Anyone who's played an RPG or tabletop game must have had at least a loose idea for their own project. It could be a new race for D&D, a new army for WH or a new setting to play in using FATE or Wushu. The particularly adventurous may have even branched into their own RPGs or Wargames from scratch.
I certainly have plenty of these half-finished projects myself but this is no ego thread. I want to hear what the men and women of Critical Failures have created, from the small to the sprawling. Show me your elven subraces, your broken prestige classes and your unfinished wargames.
Man I could dig up a bunch of shit. Back in highschool me and some friends didn't play D&D, we played "Fudds" which was futuristic D&D. A slapped together mish mash of Ad&d rules and shit we made up. I might hunt around and try and find all the stuff I have from it, I don't think I have much of the actual rules left.
during say d&d 3.5ish times i had this spelljammer campaign and i'd decided i'd find a wau to combine every published campaign there was into it. Decently mind, allowing for the changes space travel'd bring if it was introduced on a large scale. And also make a big old map.
Not that big a project, but if you like to put things on hold like me its pretty daunting.
Degrees: The One-Hundred-and-Ninety Designs of Everything.
Holy shit this was awesome. I think the best way to describe it is a setting, there are a couple rules in it, but mostly its just places to go and such. Basically the universe was created, but not everyone agreed with what the universe should be. So whoever wanted to do somethin, went off and made their own universe, each universe is a degree, and yes there are 190 of them. Some are pretty detailed, some are just bare skeletons of a world.
SUPER posted this a while ago and had forumers (including myself) create and develop these different degrees. Ive wanted to play in this universe since it started but SUPER never got around to it and noone Ive shown it has had much interest.
But yeah, check this out cause its awesome. I dont even remember which ones I did, well, except for #78, The Grid. I kinda liked that one.
Hahaha, oh man. I found my Fudds stuff. This is hilarious. We made so many fucking races for the universe. Why would you need TWO varieties of four armed snake person? WHY?
Hahaha, oh man. I found my Fudds stuff. This is hilarious. We made so many fucking races for the universe. Why would you need TWO varieties of four armed snake person? WHY?
I've been trying to make a pen and paper version of dwarf fortress. It's pretty crazy and detailed, and I really like what I have so far, but i've hit a pretty big obstacle with the way time works in it. also later in the game it would get difficult to try and manage all those players/npcs.
I had a horribly unbalanced card game the regs of the local comicbook store called the "post-it game", due to my inability to make proper cards for it. It was during this project that I gathered indisputable proof that dice hate me.
Not so much "afford" as "bother to finalise". I had like three glossy proper cards, the rest of the decks were half-drawn prototypes or notes on scraps. Basically people could often tell what was in someone's hand from the quality of the card's back, heh.
This one threw people a lot. And not just because it uses a MtG template.
Degrees: The One-Hundred-and-Ninety Designs of Everything.
Holy shit this was awesome. I think the best way to describe it is a setting, there are a couple rules in it, but mostly its just places to go and such. Basically the universe was created, but not everyone agreed with what the universe should be. So whoever wanted to do somethin, went off and made their own universe, each universe is a degree, and yes there are 190 of them. Some are pretty detailed, some are just bare skeletons of a world.
SUPER posted this a while ago and had forumers (including myself) create and develop these different degrees. Ive wanted to play in this universe since it started but SUPER never got around to it and noone Ive shown it has had much interest.
But yeah, check this out cause its awesome. I dont even remember which ones I did, well, except for #78, The Grid. I kinda liked that one.
I'd actually forgotten about that one! I did manage to run a very minimal game of it some time ago and true to the initial idea it began with a d190 roll to find out which degree the game would begin on. To be honest I sort of lost interest in the idea and doubt I'll develop it much further, so it's free for anyone to run with.
In terms of my other stuff, wellll....
Inheritance - Superpowered Heroics in an original ancient setting. A Wanderer's Romance - Wuxia style game where everything from a swordfight to flower arranging to tea-preparation is a duel. Teen Island - Cheerleaders, Monkeys, Social Drama and no GM to keep them in line. BSU System - Blowing Stuff Up. Every dumb action movie you've seen in a fun little system. Supercavern System - The product of a spare hour in my evening and intended for unplanned silliness.
Not so much "afford" as "bother to finalise". I had like three glossy proper cards, the rest of the decks were half-drawn prototypes or notes on scraps. Basically people could often tell what was in someone's hand from the quality of the card's back, heh.
This one threw people a lot. And not just because it uses a MtG template.
