Timewaster's Guide Archive

Games => Role-Playing Games => Topic started by: EUOL on November 15, 2002, 07:03:12 AM

Title: TWG RPG
Post by: EUOL on November 15, 2002, 07:03:12 AM
Okay, folks, as a "Wecome Me Back" present, Morag and I are working on a free RPG (paper based) to start doing updates for on the TWG.  That's right, we're going to write an RPG--or attempt it, at least.  So, here's my question for you all:  What do you want to see?  It's going to be fantasy, but New Fantasy (IE, Robert Jordan as opposed to Terry Brooks--fantasy buffs will know the difference.)

Let me know what kind of things you think should be part of a good RPG, and what we certainly shouldn't include.
Title: Re: TWG RPG
Post by: Lord_of_Me on November 15, 2002, 01:11:30 PM
is this for the game thing or is it completely seperate?
Title: Re: TWG RPG
Post by: Entsuropi on November 15, 2002, 01:23:05 PM
dont make it high fantasy. DnD does that too well. try a mixture - pulp horror maybe. i dunno. just make it at least marginally original.
Title: Re: TWG RPG
Post by: Fellfrosch on November 15, 2002, 02:08:22 PM
I think you should have carnivorous mollusks and homing crabs.
Title: Re: TWG RPG
Post by: Lord_of_Me on November 15, 2002, 04:16:34 PM
i approve of anything with elves and trees, no dwarves though
Title: Re: TWG RPG
Post by: Fellfrosch on November 15, 2002, 05:10:07 PM
No elves, dwarves, but maybe trees.

Elves--and I mean no offense to certain members of our forum--are a tired, hackneyed, pointless crutch that truly imaginative writers should not have to use.
Title: Re: TWG RPG
Post by: EUOL on November 15, 2002, 08:04:24 PM
Hah.

To Entropy:  When I said 'New Fantasy' I meant to imply that we're after something less traditional.  It will still be High Fantasy in the epic sense, but it will not include any races, magic systems, or worlds that you have seen before.  

To Isimir:  Fellfrosh overdid it.  What he should have said is, "Elves are fine in a pulpy medium, such as games.  They're an important part of the genre; we have grown up with them, and enjoy emulating what we have seen.  However, in a truly original work, it's often better to work with one's own races and creations.  That's what Tolkein did.  Rather than just copying him, a better work will come when one learns from him."

Therefore, there probably won't be any elves or dwarves in this RPG.  

What I was asking all of you for were suggestions on game mechanics and such.  What kinds of things do you like in RPG's?  What do you hate?  I know that some people really dislike the concept of DnD hit points.  Others don't like Armor Class.  What is the opinon of the masses here?

--Oh, and this will be completly different from the forum game.  Maybe if the paper-RPG takes off, we can decide to build the game around it.  However, for now, they're separate.
Title: Re: TWG RPG
Post by: Entsuropi on November 16, 2002, 08:54:58 AM
yeah, i know about new fantasy - most of my books are new fantasy. ive either got or read all of the wheel of time books. so yeah.

hitpoints..... i dunno. the problem is that if you make it realistic, its pure skill that prevents causalties - not even the most hardened veteran can long survive a sword in the chest. a veteran might, however, prevent from being hit, or hit badly. Have high AC for characters, low hp, and make the ac deduct damage to a minimum.

maybe :
char 1 rolls to hit. (d20 for now. easier)
char 2 counter rolls (only a certain number per turn : linked to your skill with weapon and so on. abilites dictate dice used - if a weedy char, D3, if a power monger demon king, D100. you get the idea.)
the difference dictates the power of hit - if char 1 successful, thats damage (whatever... work that part out later) if char 2, then nagative modifiers applied to char 1 (eg : shaken, sword dropped, stumbled). the difference in scores, possibly modified by skill (tho i like to think that maybe skills could have effect somewhere else... allowing you to pull of certain moves, activating dice used etc) shows the damage given. THerefore, if a powerful char lashes out at a crap one, its gonna go thru relatively easily (depending on sheer luck of course) but if weedy lashes back, its not gonna get thru, so no hit. no real need for monsterous numbers of hitpoints for powerful characters.
Title: Re: TWG RPG
Post by: EUOL on November 16, 2002, 05:02:43 PM
Hum.  That's a very interesting suggestion.  We were thinking about low-hp characters ourselves, and using some sort of fate system to help out the PC's.  I like your idea of different people using different dice--I'll have to think about that some more.  Thanks.
Title: Re: TWG RPG
Post by: Fellfrosch on November 17, 2002, 01:43:39 AM
Yeah, I should have said what EUOL said, but I knew he'd say it for me so I decided to have some insurrectionist fun at the expense of my favorite genre. Arrr!
Title: Re: TWG RPG
Post by: Slant on November 21, 2002, 02:55:56 AM
I agree with the damage system; the more skilled the character is with a weapon, the more damage he can inflict with it.  I never understood why a first level mage and a twentieth level fighter both did the exact same damage with a dagger in AD&D.  Some other things I would include:

