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I imagine that just about anyone who's heard of a nerd has heard of Dungeons and Dragons, and while some may be able to enjoy the game, there are some minor problems that some people have when trying to play. For example, if you're religious you've probably seen or heard horrible stories about the game and its "Satanic ways". Maybe you just can't find a D&D set in the stores or your parents won't buy you one online. Whatever your problem may be with the game I can help you with creating your own D&D style game.
A warning to you all, this is not something for someone who just wants to "copy and paste" the idea to play the game, it involves your own inventive minds and preferences to fill in the blanks with your options (though I will give you my "religion approved" version for project examples). So if you're not scared of this monstrous task (sorry for the bad pun) let's get this project rolling.
(Note to all hard core D&D fans out there: I realize I haven't played a game of D&D and I figure it may take me a while to get all angles covered or concepts of the game correct, so if you have any helpful advice or corrections please let me know.)
A warning to you all, this is not something for someone who just wants to "copy and paste" the idea to play the game, it involves your own inventive minds and preferences to fill in the blanks with your options (though I will give you my "religion approved" version for project examples). So if you're not scared of this monstrous task (sorry for the bad pun) let's get this project rolling.
(Note to all hard core D&D fans out there: I realize I haven't played a game of D&D and I figure it may take me a while to get all angles covered or concepts of the game correct, so if you have any helpful advice or corrections please let me know.)
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Signing UpStep 1Step One: Boring, but important
You're probably expecting me to tell you how to create the maps or perhaps how to design your own figurines for your game, but as important as those may seem, there is one thing that needs to be taken care of first and foremost: the stats system. Believe me this is the longest/hardest step to do if you want to create a serious rival to D&D at home. If you think about it there are many stats that need to be set up and calculated (that's right, if you're serious you'll need a calculator).
When you think of a game like D&D or even Pokemon you'll most likely think of a few stats necessary for play: Health, Attack, Defense (optional), Speed, and Dexterity. Of course, there are also a few side systems for battle like monster encounters (if you don't feel like choosing random times for encounters, I'll give you an encounter formula using dice throws), the experience point system (optional if you want to use different character levels), and attack-evading system (self-explanatory). What's important is that you decide how you want your game to go or play out.
For example, if you want a D&D style game you may not have a specific limit on character levels and simply increase monster encounters and stats for battle, along with a long series of gaming sessions with slow experience gain to give a real sense of earning your new ranks and weapons. Or, you could go with a quick single session game with quick earned experience and level gain, easy to defeat monsters and high powered characters for smashing through your enemies - it's all up to your preferences and imagination. As for my design, I wanted a good long game, so I chose to make a medium speed gain for my experience system and roughly chiseled out my stats to levels system (yeah I'm gonna use "system" a lot in my explanation)
Now, you're probably wondering where to start your stats system calculations. I personally found it easier to start by designing around your Attack stats to figure your desired game length. In my game (which I temporarily dub "Usurpers") I started with generic level stats as a structural framework for forming characters around, just to give me an idea before i add or reduce stats to fit characters abilities. Level 1 attacks use a single six sided die (d6), and then upgrade to a d6 and ten sided die (d10) for level 2. (I'll explain why in a bit). Using a vague idea of how much I want stats to change, I chose different formulas to keep attacks moving higher is a semi regular fashion. After plotting out 6 levels of attack strengths, I took the maximum ratings and crafted a health system to create a reasonable amount of HP so it wouldn't take forever to die, but you wouldn't die from a couple lucky die rolls. Yes, I included a defense system in my game, but i waited till after I crafted a health system so that my defense wasn't making up for what I consider an 'attack buffer' between attack and health. This means that in my game, a level 1 attack would take about 3 maximum attacks to kill off a level one character even without defense. Again, this is another part where you can set the 'attack buffer' to take as short or as long a time as you want. The buffer increases further when I add my defense system into the battle. In "Usurpers", I have created a system that allows a level 1 (max) attack to do some damage to a (max) defending level 1 character. It allows my characters to do strong and weak attacks so there aren't times where you are stuck not effecting each others' characters - that's a job for a attack-evade system.
Before I continue however I want to slow this down to explain a few things. First, of course, these are all values you can change for gameplay. Second, the systems are picked by figuring buffers, or values that separate quick 1-hit battles and gradual attacks that take HP down bit by bit. These systems are also created by figuring how much of a stat change takes place between levels (such as the difference in a level 1 attack and a level 2 attack, which may double or just slightly increase). Depending on what you want in your game, you can have really simple or real complex calculations to pick experience, health, and monster encounters from simple die rolls and a little math knowledge. Here's an example for setting up your speed stat after you level up: New speed = (S_n) + (R_n+1) if > (S_max._n)
Which is read as: Your current speed value, S_n, combined with the rolled value of the dice for your next level, R_n+1, must be greater than the maximum possible value for your previous level, S_max.n. In other words, the total you get from adding your previous speed to the number you just rolled for your next level must be higher than the highest possible value you can roll for the level you came from. And if that still isn't clear enough here's a written example: A level 1 character levels up to level two and he had previously rolled a 9 on a d10 (the highest he could roll). Because he leveled up, he can now roll to increase his speed stat and he rolls a total of 1. The result? The character is now in level two with a speed of 10. Here's another scenario: A level 1 character levels up, with a current speed of 3, and then rolls a 6. The result? He must re-roll till he gets at least a 7. According to my generic speed stat chart, a level 1 character rolls a d10 till his level is greater than 0 and, when he levels up, he rolls a d10 and a d6 at the same time and adds their values, this means he won't be stuck with a low level speed (which is good because it plays into the attack-evade system I've set up).
