Hey everyone, I'm Bobpool

I'm a pretty big fan of old World of Darkness, D&D 3rd edition, and Final Fantasy.

I have been playing RPGs since college for the past 10 years and have really stalled in creating a game out of fear. I found some free time and thought if not now when? I have a couple ideas but some of my cubicle friends thought it would make more sense to create a survey first to make sure I'm really not wasting time making something no one would look at.

I have this idea for a time traveling, dimension hopping game with its roots in the Matrix, The One, and Dr. Who but I want to get pretty specific with it and make sure I'm not just making another run of the mill D20 game.

I'm hoping to develop a game with a community in mind instead of just a vanity project. So if anyone would be willing to take a quick survey I would really appreciate it.

Just follow the link: Click Here For Survey!


I really appreciate the help!

Bobpool

First, welcome

Now ... um, survey?
You seem to know what you want to do already, and i also must say, that one of the best ways to make a "run of the mill" game, is to rely on a survey.

See, there are many contrasting, and some even downright opposing interests on rpgs.

To make an rpg is a vanity project, the bigger the idea, the greater the vanity.
The only way to make it less (in)vain, is to do it because you like it, and by putting work into it.

I do not think i'll be taking the survey.

From what little i've heard of it, you might draw some inspiration (or outright use) Palladium's Rifts sourcebooks. I'm not overly familiar with them myself, the only Palladium book i ever read was Ninjas and Superspies, and without the core rules i couldn't make head or tails of it, but it looked very flexible.

I'm currently working on my own homebrew system, but i currently play 2e AD&D, and am trying to get into the SAGA Dragonlance system, but if the setting were unique enough and i had occasion to play i'd definitely give any system a try once. Playing a new system and running a new system are very different though. I'd rather be a player first, then a GM after i have a grasp of the nuances.

I've been having a slight hankering to get into some "pulp" sci-fi i guess you could say. Puny humans floating in their tin cans, high above the world, being eaten by the Grue, and there's nothing you can do... (to the tune of Major Tom)

Some dimension hopping might be involved there, especially if the invading aliens are from the other dimensions (Star Trek Voyager/From Beyond/In the Mouth of Madness/Event Horizon anyone?) Just because it's a parallel universe doesn't mean it's anything like ours. Things could have gone very differently over there, and humanity might not be the dominant race on earth. Perhaps first contact happens a year sooner over there, and things did not go pretty, and now the PCs have one year to get themselves geared up and prepared for first contact in our universe.

I love Doctor Who, but time travel as an RPG... would have to be very carefully done. And once you set a rule, abide by it. DW stands by "never crossing the time stream" whenever it's a matter of plot convenience, but then throws it violently out the window at the slightest inconvenience to their plot later on down the line. (Anytime the Doctor can't go back to help himself, versus that time on Lake Silencio where Dr. Song is there at three points in her life:

Spoiler

Wife, Murderer, and unborn Infant

)

Stuff like that is cool, but it just drives me up the wall because of the careless attention to their own self imposed "rules", and then give themselves a get-out-of-jail-free card by saying "Rule Number 1: the Doctor lies."

I did your survey, but i want to post my comments here as well:

What is the biggest problem when it comes to finding a new RPG or with your current games?
Fast character creation (30 minutes or less), and tactical combat that is neither overly complex nor slow (a simple encounter shouldn't take an hour to complete).

In regards to table top role playing games, what is your biggest pain or issue when playing?
Poor role players and inactive players not taking action during non-standard, non-combat moments.

If you could wave a magic wand, what would you like to see to fix your biggest pains with RPGs?
Some kind of out-of-combat incentive for players to remain involved and engaged in the game on the diplomatic or skill test level (but not like D&D 4E).

What other question concerns, etc do you have?
I'm a fan of classless systems, and, unless the races are going to be VERY fundamentally different from each other, a race agnostic character creation system would make things go even faster. The fewer +/-1s you have to add in the better. If a race gets an ability, it should be something not so bland or simple as being better in melee or shooting, etc. as that ignores the possibility for outliers or "unique variants" as they say in Attack on Titan.

