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  1. - Top - End - #31
    Troll in the Playground
     
    Lacco's Avatar

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    Default Re: What Cool Stuff Are You Working On?

    Dunno if it's cool, but I've been working on social combat for my newest project.

    Spoiler: Social Kombat
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    So basically, I'm trying to fit all the crazy maneuvering and dicerolling of combat into social situation. Two philosophers enter, only one leaves!

    Also, re-working the rules for postapocalyptic racing rules with terrible cars across Europe based on first playtest.
    Call me Laco or Ladislav (if you need to be formal). Avatar comes from the talented linklele.
    Formerly GMing: Riddle of Steel: Soldiers of Fortune

    Quote Originally Posted by Kol Korran View Post
    Instead of having an adventure, from which a cool unexpected story may rise, you had a story, with an adventure built and designed to enable the story, but also ensure (or close to ensure) it happens.

  2. - Top - End - #32
    Ogre in the Playground
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    Default Re: What Cool Stuff Are You Working On?

    Shimmering Reach is a dicepool based system that features resource trading and tempo in its combats, eschews most numeric abilities in favor of active or reactive features, skews somewhat gritty, has MTG thematics, aims to cover a similar span as 1-13 3.5e, and is structured with build points to encourage diversification while still rewarding specialization.

    Having started from little more than the dicepool mechanic and the attributes/skills system snipped out of Shadowrun 4e (yes the SR nod is intentional) it has been a relatively smooth journey in the ongoing play tests. Some of the hottest debates have been over the balancing of mobility options and how those abilities affect the narrative assumptions the system imposes on a world. Tester commentary has encouraged the pruning of passive +n in favor of more non numeric triggers or activated abilities that encourage engagement.

    Though little more than a footnote in the rules at the moment, the general framework for followers has been a great boon in running quickly thrown together mooks or supplying a player a temp character when their main is offscreen. The last part has been remarkable for how it seems to have expanded our storytelling options if ever so slightly.
    If all rules are suggestions what happens when I pass the save?

  3. - Top - End - #33
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    Ken Murikumo's Avatar

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    Default Re: What Cool Stuff Are You Working On?

    I'm in the very early planning stages of a new system. It doesn't even have a name yet, just an objective of how to build character abilities and such. I've played quite a bit of pathfinder & 3.5, mutants & masterminds, dark heresy, & anima, so i grabbed a few things from the systems that i liked and abandoned the rest (leaving behind anything that is basically "the problems" with the systems). Mix the above with some fresh ideas.

    Spoiler: The low-down
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    To start, it's a 3d6 system. And i'm going to be using relatively low numbers with simple addition. Anything beyond simple addition will have already been calculated and written on your character sheet, before the session. Like weapon damage. It's listed in "tiers" depending on roll results and situation.

    One key point i want to mitigate is an overabundance of numbers and math (as hinted at above), especially on the fly math to add bonuses and add up damage from spells and attacks. Of course there will be die rolls and simple math for attack rolls and skill rolls, but that's something i actually want in the system.

    For combat, there are 7 branches of magic and 7 branches of (martial) techniques. You invest in skill trees that unlock more variations of the core ability that you purchase. For magic it's the ability to sculpt the spell in unique ways, for techniques it's passive bonuses or variant techniques based on the core technique.

    Players choose a class that gives a basic suite of abilities and changes how expensive or cheap it is to invest in trees (IE, a black mage would be able to buy black magic trees the cheapest, other magic would be a bit more expensive, while techniques would be the most expensive).

    But you are not limited to specific trees. You are given character points and can invest however you want. There will even be cost reducers to allow "cross-class" purchases at fair prices; in addition, all abilities contained in a class suite are purchasable trees anyways. This makes "classes" less traditional and more of a cost-assessment/investment.

    The big thing of the system is what i call "ability junction". Basically combining spells, techniques, or both to get different results. For example, there is a technique that allows you to charge your weapon with Ki allowing you to deal energy damage & physical damage at the same time. While investing in that Ki charge tree, you can pick up Ki blast, allowing you to fire a blast from your weapon, effectively dealing the mentioned damage at range.

    Well, since your melee attack is now considered ranged when you do this, you can apply any combo of ranged techniques that you know. The possibilities become endless and left entirely up to player creativity.


    I plan for there to be HUNDREDS of ability trees. Im toying with the idea of having "signature attacks" that cost less mp or whatever i name it in the system. I'm intentionally writing everything crunch-wise. Zero fluff. You, the player describe what your attack/spell looks like. My system simply supplies the mechanics to do so (see mutants and masterminds).

    But combat aside, i've been consulting the playground (with mixed results) about non-combat systems. I have some ideas that get outside the simple, "roll above the DC to see if your character can use xyz skill".

