Hello. Total Newbie here...

[RHJunior]

I am a freelance illustrator/cartoonist with three online webcomics. Two are just basic gag-a-day strips... but one is an ongoing fantasy comic book.
As of late, I have been toying with the notion of creating an RPG module based on the universe that comic is set in.
However, when it comes to RPGs, I am a babe in the woods.
I need a *lot* of advice here on which system would be best for it.

The comic is located at http://npc.keenspace.com, for those who wish to see what I'm talking about.

[Eric J.]

All I can do is reffer you to my thread about something that's almost the same thing.

http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4694&start=15

I don't know how to do links.  Sorry.

Edit (For being an ass): Oh, and welcome to the Forge...

[Gwen]

GURPS by Steve Jackson is a game that can be adapted to just about anything.  They make suppliment books for everything under the sun, although the system is kinda lacking in certain areas.

The D20 system was originally built around Dungeons and Dragons 3rd Edition and is fairly adaptable.  Whatever different races you have in your strip could be easily converted into the system.

Really, the only person who can decide what system would work best for your setting is you.  You say you're wet behind the ears and we've all been there,  but if you're serious about making your comic into a RPG, then you should probably try to learn as much as you can.

The Forge is a good place to learn, too.  Welcome to it.

Gwen

[RHJunior]

In what areas, generally, is GURPS lacking?

[Andrew Martin]

Welcome to The Forge!

In what areas, generally, is GURPS lacking?

Attributes. That's according to most accounts I've read. I don't think it lacks for much else. :)

Mmmm, Furries! The comic looks nice! I'm busy reading it all.

[Michael S. Miller]

Howdy.

Ron Edwards did a brief explanation of what he thinks are GURPS flaws in this older thread. It basically boils down to GURPS shoe-horning any "genre" into the box of its system, so that, for example, a GURPS Space game and a GURPS Fantasy game will be more like each other than they would be like a Traveller or a Riddle of Steel game.

[Paul Czege]

Whoah!...RH, it's a beautiful comic. I think it's really great.

Let me ask, you've got a lot of fun, evocative setting details: the melting tent, the whakadu, the fact that they fish with explosives. In your eventual roleplaying game, do you envision the players inventing these kinds of things during gameplay, so everyone is effectively contributing to the setting? Or do you anticipate detailing most of what you have in mind for the setting yourself in the text of the game, and for gameplay to be about the players experiencing what you've created?

Answering this, I think, is the first step in narrowing your search for a game system.

Paul

[szilard]

Let me ask, you've got a lot of fun, evocative setting details: the melting tent, the whakadu, the fact that they fish with explosives. In your eventual roleplaying game, do you envision the players inventing these kinds of things during gameplay, so everyone is effectively contributing to the setting? Or do you anticipate detailing most of what you have in mind for the setting yourself in the text of the game, and for gameplay to be about the players experiencing what you've created?

Answering this, I think, is the first step in narrowing your search for a game system.

Well... he said a module (rather than a full game), so I would expect he was thinking the second.

Stuart

[Jack Spencer Jr]

Hey, Ralph.

I have looked at a couple webcomics over the last couple months and I must compliment you on yours. I actually like your style. I can't my finger on it, but I like it. So there you go.

As of late, I have been toying with the notion of creating an RPG module based on the universe that comic is set in.
However, when it comes to RPGs, I am a babe in the woods.
I need a *lot* of advice here on which system would be best for it.

OK, you've got questions, we've got random brain farble. My first suggestion is to go to the Articles section here and read the various articles therein. This will make you much less the babe in the wood here and then you can start asking yourself and us much more solid questions that "What should I do?" As you read and as you continue to dwell on this idea cosider a couple options:

[*] You could design your own game based on your comic (and this is not anywhere near as scary as you may think).
[*] You could use one of the so-called "open" systems to design your game. This is a viable option, but one you will need to look into carefully.
[*] You could simply make a generic worldbook for your world without any specific game stats
[*] You could team up with somebody here to make your game. This is also good but it does mean you will have to share at least to a certain exstent.
[/list:u]
Only consider these options at this point rather than deciding now. Do some reading. If you have questions, you may wish to use the Search feature here on the Forge first to dig up past threads on the subject (you also may wish to read the Forum rules  in the SIte Discussion forum because it is tempting to post to old threads but this is generally frowned upon. Just to keep from making a misstep and then not feeling so comfortable here because of it)

[Paul Czege]

Hey Stuart,

I can think of a number of game systems, for which modules could be written that would deliver the first option. Let's give RH room to answer the question for himself.

Paul

[Paganini]

Am I the only one thinking "The Questing Beast!" after seeing the comic?

[RHJunior]

WEll, as to artifact creation-- I was envisioning most magical artifacts and tools as being preexistant(as part of the Rac Conan culture, etc)... but the idea of a "make it yourself" artifact system is intriguing...