It was a running joke that I invented the damn game but thoroughly sucked at it. Either that or, you know, comic book nerds are tactical geniuses. With charmed dice.
P.S. Suga: bloody hellfire, you've been damn busy. I remember Degrees, but I don't think I ever got around to contributing, which is a pity- always had a thing for sprawling extradimensional settings. We should convert this thread into the "SUPERSUGA Publishing House discussion thread: Third Edition Awesomeoness Incoming, But Everyone Says Cheerleaders Need Nerfed"...
I just checked out that Degrees setting and I gotta say, that is super kick-ass. I'm going to pick out a system to fit it one of these days and utilize it in a campaign. It's just too good.
What would be a decent system for a ghostbusters themed rpg? I'm not really familiar with any of the d20 systems anymore, so I'm not sure which would be a good fit.
Edit: I was thinking of taking a look at some of the horror themed systems, but I don't even know where to start, I don't know the names of any systems to be honest.
Neffffffff: I used Dwarf Fortress as inspiration for Teen Island, linked in my previous post. Although it's not in a fantasy setting it inspired me to try a game where you have a group of characters that you have little control over but become emotionally attached to, doing the best you can to just keep them alive. I'd like to see how a full on DF tabletop game would go.
What would be a decent system for a ghostbusters themed rpg? I'm not really familiar with any of the d20 systems anymore, so I'm not sure which would be a good fit.
Edit: I was thinking of taking a look at some of the horror themed systems, but I don't even know where to start, I don't know the names of any systems to be honest.
There was a Ghostbusters RPG by West End Games that (I believe) used a version of their D6 system. It's long out of print but you may be able to find a copy in used game stores or online.
Neffffffff: I used Dwarf Fortress as inspiration for Teen Island, linked in my previous post. Although it's not in a fantasy setting it inspired me to try a game where you have a group of characters that you have little control over but become emotionally attached to, doing the best you can to just keep them alive. I'd like to see how a full on DF tabletop game would go.
What would be a decent system for a ghostbusters themed rpg? I'm not really familiar with any of the d20 systems anymore, so I'm not sure which would be a good fit.
Edit: I was thinking of taking a look at some of the horror themed systems, but I don't even know where to start, I don't know the names of any systems to be honest.
There was a Ghostbusters RPG by West End Games that (I believe) used a version of their D6 system. It's long out of print but you may be able to find a copy in used game stores or online.
Wow thanks, I found something right away! I don't know how the copyright things work for old material like that, but pm me and we can talk.
I made a Portalmancer class during that period of Portal mania we all suffered through. Never quite finished it, but it would have been damn cool. In the early levels, its main attack would be putting portals on the ceiling and under monsters' feet, making them take falling damage. Later, they got bigger portals for larger creatures, one-turn portable holes for save-or-die action, and "holes in the sky" for immobilizing flying enemies. They'd also get appropriate Sor/Wiz spells on the bard's progression, never went through the list to find the right ones, though.
Wouldn't have been balanced at all (as bad as level 1 flight for obstacle surmounting), but I liked the idea.
Hey there! I'm going to shamelessly plug the RPG a friend and I have been working on for the past year or so. It's been pretty thoroughly playtested (and another friend even converted it to run a Discworld game!) so it's fairly polished.
It's called Anno Geometrica, and it's an Alternate History game incorporating two different eras; Swashbuckling action with flouncy shirts and shiny swords, or steampunk adventures with the usual gamut of cool steam-tech. (Also, 'expansions' are being worked on taking the timeline through present day and into the future, resulting in Cyberpunk and Post-Apocalyptic settings.)
Incidentally, we're both British, and the whole background is rather Anglo-centric (Although the rest of the world gets covered as well.) So, if you're Foreign, that's just a heads-up
All comments, criticism, abuse, adoration, money, offers of work, half-kingdoms, hands-of-daughters etc are welcome.
What would be a decent system for a ghostbusters themed rpg? I'm not really familiar with any of the d20 systems anymore, so I'm not sure which would be a good fit.
Edit: I was thinking of taking a look at some of the horror themed systems, but I don't even know where to start, I don't know the names of any systems to be honest.
There was a Ghostbusters RPG by West End Games that (I believe) used a version of their D6 system. It's long out of print but you may be able to find a copy in used game stores or online.
Wow thanks, I found something right away! I don't know how the copyright things work for old material like that, but pm me and we can talk.