    Quote Originally Posted by lacco36 View Post
    Dunno if it's cool, but I've been working on social combat for my newest project.

    So basically, I'm trying to fit all the crazy maneuvering and dicerolling of combat into social situation. Two philosophers enter, only one leaves!
    This is something i've been pondering for some time. The big hurdle is making it fun to use & not clunky. My guys like combat so i don't want to impose a system that they can't stand, let alone a clunky system.

    This applies to every non-combat facet of the system, too. I could make a "mini-game" sub-system for EVERY skill in the game, but that would probably make even simple tasks take forever, not to mention clutter up the system with more numbers and math.


    Aside from that, i'm actively making a Pathfinder weapon & armor enchantments generator with excel. It'll generate equipment with ALL pathfinder & 3.5 enchantments, tell you how much it costs, suggested pc level, and i've even pulled some ideas from the list of 101 useless weapon enchantments thread that was here some time ago so some equipment will generate with random unique descriptions.

    When finished i plan on randomly gen-ing like 500 different weapons & armor and getting each one printed on like index cards or something. It'll make random loot that much easier and with the suggested level indicator, i can give out loot that's over or under the pc level and the players can be like, "wow this sword is meant for someone like 3 lvls higher!"

    So far, i've got 100 PF weapon enchantments entered into the system. Another 70-ish to go. Then like 80 3.5 enchants. Then armor...

  4. - Top - End - #34
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    Default Re: What Cool Stuff Are You Working On?

    Resurrecting the name Wraiths and Ruins from my first homebrew project (and will probably replace it when I hit the second draft), and have been working on a TTRPG since near the beginning of lockdown.

    It began as 'let's try to squeeze a classless D&D style game into ten pages plus monsters', and has since evolved into yet another classless low powered heroic fantasy game, centred around a roll under d20 mechanic. Everything is kept as simple as possible, and the system is specifically designed to say nothing about you physically.

    Spoiler: Overview
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    Characters are defined by four basic values known as Virtues, Courage (ability to act), Grace (ability to please),Wisdom (ability to know), and Faith (ability to be certain). These determine the character's Health and Fatigue pools, as well as their Speed, Perception, and default skill scores (then bought up with skill points or XP). Characters also have Talents (which tend to improve existing options, although some add new abilities) and Spells.

    Virtues are decided by point buy (default) or rolling 2d4+6, skills default to two to six points below this. Rolls are 1d20 trying to get under the appropriate value, with an exact match with your (post modifiers) Skill or Virtue being a critical success, and a 20 being a critical failure. To quote the rules 'Often this will have no effects (although players are encouraged to make up entertaining descriptions of their success)'. Spells are cast as skillls or attacks, but cost points of Fatigue to attempt. When it matters the higher a successful roll the better, higher success wins a contested roll, and there's an attempt to limit calculations to determining damage where possible.

    Most of the rest is your standard FRPG fare, with the setting attempting to draw on more West Asian influences, potentially more Russian. The biggest development has been moving to city states over kingdoms to keep areas smaller.
    Last edited by Anonymouswizard; 2020-08-26 at 11:37 AM.
    Snazzy avatar (now back! ) by Honest Tiefling.

    RIP Laser-Snail, may you live on in our hearts forever.

    Spoiler: playground quotes
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    Quote Originally Posted by Zelphas View Post
    So here I am, trapped in my laboratory, trying to create a Mechabeast that's powerful enough to take down the howling horde outside my door, but also won't join them once it realizes what I've done...twentieth time's the charm, right?
    Quote Originally Posted by Lord Raziere View Post
    How about a Jovian Uplift stuck in a Case morph? it makes so little sense.

  5. - Top - End - #35
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    Default Re: What Cool Stuff Are You Working On?

    I'm alternating between working on my homebrew campaign setting, which I am running a game in, and working on my 5e fantasy heartbreaker.
    ~ Composer99

    D&D 5e Campaign:
    Adventures in Eaphandra

    D&D 5e Homebrew:
    This can be found in my extended homebrew signature!

  6. - Top - End - #36
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    Reathin's Avatar

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    Default Re: What Cool Stuff Are You Working On?

    For a long, long time, I've been working on a Fate game (which is to say, Fate/Stay Night, Fate/Zero etc.) using, ironically, the FATE gaming system. Instead of a traditional free-for-all Holy Grail War, the players will be members of the same team (the Teal faction) against 7 other Servants (the Gold faction). In essence, very similar to Fate/Apocrypha's format.

