.


Placements at 1st level:
You can choose which stats to give these values to.
16, 11, 6
This setup gives you a +4, +1 and -1 modifiers, making a specialist setup. This means you are stronger in one area but average and lacking in the others.
14, 14, 4
This setup gives you two +3s and a -2, making a dual specialist setup. This means you excel in two areas, but have a drastic shortcoming in the other.
12, 10, 10
This setup gives you a +2 and two +1s with no penalties. This makes you a jack of all trades.

All stats increase by 1 on second level, and every even level unless stated otherwise in class and race descriptions.

Defenses
Armour Class (AC):
Armour class is determined by your armour and Physical stat. To calculate it, simply add the armour's bonus to your Physical stat, along with any magical effects, class or race bonuses.
Fortitude:
Fortitude is governed by strength and describes your ability to get back up after being knocked down. Its value is equal to 10 + your strength modifier.
Magic:
Magic is governed by intelligence and describes your trained magic defenses that can deflect attacks of magical origin. Its value is equal to your racial magic value + your intelligence modifier + any magical effects or class bonuses.
Instinct:
Instinct is governed by wisdom, and reflects your ability to harness your natural instincts and make use of the opportunity they give you. Its value is equal to 10 + your wisdom modifier + your racial instinct value + any other effects such as class powers or items.

[Arbane]

9_9 at the name.

What games have you played besides D&D?

Why bother with the numerical stat when the +/- is what's important? Just do it like Mutants and Masterminds 3rd ed, and use the +/- directly.

The luck thing seems overcomplicated.

[Doorhandle]

Before anything else I must ask: Why should I play BBSS above instead of the hundreds of other games out there?

Also, should probably be moved into homebrew.

[Scopt1]

9_9 at the name.

What games have you played besides D&D?

Why bother with the numerical stat when the +/- is what's important? Just do it like Mutants and Masterminds 3rd ed, and use the +/- directly.

The luck thing seems overcomplicated.

The only games with the same style that I have played are D&D 4e, Oblivion, Warhammer and DDO.

I did think about using just the modifier, but the solid stat allows me to use, say, the Physical stat to determine AC, and with each modifier belonging to two stat levels, it means that progression is slowed, but still faster paced than D&D 4e.

As for luck, I implemented it as a sort of throwback to earlier games, as well as to make higher level characters' power soar, but I guess I did make it a little overcomplicated in an attempt to keep it slightly balanced.

[Arbane]

The only games with the same style that I have played are D&D 4e, Oblivion, Warhammer and DDO.

I strongly recommend before you try designing your own RPG that you check out a multitude of different games. If nothing else, you'll probably find a few ideas worth stealing for your own use.

A few to look at to start with:

RISUS
Call of Cthulhu
GURPS
Any White Wolf Storyteller game (Vampire, Mage, Exalted...)
Mutants and Masterminds
Savage Worlds
FATE
Shadowrun
Feng Shui

There's a LOT of RPGs out there these days, some of them wildly different from the D&D design.

[Scopt1]

Before anything else I must ask: Why should I play BBSS above instead of the hundreds of other games out there?

Also, should probably be moved into homebrew.

You should play BBSS if you want a game that runs quickly and allows for very strong characters, as well as being catered for a more anime style game.

I had considered putting it into homebrew for a while, but homebrew suggests a modified version of an existing game, while this is more or less a 100% original game.

[Scopt1]

I strongly recommend before you try designing your own RPG that you check out a multitude of different games. If nothing else, you'll probably find a few ideas worth stealing for your own use.

A few to look at to start with:

RISUS
Call of Cthulhu
GURPS
Any White Wolf Storyteller game (Vampire, Mage, Exalted...)
Mutants and Masterminds
Savage Worlds
FATE
Shadowrun
Feng Shui

There's a LOT of RPGs out there these days, some of them wildly different from the D&D design.

