Homebrew game systems - like 'em?

[ChaunceyK]

Just wondering what opinions are out there about Homebrew game systems. Since I can't figure a way to attach a poll, I'll list some basic answers...

• I don't touch 'em, I have a favorite mass-marketed game & I stick to it
• I've looked at some, but they don't appeal to me like the mass-marketed games do
• I've played some & enjoyed them
• Its the only way to go, down with "The Man!"

Of course, I'd hope some posters would elaborate on their answers, but I'm curious how most gamers feel about the subject.

[Stormhound]

I've seen very few that were worth the trouble of reading...and that group doesn't include the one I attempted, once upon a time. Homebrews tend to be very biased toward the proclivities of the author...and since the author is someone who's sufficiently dissatisfied with available systems that they are writing their own, the odds are good that what they produce is going to be fairly far afield.

Besides, since I'm an inveterate tinker anyhow, I'd much rather get under the hood of something that enough people already understand.

[Arch Lich Thoth-Amon]

Just wondering what opinions are out there about Homebrew game systems. Since I can't figure a way to attach a poll, I'll list some basic answers...

• I don't touch 'em, I have a favorite mass-marketed game & I stick to it
• I've looked at some, but they don't appeal to me like the mass-marketed games do
• I've played some & enjoyed them
• Its the only way to go, down with "The Man!"

Of course, I'd hope some posters would elaborate on their answers, but I'm curious how most gamers feel about the subject.

I do homebrew from published stuff and am currently working on something unique. But since i dont believe that was your question, then i feel this game(that will answer your question), has potential:

Fantasy DnD Game... http://planet-thirteen.com/default.aspx ...and click "How to Host a Dungeon" link.

Also, i range from 1-3 on your poll. Hopefully someone will help you get it up. It's a good idea for a poll.

[Kalanth]

Only worlds, not game systems. I don't have enough faith in humanity to try a homebrewed game world. I am more likely to come across Doug and his homebrew (Fear of Girls) than coming across James Wyatt and his homebrew.

[GoddessGood]

Homebrew settings I'll eagerly try. The only homebrew full-up system I've used has been the one made by a friend of mine that uses, primarily, a d12 much in the same way as d20 uses a d20. He's looking to get it published and it seems to be a solid system. He and his group have been playtesting it for years now. His main problem is the setting information is still largely contained in his head as he hasn't had much time to sit down and write it out.

So, homebrew systems? Yes, most definitely.

[Webhead]

I'm with Stormhound on the angle of "I'd much rather tinker with a pre-existing game system than make one from scratch". In the same way, I'm much more inclined to play a system that has its basis in something already published.

However, I'm very open-minded and I will try just about any game system (even homebrews) once if that's what the group wants to do.

I also have interest in trying a wide variety of different games and systems because there is a surprising assortment of really good games out there. From Wushu to SotC, Supercrew to Dust Devils, Zorcerer of Zo to Prime Time Adventures, there is no shortage of fun, original ideas in game design.

[Grimwell]

Because my goal is to have fun at a common table, I avoid homebrew systems. I don't write them myself -- and I don't go looking for someone running the perfect system to join in with.

Going with published retail product gives everyone a common frame of reference for what to expect, takes care of lots of ambiguities, and avoids all the baggage that comes with homebrew systems.

I have played in them before, and I have a generally negative view of them. In my experience homebrew systems are the product of someone who's not satisfied with the existing system for whatever reason (which could be valid), but also the product of someone who may have no idea how to build a game system that is balanced and functional.

I also never felt like I was on solid ground in homebrew games. Even in systems that were a decade old by the time I played in them. Part of balance is being able to count on a system working the same way every time you use it and planning accordingly, when you can't it's difficult to enjoy things.

My last reason for avoiding it is vanity. Every single person I've met who created their own rules system from the ground up was the sort of person who thought they were smarter than everyone else, including the game designers of actual released product. They would go on and on about the failings of systems they don't like, and then steal wholesale for their own from the same systems; or just try to stuff their system down the throats of everyone who they could find.

I take them as a "Put up or shut up" sort of thing. If you have the ability to design a functional game system, get it published and I'll read it. Show me your fancy PDF that you have been working on for years and years and I'm less interested.

A homebrew game system is the main reason I GM games to be honest. I was in a gaming club at college and the only fantasy game going was homebrew and wrong for all the reasons I listed above. It was also a place for the guy running it to show us how cool he was, his personal NPC's were always saving us from the stupid things we did (that he forced on us). I got bored and dissatisfied with it and started a traditional D&D game based on known rules at the club. Within a month I had more people than I could handle and new splinter games started. By the end of the year the only folks who were left with the homebrew guy were munchkins that he could sate.