    So far, we have the following servants chosen for Teal (I'm keeping the Gold faction hidden, in the unlikely event one of my players sees this):

    Saber: Unchosen. NPC Backup is Saint Michael, the Archangel, General of the Armies of Heaven (not at full strength)
    Archer: Lyudmila Pavlichenko, "Lady Death", the most successful female sniper in to date
    Lancer: Sun Wukong, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, the Monkey King, and all around master of deception (again, not at full strength)
    Rider: P. T. Barnum, Circus Master and conman extraordinaire. Just as in life, he's found himself surrounded by the extraordinary, and intends to make the best of it by winning a wish.
    Caster: Baba Yaga, the Great Slavic Witch. In keeping with the "trio of witches" coven style, she actually has three forms from different cultures, from flying around in a mortar and pestil (Rider form), marching about in a hut with chicken legs (Caster form, her default), or enjoying eating children with her evil gingerbread house (Berserker, known as Totenkinder)
    Assassin: Unchosen at this point. NPC Backup is Doctor Abraham van Helsing, Vampire slayer and personal nemesis to Dracula.
    Berserker: Unchosen at this point. NPC Backup is H. P. Lovecraft, mad author of the Cthulu mythos and countless existential horrors.


    REALLY looking forward to it. Hoping to have everything ready to start in a few weeks. Wish me luck!

  7. - Top - End - #37
    Bugbear in the Playground
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    Default Re: What Cool Stuff Are You Working On?

    Working on a 5e campaign setting that's "real world" 1640 with the characters tasked with investigating/stopping fantastical occurrences before they gain the attention of the Church(es)/Crown(s) while keeping themselves as secret as possible. I'm envisioning a Monster-of-the-Week style of campaign in various locations rather than tracking the party in real time as they hike across Europe. Picked up a few lesser-known RPGs that I'm using as references and it's coming along -- mainly something to give me something to look forward too as we wait to one day sit around a table again.

  8. - Top - End - #38
    Bugbear in the Playground
     
    RangerGuy

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    Default Re: What Cool Stuff Are You Working On?

    Quote Originally Posted by Jophiel View Post
    Working on a 5e campaign setting that's "real world" 1640 with the characters tasked with investigating/stopping fantastical occurrences before they gain the attention of the Church(es)/Crown(s) while keeping themselves as secret as possible. I'm envisioning a Monster-of-the-Week style of campaign in various locations rather than tracking the party in real time as they hike across Europe. Picked up a few lesser-known RPGs that I'm using as references and it's coming along -- mainly something to give me something to look forward too as we wait to one day sit around a table again.
    That's basically the LotFP setting, "weird 17th century Europe". Using 5e for that seems to me like a big mismatch in setting-system, however. I would suggest looking into OSR games instead. I have used Into the Odd for that, worked great. At the moment I am toying around with hacking ItO in lines similar to Mausritter, with a dash of magic/tomes from how it works in Call of Cthulhu.

  9. - Top - End - #39
    Bugbear in the Playground
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    Quote Originally Posted by Pelle View Post
    That's basically the LotFP setting, "weird 17th century Europe". Using 5e for that seems to me like a big mismatch in setting-system, however.
    Eh, it's working for me so far. Early-mid 17th century still relied enough on whacking and stabbing that, once you add in some crude shooting, you're most of the way there. Certainly easier than trying to convert 5e to modern settings; calling it a "big mismatch" seems like a weird analysis but to each their own. That said, I could write a couple paragraphs about it and maybe it all makes more sense in my head but I doubt anyone really wants to read me babbling on. Suffice to say that, for my purposes, some of the high fantasy elements of 5e are more feature than bug.

    I actually have a few systems I could run that are designed from the ground up (Witch Hunter, All for One, etc) but 5e is working for what I want and I know it'll make the game much more accessible to my local player circle than trying to get them to learn a new system and buy/borrow books in order to get started. Nothing about LotFP is really mechanically amazing for 17th century, just OSR with some firearms rules, and I can lift elements if I want although LotFP's "everything is super weird-slash-horror-slash-gore porn" vibe isn't really what I'm going for.

  10. - Top - End - #40
    Bugbear in the Playground
     
    RangerGuy

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jophiel View Post
    Eh, it's working for me so far. Early-mid 17th century still relied enough on whacking and stabbing that, once you add in some crude shooting, you're most of the way there. Certainly easier than trying to convert 5e to modern settings; calling it a "big mismatch" seems like a weird analysis but to each their own. That said, I could write a couple paragraphs about it and maybe it all makes more sense in my head but I doubt anyone really wants to read me babbling on. Suffice to say that, for my purposes, some of the high fantasy elements of 5e are more feature than bug.

    I actually have a few systems I could run that are designed from the ground up (Witch Hunter, All for One, etc) but 5e is working for what I want and I know it'll make the game much more accessible to my local player circle than trying to get them to learn a new system and buy/borrow books in order to get started. Nothing about LotFP is really mechanically amazing for 17th century, just OSR with some firearms rules, and I can lift elements if I want although LotFP's "everything is super weird-slash-horror-slash-gore porn" vibe isn't really what I'm going for.
    I guess it depends on what you're going for, grounded or more high fantasy. My issue with 5e for this kind of historical based setting is that practically all the 5e classes are magic-users, its superheroic advancement and HP bloat.