Ghostbusters was a predecessor to the D6 system, which received most of its development though Star Wars RPG's 2 & 1/2 editions. The subsequent D6 Action/Adventure/Space rules are technically free now, or at least open lisence, so getting some PDFs from WEG shouldn't be very hard. After that you may want to tack on a recreation of Ghostbusters' 'Cool' attribute to include the psychological aspect of the original game.
Hey there! I'm going to shamelessly plug the RPG a friend and I have been working on for the past year or so. It's been pretty thoroughly playtested (and another friend even converted it to run a Discworld game!) so it's fairly polished.
It's called Anno Geometrica, and it's an Alternate History game incorporating two different eras; Swashbuckling action with flouncy shirts and shiny swords, or steampunk adventures with the usual gamut of cool steam-tech. (Also, 'expansions' are being worked on taking the timeline through present day and into the future, resulting in Cyberpunk and Post-Apocalyptic settings.)
Incidentally, we're both British, and the whole background is rather Anglo-centric (Although the rest of the world gets covered as well.) So, if you're Foreign, that's just a heads-up
All comments, criticism, abuse, adoration, money, offers of work, half-kingdoms, hands-of-daughters etc are welcome.
Cheers!
There's some cool stuff in there, definitely a good two eras to choose. Are there any elements you've written for either timeframe that you're particularly proud of?
Hey there. Glad you like it. Any things I'm particularly proud of? Nothing stands out really. The whole idea of Applied Universal Geometry is pretty cool. I'm easily influenced by stuff I'm reading/playing/ watching. I was watching Helsing (the anime) and thought 'wow, secret British Orders of Knights are cool! I need one!' and so the Newtonian Order was born. (Incidentally, they were originally called the British Order of Newtonian Knights. Then I realised that the acronym was 'BONK', so I had to change it. My players still call it BONK just to annoy me.)
It was just supposed to be swashbuckling. Then I read The Difference Engine, and thought 'Steam powered technology is cool!' So I extended the timeline 100 years. Then I was playing Deus Ex and reading Neuronmancer. 'Wow! Cyberpunk is cool!' So I've written an 'expansion' taking the timeline another 100 years. Then I was reading David Gemmel's Jon Shannow books. 'Wow! Post-Apocalytic Westerns are cool!' So I added 2 or 3 more centuries to the timeline. Right now I'm reading Space Captain Smith, and thinking 'Wow! Spaceships and Star Empires are cool!' So far I'm resisting... so hard!
For the longest time I've had an idea about a pseudo-futuristic society dominated by humans who are posessed by spirits from other planes, thereby getting awesome powers but also sacrificing their humanity in the process in order to keep humanity from being destroyed.
I've never really made any proper rules for it, though.. and I've never really found a proper system for it to live in.
For the longest time I've had an idea about a pseudo-futuristic society dominated by humans who are posessed by spirits from other planes, thereby getting awesome powers but also sacrificing their humanity in the process in order to keep humanity from being destroyed.
I've never really made any proper rules for it, though.. and I've never really found a proper system for it to live in.
Have you ever talked to my mother? That's similar to a concept she wrote short stories about when she was at college.*
But I like the idea of it being pseudo-futuristic. Plays into cosmic horror/psionics very well, and it means people could choose to bond further with the beings (and gain power supernaturally) or remain as badass normals, packing high-tech weaponry and relying on finesse and skill rather than magic/psychic powers/whichever explanation is preferred. Again though, beats me what system would suit it...
*
She tactfully showed me what she wrote after I'd also written something similar. I blame mind-controlling spirits from other planes.
For the longest time I've had an idea about a pseudo-futuristic society dominated by humans who are posessed by spirits from other planes, thereby getting awesome powers but also sacrificing their humanity in the process in order to keep humanity from being destroyed.
I've never really made any proper rules for it, though.. and I've never really found a proper system for it to live in.
I designed a character pairing that functioned like this and played it for a little bit in d20 3.5E. The setup would definately work nicely in a 4E framework. I actually thought about writing out such a game but I can't between the two campaigns I'm running and or stockpiling content for. :U
Known Issues:
Roleplaying it would be difficult @ the table between players. (My spirit says this, and I say...)
Powers balance. Spirits are stronger. How much so is too much?
A table full of players like this would be annoying.
tastydonuts on
“I used to draw, hard to admit that I used to draw...”
For the longest time I've had an idea about a pseudo-futuristic society dominated by humans who are posessed by spirits from other planes, thereby getting awesome powers but also sacrificing their humanity in the process in order to keep humanity from being destroyed.
I've never really made any proper rules for it, though.. and I've never really found a proper system for it to live in.
