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Post by Gigermann on Jan 2, 2020 9:28:13 GMT -6
We really should have this conversation in person, but I'm realizing there's never going to be a good time. So, we'll just have to make do.
Question: I'm standing at the Hiersco booth at GenCon Eleventysomthing looking at the NARPS Core set. Why would I buy this? What's the point? There are so many other systems out there—what makes this one special?
Another way to ask: what's the problem you're trying to solve by creating your own system?
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Post by WxMAN on Jan 2, 2020 16:09:12 GMT -6
Another way to ask: what's the problem you're trying to solve by creating your own system? The impetus of creating a new system began after experiencing a ton of different systems at GenCon, especially sci-fi, and having several inspirations but also consistent problems with certain aspects of gaming: chief among them being ship-to-ship combat in sci-fi and a general lack of mechanical focus or support for social interactions. Those two things were the initial "spark" and I could go more in depth with discussions on them if you'd like, but as I continued to see plenty of systems, run more games, and carefully take note of some GM and player tenancies that occur primarily due to poor mechanic design or legacy there were more and more things I saw that I felt could be improved upon. Some systems I experienced did fix a problem, or a handful of problems I had noted, so I made sure to record those times and diagnose how and why the problem(s) were fixed as well as see if the idea behind the improvement could be adapted into a system Labrat & I designed. Besides finding tiny "niggling" problems that I think could be fixed, there was taking the lessons of what worked very well and what stuff did not really work (for me, admittedly, but I think generally don't work for the all but a niche of players). Finally, there was a back to fundamentals viewpoint I took: looking into even basic ideas of the TTRPG experience and asking why the hobby or the majority of systems does things a certain way and if that is a good solution and if it can be improved upon or if another solution may work better. Originally I had never planned on making a system. I was simply going to homebrew in a better ship to ship combat for Traveller or GURPS or whatever. I was going to homebrew in some social interaction rules in Pathfinder. Then I found more and more problems with systems that bothered me and I wanted to homebrew to fix. Some of these problems just could not be corrected as the underlying base mechanics would not allow it. Then I began looking at a blank slate - if the house is both ugly but cracks in the foundation, it is probably better to start without either. Once I determined the best course of action was to create a new system, I began in earnest to catalog all of the problems I could find as well as negative experiences of others and solutions that exist in various systems as well potential solutions not yet implemented as far as I know. I guess this is all a long way of saying that there is one major issue (social interaction), one issue that is endemic to all sci-fi games I've ever played (ship-to-ship combat), and a boatload of smaller issues (unnecessary rolls, too much in-game math, unnecessary XP calculation, verisimilitude between character leveling and in-game actions, etc.) which have pushed me to the conclusion that a solution needs to be created and homebrewing is insufficient. Another small note is that a lot of the games I've played in seem very much "setting first" wherein someone creates a cool setting they have in their head but then the system is just a minor homebrewed version of a preexisting system the creator likes. I am definitely trying to avoid that, but that isn't to say I don't have an idea of the setting in my head, I'm just not focused on it. Labrat is pushing for the system to be generic in order to be able to add different settings into it as inspiration hits; I'm fine with that but my (not so secret) desire is to have a setting with heavy roots in hard sci-fi. I understand this is an incredibly niche genre, which is why I want to reemphasize that I do understand where things I really like are quite niche and have made a lot of effort to allow people who don't care about those things to not pay attention to them and let them all be window dressing. This idea is also tied to system and mechanics: I've been known for my love of spreadsheets, deep simulations, and shot clocks - however I also know this is not many people's cup of tea and I'm trying to keep my love of this stuff all in the background where people won't have to deal with it, but the system itself is designed in a way to make things as accurate as possible by using some mathematical wizardry which will be invisible to anyone who doesn't care to look at it but still give everyone interesting choices and not roughly punish those who don't care to min-max their character to death. I'm primarily focused on the system, where Labrat has been someone I can bounce ideas off to get her perspective and keep me reigned in. I've talked to subject matter experts for help understanding specific areas (such as y'all with the guns stuff). Labrat will be the primary writer which will cover fleshing out and bringing the setting to life as well as making sure the rules are written in such a way that they make sense. I am going with the phases of how I was taught for software development: Prototype is rapid testing of small ideas to see what works and what doesn't. Alpha brings all those ideas together in a cohesive whole. Beta expands on all of the ideas and bugfixes / balances. Gold is finished project. Currently we are in prototyping phase and hopefully moving to alpha mid 2020. Anyway, that was a huge speel which invokes my thought process. An elevator pitch (once complete) would hopefully go something like this: NARDS brings a ruleset which fills in the mechanical holes left in most TTRPGs, fixes many problems that bog the game down, and emphasizes players making meaningful choices in all areas of gameplay. Features include: * Fast, fluid gun and melee based combat * Ship-to-ship that is fun and interesting for all party members * Social interaction mechanics for more depth and interesting PC/NPC non-combat situations * No need for the GM to roll dice - focus on running the game instead * Intuitive character advancement without the need to hand out XP Explore a near-future setting full of intrigue, political maneuvering, discovery, and dangers among hundreds of constantly moving disparate worlds all within the solar system. Live in a potential future of the human race within the next two centuries.
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Post by Rigil Kent on Jan 3, 2020 10:25:02 GMT -6
* Fast, fluid gun and melee based combat * Ship-to-ship that is fun and interesting for all party members * Social interaction mechanics for more depth and interesting PC/NPC non-combat situations * No need for the GM to roll dice - focus on running the game instead * Intuitive character advancement without the need to hand out XP Some of those seem like they could just be incorporated into any system (e.g., the last two) while others ... others I fear fall into the "you can have fast, cheap or good. Pick two" kind of thing. I'll definitely be interested in seeing what you come up with though.
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Post by WxMAN on Jan 3, 2020 12:40:39 GMT -6
Some of those seem like they could just be incorporated into any system (e.g., the last two) while others ... others I fear fall into the "you can have fast, cheap or good. Pick two" kind of thing. I agree that some of them could be incorporated into any system. The problem I ran into was that I kept finding more and more things to fix - and when you are homebrewing, the more you change the more likely it is you'll break the system in a meaningful (and probably in a way you didn't foresee) way. At some point you have to decide if a boatload of homebrew rules is actually a better path than just starting from scratch where you have much better understanding of the balance and intent. As far as the "Good, Fast, Cheap. Choose Two." That is always a problem in any section of TTRPG design. There are always trade-offs, however, there are always ways you can make major improvements to a mechanic with almost no trade-off. To some degree I am aiming to incorporate as much of the latter while really making sure the trade-offs of the former are well understood and considered before implementation.
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