Making my own RPG

[DungeonMaster]

Ahoy fellow RPGers i am taking on the task of making my own RPG. I have been an avid D&D player and DM, and i see now as a good time to try venturing awayfrom it all. I have started to create a different system not using the d20 system that kind of revels near the d10 system with a lil twist. Wait....before i get ahead of myself, my RPG is post-WWWIII based. It's set around the time of about 2070ish. The storyline is similar to the storyline of a beloved game known as FallOut 2. For those of you that are unfamiliar with this title go here,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3PXiV95kwA

That is the basic rundown of the storyline in my RPG. World War 3 broke out in 2012 and the military placed all the civilians in Underground Vaults. A whole generation has grown up and gone by, and one day each of the countless vaults recieves a message from the outside to make preparations to be released from the vaults in 5 months. Being the good lil obedient civilians that we are, mostof the vaults pack up and wait for their release back into the world. The vault in which the "players" are from decided to 'jerry-rig' a bomb and blow the vault door off in advance. The civilians that waited for the 'Release-date' were mowed down by heavily high-tech armored soldiers wielding ionic gatling guns. The conclusion for such action is the fact that the soldiers, who stayed 'above' and out of the vaults, are now better suited to run the fate ofthe planet. The 'Vaulted' people were saw to be unfit humans for they are so feeble. The soldiers are all atleast half cybornetic beings, and have been this way for some time. The soldiers (note to self: Find a better name for them than 'the soldiers') decided it was more cost-efficient and easier to just exterminate the vaulted people rather than convert them.

That is the basic storyline. I am using modern weapons due to the fact that all that the vaulted people can scroungeup is the obselete weaponry that the 'soldiers' (God i have to find another word) no longer use. I am using percentage-to-hit for combat. For instance, A Glock 9 has a 35% base percentage to hit. This percentage may be modified by scopes [adding 5%] or by skills aquired which affect the certain type of weapon. As far as types of weaponry goes, i have the following: Hand-to-Hand, Pistols, Rifles, Combat Rifles, Explosives, Sub-machines Guns, ShotGuns [which have the option of being sawed-off for a decrease in range but increase in damage], Heavy Machine Guns, and Mounted Weaponry for vehicle use. Having armor, whether it be on oneself or on a vehicle does not change these percentages similar to AC in DnD. Other affecting elements to these percentages are range and velocity of target. I am still crafting such tables and graphs to compensate for range and velocity.

Skills are obtained/bought using a mixture of Gold and Experience Points. Each skill cost both. Exp. is gained through victory in battle, difficulty of tasks accomplished, and cleverness of problem-solving. There are no levels. THERE ARE NO LEVELS. Exp. is pooled up and saved to purchase skills. Skills ranging from Good-Eye Sniper which gives you an extra 3% whenever using a scope, to Brawler which grants an extra 1d4 damage to any Hand-to-Hand combat. Total HP will increase in time. The amount of increase is determined by your Vitality Score. The Attributes are Strength, Dexterity, Vitality, Intelligence, and Charisma. The figuring of these has not been.....figured. (HAHAHA)

I am only using the d10, d100, d8, d6, and d4. This paragraph is a catch-all for other crap i didnt put up there. I am only using the human race. The 'soldiers' all live in bio-domed cities. Anything outside the cities is a wasteland, not toxic or unlivable, just not pretty. There is no flight due to some reason i havent made up yet. No hover-crafts.

I'm tired and have been up too long today, so that is all i can think of at the moment. Please give me your thoughts. Any questions you have i will surely answer. Please throw some feedback my way

Much Love,
DM

[MortonStromgal]

I wish you the best of luck

[trechriron]

[I would choose to only post in one area, because the conversation is going to get divided...]

First question before I pipe in with opinions\advice...

Is this for personal use or a potential commercial\public release?

[tesral]

The first question I have is why are you reinventing the wheel? What about your setting benefits from producing an entirely new system to run it with?

So far you have a fairly standard post apocalyptic world. A different spin on the thing, which is good, but the basic idea is the same. We could be up and running an a couple of hours with say GURPS or d20 Modern. How is your new system going to be better?

[fmitchell]

As much as I like alternate systems, I kinda have to agree with Tesral; I don't see anything in your description that screams "I need a new system". What problems does your new system solve that GURPS, d20 Modern, Unisystem, BRP, D6, Fudge, and the rest don't?

I would also caution you not to get too complicated too fast. Start with a simple resolution system (percentiles, die + bonus, dice pool, whatever), and then add rules to cover special situations. As an aside, I'm intrigued that "skills" are all-or-nothing bonuses to base percentages; I presume you're looking at the simplicity of 4e "training" or Warhammer Fantasy skills. From your description, though, the better weapons win, not the best wielder.

Also, as a die-hard simulationist, I wonder why skill improvements require gold *and* XP: gold is cost for training, presumably, but XP is real-world experience, so either should be sufficient unless a particular ability demands only one or the other (e.g. academic skills may require formal training, but perception-based abilities can't be learned in a classroom).

[nijineko]

...but perception-based abilities can't be learned in a classroom).

well, they can... but most places don't do that kind of training.

[placebosonly]

just trying to remake inquisitor with a new setting?
(percentile based future-setting game)

[ChaunceyK]

Also, as a die-hard simulationist, I wonder why skill improvements require gold *and* XP: gold is cost for training, presumably, but XP is real-world experience, so either should be sufficient unless a particular ability demands only one or the other (e.g. academic skills may require formal training, but perception-based abilities can't be learned in a classroom).

I disagree with you on this one. Think of your character like you would a Boxer (or these days, a Mixed Martial Artist)...he gets plenty of experience fighting in the ring, right? But he still needs a trainer to watch him & point out how he can improve on what he's doing.

Real-world experience is good, but having the proper guidance can only improve upon it.

[wbrandel]

I do wish you the best of luck with your chosen task, however I do have to ask why develop a new system when there are plenty of existing systems that would support a game of that nature?

[fmitchell]

I disagree with you on this one. Think of your character like you would a Boxer (or these days, a Mixed Martial Artist)...he gets plenty of experience fighting in the ring, right? But he still needs a trainer to watch him & point out how he can improve on what he's doing.

Real-world experience is good, but having the proper guidance can only improve upon it.

True, but in that circumstances gold/teachers *or* XP should increase the skill. A street fighter who fights on the street will improve on his own, and a martial artist who learns in class will also improve; combining the two should double the learning rate (or maybe more?).

[trechriron]

...

Much Love,
DM

Did we scare you off? I hope not. We might be able to save you some trouble\heartache or offer you ideas.

[trechriron]

*delete post*

[tesral]

Did we scare you off? I hope not. We might be able to save you some trouble\heartache or offer you ideas.

Yes, the idea is to build something better and avoid past errors. Questions are not intended to discourage, but facilitate that process.

[placebosonly]

you may want to check to see if there is an open license on the percentile system because i dont believe it is an open license just lookin out

[trechriron]

you may want to check to see if there is an open license on the percentile system because i dont believe it is an open license just lookin out

There are none that I know of. Open Core, Action! System, d20 (in various forms from complete games to fiddly bits within closed content), FATE 3.0, FUDGE, are a few off the top of my head.