RPG Design Patterns game

game:ars_magica_fourth_edition

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 05:12:43 -0400

Ars Magica was originally designed and written by Jonathan Tweet and Mark Rein=Hagen in 1987 and published by Lion Rampant. The fourth edition was published in 2003 by Atlas Games. Ars Magica is a game focused on wizards of the Order of Hermes in 14th century Europe (or, rather, mythic Europe). Each participant actually portrays a troupe of characters, including a Magus, one or more companions, and a number of grogs (henchmen). Since the game is primarily centered on magicians, most of the game’…

game:call_of_cthulhu_sixth_edition

Thu, 05 May 2011 04:41:27 -0400

Call of Cthulhu is a classic game written by Sandy Peterson and Lynn Wilis and is published by Chaosium, Inc. It evokes the alien, macabre terror of H. P. Lovecraft, who is a true giant of the horror genre. Lovecraft’s bizarre genius concocted a diverse mythology of ancient beings that supposedly traveled to Earth from far off galaxies where the very laws of physics and geometry differ radically from our own. The greatest of these colossi ruled the cosmos for billions of years, veritable gods in…

game:capes

Thu, 05 May 2011 04:41:30 -0400

Capes was written by Tony Lower-Basch and is published by Muse of Fire Studio. Capes is a super-heroes games with the premise: “Power is fun, but do you deserve it?” The game encourages players to explore their character’s super-powers. However, whenever a super-power is used, the character incurs debt that will eventually degrade his performance. A character can lower this debt by performing acts that prove his worthiness to possess his powers.

game:code_of_unaris

Thu, 05 May 2011 04:41:20 -0400

Code of Unaris was written by Gary Pratt and is published by GoldLeaf Games. It is a game designed specifically to support role-playing on Internet chat sites. The game’s premise is that a renegade computer program has inadvertently created a wormhole to an ancient past set in the world of Unaris. One billion years ago, Earth's moon was lush and fertile, supporting an ancient human civilization of medieval level technology and fantastic magic. The mysterious Internet program not only allows play…

game:dogs_in_the_vineyard

Thu, 05 May 2011 04:41:11 -0400

Dogs in the Vineyard was written by Vincent Baker. It is set in the mid-19th-century American West, in an area similar to pre-statehood Utah, dominated by a religious order known as “The Faith.” The characters play pioneers who have been charged with the task of traveling from town to town to make sure their denizens stay true to The Faith’s teachings. Any citizen falling into sin opens opportunities for the always present threat of demonic influence and possession. Left unchecked, the acts of a…

game:donjon

Thu, 05 May 2011 04:41:26 -0400

Donjon was written by Clinton R. Nixon and is published by Anvilwerks. The name is a play on the word “dungeon” and the game is geared toward capturing the wonder and excitement of many-a-gamers’ first experiences playing Dungeons & Dragons. Like that ground-breaking game, the primary purpose of a Donjon character is to beat the holy living heck out of any encountered monsters and loot them for booty. (Well, okay, maybe they don’t have to kill every living thing they encounter, but the game defi…

game:dungeons_dragons_v.3.5

Thu, 05 May 2011 04:41:07 -0400

Dungeons & Dragons v.3.5, published by Wizards of the Coast, is the most recent edition of the venerated, much loved, and oft disparaged Dungeons and Dragons game (originally written by Dave Arneson and Gary Gygax). It was the first and is, without a doubt, the widest known role-playing game in existence. The game has evolved over the years, but the fantasy setting and game focus of the current edition remains faithful to its roots. The game is about pitting heroic characters against fantastic a…

game:elfs

Thu, 05 May 2011 04:41:10 -0400

Elfs was written by Ron Edwards and is published by Adept Press. It is a light-hearted lark of a game where all characters are obnoxiously selfish pointy-eared elves, er, elfs. The game is a satire of traditional fantasy role-playing games that mercilessly pokes fun at the loot gathering behaviors exhibited by players of those games. Its most innovative feature is the way in which it separates character and player goals in conflicts. A player can state what his character is attempting to accompl…