    I agree on the LotFP system not fitting its setting, that's why I suggested basing it on Into the Odd instead.

  11. - Top - End - #41
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    Anonymouswizard's Avatar

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    Default Re: What Cool Stuff Are You Working On?

    Quote Originally Posted by Pelle View Post
    I guess it depends on what you're going for, grounded or more high fantasy. My issue with 5e for this kind of historical based setting is that practically all the 5e classes are magic-users, its superheroic advancement and HP bloat.

    I agree on the LotFP system not fitting its setting, that's why I suggested basing it on Into the Odd instead.
    Agreed here, 5e is intentionally very magic heavy, with a rough rule of 'if it's supernatural then magic' (not a solid rule, but ki is very much the exception).

    I'll note that LotFP's setting seems to have been developed several years after it's rules, and apparently after it's actually had it's referee book release there's going to be a new core rulebook with an updated magic system (it seems to be a case of 'one free spell per level, then start rolling for side effects') and Clerics and Demihumans being made optional. It's got half decent early firearms rules at least.


    The view I get of the proposed setting is that characters are mostly mundane but might pick up some magical abilities along the way, and if my understanding is right than core 5e really is a terrible system for it (although the Adventures in Middle-earth classes might help you make it runnable). What you'd want is something similar to 5e but with a good variety of nonspellcasting classes, and possibly a good inbuilt system for running investigations, and I cannot think of much that satisfies the latter. But I could be on completely the wrong track.
    Snazzy avatar (now back! ) by Honest Tiefling.

    RIP Laser-Snail, may you live on in our hearts forever.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Zelphas View Post
    So here I am, trapped in my laboratory, trying to create a Mechabeast that's powerful enough to take down the howling horde outside my door, but also won't join them once it realizes what I've done...twentieth time's the charm, right?
    Quote Originally Posted by Lord Raziere View Post
    How about a Jovian Uplift stuck in a Case morph? it makes so little sense.

  12. - Top - End - #42
    Bugbear in the Playground
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    Quote Originally Posted by Anonymouswizard View Post
    The view I get of the proposed setting is that characters are mostly mundane but might pick up some magical abilities along the way
    Almost 100% the opposite. Think more like the 2004 Hellboy film, or Men in Black or 1990-era Vampire: the Masquerade*. Nominally mundane setting with "superpowered" protagonists working in semi-secret to prevent Bad Things from happening in a largely unaware world. I'd likely cap it with E6 rules (if it went that long) and go with gritty rest variants so what you start with for the adventure is likely what you get until it's done, but overall the high fantasy aspects are intended. If you want to play a largely mundane thief, cool. If you want to play a spell-casting Tabaxi and figure out a way with your party to not bring the wrath of Church & Crown down upon you, also cool. Vary settings and locales so sometimes it's all about keeping a low profile, sometimes you're in the middle of nowhere and can bust it all out without worrying about some goodwife seeing you.

    *Granted, not trying to stop Very Bad Things but the powered protagonists who are supposed to keep it on the down-low aspects
    Last edited by Jophiel; 2020-09-01 at 02:31 PM.

  13. - Top - End - #43
    Bugbear in the Playground
     
    Zombie

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    Default Re: What Cool Stuff Are You Working On?

    I just released a minimalist fantasy RPG called "3 BONES" on my itch.io page. It's for when you want to play D&D on short notice but don't want to bother with getting out several books of options to make up a character to get the perfect combination of spells and abilities to represent your "halfling rogue who casts illusion spells". If you have 3d6 and a piece of scrap paper for a character sheet, you can start playing in a few minutes.

    My next project is a survival horror game about a cursed town like Silent Hill where you play to find out why you were called to this place and whether or not you can escape with your body and soul intact.

    I have a few other projects in my inbox too, so I might switch to one of those before I finish the survival horror game. One of the nice things about having so many projects going at once is that I can procrastinate on one by making progress on another, so something is always getting closer to finished. I think I'll be on the survival horror kick for a while though. I've already got a big headstart on the art and illustrations, so if I get bored with writing I can take a break to work on finalizing the art and laying out some backgrounds.
    The Curse of the House of Rookwood: Supernatural horror and family drama.
    Ash Island: Personal survival horror in the vein of Silent Hill.

  14. - Top - End - #44
    Ogre in the Playground
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    Default Re: What Cool Stuff Are You Working On?

    A few of my friends approached me a while back about starting up a game studio. We're still ironing out details on things.

