What System? Fantasy Homebrew Campaign Setting

Aug 9, 2020 11:33 pm
Designing a really detailed homebrew fantasy campaign setting is something I've always wanted to do. I don't know if I'll ever get around to actually running it. I'm more looking at this as a rainy day activity so I always have something fun and creative to pick up and expand on. But I want to do it with a system in mind in case I actually do get to run a game in it someday.

The details regarding the world that I know for certain include:

*A ton of playable races. The standard human, elves, dwarves, etc. I also want goblins, orcs, gnolls, kobolds, lizardfolk and a lot of the higher intelligent monster races to be playable.

*The range of lifespan for the races would be smaller. No 1000 year old elves as a lot of settings have. 50-200 year lifespans in general for most races.

*Outside of these "monster" races there will be very, very few traditional monsters. No dragons, no beholders, no gelatinous cubes, etc

*Most adventures and drama in the world be "human" drama. I'm a really big Crusader Kings fan and plan on having multiple complex hierarchical societies in play. Adventurers would be more like agents acting on behalf of nobles scheming against each other. So a good system for social interactions is something I'd really like to have along with the stealth and combat that are typically pretty detailed in most fantasy games.

*This one is more of a maybe. Still on the fence, but... No arcane magic. All magic is divinely gifted. This would eliminate the traditional wizard and sorcerer classes. I am open to altering a traditional warlock class to be available since I always viewed their pacts as more in line with divine granted powers.


Is anyone aware of a system that would work well for this setting? Currently I was thinking about just using Basic Fantasy RPG because I'm familiar with it and it wouldn't be too difficult to make the changes I need. But it is hardly optimal and would basically require creating an entire detailed social interaction system from scratch.
Aug 9, 2020 11:45 pm
The Fate System, and the Toolkit for the magic part.

It's more based on a narrative side, and so, it can be quite versatile.

https://fate-srd.com
Last edited August 9, 2020 11:49 pm
Aug 9, 2020 11:59 pm
What level of crunch are you looking for?
Aug 10, 2020 12:09 am
Naatkinson says:
What level of crunch are you looking for?
The lower the better.
Delio says:
The Fate System, and the Toolkit for the magic part.

It's more based on a narrative side, and so, it can be quite versatile.

https://fate-srd.com
Haven't actually played it before but I've been listening to a podcast (Green Mountain Mysteries) and see parts I like and parts I really don't. Namely over-reliance on rolls being used for just about everything the PCs attempt to do. That could be just the GM running the game though. I like the flexibility of the system but prefer to roll only when necessary. I'll have to actually sit down and read the core book.
Last edited August 10, 2020 12:17 am
Aug 10, 2020 12:17 am
Yes and no.

Fate is set up so that rolls do not affect much the result of an action (the dice go from -4 to +4, but in reality, the -1 to +1 result appears more often), in comparison to the character's abilities.

Though, there is a whole meta economy with the Aspects and Fate Points, the roll part is not mandatory (Aspects & Fate Points are part of the system that have an impact on the rolls, but Aspects are also a good way of describing characters, places, and worlds).

As a GM, i make my players roll only if necessary, and i use Fate (or derivated).
Aug 10, 2020 12:18 am
Go even more basic than FATE- Go FUDGE!
Aug 10, 2020 12:25 am
Seems like Warrior, Rogue & Mage would work well for that. Simply rename the "Mage" attribute to "Priest", change "Mana Points" to "Piety Points", and if you want to use one of the low magic options, similarly renaming the spellcasting talent(s) should be relatively easy. The Discovered Lore supplement introduces a bunch of new races which sounds a lot like what you want, plus the system is pretty simple and low on crunch which would allow you to concentrate on story more...
Aug 10, 2020 11:13 pm
Savage Worlds.

I'm biased because I really like the system. But it's easy to use and offers lots of options. Converting things into the system is fairly simple and intuitive.
Aug 10, 2020 11:59 pm
Thanks guys. I've downloaded the books mentioned (certainly pleased to find most were available for free or pay what you want, and I already had an unread copy of SWADE I've been meaning to get to). Now I've got myself quite a bit of reading to do.

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