game:fudge

Thu, 05 May 2011 04:41:18 -0400

Fudge was written by Steffan O’Sullivan and is published by Grey Ghost Press, Inc. The game is best characterized by its flexibility. Virtually all aspects of Fudge can be customized. The game master has a couple of choices on what dice to roll in conflicts, and can even elect to go completely diceless. He also selects the genre in which the game will be played out (along with its setting) and chooses what attributes are appropriate for characters. The game text helps out in these endeavors by p…

game:gurps_third_edition_revised

Thu, 05 May 2011 04:41:32 -0400

GURPS (Generic Universal Role-Playing System) is published by Steve Jackson Games. True to its name, it is a role-playing framework independent of any particular setting or genre. That is not to say that there aren’t many supplements available to provide these details, though, both generic and specific fictional settings. It is just that the system itself is not geared toward any one in particular. GURPS supplements span the spectrum from low-tech fantasy to high-tech sci-fi along with just abou…

game:harp_high_adventure_role_playing

Thu, 05 May 2011 04:41:09 -0400

HARP is published by Iron Crown Enterprises. It is a traditional skill-based fantasy game that is essentially a simplified and abbreviated version of Rolemaster Fantasy Role Playing (also published by ICE). RPG Design Patterns Identified Class, Experience Points, Game Master, Generalized Contest, Gifts (“Talents”), Hit Points, Last Man Standing, Level, Point Spend Gauge, Race, Random Attribute, Rank, Skill

game:hero_system_5t_edition

Thu, 05 May 2011 04:41:01 -0400

Hero System 5th Edition was written by Steven S. Long and is published by DOJ, Inc. It is the descendant of Champions, a super-heroes RPG first published in 1981 by Hero Games. Touting itself as “The Ultimate Gamer’s Toolkit,” Hero System is designed to be appropriate for “ordinary” heroic adventures as well as super-hero style play. At first glance, the daunting 372 page manual might be mistaken for a textbook rather than a game book. Its pages contain a vast array of pre-defined abilities that…

game:heroquest

Thu, 05 May 2011 04:41:19 -0400

HeroQuest was written by Robin D. Laws and Greg Stafford and is published by Issaries, Inc. It is a fantasy game set in the world of Glorantha during the “Hero Wars.” Created by Greg Stafford, Glorantha is a rich fantasy world originally conceived in 1966 before RPG’s even existed. It has evolved over the years attracting many writers and gamers in the process. Glorantha was used as the setting for RuneQuest, but was divorced from that game after Chaosium sold RuneQuest to Avalon Hill. (Avalon H…

game:inspectres

Thu, 05 May 2011 04:41:06 -0400

InSpectres was written by Jared A Sorensen and is published by Memento Mori Theatricks. The game is quite honest about its blatant adoption of ideas from the GhostBuster movies. In the game, the characters set up an InSpectres franchise that specializes in “Battling the Forces of Darkness So You Don’t Have To.” The setting is modern day San Francisco with the exception that ghosts and spooks are common, everyday pests. The characters (agents) are exterminators.

game:my_life_with_master

Thu, 05 May 2011 04:41:00 -0400

My Life with Master was written by Paul Czege and is published by Half Meme Press. In it, players portray potent but psychologically dependant minions of twisted masters who send them off to perform any number of inhuman tasks. Not only do the players design their characters, they also collectively design their master. The more the minions serve their master’s diabolical interests, the more the minions hate themselves. Their increasing self-loathing makes them more and more capable of carrying o…

game:nobilis

Thu, 05 May 2011 04:41:23 -0400

Nobilis was written by R. Sean Borgstrom and is published by Hogshead Publishing Ltd. It is a game in which players portray Nobilis, demi-gods in service to some great Power, or Imperator. The Imperators continually fight their archenemies, the Excrucians, godlike beings existing outside of Creation and bent on its destruction. This never-ending war rages mainly in the spirit realm, but occasionally spills into the mortal realm. Protecting Earth is the responsibility of the Nobilis. The game is …

game:paranoia_xp

Thu, 05 May 2011 04:41:28 -0400

Paranoia xp was designed by Allen Varney and is published by Mongoose Publishing. It is derived from the original Paranoia game, which was first published by West End Games in 1984 and was designed by Dan Gelber, Greg Costikyan, and Eric Goldberg. It is a comical game set in the “Alpha Complex” in a nightmarish bureaucratic future where everyone truly is “out to get you.” Alpha Complex is dispassionately run by The Computer whose primary function is to ensure the happiness and well-being of ever…