    While the business savvy members and artists of our group handle what remains on our first project, I'm onto the next project- a full TTRPG called Lost Wings, based on my decades of experience as GM and what I've learned through past attempts at doing this. I've been slowly putting it together for the past two years, and suddenly I have a team backing me. Gotta stop being lazy and finish it!

    Lost Wings is a fantasy roleplaying game set in a late renaissance/early industrial revolution-style world where magic and physics are the same thing. It's a classless, skill-based system with lethal, tactical combat and a suite of non-combat capabilities aimed at fully realizing a more simulationist style of gameplay as desired. It's meant for games that want occasional punchy combat but don't want a full-blown dungeon crawler because they're more focused on presenting a broader story, getting deeper into social intrigue and politics, or dealing with simple fantasy life scenarios. This is for those groups that only want 1-3 fights in a session but still want them to be meaningful and challenging.

    The core setting it's built on is a world where humans have entered a sudden era of prosperity at the tail end of several horrible wars thanks to advances in technologies being widespread by a once-powerful religion trying to both bring a lasting peace and reassert it's own dominance through it. While the political situation between all of these nations and the church is extremely tense, there are other people on the fringes of society where progress hasn't fully penetrated that are in need of help. Just like humans in this world, beasts sometimes morph into new creatures thanks to magic, sometimes into titanic and dangerous forms that can threaten distant communities where they appear. And always, hidden in the darkest recesses of the world, there are the daemons- the original people of the world, hostile beings that usually stay far away from humans, but sometimes appear without warning and lay waste to human civilization.
    Last edited by Waterdeep Merch; 2020-09-04 at 04:04 PM.

  15. - Top - End - #45
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    Man_Over_Game's Avatar

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    My best friend and I decided we wanted to start working on games and see where it takes us, and we have something that we are fleshing out the details for.

    It's a Dice & Card game, using a lot of similar concepts to Magic: The Gathering, but having a universal currency and conflict resolution system, so that you can create your own solutions to whatever problem that comes up.

    The game revolves around your 5 d6 dice, which are spent to enhance or play new cards, make an attack against a target, or to improve the defense of something.

    Rules are simple: If your Attack meets the Defense of the target, the target is destroyed. If the "destroyed" target is a player, that player instead gains another d6. First to take a hit after having 10d6 loses.

    Players are treated the same as units, they just happen to have an Attack of 0, and a Defense of 10.

    Cards are immediately replaced, but drawing a card when you have no deck means you instead gain a d6 and choose a card from your discard.

    So the game has several ways of playing, whether it's through:
    • Casting cheap spells that don't cost dice, in order to mill through your own deck for a quick and fast win. Good against units, bad against items.
    • Generating minions that can launch their own attacks and trade against your enemies' to prevent any long-term bonuses they're granting. Good against items, bad against spells
    • Enhancing yourself to solve your own problems by using equipment and sacrifcial effects as you slowly counter your opponent's naturally high defense. Good against spells, bad against units.

    Cards also have several ways of being played, for example the Aegis spell can block a Ranged Attack (which is an Attack that doesn't receive an attack back unless the defender also has Ranged), or it can be invested into as an item to slightly increase your defense for each die you put on it and to block a hit the next time you'd gain a die (and move closer to death).

    Or the Wall of Stone spell can be instantly used to massively increase the defense of a target for a single fight, or it can be summoned as a unit that can defend anything on your board.



    So far the initial idea is that you're a hero with a special power that allows you to convert your soul into raw power that can be used to alter the world around you, whether that's enhancing your units, weapons, or spells, and your power grows the closer you get towards death. The dice represent both how close you are to death and how powerful your magic is (based on how much dice you have). The fun thing about all of these individual elements to the game means that you can add more players and still play the game, even if your decks end up being too small (due to not having enough cards), and that the game gets harder and faster the closer you get to the end.

    Right now, we're just working on making cards, meta-mechanics, and theme. It's been a blast!
    Last edited by Man_Over_Game; 2020-09-08 at 10:58 AM.
    Quote Originally Posted by KOLE View Post
    MOG, design a darn RPG system. Seriously, the amount of ideas I’ve gleaned from your posts has been valuable. You’re a gem of the community here.

    5th Edition Homebrewery
    Prestige Options, changing primary attributes to open a world of new multiclassing.
    Adrenaline Surge, fitting Short Rests into combat to fix bosses/Short Rest Classes.
    Pain, using Exhaustion to make tactical martial combatants.
    Fate Sorcery, lucky winner of the 5e D&D Subclass Contest VII!

  16. - Top - End - #46
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    SwashbucklerGuy

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    Default Re: What Cool Stuff Are You Working On?

