Author Topic: Systems & Settings. How do you homebrew?  (Read 1171 times)

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Coplantor

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Systems & Settings. How do you homebrew?
« on: March 16, 2011, 11:09:07 PM »
Disclaimer:

I'd like to apologize first for any and all of the probable grammar and syntactic mistakes, I know that this is the worst excuse but english is not my first language so I'm prone to get confused every now and then.

...him being who had to create, because... He had to.
Willie Trombone, son of Ottoborg
-The Neverhood

There comes a time in every roleplayer's life in which strange and new feelings begin to sprout deep within himself, an urge to create never felt before that cannot be quenched by just rolling a new character or weaving a new story, no, it seems like the only way to overcome these strange new needs is to come up with a whole new world. But a few villages, towns, castles and caves wont do, it must be unique, not something that can be easily attached to a previously created setting.

There's a myriad ways to achieve this, but to make things easier let's just say that there are only two possible paths. To build a setting for a game you know, or to build a setting and then look for the best system to play it.

More often than not, I walk the second path, I come up with a world without knowing for which game, so when I try to adapt my ideas to an already established system I usually grow dissatisfied with the results.

I'm mostly used to the d20 system, which I really like, for DnD and other WotC products. Most of my projects are stuffed in the magical freezer in the back of my head, waiting the moment I either find the system I'm looking for, modify an existing one or come up with a new one just for this world, all because I generally don't like levels and classes and the fact that every time you improve at something you also get more hit points. I am, however, using d20 for my homebrewed settings because, as I said before, it's the system both my players and myself are more familiar with.

So, looking forward to learn from the experience of other homebrewers I come here to ask you, how do you do it? Do you master a multitude of systems in order to always know which one you'll use? You resign yourself to homebrew to that one system you know well? You tweak a lot? You make your own rules?

Thanks in advance.

oslecamo

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Re: Systems & Settings. How do you homebrew?
« Reply #1 on: March 16, 2011, 11:17:48 PM »
I do pretty much all my homebrew for 3.X because it's far easier to get players for it, plus there's the more online support.

I'm also not over tweaking and refluffing a lot. I actually once saw a full 3.X campaign in a space fantasy setting based of Phantasy Star. Magic refluffled as Tecniques, mundane weapons and armor reflavored as high-tech photon weaponry and force fields... Just a little imagination and openness from your players and you can do do almost anything with a single system, in contrast with needing to know diferent rules sets if you try to fit a seting to a system.

And yes, houserules all the way. Some use less, others use more, but all  D&D games I've seen use houserules to some extent.



Bauglir

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Re: Systems & Settings. How do you homebrew?
« Reply #2 on: March 18, 2011, 04:46:54 PM »
Typically I'll start with a system I know (usually 3.5), and write up a list of houserules to patch up perceived flaws in the game (most of these rules will carry over from game to game, regardless of setting) and adjust the system to fit the world I want to run. By the time I do the latter, I usually have an idea of the general plotline of the campaign I want to run there, and I've got some thematic ideas for villains and an idea of the power level the PCs should be at. Once I've got rules, then I start making statistics for particular things; dungeons, creatures, special items, etcetera. Often, ideas for roleplaying elements will jump out at me from the statistics that go along with them, but not always. Occasionally, I'll work the other way, with a fleshed-out roleplaying concept that I find or design mechanics to suit.
So you end up stuck in an endless loop, unable to act, forever.

In retrospect, much like Keanu Reeves.

Littha

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Re: Systems & Settings. How do you homebrew?
« Reply #3 on: March 18, 2011, 06:20:23 PM »
my approach to homebrewing stuff tends to be:
Take a cool concept, add it to D&D.

This is worked so far for my own campaign settings but I do tend to forget to provide examples of how things are supposed to work or not properly thinking through all the implications of an ability.

Amechra

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Re: Systems & Settings. How do you homebrew?
« Reply #4 on: March 18, 2011, 08:45:09 PM »
I like making casting subsystems, so sue me.
[spoiler]Fighter: "I can kill a guy in one turn."
Cleric: "I can kill a guy in half a turn."
Wizard: "I can kill a guy before my turn."
Bard: "I can get three idiots to kill guys for me."

On a strange note, would anyone be put out if we had a post about people or events we can spare a thought for, or if its within their creed, a prayer for? Just a random thought, but ... hells I wouldn't have known about either Archangels daughter or Saeomons niece if I didn't happen to be on these threads.
Sounds fine to me.
probably over on "Off-topic".
might want to put a little disclaimer in the first post.

This is the Min/Max board. We should be able to figure out a way to optimize the POWER OF PRAYER(TM) that doesn't involve "Pazuzu, Pazuzu, Pazuzu".
[/spoiler]

My final project for my film independent study course. It could do with a watching and critiquing

SneeR

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Re: Systems & Settings. How do you homebrew?
« Reply #5 on: March 20, 2011, 03:33:22 AM »
I alway suse D&D 3.5. The system (minus magic) emulates reality fairly well if you ignore some things here and there, like Diplomacy checks as an end-all social encounter roll.

I sometimes tweak on the fly when I think something is appropriate, like letting someone sneak up behind an enemy in the midst of a crowd, even while wearing fullplate armor.

If I want something of my own in the game, I think of what the thing does, then look for similar abilities. For instance, a knockdown weapon gives an automatic trip attempt upon a hit, with no retaliation trip if you fail. Or a monster's indescribable ability to kill everything near itself? Quickened, maximized, empowered Dance of Ruin, a first-level spell-like ability, is perfect!
The answer to everything:
[spoiler][/spoiler]
SneeR
[spoiler]
I don't know if the designers meant you to take Skill Focus for every feat.
Sounds a little OP.

The monk is clearly the best class, no need to optimize here. What you are doing is overkill.

It's like people who have no idea what a turn signal is. They ruin it for everyone else.
When another driver brandishes a holy symbol and begins glowing with divine light, seek cover or get spattered with zombie brains. I do not see what is so complicated about this.
[/spoiler]