I designed a character pairing that functioned like this and played it for a little bit in d20 3.5E. The setup would definately work nicely in a 4E framework. I actually thought about writing out such a game but I can't between the two campaigns I'm running and or stockpiling content for. :U
Known Issues:
Roleplaying it would be difficult @ the table between players. (My spirit says this, and I say...)
Powers balance. Spirits are stronger. How much so is too much?
A table full of players like this would be annoying.
Well, that really goes away if you (a) build the spirit into the character's stats as opposed to having them as separate entities(my plan was to have all the PCs as this, so power levels wouldn't be a big thing.
And (b) don't make the spirits talk. They aren't human, they don't communicate like humans. Maybe they can push emotions/desires into their host, or maybe they just retain complete control over the use of their own powers(which is a scary thought. You have to do what the thing inside you says, or it could just light you on fire and find a new host) Either way, having the spirit do talky-talky as a separate thing from the main character would be far too much of a pain to have as a permanent thing.
One of my ideas was that the older a host got, the more direct control the spirit had, until the really old ones(as you get older the spirit takes over more and more of your body, keeping you alive but gaining more control) are effectively purely controlled by their spirits, but their spirits have been colored enough by the time when the hosts were in control that they aren't entirely inhuman.
And, of course, just because they're older doesn't mean they're more powerful, I definitely wanted to avoid VtM syndrome.
I hear d20 Modern kind of sucks, actually. Are they any other alternatives besides Shadowrun?
GURPS works for everything. Seriously, it's the only toolbox system you'll ever need, and if you don't use all the optional combat rules it runs like a charm.
Storyteller is great for an easy-to grasp basic system, and you can ad-hoc a lot of stuff with it, but I'm not sure if it would do so hot in sci-fi.
I hear d20 Modern kind of sucks, actually. Are they any other alternatives besides Shadowrun?
Well, my experience with it has been pretty positive. Classes are modular and flexible, and the wealth system, although kinda screwed up, is simple and interesting. I prefer Shadowrun, and probably WoD if I ever had the chance to play it, but don't discount d20 M.
Posts
Not that big a project, but if you like to put things on hold like me its pretty daunting.
http://degrees.pbwiki.com/
Degrees: The One-Hundred-and-Ninety Designs of Everything.
Holy shit this was awesome. I think the best way to describe it is a setting, there are a couple rules in it, but mostly its just places to go and such. Basically the universe was created, but not everyone agreed with what the universe should be. So whoever wanted to do somethin, went off and made their own universe, each universe is a degree, and yes there are 190 of them. Some are pretty detailed, some are just bare skeletons of a world.
SUPER posted this a while ago and had forumers (including myself) create and develop these different degrees. Ive wanted to play in this universe since it started but SUPER never got around to it and noone Ive shown it has had much interest.
But yeah, check this out cause its awesome. I dont even remember which ones I did, well, except for #78, The Grid. I kinda liked that one.
Jordan of Elienor, Human Shaman
Man I'll have to scan some of this shit up.
RAAAAAAAACE WAAAAAAAARS
?
It is... uh... an interesting project so far.
it was basically mtg, but much easier
In terms of my other stuff, wellll....
Inheritance - Superpowered Heroics in an original ancient setting.
A Wanderer's Romance - Wuxia style game where everything from a swordfight to flower arranging to tea-preparation is a duel.
Teen Island - Cheerleaders, Monkeys, Social Drama and no GM to keep them in line.
BSU System - Blowing Stuff Up. Every dumb action movie you've seen in a fun little system.
Supercavern System - The product of a spare hour in my evening and intended for unplanned silliness.
SoogaGames Blog
It threw them... into a fit of rage!
P.S. Suga: bloody hellfire, you've been damn busy. I remember Degrees, but I don't think I ever got around to contributing, which is a pity- always had a thing for sprawling extradimensional settings. We should convert this thread into the "SUPERSUGA Publishing House discussion thread: Third Edition Awesomeoness Incoming, But Everyone Says Cheerleaders Need Nerfed"...
Edit: I was thinking of taking a look at some of the horror themed systems, but I don't even know where to start, I don't know the names of any systems to be honest.
Neffffffff: I used Dwarf Fortress as inspiration for Teen Island, linked in my previous post. Although it's not in a fantasy setting it inspired me to try a game where you have a group of characters that you have little control over but become emotionally attached to, doing the best you can to just keep them alive. I'd like to see how a full on DF tabletop game would go.