I have no real method of playing these games other than using D&D equipment to play them on my own, but the initial design was loosely based on a precursory glance at BESM and the Tri-stat system, which as I'm sure you know has White Wolf Storyteller connections. I am also recieving some advice from the DM of my current D&D campaign as to functions from other games that I could implement. (he is a student of Game Design, so he has the skills etc. for it)

[Arbane]

I have no real method of playing these games other than using D&D equipment to play them on my own

Equipment? You mean dice and what-not? With the exception of a few games that use custom dice, that really shouldn't be a problem. The hard part will be finding other players. (And finding games, but there are TONS of free RPGs on the internet now. Some of them even legal! GURPS Lite, RISUS, Dungeons: The Dragoning 40K (yes, it's a parody game, but so what?), Mutants and Masterminds SRD, and about a million more...)

[Scopt1]

Equipment? You mean dice and what-not? With the exception of a few games that use custom dice, that really shouldn't be a problem. The hard part will be finding other players. (And finding games, but there are TONS of free RPGs on the internet now. Some of them even legal! GURPS Lite, RISUS, Dungeons: The Dragoning 40K (yes, it's a parody game, but so what?), Mutants and Masterminds SRD, and about a million more...)

I'm afraid RISUS is the only one I was even remotely interested in, and that does not have much compatibility with what I intend to design. However, I'm sure that I can use something to obtain the same level of freedom in my game. Thanks.

[elliott20]

If you get a good build together, let me know. My group LOVES trying out new homebrew systems and so I'm sure I can convince them to give it a whirl and give you some feedback.

[Terraoblivion]

anime

You keep using this word, but I'm not sure you know what it means. Since it certainly doesn't mean lots of fanservice or very high power level. Now if you make an excellent tea party simulator, it might mean anime. At least the medium seems to have a lot more of them than most mediums.

[Scopt1]

You keep using this word, but I'm not sure you know what it means. Since it certainly doesn't mean lots of fanservice or very high power level. Now if you make an excellent tea party simulator, it might mean anime. At least the medium seems to have a lot more of them than most mediums.

Bleach, Naruto, One Piece, Death Note, any mecha, magic or hero anime. Essentially any popular anime fullstop. All of these have incredible amounts of fanservice and overpowered characters. The only other word that could be used to describe it is Blockbuster or Michael Bay. And these fit more with repeated explosions. I know that most anime does not apply to this, and most of the stuff I watch is romantic comedy anyway, but if you say anime to anyone who has remotely heard of it, and this is what they think of, aside from hentai.

[Scopt1]

If you get a good build together, let me know. My group LOVES trying out new homebrew systems and so I'm sure I can convince them to give it a whirl and give you some feedback.

Okay, it'll take a while though because I'll have to design classes, races and monsters, as well as sort out the mechanics.

[Vitruviansquid]

So if anime is fanservice, powerful characters, and explosions, by what mechanics are you making fanservice, powerful characters, and explosions significant or frequent in your RPG?

If your game is meant to feel like an anime (I personally disagree that anime means fanservice, powerful characters, and explosions, but that is beside the point), it's got to have mechanics that reinforce it. Let me give you an example of what I'm talking about.

DnD 4e is a tactical combat game about heroes working as a team to solve problems. They reinforce this teamwork aspect mechanically by having no classes be self-sufficient and making everybody take one of four roles that support each other. They reinforce the heroic aspect of the game by giving everyone a generous amount of hitpoints, so neither heroes nor villains can anticlimactically die to one lucky attack.

Warhammer, on the other hand, is a tactical war game about soldiers in a battlefield. This means things like facing and movement rules become important to see whether your soldiers have been flanked, how far they can march or charge, and so on. Hit points, on the other hand, don't become so important because it actually feels more realistic in a battle for some units to drop on the first round of combat, so the vast majority of figures only have 1 wound.

[elliott20]

Okay, it'll take a while though because I'll have to design classes, races and monsters, as well as sort out the mechanics.

make sure you write up some pre-gen characters for us. If your system is going to be as large as you're writing out here, there is no way my ADHD-laden group is going to make it through character generation, given that we really don't have enough time to do that anyway.