To summarize this complicated explanation, you'll need an idea of how your game will go and then choose some starting values for a generic framework to design level stats and so on. Once you've completed your generic framework, you can build characters around it and equip special stats for any clothing or weapons that may add to your stats, easily.
In case you are still confused or you are struggling to have a good set of stats systems, look to the last step for a compiled list of all my planned out system data. Now, on to the next part!
When you think of a game like D&D or even Pokemon you'll most likely think of a few stats necessary for play: Health, Attack, Defense (optional), Speed, and Dexterity. Of course, there are also a few side systems for battle like monster encounters (if you don't feel like choosing random times for encounters, I'll give you an encounter formula using dice throws), the experience point system (optional if you want to use different character levels), and attack-evading system (self-explanatory). What's important is that you decide how you want your game to go or play out.
For example, if you want a D&D style game you may not have a specific limit on character levels and simply increase monster encounters and stats for battle, along with a long series of gaming sessions with slow experience gain to give a real sense of earning your new ranks and weapons. Or, you could go with a quick single session game with quick earned experience and level gain, easy to defeat monsters and high powered characters for smashing through your enemies - it's all up to your preferences and imagination. As for my design, I wanted a good long game, so I chose to make a medium speed gain for my experience system and roughly chiseled out my stats to levels system (yeah I'm gonna use "system" a lot in my explanation)
Now, you're probably wondering where to start your stats system calculations. I personally found it easier to start by designing around your Attack stats to figure your desired game length. In my game (which I temporarily dub "Usurpers") I started with generic level stats as a structural framework for forming characters around, just to give me an idea before i add or reduce stats to fit characters abilities. Level 1 attacks use a single six sided die (d6), and then upgrade to a d6 and ten sided die (d10) for level 2. (I'll explain why in a bit). Using a vague idea of how much I want stats to change, I chose different formulas to keep attacks moving higher is a semi regular fashion. After plotting out 6 levels of attack strengths, I took the maximum ratings and crafted a health system to create a reasonable amount of HP so it wouldn't take forever to die, but you wouldn't die from a couple lucky die rolls. Yes, I included a defense system in my game, but i waited till after I crafted a health system so that my defense wasn't making up for what I consider an 'attack buffer' between attack and health. This means that in my game, a level 1 attack would take about 3 maximum attacks to kill off a level one character even without defense. Again, this is another part where you can set the 'attack buffer' to take as short or as long a time as you want. The buffer increases further when I add my defense system into the battle. In "Usurpers", I have created a system that allows a level 1 (max) attack to do some damage to a (max) defending level 1 character. It allows my characters to do strong and weak attacks so there aren't times where you are stuck not effecting each others' characters - that's a job for a attack-evade system.
Before I continue however I want to slow this down to explain a few things. First, of course, these are all values you can change for gameplay. Second, the systems are picked by figuring buffers, or values that separate quick 1-hit battles and gradual attacks that take HP down bit by bit. These systems are also created by figuring how much of a stat change takes place between levels (such as the difference in a level 1 attack and a level 2 attack, which may double or just slightly increase). Depending on what you want in your game, you can have really simple or real complex calculations to pick experience, health, and monster encounters from simple die rolls and a little math knowledge. Here's an example for setting up your speed stat after you level up: New speed = (S_n) + (R_n+1) if > (S_max._n)
Which is read as: Your current speed value, S_n, combined with the rolled value of the dice for your next level, R_n+1, must be greater than the maximum possible value for your previous level, S_max.n. In other words, the total you get from adding your previous speed to the number you just rolled for your next level must be higher than the highest possible value you can roll for the level you came from. And if that still isn't clear enough here's a written example: A level 1 character levels up to level two and he had previously rolled a 9 on a d10 (the highest he could roll). Because he leveled up, he can now roll to increase his speed stat and he rolls a total of 1. The result? The character is now in level two with a speed of 10. Here's another scenario: A level 1 character levels up, with a current speed of 3, and then rolls a 6. The result? He must re-roll till he gets at least a 7. According to my generic speed stat chart, a level 1 character rolls a d10 till his level is greater than 0 and, when he levels up, he rolls a d10 and a d6 at the same time and adds their values, this means he won't be stuck with a low level speed (which is good because it plays into the attack-evade system I've set up).
To summarize this complicated explanation, you'll need an idea of how your game will go and then choose some starting values for a generic framework to design level stats and so on. Once you've completed your generic framework, you can build characters around it and equip special stats for any clothing or weapons that may add to your stats, easily.
In case you are still confused or you are struggling to have a good set of stats systems, look to the last step for a compiled list of all my planned out system data. Now, on to the next part!
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