Quote from: Catelf;663098First, welcome

Now ... um, survey?
You seem to know what you want to do already, and i also must say, that one of the best ways to make a "run of the mill" game, is to rely on a survey.

See, there are many contrasting, and some even downright opposing interests on rpgs.

To make an rpg is a vanity project, the bigger the idea, the greater the vanity.
The only way to make it less (in)vain, is to do it because you like it, and by putting work into it.

I do not think i'll be taking the survey.

Thank you for letting me know.  It sounds like I could have used your opinion but that is certainly your decision.  

I do work in a business world, so the best way to figure out what people enjoy and are having problems with is to outright ask them.  The best way to collect responses I have found is to create a survey.  Then for more information I might ask for more help.  It seems corporate but it's just me.  

I have a grand idea, but the scope might be a little out of hand.  So if I can steer it a little better and get focus that is my goal.

Quote from: Amalgam;663105From what little i've heard of it, you might draw some inspiration (or outright use) Palladium's Rifts sourcebooks. I'm not overly familiar with them myself, the only Palladium book i ever read was Ninjas and Superspies, and without the core rules i couldn't make head or tails of it, but it looked very flexible.

I'm currently working on my own homebrew system, but i currently play 2e AD&D, and am trying to get into the SAGA Dragonlance system, but if the setting were unique enough and i had occasion to play i'd definitely give any system a try once. Playing a new system and running a new system are very different though. I'd rather be a player first, then a GM after i have a grasp of the nuances.

I've been having a slight hankering to get into some "pulp" sci-fi i guess you could say. Puny humans floating in their tin cans, high above the world, being eaten by the Grue, and there's nothing you can do... (to the tune of Major Tom)

Some dimension hopping might be involved there, especially if the invading aliens are from the other dimensions (Star Trek Voyager/From Beyond/In the Mouth of Madness/Event Horizon anyone?) Just because it's a parallel universe doesn't mean it's anything like ours. Things could have gone very differently over there, and humanity might not be the dominant race on earth. Perhaps first contact happens a year sooner over there, and things did not go pretty, and now the PCs have one year to get themselves geared up and prepared for first contact in our universe.

I love Doctor Who, but time travel as an RPG... would have to be very carefully done. And once you set a rule, abide by it. DW stands by "never crossing the time stream" whenever it's a matter of plot convenience, but then throws it violently out the window at the slightest inconvenience to their plot later on down the line. (Anytime the Doctor can't go back to help himself, versus that time on Lake Silencio where Dr. Song is there at three points in her life:

Spoiler

Wife, Murderer, and unborn Infant

)

Stuff like that is cool, but it just drives me up the wall because of the careless attention to their own self imposed "rules", and then give themselves a get-out-of-jail-free card by saying "Rule Number 1: the Doctor lies."

Thank you Amalgam.  Like I mentioned, I'm trying to figure out the best way to do it without it getting out of hand.

I have a vision for a world that involves the ability for people to exist in a specific dimension.  Depending on how the GM wants to handle it, they can either cross dimensions or through time for a goal.  The catch is they cannot just jump willy nilly (until they get to a very specific point in character development) and have to deal with gatekeepers to cross those boundaries.  

Depending on the world a player is in, they have to deal with a low to high level amount of Magic or Technology.  Because of these constraints, certain equipment or spells may be incredibly effective or just big hunk of metal depending on where the players end up.  

Of course there will be interdimensional and time traveling races to contend with that may be just as likely to throw a fireball at you as to pull out a noisy cricket.  Crazy (or super sane) people trying to kill every other version of themselves or the last remaining vampires in the world trying to destroy robots who enslaved the last of the humans after blotting out the sun.  There is a lot I want to do lol.  

Then doing it with a very streamlined rule set that doesn't confuse the heck out of players and makes the job easier for the the GM.  

I just got into Doctor Who but I like his personality.  I like how he has consistent villains and he doesn't just time travel to fix all of his problems.  Then each regeneration just decides they are going to do things a little differently...