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Heroic Knight
 
Group: Basic Members
Last Login: Thursday, August 07, 2008 5:26 PM
Posts: 135,
Visits: 279
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| For years now (pretty much from the beginning of my involvement in the hobby) the friends that I've roleplayed with have, for the most part, written their own campaign backgrounds in preference to using published material. More recently there has been a tendency to actually write specific systems to meet the requirements of individual campaigns. Almost always these systems are an adaptation of one or more existing games (usually RuneQuest 3 among my group) but occasionally it has been difficult to identify the original game once it's been adapted. So is this unique to my immediate gaming group? Or is it common across the hobby? Can anyone suggest a reason why it might not be a good idea? Or why it is more desirable than using an off-the-shelf system?
"When I want your opinion, I'll read it from your steaming entrails"
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Prodigal
Group: System Moderators
Last Login: Yesterday @ 6:51 PM
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It's not uncommon, but not done everywhere either. It might not be a good idea if your system-deviser is less good at breaking stuff than your players (and/or just not very good), on account of homebrew systems not having extensive testing; also if you have a pool of experienced roleplayers who are used to a certain system (like d20 or Storyteller) then it might be harder to get them along to a homebrew game. It is quite entertaining and if you're making up the background then fitting the system to the background rather than ending up with obscure things do-able which can't be properly explained due to using someone else's system may be helpful.
Maelstrom: Jessily the Wemic, previously Tourmaline of Weaver
CUTT: Kerriville the Ninth, previously Ref 07/08
EOS: Study the Venin
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Heroic Knight
Group: System Moderators
Last Login: Saturday, October 04, 2008 5:20 PM
Posts: 132,
Visits: 254
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| I spent a long time trying out my own systems but with little success, without a bunch of playtesters I ended up with unbalenced systems. Then I bought Fudge. I've used it a couple of times and I love it. Its simplicity means it's versatile enough for pretty much any setting and genre. It isn't foolproof by any means but if you've got people who want to roleplay rather than wank stats I'd totally recommend it. Because of the basic rules you can frame it to fit your genre and setting with very little work. Oh and I use the WoD stats list for the basic stats, they have the best balance of emphasis on different types of tasks to resolve. Off the shelf systems are usually better than home grown because they've been playtested to fit the game. But so many games have waaay to many rules when really a rules system should be nice and simple to keep things moving.
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"Stick around!"
-Governor of California throwing a hunting knife into a man's chest
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Heroic Knight
Group: Basic Members
Last Login: Tuesday, March 18, 2008 7:53 PM
Posts: 128,
Visits: 363
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I helped design an Immortals game a few years ago, using the core WoD system, and making up new powers etc. Stats and skills remained the same, with a couple of skill additions.
I see no point making up a brand new system unless
a) What you want doesn't exist anywhere or
b) You can't afford to buy a whole new system to do what you want.
Saying that, a good friend of mine, ELT from Southport, made a completely new post apocalyptic game that was very good...after some playtesting and adjustment. But I suspect he did that just so he could use his d30 
Liverpool Vamp - Richard Ballengate - Clan Tremere
Maelstrom - Malachi Dante - Now an Independant Trader
IRL - Matt Jenkins
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Wag
Group: System Moderators
Last Login: Thursday, August 21, 2008 11:39 PM
Posts: 1,141,
Visits: 3,626
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| I have never made up my own tabletop system (writing your own LRP is hard enough ) but I am an inveterate meddler in tabletop rules. When I used to play tabletop a lot, I tended to pick and choose the rules I used from the systems I chose and matched backgrounds to systems (or wrote my own backgrounds) as I saw fit. These included: A Rolemaster campaign set in the Dragon Warriors world with about 80% of the rules ignored A Mage game set in a near future cyberpunk setting allowing the players to play Technocracy I have also played in other games which have been set in unusual settings such as a Rolemaster campaign based on Blakes 7, a Cthuhlu game set during the Vietnam War, another Cthuhlu game based around the plot of Jacobs Ladder and a Traveller Game set in the Babylon 5 universe. So, no, improvisation of rules and background is not unusual.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Whispering God is your friend... trust the Whispering God... Ruins of Empire 1st - 3rd Feb, 2008, Gladstone scout centre, Chester
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Heroic Knight
Group: Basic Members
Last Login: Yesterday @ 10:43 PM
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When I started reffing AD&D (2nd ed) all those years ago I couldn't simply afford all the campaign source books (except Ravenloft to which I was addicted). So I had all the basics and the rules, but to save money I wrote my own campaign world.
I also had a few very experienced players that knew all the books backwards and I knew that making things from scratch would stop them from going 'Oh it's a Knight of Flarg therefore I know they only fight with maces..." etc.
I didn't have a job then, do now, plus house, husband and second job so converting to 3.5 will be a while.
But it is worth it, if you have a solid base in the rules themselves.
www.absintheskiss.com - Alternative, Goth and LRP Design. Fuller figure specialist.
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Champion
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Last Login: 2 days ago @ 6:38 PM
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I remeber when i was 20 spending ages writing a sci-fi rpg system, while it worked when playtested i could never get the armour rules right
____________________________________As the old robot saying goes "does not compute"
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Wag
Group: System Moderators
Last Login: Thursday, August 21, 2008 11:39 PM
Posts: 1,141,
Visits: 3,626
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On the subject of players knowing all the rules... on one Mage campaign I ran (I've ran a few) we used to run in a house where all the inhabitants were roleplayers and they all stored their sourcebooks on the same set of shelves. I usually brought my own Mage book with me to refer to (If I ever felt an irrational need to actually bother with actual rules for Mage) but nothing else. One game, before we started, I went up to the shelf and started browsing. I picked up Werewolf and went, 'Hmmm, this could be useful'. Then I picked up Call of Cthuhlu and said 'Ooooh, this will be VERY useful'. I then sat down and put these books on the floor next to me. I didn't look at them the entire session. I have never seen players so petrified in my life. They were waiting for me to refer to those books
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The Whispering God is your friend... trust the Whispering God... Ruins of Empire 1st - 3rd Feb, 2008, Gladstone scout centre, Chester
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