RACES: Make all the races brand new.  No elves, dwarves OR HUMANS.  And no anthropomorphic derivatives.  IE: no cat-people, wolf-people, etc.

BALANCE: Make sure that the characters who can work magic don't become all-powerful and dwarf the other players.  All characters should be roughly equal on a level-per-level basis.

COMBAT: It should be fast and furious.  one die roll determines if you hit, how well you hit, and what bonuses if any you get.  Thirty seconds of game-time combat should only last two minutes or so, not four hours.

GENRE: There's nothing wrong with doing fantasy, just remember that 'fantasy' entails a whole lot more than just sword-&-sorcery.  You can do fantasy set in space, or even in a more gothic setting similar to a Cthulian storyline.  You can even mix genres and do something like "Vampiric Demon Hunters in the Victorian Age of the 31st Century."
Title: Re: TWG RPG
Post by: Fellfrosch on November 21, 2002, 02:59:02 PM
I'd be leery of any game that doesn't include humans; most that I've seen are too esoteric to get into, simply because there's no common basis to wrap your mind around. In some cases it can work if the world has humans in it but you can't play as one--After the Bomb is a good example. I support innovation, but not the point that the players get disconnected from the world of the game.
Title: Re: TWG RPG
Post by: Spriggan on November 21, 2002, 03:02:52 PM
EUOL's got some intresting concepts he explained to me last week and I hope he posts somemore of them soon.  Like the leveling system we were talking about.  Were you don't just level up a character but a spirt essence that is you the player so that all your new chacaters have a slight bouns when you make them.
Title: Re: TWG RPG
Post by: Slant on January 16, 2003, 08:33:23 PM
So, any new word on development of the game?
Title: Re: TWG RPG
Post by: Nicadymus on January 21, 2003, 04:36:26 PM
I am curious about this whole thing.  Let us know ASAP.
Title: Re: TWG RPG
Post by: Fellfrosch on January 21, 2003, 06:19:12 PM
EUOL seems to have more or less abandoned our poor board. Maybe one day, when the stars are properly aligned, he will return.
Title: Re: TWG RPG
Post by: Slant on January 21, 2003, 06:52:02 PM
Maybe he faked his own death to travel cross-country in an attempt to find a cure for the raging beast that dwells within him.

Hey, I heard that there was an EUOL sighting at a Dairy Queen in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Title: Re: TWG RPG
Post by: Entropy in Exile on January 25, 2003, 11:38:11 AM
maybe we should try and summon him?

Ia! Ia! EUOL Fthagn!
Title: Re: TWG RPG
Post by: Dangerbutton on October 09, 2009, 06:25:42 PM
I apologize for reviving this thread after. . . . almost seven years. . . . but, uh, anybody know if this went anywhere? EUOL told me a bit about the style of RPGs he likes to make, and it sounds ridiculously cool, so I'd like to see if this idea developed into anything awesome, or if it crumbled and died a horrible death.
Title: Re: TWG RPG
Post by: The Jade Knight on October 09, 2009, 09:26:16 PM
I'm guessing it died a horrible death.  EUOL is famous now and all...
Title: Re: TWG RPG
Post by: sortitus on October 10, 2009, 05:36:10 PM
I'll admit that when I saw the topic of this, I thought that it was a TWG-based RPG. Recount the epic adventures of the big names! Troll, poll, and gull your way to the top of the stats page!
Title: Re: TWG RPG
Post by: Eerongal on October 12, 2009, 01:51:57 PM
I'll admit that when I saw the topic of this, I thought that it was a TWG-based RPG. Recount the epic adventures of the big names! Troll, poll, and gull your way to the top of the stats page!

