Let's build an RPG together.

Hey everyone,

I recently had a crazy idea. You know how the guys on the /tg/ board at 4chan collaborate to produce an RPG from time to time, well, how about we do the dame thing? Let's create an RPG together, tweak it, playtest it, and then release it. Heck, maybe we can even make a nice pdf of it, and release it on online shops like RPGnow, ENstore, or drivethruRPG (pay what you want option), and the profits could be used to fund this site... What do you guys say?

Will at have kick ass Ninjas?

(Actually, sounds like a blast, although not something I've ever thought about doing before - would certainly be interested in watching the process)

It could have kick ass ninjas... Of course, the first thing we'll need to do is come up with a concept. Med-fan? Sci-Fi?
Steampunk? Cyberpunk? Horror? Superheroes? Generic/Universal? Etc.

I'm totally in. I'm up for anything, but am drawn atm to Steam/Dieselpunk ala Mad Max.

a friend of mine made up a game world and used a generic system. I always thought the concept was pretty cool. you play as teenagers with mundane lives, but at night at sleep all the players are together in the realm of dreams where they fight to fend off any intrusions that could damage or attack the great human consciousness

Sounds like a good plan.

I considered trying to make a mobster-based rpg a while ago, mostly because my wife won't go near anything involving "magic". I chose that sort of setting because of the high-stakes nature and the fact that so many people will be familiar with the tropes because of the dozens (maybe hundreds) of films and tv series about organised crime. My point is, in deciding what setting to do maybe we should aim for an established target market. I'm not criticising the steam/dieselpunk idea, on the contrary, I think that would be great. I just mean it's something we should keep in mind when comparing that idea with any other suggestions which people make.

I have only tried a couple of systems so far, so I am very far from being an expert in RPGs. So I'd like to ask those who have more experience; what makes a great system? Is it possible to boil it down to, maybe, five factors?

That sounds cool. I would play that.

I think John Wicke has one where you play as cats defending the world from spirits that only cats can see.

I like games where you can use real world maps. I think it's so cool to go to the Chamber of Commerce to get your RPG map. I don't know if your opening it up for suggestions, but that's mine: A real world setting.

This could be doable. Recently, I thought that maybe my zombie apocalypse game I posted somewhere else could instead be used to mage a "generic apocalypse game system" instead. With enough tweaking, this could be feasible, thus allowing some people to make their dieselpunk games, others zombie apocalypse games, and still other other types of apocalypse and post apocalypse settings...

A sort of Nightmare on Elm Street RPG... :D
That's also an interesting concept, though I am loathe to steal something someone has already done...

The trick with generic systems is that the system informs the pace of the game. A gritty complicated system teaches the players to look for tricks and tweaks while not taking chances, whereas as a light, fast system does the opposite.

Yeah, indeed, in chosing genre, we are going to aim at a certain market, but of course, this cooperation idea does not need to be a one shot, we can always explore later genres which were not chosen.
Hmm, I'll admit that I'm not very inspired by a mobster RPG. Not that they're not fun for me, but my knowledge of various criminal organization is pretty much limited to Hollywood movies and politicians... :P
If we go with mobsters, I'm afraid this will severely limit my contribution to maybe some crunch and the pdf layout...

I sort of did managed both, I believe with my Zombocaplypse game, where the system was pretty light and fast paced, but the game was designed to be rough and gritty on player and character death was to be expected...

What about a game like "They Live" where all of the heroes are people with gifts (Magic User, fighter, whatever) and they are the only ones who can see the Baddies.

kinda like Men In Black with character classes

Fighting an invading force, but you have to be careful about how you proceed lest you be arrested for murder or terrorism... I love it. Are the baddies aliens? Demons? Creatures fro a different dimension?

We seem to be leaning to variations of a modern day game. I think there is a greater need for such games than for medieval fantasy or super sci fi.

I'm a bit more impartial to a classless system myself. Or at the very least, make the "classes" loose, like they're more archetypes rather than something that locks you in a set progression...

yes

I meant to quote this

I like the idea of some people having powers