d10 Core
After my last post, I've been poking around a bit and have found a kickstarter project for a system called d10 Core.
Kickstarter seems to be the hot new thing for getting small to medium sized projects up and running. A few indie games are taking this route to get the first print run out.
But this one's a bit different, it's more like the old school games. Lots of intricate mechanics compared to a lot of new school indie games, so either the author is comparing the game to something like D&D or Pathfinder when he says that it's "Total weight is 150 pages, so I think it is just heavy enough to be crunchy, but light enough not to be all-consuming."...or he is pretty much on par for a lot of the game in the old school renaissance crowd. If it were formatted differently it could probably be cut down to 100 A4 pages (then expanded back out to the 150 mark with pictures).
It follows the old GM/Player split. Nothing really revolutionary in it (Die + static skill modifer + situation modifers versus a static difficulty for task resolution...die + static skill modifer + situation modifers versus die + static skill modifer + situation modifers when characters are facing off). Combat in rounds. No inherent genre or leaning toward a specific style of story...which leaves it pretty vanilla.
On the whole, it's the kind of game that makes me think..."Why bother rewriting what a dozen other writers have done before? Why not just admit that you are retreading the Fuzion system?...why not just release some supplements for the Fuzion system, since it's already done most of the hard work?"
Actually now that I look at the Fuzion System for the purposes of adding links into the blog...it's probably not the best analogue to d10 Core, the previous Interlock system (used in Cyberpunk 2020) is probably closer. It's a 20 year old game engine, at least. You can change the names of the stats and skills, but the results are effectively the same.
Maybe I'm just ranting again, but it's really frustrating to see a designer pop their head up and say "Hey I've got something new, please give me money"...when the very thing being offered is a retread of old rules.
At least this guy has had the common decency to offer his product as a free pdf.
Maybe I'm just getting grumpy in my old age.
Kickstarter seems to be the hot new thing for getting small to medium sized projects up and running. A few indie games are taking this route to get the first print run out.
But this one's a bit different, it's more like the old school games. Lots of intricate mechanics compared to a lot of new school indie games, so either the author is comparing the game to something like D&D or Pathfinder when he says that it's "Total weight is 150 pages, so I think it is just heavy enough to be crunchy, but light enough not to be all-consuming."...or he is pretty much on par for a lot of the game in the old school renaissance crowd. If it were formatted differently it could probably be cut down to 100 A4 pages (then expanded back out to the 150 mark with pictures).
It follows the old GM/Player split. Nothing really revolutionary in it (Die + static skill modifer + situation modifers versus a static difficulty for task resolution...die + static skill modifer + situation modifers versus die + static skill modifer + situation modifers when characters are facing off). Combat in rounds. No inherent genre or leaning toward a specific style of story...which leaves it pretty vanilla.
On the whole, it's the kind of game that makes me think..."Why bother rewriting what a dozen other writers have done before? Why not just admit that you are retreading the Fuzion system?...why not just release some supplements for the Fuzion system, since it's already done most of the hard work?"
Actually now that I look at the Fuzion System for the purposes of adding links into the blog...it's probably not the best analogue to d10 Core, the previous Interlock system (used in Cyberpunk 2020) is probably closer. It's a 20 year old game engine, at least. You can change the names of the stats and skills, but the results are effectively the same.
Maybe I'm just ranting again, but it's really frustrating to see a designer pop their head up and say "Hey I've got something new, please give me money"...when the very thing being offered is a retread of old rules.
At least this guy has had the common decency to offer his product as a free pdf.
Maybe I'm just getting grumpy in my old age.
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Comments
For example, a good friend of mine who ran one of my most memorable RPG campaigns ever (using Fuzion in its Bubblegum Crisis incarnation) is developing a system that started out as basically Fuzion with a few new ideas, but in the process of playtesting it and thinking about it pretty hard, it's developed some really cool new stuff, including the best hand to hand/martial arts fighting rules I've yet seen for smooth but reasonably 'realistic' fighting, and a pretty interesting wounding and sanity/mental health system. So, I guess I'm saying that just slapping a new coat of paint of Fuzion is not such a great thing, but that I've got some faith in the 'start from a trad system' way of things when in good hands.