Now, when it comes down to it, there are two basic issues with fitting the Questorverse into a module for other gamesystems, as opposed to creating a Questor RPG from scratch:

1)The bestiary. The storyline is really only in its infancy, but as time goes on, you'll see that I've really played holy hell with many of the standard "high fantasy" creatures and settings. For instance, dragons are a sort of corporeal thaumaturgical plague; dryads are derivative of pixies-- and termites; unicorns are rude, mulish, and foul-smelling; elves die at the age of 15; trolls are generally classified under poisonous fungi....  
You get the idea. Simply making a D+D module, for instance, would give GMs utter fits. "Wait a minute, that's not a proper fire salamander! What are you playing at, pal ?"

2)The magic system. Basically, all magic is built off the absorbing, controlling and expelling of "Lux"-- or mana, to use a more popular term. Lux is generated by, essentially, turbulence... by the dynamic processes of living things, or released by the decomposition or combustion of the same, or to a much lesser degree by atmospheric, aquatic or tectonic turbulence (storms, waterfalls, the pounding of the surf, earth tremors or eruptions, etc.) As such, Lux is relatively common, but lies rather thin on the ground...
A magic user's ranking is measured by several factors:
DRAW: how quickly they can pull in Lux, and how far away from a given source. (The range is usually measured in metres, not miles.)
CAPACITY: How much Lux they can store within themselves at a given time. (This can be amplified with artificial storage methods.)
VERSATILITY: How many different spells they know and can use. (Book knowledge-- and none of that "relearning spells after you cast them" stuff.)
The "schools" of magic are divided, roughly, by what method you use to gather Lux:
Life: drawing from the Lux expelled by living things. A slow, but steady and reliable source.
Necromantic: drawing the Lux released by dead, dying and decomposing things, or by burning matter.
Earth: the aforementioned atmospheric, tectonic, and aquatic.
Artifice: It is possible to build a Lux generator....
Planar: Very rare, and very dangerous. Consists of investing a LOT of lux into poking a hole into another dimensional plane with a higher lux quantity, and supping off the energy that spills through-- or even, if you're clever, poking a hole thru to a plane with LOWER lux content, and using the imbalance to suck up more lux to yourself. It entails great risk-- not only do you run the risk of being burnt out by a sudden surge of Lux, you run the risk of opening a portal on, say, an otherworldly volcano, an empty airless void, or an otherdimensional creature with fangs, tentacles, a bad temper and *WAY* too many eyes who will be VERY upset at being yanked out of its Saturday night bath and dropped into your living room.


This is all pretty common to most "spending points" magic systems. But the devil is in the details:
Among other things, the Questorverse magic system sticks a little closer to the RL laws of conservation of matter and energy. You won't see people or objects shrinking to ant size or growing 100 feet tall-- or sizechanging at all, for that matter; things will neither spring into existence from nowhere nor disappear into oblivion. Shapeshifting will be rare, but will follow that-- a 100 lb man isnt going to turn into a 5 lb dog, nor will he turn into a 200 lb werewolf.
Alchaemy-- elemental transmogrification-- won't exist. You can turn coal into a diamond, but you can't turn lead into gold.
Demons, demigods--- none to be found, thank you very much. Mages won't have to worry about losing control of their demonic slaves; they wont have any, and besides, they're going to have enough headaches worrying that their latest lux experiment doesn't blow up in their faces. (Note: aforementioned betentacled Thing From Beyond to the contrary. they don't qualify as actual demons-- merely as unwilling and accidental tourists.)

[Eric J.]

After reading the comic, I would have to say that it is a high magic world, and substantial mechanics will have to surround it.  Any system you use would have to be very versitle to accept the addition of a magic system that complex.  It seems to me that much focus is on your occupation, so I'd do something with that, be it the addition of classes, attributes, etc.  

From what I'm inffering (which is unfortinitely quite a bit), I'd have to say that creating your own module might not produce the gameplay that you envision being tied to your comic.  I'd suggest designing your own or working with someone else.  That's just me, though.

Oh and the questor thing... I would really dislike the probable situation that each character is a questor, unless I'm interpreting it wrong.

[Andrew Martin]

Hi, Ralph.
Tales of the Questor is a great web comic! I enjoyed it so much that I read it twice. Thank you!

Lux magic system. There's a hard number reference to amounts of Lux on this page: http://npc.keenspace.com/d/20020922.html The elfshot pistol, holding a hundred shots or darts of lux each lasting a second, taking a day or more to recharge. Presumably each shot is at least one "point" of lux. With a full recharge rate of around a "day or more" (say 25 hours?),  that implies about 4 shots per hour recharge rate or around 1 shot per 15 minutes, just for a relatively common, "pricey little toy". I'd suggest not accounting for Lux points in the RPG. :)

Eric:

I would really dislike the probable situation that each character is a questor, unless I'm interpreting it wrong.

I think that the other occupations like Firemage, Swampmage, Bard, Artificer and Artillerist (rifle? raccoon in last few pages) could prove interesting alternatives to Questor.

[Eric J.]

I suppose that you could say that each profession is a type of questor, but that seems to limit the imporance, or whatever, that a questor is.  They seem to be a well rounded character suited for adventuring whose name carries special importance.

BTW: How are you going to do the animal-animal interactions.  You make refferences to elves and humans, but hard evidence is hard to find.  In the opening, a dragon is about the same size, but later on there are other things which do have the relative sizes correct.  I'm not saying that you did anything wrong, but I really am not sure how you plan/have planed to carry it out exactly.