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RPG design: The Essential Reading List (thealexandrian.net)

submitted 22 hours ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 21 hours ago (4 children)

1974 D&D

Traveller

GURPS or Champions

Paranoia (1st Edition)

Vampire the Masquerade

Amber Diceless Roleplay

Burning Wheel

Apocalypse World

[–] [email protected] 2 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

champions was amazing. only need stadard dice and the one hardcover book could cover any genre although some took a lot of work by the dm. had a guy in college run a fantasy game with it and used the variable power pool for spellcasters (limitation of having to use found or figured out spells). he would allow people to make custom races as long as the points added up. basically he met with each person and asked them what they would like to do with the only limits being points and he would help them figure out the build for the race and the class and etc. it was pretty cool. gurps was great but the books were unending. hero system had a lot of books but the champions hardcover could handle everything, again if you put in the work.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 hours ago

Champions was amazing, but it was also effectively a derivation (and improvement) of the earlier Supergame. (Yes, I know. Stupid title.) Supergame used d% and d6, not just d6, but let's see if any of this rings a bell: (😁)

you build a character with 250 points¹
you get a number of actions based upon a prime statistic (Dexterity or Intelligence, depending on the type of actions)
two different types of damage (Physical and Agony), one of which is very slow to recover, the other very rapid
a collection of powers that are more descriptions of effects, rather than specific instances (what, not how or why)
a specific form of attack for Charisma (like, you know, Presence...)
... and a cast of dozens.

Champions' creators have always said they were inspired by Superhero:2044 and Villains & Vigilantes and have never even mentioned Supergame, but I find that a bit sus myself:

Superhero:2044 is a super-rare book. It was not very common to see it at all, ever. (The earlier pre-Zocci edition Superhero:44 was even rarer.)
Neither Superhero:2044 nor Villains & Vigilantes are in any way like Champions (aside from attempted genre).
Supergame wasn't super-rare. It was never a huge seller, but it was in most decent gaming shops in 1980-1981.
There's a good mechanical overlap of at least 50% between Supergame and Champions.
The game designer community of the late '70s and early '80s was very close-knit and there was a lot of cross-pollination.

Don't get me wrong: Champions was the better game. Being inspired by Supergame and making a better game is emphatically not a negative. I just think it's a bit weird that they refuse to acknowledge the influence.

And in the context of an RPG design essential reading, Supergame needs to be there to show the dramatic change in ideas that were beginning to pop up around that time.

¹ "Prime Statistics, super powers, devices, trainings, and abilities are all purchased using the same character construction points. The points are allocated according to relative effectiveness and usefulness. In other words, one power that costs 20 points is as useful in a variety of situations as any other power, ability, or device that also costs 20 points. Therefore, what is bought with these points is not the how or why of a power, but only the what."

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