[Terraoblivion]

Bleach, Naruto, One Piece, Death Note, any mecha, magic or hero anime. Essentially any popular anime fullstop. All of these have incredible amounts of fanservice and overpowered characters. The only other word that could be used to describe it is Blockbuster or Michael Bay. And these fit more with repeated explosions. I know that most anime does not apply to this, and most of the stuff I watch is romantic comedy anyway, but if you say anime to anyone who has remotely heard of it, and this is what they think of, aside from hentai.

And that's why you shouldn't do it. It's an obnoxious misrepresentation of the medium and the people who enjoy it and, well, you're proactively using the description rather than reacting to the perception of others. You're perpetuating a negative stereotype that can and does get people ostracized for no real reason.

Also, I would like to point out that K-On and Azumanga Daioh are both hugely popular, just like things like Steins;Gate. Rose of Versailles is one of the most successful and influential anime as well and that's a mostly realistic drama set at the court of Louix XVI during the late 18th century. And that actually gritty mecha shows exist. At least I certainly wouldn't say that the original Mobile Suit Gundam, which is the second highest selling anime of all time, is all that high powered compared to any other space sci-fi.

And, Death Note, really? As I remember it, it not only didn't have much fanservice, it had a single superpower with major limitations and a lot of bad writing making bad plans and arbitrary guesses always work and was otherwise about mundane humans. That certainly doesn't strike me as the kind of thing I'd think about from the title "Big Breasts and Super Strength", nor does it seem anything like that other titles you mentioned.

[elliott20]

snip

To be honest, when I first read the title I thought it was supposed to be a parody of 90's Rob Liefield Superhero comics.

[Sartharina]

And that's why you shouldn't do it. It's an obnoxious misrepresentation of the medium and the people who enjoy it and, well, you're proactively using the description rather than reacting to the perception of others. You're perpetuating a negative stereotype that can and does get people ostracized for no real reason.

... I'm not seeing the negative stereotype. Seems to be a pretty positive one to me, if a bit immature. Then again, maturity is just for people who've grown boring.

That said, the title made me think of a Superhero game instead of Shonen Anime one.

[Terraoblivion]

... I'm not seeing the negative stereotype. Seems to be a pretty positive one to me, if a bit immature. Then again, maturity is just for people who've grown boring.

That said, the title made me think of a Superhero game instead of Shonen Anime one.

So saying that people who enjoy a given medium are all horny guys focusing purely on power fantasies isn't a negative stereotype? Because that is what saying that anime is about fanservice and high power levels says. And certainly how a lot of people who don't really know anime react to the medium.

[Scopt1]

I've decided to post the system to a dedicated website, so as to avoid messages breaking up the flow of content. I will post the address when it is finished.

[Scopt1]

I have posted the neccessary materials (that I have made so far) on www.Big-Boobs-and-Super-Strength.weebly.com . I think I have done fairly well on it.

[Scopt1]

So saying that people who enjoy a given medium are all horny guys focusing purely on power fantasies isn't a negative stereotype? Because that is what saying that anime is about fanservice and high power levels says. And certainly how a lot of people who don't really know anime react to the medium.

Not really. Girls like big boobs too sometimes.

[Scopt1]

Not really. Girls like big boobs too sometimes.

In reply to Terraoblivion
And it is a recognisable feature of anime, otherwise it wouldn't be a stereotype. Meaning, most of the anime people are likely to see are like that. DN has Miss Amane, Bleach has a multitude of women to which it applies, predominantly that ginger one, Naruto has Tsunade, One Piece has Nami, as well as the one who has the slimming demon fruit. They all have overpowered male, and sometimes female characters. When I say popular, I guess I really mean mainstream, don't I.
Plus, I am a huge fan of anime, so I'm saying whatever I say about other people about myself too. Although, as I've said, most of the anime I watch is romantic comedy.