How to design your own system - in twenty-eight thousand easy steps

7. MAKE THE GAME YOU WANT - don't fall into a trap of popularity, or profit. Make the game you want to play, because you want to play it.

8. START SMALL - AGAIN - make a small mechanic. Play it. Then make another small mechanic. Get a few little projects or hacks under your belt before trying to create a whole world

9. COLLABORATE - get some friends who also want to create a system. Work together.
check! you guys want to be my friend - right? ;)

10. PLAY LOTS OF GAMES - I'm trying, I'm trying... Honestly, I have traditionally avoided multiple systems, choosing to specialize over generalize. But my mind is open now, I plan to apply to more "beginners welcome' games in the Tavern

11. TAKE.... YOUR.... TIME - well, I've been working on this off and on for almost 40 years. So, check.

12. HAVE A STRONG GOAL - this one is tricky. I have a goal. A complete, perfect, universal rule system for any role playing I may want to do now or in the future. Simple right? (twenty-eight thousand steps may not be enough)

honestly, I'm hoping for a system that focuses on character development, while being able to answer the questions those characters will have in their world. My favourite parts of video games are character creation and exploration. That's where I like to spend most of my time. So, I think my goal is really a robust character creation system, that has what's needed to let those characters explore and develop.

13. PLAN AHEAD - yup. Paramount. I wrote a novel once, before computers, and I planned out the skeleton of the story into 9 parts. Then I glued nine manilla envelopes to a piece of bristol board (man, I'm old) and anytime I had an idea, I would jot it down and stick it into the appropriate envelope. Every week, I would empty them and put them in order to record them. Has Apple made iBristolBoard yet?

14. REVIEW - REVIEW - REVIEW - I'm going to start by re-reading this forum. Man, my jokes are lame, you guys are saints for putting up with me.

In review, my plan is to start with a "hack" for AD&D that clarifies and improves the rules for life on a ship. Focusing on crew roles, role playing life on-board instead of just going for a ride.

thank yo SO MUCH kaekozee
I know how much time it took to write all of that, and I cannot tell you how much I appreciate it.

Have you played, GMed, or hacked any of these systems (especially in a swashbuckling/pirate setting): GURPS, Cypher System, Cortex Prime, Basic Role-Playing (BRP), Fate or Savage Worlds?

In my opinion, every one of them has valuable lessons—things worth copying and things worth avoiding—when designing a generic RPG. I’d strongly suggest trying each at least once, even as a one-shot.

GURPS in particular, run in a pirate setting, can be a real eye-opener. You may end up loving it… or hating it. 🙂

You're welcome! Happy to help! ^^

If you're looking for inspiration on character creation, then if nothing else, I would suggest you just go through and make a character or two from various systems. That's my first step to learning how to play or run a new game, and I always find it to be a fun way to explore at my own pace.

For suggestions, take a look at the way Traveller does it. It's famous for having an intricate, procedural character creation system where you basically get to simulate living out your character's background. I was really inspired by it, even if I barely got to play the actual game. Legend of the Five Rings is another, as who you are, where you come from, and what you can do are all important facets in the world, so there's a lot of depth and significance to character creation.

I think we share the same goal in that regard--I build my game so that "stats" are static, and you have to pick two stats to roll vs challenge checks. The only way to change or manipulate those rolls is by drawing on things like relevant skills, personal ideals, and bonds with others, all of which are limited in scope, so character development and growth winds up being a pretty important facet to how the game is played. :3

Though if I'm being honest, at this point I'm beginning to wonder if what I made is less of a game and more of a cooperative storytelling platform 🤔 Oh well! I love it regardless ^^

I did over six years ago when I decided to create my own world setting based up the Warhammer Fantasy Universe called Warhammer Fragile Alliances.

It has been a great success and has achieved what I was hoping to achieve in terms of game play, and the players who have explored my world have said they enjoyed it. The biggest problem I've had is finding suitable hosting sites and since Tavern-Keeper.com shut down I've been struggling to find a suitable hosting site that provides the same features. I was hoping Gamers Plane might work but the lack of a post comment feature has left me lost for a solution.
I think the main thing to consider is 'Why am I bothering?'

It's an awful lot of work and so you really need a very good reason for bothering to start.

For me it was the desire to bring together the aspects of the Warhammer Universe that I felt were the best versions of this franchise which is now fast approaching it's 5th Edition plus the clone versions. So, I wanted to create a definitive version that combined the best aspects of every iteration into one plausible and rational world setting.
Make sure you have a good reason for bothering and write it down so you don't forget it.

Keep a clear distinction between the 'Fluff and the MetaPhysics' of your new world. You can have fun with the 'Fluff' but the 'MetaPhysics' have to be consistent, universal and make sense.

I'm trying to stay in order here, but that is a GREAT idea. I like making characters as much as I like playing. Maybe more. Gamers Plane just so happens to have a large repository of character sheets!

15. MAKE CHARACTERS - lots of 'em, from lots of systems. Collect the best bits.