I'm a level 13 Troll boss. My loot table includes 50 leet points, ROFL gauntlets, and a LULZ sword.
Title: Re: TWG RPG
Post by: sortitus on October 12, 2009, 03:05:21 PM
You click the link. You are in the EVERYTHING ELSE FORUM. Just inside the page, a DIRE GOOGLE AD is flexing its considerable DATABASE OF RELATED TERMS.
Title: Re: TWG RPG
Post by: Eerongal on October 12, 2009, 03:19:40 PM
You click the link. You are in the EVERYTHING ELSE FORUM. Just inside the page, a DIRE GOOGLE AD is flexing its considerable DATABASE OF RELATED TERMS.

F5 to buy myself time, and ready my Rapier of Keen Internet Wit.
Title: Re: TWG RPG
Post by: sortitus on October 12, 2009, 03:32:39 PM
The GOOGLE AD now has a CLOCK SELLER, SWORD MAKER, RETRO GAMING SITE and HOSTING SERVICE equipped.
Title: Re: TWG RPG
Post by: The Jade Knight on October 13, 2009, 09:56:43 PM
I'll admit that when I saw the topic of this, I thought that it was a TWG-based RPG. Recount the epic adventures of the big names! Troll, poll, and gull your way to the top of the stats page!

I'm a level 13 Troll boss. My loot table includes 50 leet points, ROFL gauntlets, and a LULZ sword.

And here I thought you were a level 13 Bored Page!
Title: Re: TWG RPG
Post by: Eerongal on October 13, 2009, 09:58:33 PM
I'll admit that when I saw the topic of this, I thought that it was a TWG-based RPG. Recount the epic adventures of the big names! Troll, poll, and gull your way to the top of the stats page!

I'm a level 13 Troll boss. My loot table includes 50 leet points, ROFL gauntlets, and a LULZ sword.

And here I thought you were a level 13 Bored Page!

See, that's my cunning ruse. I can't have people after my fat loot!
Title: Re: TWG RPG
Post by: The Jade Knight on October 13, 2009, 10:04:39 PM
I think you're a bit below my challenge level.
Title: Re: TWG RPG
Post by: sortitus on October 13, 2009, 10:34:18 PM
Guys, my GM started us out in Rants and Stuff. It was nuts. We got like two pages into one topic without incident, and then BOOM! Out of nowhere, this Ehlers thing came and killed all six of us in a single roll. It was nuts. Hopefully we'll be sticking to something more tame (like CCGs) for a while.
Title: Re: TWG RPG
Post by: Eerongal on October 13, 2009, 10:54:45 PM
Guys, my GM started us out in Rants and Stuff. It was nuts. We got like two pages into one topic without incident, and then BOOM! Out of nowhere, this Ehlers thing came and killed all six of us in a single roll. It was nuts. Hopefully we'll be sticking to something more tame (like CCGs) for a while.

What was your party level? Ehlers is like a challenge for a group of 8 at equal level (96). If you weren't near that, it sounds like your GM just wanted to kill you.
Title: Re: TWG RPG
Post by: sortitus on October 14, 2009, 04:15:53 AM
Well, we started off as lvl 14s (which I thought was generous - hah!), started a minor poll designed to attract lesser bosses and ran into a spam bot, a stridera, and an Inquisitor. We were feeling pretty good about ourselves getting to lvl 16 so quickly until we wandered into the aforementioned nightmare thread. Boyeeeee.

(We need more forumy terms for the game than kill and fight. I am, however, drawing a blank.)
Title: Re: TWG RPG
Post by: Eerongal on October 14, 2009, 04:17:51 AM
(We need more forumy terms for the game than kill and fight. I am, however, drawing a blank.)

Ban and flame.
Title: Re: TWG RPG
Post by: sortitus on October 14, 2009, 04:27:54 AM
That Chaos guy soloed the dungeon longer than anyone I've ever heard of. He attacked monsters twice his level and won. Regularly! Eventually, he was killed by a level 30 Reality Distortion spell on an altar.

BECOMES:

That Chaos guy soloed the board longer than anyone I've ever heard of. He flamed posters twice his level and won. Regularly! Eventually, he was banned by a level 30 Non Sequitur argument in a religion thread.

EDIT: Both of which beg the question "What was he doing in/on a(n) religion thread/altar???"
Title: Re: TWG RPG
Post by: The Jade Knight on October 14, 2009, 06:21:30 AM
That transformation is made out of pure awesome, Sortitus.