    Working on a Class and 'Race' system for use in d20 games for vehicles, spaceships in particular but could probably work for others, so you can have things like The Serenity or The Falcon which your party uses throughout the campaign without upgrading to a better model of ship like you would with your weapons. Thinking of doing the same for weapons themselved, but that might be more difficult.
    Last edited by Mr.Sandman; 2020-09-11 at 11:25 PM.

  17. - Top - End - #47
    Ogre in the Playground
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    Default Re: What Cool Stuff Are You Working On?

    Quote Originally Posted by Mr.Sandman View Post
    Working on a Class and 'Race' system for use in d20 games for vehicles, spaceships in particular but could probably work for others, so you can have things like The Serenity or The Falcon which your party uses throughout the campaign without upgrading to a better model of ship like you would with your weapons. Thinking of doing the same for weapons themselved, but that might be more difficult.
    Working out something like manufacturers bonuses for weapons is difficult if you don’t have a wide array of stats that compose a weapon, or tolerance for zany rider effects.
    If all rules are suggestions what happens when I pass the save?

  18. - Top - End - #48
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    Quote Originally Posted by Xervous View Post
    Working out something like manufacturers bonuses for weapons is difficult if you don’t have a wide array of stats that compose a weapon, or tolerance for zany rider effects.
    As someone who has attempted to adapt Borderlands to TTRPG based on a D&D background, I feel this deeply.

    The reason manufacturers and weapon types make each gun feel unique enough for the variables to play into which gun you use, you have to get crazy detailed with the gun stats.

    Hyperion is supposed to get more accurate the longer you hold the trigger. Easy enough to say you have an increasing bonus to attack modifier, but how do you determine if they've kept firing? Is it only if they attack with that weapon every round, or do they have to keep aiming at the same target to keep the benefit?

    Most tables don't even like tracking their quiver ammo, say nothing of both a total ammo for each weapon type, plus individual magazine sizes for each unique weapon. D&D is set up to handwave away all these stats with abstraction, but when you do that, there is little-to-no game of comparing a few weapons with their pros and cons
    Quote Originally Posted by 2D8HP View Post
    Some play RPG's like chess, some like charades.

    Everyone has their own jam.

  19. - Top - End - #49
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    Imp

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    Quote Originally Posted by Pleh View Post
    As someone who has attempted to adapt Borderlands to TTRPG based on a D&D background, I feel this deeply.

    The reason manufacturers and weapon types make each gun feel unique enough for the variables to play into which gun you use, you have to get crazy detailed with the gun stats.

    Hyperion is supposed to get more accurate the longer you hold the trigger. Easy enough to say you have an increasing bonus to attack modifier, but how do you determine if they've kept firing? Is it only if they attack with that weapon every round, or do they have to keep aiming at the same target to keep the benefit?

    Most tables don't even like tracking their quiver ammo, say nothing of both a total ammo for each weapon type, plus individual magazine sizes for each unique weapon. D&D is set up to handwave away all these stats with abstraction, but when you do that, there is little-to-no game of comparing a few weapons with their pros and cons
    How do you determine whether someone is continuing to fire?
    Simple: You need to have different kinds of "fire gun" actions.
    • Single shot
    • Multiple shot (requires semi-auto)
    • Short burst (requires full auto)
    • Long burst (requires full auto)

    Why wouldn't you always just shoot the most bullets all the time? Won't I have to keep track of bullets? Keep track of how many turns it takes to deplete the magazine/clip for each mode and gun. When it's empty you reload. You only need to keep track of how many magazines/clips you have.
    This adds tactical depth to gun play beyond just "my turn... I shoot", especially if you add extra modifiers or effects to different shot modes.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mastikator View Post
    How do you determine whether someone is continuing to fire?
    Simple: You need to have different kinds of "fire gun" actions.
    • Single shot
    • Multiple shot (requires semi-auto)
    • Short burst (requires full auto)
    • Long burst (requires full auto)

    Why wouldn't you always just shoot the most bullets all the time? Won't I have to keep track of bullets? Keep track of how many turns it takes to deplete the magazine/clip for each mode and gun. When it's empty you reload. You only need to keep track of how many magazines/clips you have.
    This adds tactical depth to gun play beyond just "my turn... I shoot", especially if you add extra modifiers or effects to different shot modes.
    Don't even need to take it quite so rigidly.

    Just have each "bullet" be represented by a number of dice. For each die added to the attack pool from your Action Points (of which you have like 5 of, or something), deduct that from their chance to hit, but not their damage (or however you want to do it).

    Simply picking a target costs 1 Action Point (so if you picked 1 target, you have 4 dice to shoot with, picking 2 targets means you have 3 dice to divide between them, etc).

    Then Hyperion just gets a flat -2 to hit for each attack and instead gets a +1 bonus for each die, with the limiting factor either being the die size or the number of dice used (so a gun could only go up to 3 bullets per round).



