[Icehouse] Icehouse RPG

[Brian Campbell]

My recommendation would be to not try to make it a generic RPG  
system. There are plenty of decent (depending on your preferences)  
generic systems already (D20, GURPS, Storyteller, Fudge/FATE, Rifts,  
etc), and generic systems tend to be a somewhat poor fit for most  
games, which then need to be customized for the particular game you  
want to play (which is why there are so many extra source books doing  
just that, and you still have to carry around the extra rules baggage  
of the generic system that you don't need).

I've found that most of the interesting work in designing game  
systems has been in the parts that are specific to the game in  
question. Getting rules that adequately capture the feel of a  
particular genre, setting, or theme is much more interesting than a  
universal set of character creation, action resolution, and combat  
system rules. For instance, In Nomine has rules that specifically tie  
into the angelic/demonic, such as using 3d6 (not added up, so people  
usually refer to it as d666) for all resolution and having a roll of  
666 cause a demonic intervention (and, by symmetry, 111 be angelic  
intervention). Or, Ars Magica has a system that's well tailored to  
simulating magic, and magical research, and so on. Yes, these sorts  
of things could be fitted on top of a generic system, but the fit  
wouldn't be quite right; there would be a bit too much generic  
baggage that wasn't applicable to the game in question, and not quite  
as many opportunities to have situations unique to the game you're  
playing.

For example, in what you have so far, you have a whole variety of  
different movement abilities. This is great if you want a heavily  
combat-driven miniatures style roleplaying game, but most games that  
I like to play have combat much more abstracted, with things like "I  
circle around and shoot him with my energy beam" being a simple check  
of speed and aim (or even just a check of Warfare), not a detailed  
analysis of terrain types and abilities.

So, I'd recommend avoid trying to make it universal, and instead try  
to create a specific game, with a specific idea of what you're trying  
to do. Maybe something based on pyramids? Or just a combat-heavy sci- 
fi game? Simulate something like Jedi light-sabre duels? I dunno, but  
I think it would be much more interesting to have a game that's  
tailored specifically to the Icehouse pieces and the system that  
you're designing, than a generic one.

Anyhow, just my 2¢. I hope to see what your game looks like when it's  
more fleshed out!

On Mar 5, 2007, at 12:24 PM, David Artman wrote:

> So, after a thought provoking bar conversation and an inspiring
>  thread on The Forge, I have begun the open development of the
>  ICEHOUSE ROLE-PLAYING GAME:
>
> http://icehousegames.org/wiki/?title=RPG
>
> SO far, it is merely the skeleton of a generic role-playing system
>  and, frankly, it's not all that "chunky" yet. But perhaps it does
>  not need to be?
>
> Give it a look, make some suggestions for stack abilities (on the
>  Talk page, please!), and give it a whirl at your next table-top
>  gaming night.
>
> Thanks for your attention;
> David
>
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