And looking more thoroughly through the pdf, I can see that he has either:
a) at least made the effort to change a few aspects of the system.
b) actually derived it from a few sources and cobbled together something a little different.
or
c) simply built something from scratch using the systems he knows as building blocks.
The sad thing is that even though this guy has done a decent amount of work on his game, there is nothing about it that strikes me as an original combination of parts. I certainly don;t want to offer him any money for his Kickstarter project, because it's just the same as a hundred other generic games I've seen.
I'm actually the writer of the system mentioned here. I got the link back from an analysis of referrers, so I decided to drop by and say, "Hey!"
First, I want to make a comment about the Kickstarter project. I have told many, many people many, many times that the Kickstarter project is there as more of a What-If, rather than an actual real try at getting the funding. I had no delusions in posting it: I know I'm not a recognized designer or well-known author, and I know I'm not writing a revolutionary system. So, it's not really a major try at funding, it's there if anyone actually comes around who wants to help support these efforts.
That being said:
You're right, it doesn't do anything particularly brand new or unique to the roleplaying genre. I've played several different systems, and I really didn't like how they ran. Either too complex or not enough to keep it going for a long period of time.
It is vanilla, but it is meant to be vanilla; the supplements are add-ons to the base, core mechanics (thus the name, d10 Core) to give players expansions off in this or that direction (adding powers and game settings, more specifically). They come in separate game books, so if people want to play that particular kind of game, they can get that book.
The free version of the PDF was released for a couple of different reasons: 1) I am unknown, and, as such, no one has any reason to purchase a roleplaying system by me without seeing the insides. 2) I wrote the system because I'd like to see people play it and hear back from them about their experiences so it can be upgraded or changed if something doesn't make sense. 3) As I've said, I have no delusions of accumulating vast wealth on account of this, I enjoy making them and writing.
I've seen the name Fuzion around, but I've never played it nor read the source book, so I can't comment on any similarities there. I have played alot of White Wolf's games, Wizards of the Coast (& TSR), Eden Games (AFMBE, which I really liked). The inspiration of this system comes from Eden Games Unisystem, not necessarily in the mechanics, but in the inspiration of building a system to serve add-on games that can be built on top of that base system.
Anyhow, I'll check back if any comments are made if there are any questions. Just to make it clear, though, I have no expectations of the Kickstarter project getting anywhere higher than $0.00, and I had that understanding from the beginning. That's why I went ahead and released the system and got in on Amazon, looking at my Kickstarter page once a week or two to see if any comments were there.
At the very least, it's good to see people talking about the system, even though it's largely negative commentary. :P See you later!
Hi, I wrote d10 Core. I followed a link back here from a referrer.
First, I never had any intentions of the Kickstarter project actually working. It was there as a possibility, but I continued on, finished the system, and released it without hardly looking at my Kickstarter project page.
Second, you're absolutely right, it is a vanilla system with no big surprises. It's designed to be a foundation for further supplements that add game settings and powers to the base rules, and it's meant to be simple and familiar enough to get into quickly.
Third, I've never played or read Fuzion, but I've heard of it, so I can't comment about it, really.
I never said it's revolutionary or unlike other systems, of course. I did say it runs simpler than alot of games out there and is streamlined.
I don't mind people not wanting to donate to the Kickstarter project, as I never planned on raising any money that way, anyway. I have no problem paying to complete my projects, it will just take longer. :)
Anyhow, good to see that people are talking about it, even if the commentary is negative. Thanks!
In which case, it's not a bad construction. Sorry if you've taken these comments as negative, but as I said at the end of the post, maybe I'm just getting a bit grumpy in my old age...I was definitely that way that day.
I'll put a more formal a bit more publically over on RPGnet.
Yeah, of the options available, I would have to agree that C is probably the closest, but that could be said of really any designer/writer: experience shapes your work. There are elements and ideas that exist in other systems, but my system has some unique parts, as well.
All in all, thanks for bringing up the conversation. I'm always excited to talk about d10 Core. Also, even though Google said my first comment was too long, it took it anyway, so you have my long comment and my short comment when I thought it was lost.