Some people might know me from dumpshock or the old fanpro.de forums.
This is my new project.
Find the link to my Blog here:
http://www.serbitar.de/wordpressAfter programming a plethora of RPG tools and writing one or the other rule set, I will now try to make the next step and combine both.
The goal of this project is to two fold:
create a role playing rule set that uses smartphones and tablet PCs over the web instead of pen and paper
provide the software to support that rule set
By using internet technology and computers I will be able to create a much more complex rule set, which should not be complicated to use.
Rules will be judged according to the following guidelines:
generality: rules should be as general as possible. The more general the rule, the less rules you need and the better players can judge a given situation.
balancing: more in depth rules should not change game balance such that the game balance stays the same with introducing/removing the rules
realism: where possible rules should reflect reality and such help game play by fulfilling the expectations players get from their experience in reality.
To give an example:
The randomizer (dice in original P&P) will be a Gaussian function with a mean of zero. To make a skill test the result will be added to the skill value (with modifiers depending on difficulty of the test). Thus the average outcome of a skill test will be the skill value itself. This is not only realistic (Gaussian results) but also helps players and GMs to judge the outcome of a test.
The software will speed up game play by providing tools to manage, for example, stat advancement and combat stats like initiative and combat order of PCs and NPCs, giving the player the ability to make perception test that only the GM will be able to see but the player initiated by pressing a button, and much much more.
In general the rule system could be generalized to any RPG world, but the stetting always provides a certain focus on rules and thus I will focus on one RPG first: Shadowrun.
The software will be written in python and with the web2py framework.
I will try to update this blog often and keep rule set and software development in sync.
The time frame till usability will be a not too small number of month. I hope to bring this project to maturity, but will make no promises.
References:
Dark Heresy Gaussian Based
DHGB Charsheet for open/libre office
Systems Guide to the Matrix
Combatalrik Windows/Linux
Randomjoe Windows/Linux
Serbitars House Rule Package
Systems Guide to Paranoia
