The Forge Archives

Ok, things evolving I feel. I started out thinking in terms of rather conventional terms but once here things started to transform into something different but better.

I have some neat concepts now, but they are uncommon enough for me to be a little unsure of how to implement them.

To sum things up a little.

* Fantasy

* A few standard fantasy races and monsters, but some care has to be taken to let them become something other than faceless opponents or cosmetically changed humans. Don't quite know how to solve that well yet.

* World is supposed to be open to GM creating his own legends rather than laying down the law for everything.

* Magic and other situations should be visually appealing and interesting rather designed from a game-balance point of view (I've talked enough about it for you to know what I mean, right?)

* It should have some mechanism to let players and gm to embellish on details on the fly, especially about magic

* Game system should be fairly straightforward with simple mechanics with as few complex rolls as possible (SR skill rolls are complex - chance of success is not easily calculated, rolls have to be interpreted - BRP skill rolls are simple - chance immediately obvious)

* Have some sort of mechanism to character-ize settings as suggested in the "protagonizing setting" thread.

* No initiative ;)

* Smooth transitions between soliloquy and game theory should be explicitly supported

I probably forget things, but it's a start. Does it still sound interesting?

Quote from: Pale FireOk, things evolving I feel. I started out thinking in terms of rather conventional terms but once here things started to transform into something different but better.

I have some neat concepts now, but they are uncommon enough for me to be a little unsure of how to implement them.

To sum things up a little.

[*]Fantasy
[*]A few standard fantasy races and monsters, but some care has to be taken to let them become something other than faceless opponents or cosmetically changed humans. Don't quite know how to solve that well yet.
[*]World is supposed to be open to GM creating his own legends rather than laying down the law for everything.
[*]Magic and other situations should be visually appealing and interesting rather designed from a game-balance point of view (I've talked enough about it for you to know what I mean, right?)
[*]It should have some mechanism to let players and GM to embellish on details on the fly, especially about magic
[*]Game system should be fairly straightforward with simple mechanics with as few complex rolls as possible (SR skill rolls are complex - chance of success is not easily calculated, rolls have to be interpreted - BRP skill rolls are simple - chance immediately obvious)
[*]Have some sort of mechanism to character-ize settings as suggested in the "protagonizing setting" thread.
[*]No initiative ;)
[*]Smooth transitions between soliloquy and game theory should be explicitly supported[/list:u]I probably forgot things, but it's a start. Does it still sound interesting?

I'd say so.  So much so, you don't mind if I steal this list for Scattershot presents: Færie Tales?  Actually, it's a little on the abstract level; I guess I'd hope that all "Fantasy" games had these (even though too, too many fall into the "Do You Believe Everything They Tell You?" type of games).  I want to thank you very much for bringing issues like 'rewards for "appealing and interesting" and "embellish on details",' because I fear I would have neglected them otherwise.  In writing a game called 'Færie Tales,' it's crucial to get everyone to 'buy into' that 'sense of wonder' thingie.

As far as your list goes, my compliments on a great start!  I'm not sure I can add anything, but I like the way you are cognizant of the need to offer plenty of ingredients and suggestions without impugning consumer flexibility.  I also like the importance implied on 'getting them to do it' regarding the presentation of 'embellishment,' it should give your game a very palpable character with all the 'ingredients' given.

The most important part of the design will probably be how you prioritize the above (and how much of "Do You Believe Everything They Tell You?" you can avoid).  Like I said, this is a very abstract list and I for one am intrigued to see how you answer these goals specifically.

Fang Langford

Hey PF, that looks like a great menu of priorities!

My only suggestion on it would be as far as using it.  Once you're satisfied that you have the key points to your game addressed in this menu, you should be able to use it as if it were a table of contents for design.  

In otherwords, every single word you write on the game should be able to be identified as pursueing one of the items on your list (and how it does so).  Periodically I recommend checking your game against this list and anything that doesn't fit with one of these design goals should be excised.

I'm really interested in seeing how this project turns out for you.