quote: Original post by fodd3r
Since we''re all so opinionated.

How about we take all the things we like and see if we can come up with our own little system?

DONE, except for my magic system and a few other details.
Having a simple and believable magic system isn''t too easy, not only that but I don''t want my wizards to be ''forced'' to learn spells, I prefer them to truly master magic, and do whatever they want with it.

-* So many things to do, so little time to spend. *-

I think because I hate the DnD with so much passion and for so long (13 years now...) the magic system is probably the first thing I was glad to experience in a different fashion.
It''s hard to explain without all my books around, but I am still very much attached to the Simulacres system.
Interestingly, the White Wolf system is very similar in appearance.
In WW - Vampire, you learn a Path of magic, and with increasing experience you can buy more and more powerful powers in that Path. It combines the classic levelling of classic systems of games like DnD with the added effect that you cant just go and buy the best spells for a certain level, you have to learn your art thoroughly. Rituals are a different kind of magick and can be learned separately, provided you have the required skill in a particular Path.

In Simulacres, it was much simpler: every single spell you learn is a separate and unique skill, that can be improved with experience. So when you learn the basic fireball, it''s not so impressive, but if all you do is cast Fireball and increase only that one spell, you are gonna start having some pretty heavy firepower, to the exclusion of any other spell.
I liked the system so much because it really demanded that the player invest his experience carefully.
At character creation, you would buy Energies, a trait that defined your affinity to a particular path of magic. The system being so open and generic, an energy could be very specialised (like Protection), or a bit more general (like Fire).
Spells would be associated to a particular Energy.
So if you wanted to cast the spells to the best of your abilities you would have to invest from the start, which would then mean you would tend to stick with the spells of the Energies you had.
Of course you could later on learn new Energies to increase the spectrum of your spellcasting abilities. Or you could stick with your Energies (it''s more expensive to increase an Energy, much more than learn a new spell) and specialise.

This lead to very specialised, and more importantly, very unique spellcasters.
For instance I had a druid with a "dot" in Protection (so he could walk around unharmed), two "dots" in Healing (he was a wandering healer, a sort of holy man), and two "dots" in Nature (to make trees grow...)
The only spells he had at the start were Heal Wounds, Increase Plant Growth, Shield. Like I said, pretty specialised.

And I am not even gonna start with my favourite magic system of all times (at least in concept, I havent tried it), Mage : The Ascension.


Sancte Isidore ora pro nobis !

Same idea although I use Runes as the base of spell casting.
Only problem remains in adding Runes together to build up a spell, you''re skilled in each individual Rune, so it''s like other modern systems.

Difficulty level of spell, cost... is derived from the accumulated Runes.


-* So many things to do, so little time to spend. *-

Mage the assension is basically the pinicale of magic systems, it can basically replicate ANY other magic system with ease. Probably the best way to go IMO.

The I think the biggest issue with systems currently is working out a decent set of skills.

yeah, that''s why I like the Simulacres approach. There is no classification like in White Wolf.
I like the way White Wolf have the points system that you have to spend on groups of related skills, it makes for characters that are more oriented towards one style of play than another, but at the same time I think players *should* be mature enough to do as they please.
If you dont know the WW system, you get to spend 13,9 and 5 points IIRC in any skills you want (provided you dont go beyond 3 for any skills). The skills are classified as "Skills", "Talents" and "Knowledge". The rationale behind it is that there is a set of skills for the fighter (physical stuff) a set of skills for the socialiser and a set of skill for the nerd (intellectual stuff).
It makes for more specialised characters at the creation, without actually limiting the evolution of the stats later on (you *can* be a philosopher who just happen to be a master at silver katana AND can chat up pretty much any living or unliving being...)
Again a nice solution to the "I cant climb this tree because I am a spellcaster" problem that DnD created.

BTW Drewish, if you are still reading, why would you want to use the D20 system anyway ? I mean, it''s not totally bad, but there are better systems out there that are generic enough to be adpated (I saw a mention of GURPS, SimulacreS is another one, but I believe Chaosium also is open enough to be adapted)
Surely there must be a better solution than D20 ?

Sancte Isidore ora pro nobis !

I can''t believe no one posted this

http://forum.rpg.net/forumdisplay.php?s=276fb4561f7f007730da21bcb9f112a0&forumid=11

This is for general P&P Game design. Be careful about mentioning D20 there. Great place to discuss settings and world design though.

For everything you could ever want to know about D20, including publishing under the D20 license go to
http://boards1.wizards.com/forumdisplay.php?s=87b6714f28ab886bf4ab231e4cb97c88&forumid=259

Also, there is a D20 modern book. It is pretty good, go to your local Barnes&Noble or Books-a-million or comic book shop or whatever and peruse it. You may not even need to make your own setting.

Also, alot of people get D&D confused with D20, they are not the same, and D20 is a very adapatable system.

mmmh, yes, whatever.
D20 was spawned by Lizards on the Toast who have DnD in their greasy little hands. That''s enough to bias the opnion of any self respecting roleplayer

Sancte Isidore ora pro nobis !

but cool link though

Sancte Isidore ora pro nobis !

quote: Original post by ahw
mmmh, yes, whatever.
D20 was spawned by Lizards on the Toast who have DnD in their greasy little hands. That''s enough to bias the opnion of any self respecting roleplayer

Sancte Isidore ora pro nobis !

???????????? I don''t recall self-respect being part of the roleplayer package

The problem with the D20 system is hit points, levels and classes. Those sub-systems would have to be replaced and the new systems would likely require significant work. Additionally, considering that they''re rather core to the system, you might as well start from scratch.