SoogaGames Blog
There was a Ghostbusters RPG by West End Games that (I believe) used a version of their D6 system. It's long out of print but you may be able to find a copy in used game stores or online.
Thanks, I'll check that out.
Wow thanks, I found something right away! I don't know how the copyright things work for old material like that, but pm me and we can talk.
Wouldn't have been balanced at all (as bad as level 1 flight for obstacle surmounting), but I liked the idea.
It's called Anno Geometrica, and it's an Alternate History game incorporating two different eras; Swashbuckling action with flouncy shirts and shiny swords, or steampunk adventures with the usual gamut of cool steam-tech. (Also, 'expansions' are being worked on taking the timeline through present day and into the future, resulting in Cyberpunk and Post-Apocalyptic settings.)
Anyway, here's the link to the wiki:
www.ag.papermages.co.uk
Incidentally, we're both British, and the whole background is rather Anglo-centric (Although the rest of the world gets covered as well.) So, if you're Foreign, that's just a heads-up
All comments, criticism, abuse, adoration, money, offers of work, half-kingdoms, hands-of-daughters etc are welcome.
Cheers!
When in Deadly Danger,
When Beset by Doubt,
Run in Little Circles,
Wave your Arms and Shout!
Tea! An excellent source of anti-oxidants and Moral Fibre!
Ghostbusters was a predecessor to the D6 system, which received most of its development though Star Wars RPG's 2 & 1/2 editions. The subsequent D6 Action/Adventure/Space rules are technically free now, or at least open lisence, so getting some PDFs from WEG shouldn't be very hard. After that you may want to tack on a recreation of Ghostbusters' 'Cool' attribute to include the psychological aspect of the original game.
SoogaGames Blog
It was just supposed to be swashbuckling. Then I read The Difference Engine, and thought 'Steam powered technology is cool!' So I extended the timeline 100 years. Then I was playing Deus Ex and reading Neuronmancer. 'Wow! Cyberpunk is cool!' So I've written an 'expansion' taking the timeline another 100 years. Then I was reading David Gemmel's Jon Shannow books. 'Wow! Post-Apocalytic Westerns are cool!' So I added 2 or 3 more centuries to the timeline. Right now I'm reading Space Captain Smith, and thinking 'Wow! Spaceships and Star Empires are cool!' So far I'm resisting... so hard!
When in Deadly Danger,
When Beset by Doubt,
Run in Little Circles,
Wave your Arms and Shout!
Tea! An excellent source of anti-oxidants and Moral Fibre!
I've never really made any proper rules for it, though.. and I've never really found a proper system for it to live in.
Have you ever talked to my mother? That's similar to a concept she wrote short stories about when she was at college.*
But I like the idea of it being pseudo-futuristic. Plays into cosmic horror/psionics very well, and it means people could choose to bond further with the beings (and gain power supernaturally) or remain as badass normals, packing high-tech weaponry and relying on finesse and skill rather than magic/psychic powers/whichever explanation is preferred. Again though, beats me what system would suit it...
*
Known Issues:
Well, that really goes away if you (a) build the spirit into the character's stats as opposed to having them as separate entities(my plan was to have all the PCs as this, so power levels wouldn't be a big thing.
And (b) don't make the spirits talk. They aren't human, they don't communicate like humans. Maybe they can push emotions/desires into their host, or maybe they just retain complete control over the use of their own powers(which is a scary thought. You have to do what the thing inside you says, or it could just light you on fire and find a new host) Either way, having the spirit do talky-talky as a separate thing from the main character would be far too much of a pain to have as a permanent thing.
One of my ideas was that the older a host got, the more direct control the spirit had, until the really old ones(as you get older the spirit takes over more and more of your body, keeping you alive but gaining more control) are effectively purely controlled by their spirits, but their spirits have been colored enough by the time when the hosts were in control that they aren't entirely inhuman.
And, of course, just because they're older doesn't mean they're more powerful, I definitely wanted to avoid VtM syndrome.
EDIT: Storyteller (WoD normals) also does modern pretty well, if you want to be lighter on the rules.
GURPS works for everything. Seriously, it's the only toolbox system you'll ever need, and if you don't use all the optional combat rules it runs like a charm.
Storyteller is great for an easy-to grasp basic system, and you can ad-hoc a lot of stuff with it, but I'm not sure if it would do so hot in sci-fi.
Here are my pencils for Alpha Centurion, one of the 6 pieces I did for the book: http://darrencalvert.com/centurion1.jpg
SoogaGames Blog