    So you have incentive to burst all of your dice on your one attack for a round, even if it lowers your accuracy to shoot that much, as long as you don't overkill the target (and so are wasting your Action Points on the target). Hyperion, in this regard, would make your Action Points more efficient when it comes to dealing consistent damage to a boss and conserving your Action Points (due to their limited mag size), but would fail against mooks that would otherwise die in one hit.


    Just an example of something that could work without locking yourself into a rigid Single/Semi/Auto system that has has too many mechanics to memorize and runs into problems with content diversity.


    Using good math to do it for you makes it both easier to remember and gives you a lot of freedom to play with weird mechanics.

    For example, you could just make Jacobs guns cost an extra Action Point for each attack roll, but they add 2 bonus dice to your attack, with Sniper Rifles doing the same (so a Jacobs Sniper costs a base 3 Action Points to pick a single target, but Attacks with an extra +4 dice).

    All Shotguns and Rocket Launchers have Splash (which says that, for each enemy you target adjacent to the first, you can roll all of your attack dice against them as one attack instead of dividing between them), with the difference being that Rocket Launchers have more range but are also Slow (costing an extra Action Point to attack and can only be shot once per round).

    You could just make stuff up by that point. Like having a Jacobs Rocket Launcher that takes 3 dice just to target, but gives you +2 dice on your roll and lets you hit the enemy team hard at range before they have time to scatter, which is kinda how the real game actually plays. Blow up a group with a grenade/rocket launcher, then finish off the stragglers with a Hyperion.

    Make it so that you can swap between two sets of weapons (maybe more as you level), and now you basically have a role system based on what guns you use, with your "Class" giving you some extra gimmicks that you can spend Action Points on (like using Zer0's hologram as both an evasion tool for a Sniper or a setup tool with a Shotgun), making sure to keep them "role agnostic" so that there are no limitations on how you choose to play (bored of your sniper character? Make him an assassin!), and you could really see some cool stuff come out of it.

    To make room for the Action Skills, I'd probably make it something like having them be available at the start of each fight, and using them has no Action Point cost, but recharging them requires you to spend Action Points to "reduce" their cooldown for another use . This would make Action Skills not get in the way of your guns (instead amplifying them), while also giving value back to playstyles/guns that don't burn all of their Action Points in a single turn (so builds that are weaker have greater combo/burst potential by leveraging your Action Skill frequently).
    Last edited by Man_Over_Game; 2020-09-15 at 01:04 PM.
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    To those above: Yah, I am super excited to see how the upcoming Bunkers and Badasses tabletop handles it when it comes out next year.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Reathin View Post
    For a long, long time, I've been working on a Fate game (which is to say, Fate/Stay Night, Fate/Zero etc.) using, ironically, the FATE gaming system. Instead of a traditional free-for-all Holy Grail War, the players will be members of the same team (the Teal faction) against 7 other Servants (the Gold faction). In essence, very similar to Fate/Apocrypha's format.


    .....


    REALLY looking forward to it. Hoping to have everything ready to start in a few weeks. Wish me luck!
    Good luck!

    You know, it's just an idle thought, but I'd really like to play in the Fate/X setting outside of the Grail Wars. The glimpses we get of mage society in Fate/Zero seemed really rich with possibility--decadent, somewhat crazy dynasties of mages hoarding their secrets, delving into forbidden knowledge with no care for collateral damage, and engaging in seriously screwed-up magical transhumanism and body horror.

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    It's really neat to see people helping each other out with design tips in this thread! Cool stuff all around, and I am excited at all the neat projects. Keep up the good work!

    Quote Originally Posted by Reathin View Post
    For a long, long time, I've been working on a Fate game (which is to say, Fate/Stay Night, Fate/Zero etc.) using, ironically, the FATE gaming system. Instead of a traditional free-for-all Holy Grail War, the players will be members of the same team (the Teal faction) against 7 other Servants (the Gold faction). In essence, very similar to Fate/Apocrypha's format.

    ...


    REALLY looking forward to it. Hoping to have everything ready to start in a few weeks. Wish me luck!
    Good luck. Fate in FATE seems like an interesting match, and it's cool to see more FATE stuff being made around here. It seems a little niche on the GiantITP forums.

    Quote Originally Posted by Waterdeep Merch View Post
    A few of my friends approached me a while back about starting up a game studio. We're still ironing out details on things.
    That's a big project! But it sounds like you are making good progress. Keep it up!

    Quote Originally Posted by Man_Over_Game View Post
    My best friend and I decided we wanted to start working on games and see where it takes us, and we have something that we are fleshing out the details for.

    ...

