Recently, I have been working on a new role playing system. It has already undergone many revisions, and the total progress I have made has been minimal. It has, however, caused me to try and quantify exactly what I want out of a role playing system.
Now, I won't pretend to ever be able to match these points with my system. But without further adieu, here are the principles I am shooting for:
Fun
This is simple but often neglected. The system should be very fun for someone who is into role playing. In other words, this is not geared towards instant gratification. It is for the person who believes an investment can be worth the fun in the end. All systems that are designed will keep in mind this principle: In the end, will this make the game more fun?
Unity Of Systems and Scope
The core system of the game will be used throughout. Because of this, the system will not inherently place importance on some activities as opposed to others. For example, physical combat will not have a different scope of rule detail than social interactions.
Encourage Fleshed Out Characters and Role Playing
The system will encourage players to consider how they wish to play their character role playing wise. This applies to both character creation and normal game play.
The character creation system will be more than distributing stat points here and there. When character creation is over, the player will know who their character is.
During play, role playing will be rewarded highly. Actively playing your character will be important above having good stats and whatnot.
Encourage Realistic Gritty Decision Making
Physical well-being will not be the only risk factor the players will have to consider when making decisions. Emotional stability and mental well-being will present an interesting take on how to interact with NPCs and other characters.
For example, getting into fight with your brother may leave you stressed out. You might decide that you just don't want to deal with that right now since you have other important things you need to be focused for.
This will also encourage play as a group. Since it will be difficult for a single character to handle all of the pressures of play, everyone will have to get involved and do their share.
Ease Of Play
The system will avoid rules that don't add enough to the game to warrant added complexity. It will run fluidly with little need to constantly look things up in a book. The decisions you make will be more important than the rules that govern them.
It will not, however, be designed to be a good "first timer" system. Seasoned role players will be able to pickup the game quickly and play it easily. For those entirely new to role playing, it might be a bit much.
Power to the Players
I want the players to feel as though they deserve the things they accomplish. I think a certain degree of crunch is required for that. Otherwise, it is just the GM telling you if you succeed or not, which is not what I am going for.
Enough rules will be present to allow the player to have an accurate feel of how good their character is at various activities. This feel will not be violated by narrative overrides. If the players can do something, then they can do it.
Representation
The players should have an easy time becoming immersed in the game. The systems that may be in the game should help the player to feel like that are doing what their character is doing. When the character is doing well, I want the player to think: "Yeah, I'm a badass." I do not want them to think: "Yeah, I'm good at DnD."
Advancement Encourages Active Play
The advancement will not be an equal share split at the end of the session. Advancing your character will require you to actively engage the game. This must be presented in a way that awards active players, but everyone will get a chance to play. Perhaps rewards will be offered for the entire group engaging the game (to encourage the players to help each other out!).
Mathematical Basis
The system will be firmly based in probability mathematics. There are certain things that can only be found during actual play testing, but a solid mathematical foundation will greatly help.
I'm sure there are other principles that I haven't quantified into words yet, but these seem like a good starting point for what I am shooting for. I'll keep you updated as this project develops.
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