I've been hard at work writing and self-editing. I have a couple chapters down, a system in place and am almost ready to playtest. It's time for another update and thought experiment.
An absolute 0 starting point was among my original ideas of starting games off with my RPG. Where a player can grab a blank sheet, and jump right into a game. The other thought was that even if there are more experienced characters in a group, they can still contribute.
In a conversation with a friend over my concepts it came into light that an absolute 0 starting point might leave players, new and veteran wondering where to go, what goals to reach, and what to do. It's came into light in that conversation that some kind of starting point and goals for characters to strive for as part of character generation.
How fast should this go? How in depth? I've gone through many character background steps for other games in the past, and found myself bored and uninterested. At the same time, I've seen other background generators that make alot of sense and give good bonuses and penalties that could lead to fairly decent plot lines.
Race should be part of this. This is all good and well when it comes to fantasy settings. This might be a little bit more touchy if the game is made for a more modern setting without monsters and strange creatures. Part of this can be alleviated by a modular type of system where the base game glosses over the idea of fantasy and modern and just gives a base "Background" section where the ideas of racial bonuses and penalties can be broken down into generic terms and conditions.
This can lead to both positive and negative fan reaction though. If it's too generic it could lead to a bland game with no direction.
Designing a game from the ground up has made me consider my normal game running techniques in a new light. Forcing myself to think as a real designer instead of a Dungeon Master has helped me refocus and come at designing adventures in new and exciting ways. I've been finding myself dissect monsters, rules and what might have gone behind the things that made it into games I run.
On a side note, I just picked up the Marvel Heroic Roleplay from www.rpgnow.com. It is an extremely well put together game, and fans of the Smallville RPG will find familiar elements, brought up to a more comic-book level. I highly recommend it for any heroic roleplaying experience! Bits and pieces of that games ideas might leave their mark in mine. It's definitely worth a look at.