    Right now, we're just working on making cards, meta-mechanics, and theme. It's been a blast!
    My favorite part of game design is when you are having fun making your game. As long as that is the case, then it's been worthwhile. And it sounds like you've got some interesting design concepts going on! I am intrigued by the idea of getting more powerful the closer you are to defeat - kind of the opposite of the death spiral effect in games with wound penalties.
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    So my previous project is on hold while I work on a new idea I had, an incredibly rules light space opera game using only six sided dice, with the working title of Intelligent Hamsters from Beyond the Stars. It's inspired mainly by science fiction from the 50s and 60s, particular Star Trek, Doctor Who, and the works of Issac Asimov.

    It does away with the idea of 'Attributes' entirely, characters are instead defined by three Traits (their Archetype, their Ideal, and their Failing), their Ten Abilities (closer to very broad skills than attributes), and their Gear and Powers. Everything is either rated from one to five dice, which are rolled as a dice pool, or are static and provide a one die bonus to relevant dice pools. Rolls are resolved by counting dice which show four or more as successes, with larger pools generally winning in the case of a tie (and players winning if they are still tied).

    So far everything is going well, and I'm passing sections of rules by friends to make sure they read clearly. My favourite piece is the section on aliens, simply pointing out that such characters are generally assumed to be humans with prosthetics, and an alien who significantly differs from a human should express that with Traits and Powers.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Zelphas View Post
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    Just finished a sizable update to my project to make 2e AD&D into a create-a-class system.
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    Two things actually:

    One is a, Apocalyptic Gothic Fantasy setting for a story I want to write with roughly early 1600s era tech level based on Eastern European cultures with two magic systems in it.

    The other is an e6 styled D20 game built from the ground up to be that way set in a, you guessed it, Post Apocalyptic Fantasy setting. I plan on taking the best stuff from 3.5, Pathfander and Stars Wars Saga and combine them together to make a better D20 game.
    Quote Originally Posted by Guigarci View Post
    "Mr. Aochev, tear down this wall!" Ro'n Ad-Ri'Gan, Bard
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    My Post Apocalyptic Alternate Timeline setting: Amerhikan Wasteland


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    Quote Originally Posted by Blackhawk748 View Post
    One is a, Apocalyptic Gothic Fantasy setting for a story I want to write with roughly early 1600s era tech level based on Eastern European cultures with two magic systems in it.
    Ok, what is Apocalyptic Gothic Fantasy?
    Developer for the Sengai Jidai role-playing game, powered by FATE. Check out the latest progress at the development blog.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Horatio@Bridge View Post
    Ok, what is Apocalyptic Gothic Fantasy?
    Exactly what it says, Fantasy in the Gothic style taking place during an Apocalypse.
    Quote Originally Posted by Guigarci View Post
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    I'm currently rewriting the entirety of Shadowrun 5e. Zero lore tidbits that might be copyrighted, almost pure mechanics and some small fluff. Corebook is mostly done (going through proofreading at this point), so I'm currently combing through all the other books trying to decide what to keep and what to discard.

    In the process, it hit me hard to (again) realize just how much useless or completely unbalanced stuff has been printed, as if someone just had to fill the pages with something. Seriously, even if we don't take lore into account, about 30-50% of printed stuff per book (I've gone through Chrome Flesh, Street Grimoire and Rigger 5.0 so far) is either absolutely useless and will not come up in 99.9999% of the games (who needs vehicle stats for a luxury resort ship worth almost 90 million nuyen? Furthermore, why can it be sunk in about 10-15 seconds by a single troll with a decent melee weapon?) or broken (oh yeah, sure, let's just let the mage channel a superpowered spirit, remaining in full control of their buffed-beyond-normal-limits body).
    Last edited by Ignimortis; 2020-09-21 at 11:43 PM.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Horatio@Bridge View Post
    My favorite part of game design is when you are having fun making your game. As long as that is the case, then it's been worthwhile. And it sounds like you've got some interesting design concepts going on! I am intrigued by the idea of getting more powerful the closer you are to defeat - kind of the opposite of the death spiral effect in games with wound penalties.
    Hah! You sound a lot like my friend. And thanks!

    If you're interested, I have a thread on it asking folks if they have ideas regarding mechanics, and I'd love any kind of feedback that you might have (as limited it may be right now): https://forums.giantitp.com/showthre...-game-Got-tips

    We're playtesting this Saturday with the cards and mechanics we have so far. We plan to just take a bunch of blank paper, writing stats/mechanics on them, and just seeing how fun the base foundation works and see if there's anything that isn't very fun.
    Last edited by Man_Over_Game; 2020-09-22 at 02:42 PM.
    Quote Originally Posted by KOLE View Post
    MOG, design a darn RPG system. Seriously, the amount of ideas I’ve gleaned from your posts has been valuable. You’re a gem of the community here.

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