Tangental note: I love homebrew campaigns. Where I don't know the story and can't pay to read ahead. I see those in a totally different light.

[Webhead]

...Tangental note: I love homebrew campaigns. Where I don't know the story and can't pay to read ahead. I see those in a totally different light.

Yes, homebrew campaigns can be a lot of fun under good GMs. I've played quite a few of those over the years. Heck, every single D&D game I ever ran was essentially a homebrew campaign because I built the game world as I went.

[nijineko]

i had to snicker at the "rules you can rely on" bit in the same post as d&d. every version has changed various major mechanics.

on the other paw, the "feel" of the game has remained pretty much the same, which counts for a lot. and a fair number of mechanics (if not always the same ones) have carried over.

but i did enjoy the chuckle, so thank you.

[Grimwell]

Well, prior to third edition errata was very hard to acquire, so it was very reliable to go by the printed text in the books. You could rely on it not to change because the GM/Designer decided that he didn't like the results.

Oh wait, you are referring to changes between editions aren't you? I don't see that as much of a problem. You don't have to change rules systems when a new edition comes out. Even though I've converted every single time, I didn't convert the game I was running, I waited until a new one started to make the move.

[Foki Firefinger]

I have tried a few home-brewed systems that were quite good and I would look forward to seeing them published. I have about 7 various home-brewed worlds myself-- four are D&D and the others are based upon the defunct game Aftermath. I occasionally help my son playtest his homebrewed systems and look forward to him publishing too. The home-brewed systems of today are the newly packaged games rolling off the assembly line to out stores of tomorrow. Fresh ideas are what it is all about.

[kirksmithicus]

I love both, but I would never make anyone play a game they didn't want to play or with rules they didn't understand or why they had been changed. Mostly I just enjoy reading what others have come up with. Sometimes it's cool, sometimes it's lame. I'm constantly coming up with ways to alter the rules of almost every game I own, though I rarely inflict them upon players, and then only with their consent and as always, the rules apply to both sides of the screen. It's just something to do (a hobby within a hobby) and maybe a new way to think about how the mechanics of games work and why the authors made the choices they did. Homebrew setting are awesome, love to read other peoples material.

I spent about 4 years trying to write my own game system, just something I would be happy with (I have no delusions about being the next great RPG author).........anyway it totally sucked and was a monstrous, frustrating waste of time and energy because I'm never happy with anything, even my own stuff. So I've sworn off that kind of thing, and I've decided to only work on gaming aid type material so I don't get mucho more insanerer than I already is.

[ronpyatt]

Home brew systems? Fantastic. They all started out that way at some point. Some are lame, but some turn into great systems. Many have little gems of a mechanic that plays very well.
Even house rules count as home-brew systems at some point.

[tesral]

Homebrew, a bunch a guys sitting around coming up with a game. "Hey, we could sell this and it would be great."

Sounds exactly like D&D.

Funny thing but that is exactly how all the current big players got that way. They cooked up an idea, and went out on a limb with it. The scenery is littered with the carcasses of those that didn't make it. But they did, and all because of an unreasoning belief in their "little" ideas.

"Homebrew" A code word for "not as good as the pros". Them not Us. But all the pros started as home brewers. Sure D&D is all hard covers and flashy color art. It used to be little books with a staple the middle with art done by your college roommate, Homebrew.

Here is the deal. My ideas, your ideas, are just as good as the ideas of those people with access to money and decent artists. The quality of an idea is not dependent on the capital behind it. We all have seen examples of great production values (that come of money) and no decent ideas. Money and good art do not good ideas make. They don't preclude them, but the two are not linked. Mr. legal pad and a pencil could have some great ideas. We will not know if we don't look.

We have all seen our share of the lousy ideas, but the gems keep you looking. You might kiss a few frogs, but the beautiful princess could be the next one.

Likewise, don't degrade your own ideas because you are not Lizards or Steve Jackson. They started in a basement or a garage too.

Homebrews are always worth at least a look. The next D&D might be in those pages. A system so wonderful it blows you away. But you will never know unless you look.

Also, that system could be yours. Just because the gaming ghodds have not descended from the Hasbro towers and anointed you does not mean your ideas are less than wonderful. Believe in your ideas. Develop them and refine them. Be brutal and make them work for it. You could have a work of genius there, but if you blush and shove it under the bed before one of the gaming ghodds sees it, you will never know.

Clue: The only difference between them and us is they draw a paycheck for gaming. That does not make them certified geniuses. It could simply mean they are pushier than you or I. This business involves ego in barrel lots. Success can mean nothing more than you have the ego to push your idea to the money.

I could go on for many more words, but is freaking late...or early, it's that freaking late. Bed time for me, more later.

[Webhead]

...*snippity*...

Exactly.