RPG Ideas

[deneb829]

Hey All,

I first heard of RPGs over 25 years ago, back when I was in 7th grade. Someone explained the concept to me, and I thought that was the coolest thing that I had ever heard. I was also mad that I hadn't come up with the idea myself - I didn't know that the first RPG was released when I was around 7 or 8 years old.

With just an overview of how the RPG concept worked, I set out making my own RPG at 13 years old on my favorite subject at the time - Star Wars (7 years before the West End Games release). It was pretty popular with my friends. By the summer of my 8th grade year, I finally played D&D and loved it. In 9th grade, a friend and I created a mercenary role playing game we called Soldiers of Fortune - a mercenary RPG based off our 9th grade interest in guns and war (funny, today it is an interest like that could get a kid expelled. Shessh, my friends and I just loved guns, we never thought about actually shooting anyone). One of the key features to our mercenary role playing game was the bonuses and penalties for specific weapons at short/medium/long ranges - my friend was a whiz at specific weapons and their details. Most of the game on paper was the combat. Chance to hit was scored by the characters shooting skills, weapon make and type, range, and rate of file. Also, a reliability score to see if a weapon malfunctioned (an AK-47 was less likely to jam than a Mini-14).

I was never interested in publishing a game for anything more than to fill a need that didn't exist. At 12 years old, I created a Star Wars RPG, because I wanted to play a Star Wars RPG, not because I ever wanted to publish an RPG. When the commercial Star Wars RPG came out, I thought it was pretty good, and I never played my homemade version again. The commercial books had more information than I could have dreamed of compiling (I did like my combat system better ... looking back, most of our games were just combat system charts and playing was just off the tops of our heads with a few notes).

What's all that stuff mean, I don't know ... I am not sure if I really want to make an RPG or if I am just being nostalgic. Star Wars has been done, but I have an interest in WWII that could translate to an interesting game.

[Qi Chin]

Hi there, and welcome to the Forge! Seems like you have a long history with RPGs already, something someone like me (at 19) can only dream about.

A lot of indie RPG designers don't design with the clear goal of publishing their games professionally (at least I think so), but for the love of designing them, and playing a game they can truly enjoy with their friends.
If you do think that you want to give designing RPGs another shot, then go ahead and do so. This forum is a great fond of information, with many people who have followed this hobby for years, and they can often give you advice or point you in the right direction. And in fact, your introduction here is probably just as valuable as an intro to whatever game you might have been designing, because it gives a background on your experience with RPGs.

Now, to that idea you mentioned right at the end of your post: WWII is indeed an interesting subject, especially if you look at the host of books, movies, and games already existing on this matter. I have often thought about making a WWII-RPG myself, but never really got a start on it. I say have a go, and keep us updated on any ideas or questions you might encounter.

Qi

[johnwedd]

your way ahead of me, i started in junior high. i made board games and mini rpg's that where the result of between class doodles. good luck, and happy designing. 

[TonyLB]

I have an interest in WWII that could translate to an interesting game.

What part of the manifold thing that is WWII?  Tense diplomacy between the various non-axis powers, trying to reach an accord?  Fighting on the beaches of Normandy?  Trying, as a quartermaster, to keep Patton's push toward Berlin properly fueled and supplied?

I don't know that trying to make a game about all of WWII is terribly feasible, but if you'll pick a section you're particularly interested in then I'm sure folks here will help jumpstart your thinking about how to translate it into a fun game!

[coiledspring]

Glad I finally got round to logging on to this site. I started gaming in 1984, and have made a few home brew systems in my time. I would advise you to carefully look at what is already published to see if anything fits before you plunge into making your own. If you are looking at doing the military angle maybe you could play out the actual firefights with simple war game rules like Crossfire, and use your own system for the non-combat stuff?

[Sane]

A lot of indie RPG designers don't design with the clear goal of publishing their games professionally (at least I think so), but for the love of designing them, and playing a game they can truly enjoy with their friends.

I'd call that more a 'Homebrew' than an Indie RPG myself. It's true enough that you have to love designing Indie games to make 'em, because it really isn't feasible to make a living from them, but there are plenty of Indie RPG's out there that have been professionally published and even distributed in the mainstream.

Ash

[deneb829]

I have an interest in WWII that could translate to an interesting game.

What part of the manifold thing that is WWII?  Tense diplomacy between the various non-axis powers, trying to reach an accord?  Fighting on the beaches of Normandy?  Trying, as a quartermaster, to keep Patton's push toward Berlin properly fueled and supplied?

I don't know that trying to make a game about all of WWII is terribly feasible, but if you'll pick a section you're particularly interested in then I'm sure folks here will help jumpstart your thinking about how to translate it into a fun game!

Interesting ideas Tony. I hadn't gotten past maybe commando or squad ... definitely food for thought.

On a joking side ... how about KP? (kitchen duty)
Gamemaster: You are presented with 50lbs of potatoes
Player 1: Are the russet or yellow fin?
Gamemaster: Russet
Player 2: How are our supplies - do we have sour cream?
Gamemaster: No sour cream, only 2lbs of butter for 300 soldiers
Player 1: I try to requisition more butter from HQ.
Gamemaster: <Mumbling to self> bargin skills times CO rank by HQ supply .... <rolls dice> ... Ok, a 6, HQ said they can send you 3 more pounds of butter.
Player 2: Great, I put some water on to boil while Joe starts peeling potatoes.
Gamemaster: Ok, your cooking skills vs the difficulty in boiling water <rolls dice> Oh, snap! a 1
Player 1&2:  Crap
Gamemaster: The pot of water spills on the stove and ........

[TonyLB]

On a joking side ... how about KP? (kitchen duty)

I wouldn't delve deeply into the cuisine of it (unless you wanted to do a WWII version of, like, Iron Chef or something with rival tents ... which would be awesome beyond compare, and utterly surreal) but you could totally do a roleplaying game of people behind the often-fluid fronts.  M*A*S*H did a great job of showing what a fertile area that is for drama, and a WWII plot would be further complicated by the presence of would-be-heroes who desperately wanted to get moved up to the fronts.

I could imagine an awesome game where each player played two characters:  an American soldier and a British girl.  Multiple phases:  First, everyone's playing both characters, while the boys are preparing for D-Day.  Then you have separate story-threads as the boys go through the war, and the women try to repair the shattered home-front.  Letters tie the two together.

Lots of fun stuff to be done in the era, that's for damn sure.

[Lacloix]

I would suggest that you check this site out. This guy made a WWII RPG for a 24-hour RPG project. It came out pretty good, IMO.

[Jarrod]

Trying, as a quartermaster, to keep Patton's push toward Berlin properly fueled and supplied?

It's strange, I've lately been thinking about how interesting intensely scenario-specific games could potentially be. The closest I can recall from the top of my head is The Shab-Al-Hiri Roach, with predetermined events and participants shaped by unique PCs. But what if one took the idea further?

Consider the Diablo 2 mod for AD&D and later D&D3. The original computer game itself isn't necessarily all that rich, but it's interesting enough to merit play. Yet what if you bent it more around Diablo One, a specific dungeon with specific goals. As far as fantasy heartbreaker material goes, if I ever cook up a design you can be sure that the setting will be built around a very specific single quest, with the obstacles well known through legend, folktale, or good ol' fashioned player knowledge. There's still plenty of room for surprise, but the hallmark events are still there.

As far as WWII goes, I really think focusing on a specific day or two and building stats and mechanics for that day would be a fascinating break for most groups' GURPS/Rolemaster/d20 standard fare.

-J.