game:puppetland

Thu, 05 May 2011 04:41:15 -0400

John Tynes authored Puppetland and Hogshead Publishing distributes it. In this game, all of the players portray puppets in a world fashioned by the Puppet Maker. Unfortunately, the puppet Punch murdered the Puppet Maker and thus because the primary villain of the game. Punch has a number of minions, known as “Punch’s Boys,” which he fashioned from the flesh of the dead Puppet Maker. Punch also has an army of nutcracker soldiers. He tyrannically rules most of Puppetland without compassion or merc…

game:rifts

Thu, 05 May 2011 04:41:22 -0400

RIFTS was written by Kevin Siembieda and is published by Palladium Books, Inc. It is a game set in a post apocalyptic Earth after nuclear holocaust wiped out billions of lives. During the conflict, so much psychic energy was supposedly released that the fabric of space actually tore along the forgotten ley lines of magic. These inter- dimensional gaps are known as Rifts. They provide the occasional nightmarish horror passage into our realm. Earth has become a world of potent magic, fantastic mon…

game:rolemaster_fantasy_role_playing_second_edition

Thu, 05 May 2011 04:40:57 -0400

Rolemaster Fantasy Role Playing is published by Iron Crown Enterprises, Inc. Rolemaster is considered by many to be the poster child for highly detailed table driven combat systems. It is a combat-oriented, Tolkienesque fantasy game with men, elves, dwarfs, and halflings. Much of the supplemental material of the first edition was heavily focused on Tolkien’s Middle Earth. (Actually, the Middle Earth supplements were written for a “Rolemaster-lite” game called MERP – Middle Earth Role Playing – p…

game:shadowrun_second_edition

Thu, 05 May 2011 04:41:02 -0400

Shadowrun is published by FASA Corporation. It is set on Earth in the year 2053, where governments are obsolete and corrupt corporations rule society. Shadowrunners are hired mercenaries enlisted to perform dangerous, illegal, and ethically dubious acts. Such people carry advanced weaponry of various sorts for self defense and enhance their bodies with cybernetic implants. One of the most popular enhancements is the “cyberdeck,” which enables a person to mentally hook into the world’s computer n…

game:sorcerer

Thu, 05 May 2011 04:41:05 -0400

Sorcerer is published by Adept Press and was written by Ron Edwards. It is a game that asks the question, “What will you do to get what you want?” In it, players portray sorcerers who have the ability to bind powerful demons to their service. Before play begins, the group must decide what it means to be human. In other words, the gamers must state the aspects of humanity they want to explore in play. Character actions, then, are judged against that standard. Actions that support that vision of d…

game:the_pool

Thu, 05 May 2011 04:41:24 -0400

The Pool was written by James V. West. As of this writing, the game is freely available for download at . It is a game that is a model of brevity. In fact, the entire game text is not much longer than this description of it. The game has no pre-defined setting and is focused on creating interesting, well narrated stories.

game:the_riddle_of_steel

Thu, 05 May 2011 04:41:29 -0400

The Riddle of Steel was written by Jacob Norwood and Rick McCann and is published by Driftwood Publishing. It is a dark and gritty fantasy game set in the world of Weyrth where combat is swift and lethal. The game claims to have the most realistic RPG combat system ever devised. Some gamers would argue that point, of course, but the game can lay claim to the fact that ARMA (The Association for Renaissance Martial Arts) has given the game its stamp of approval. Of course, “realistic” does not alw…

game:the_world_of_darkness

Thu, 05 May 2011 04:41:17 -0400

The World of Darkness is published by White Wolf Game Studio. The game consists of a core rulebook and an array of supplemental materials, including Vampire: The Requiem, Werewolf: The Forsaken, and Mage: The Awakening. In White Wolf’s previous releases, The World of Darkness was really a common setting shared by similar but independent game systems. The latest release unifies all of the old disparate rules under one umbrella. The setting is modern Earth with a heavy gothic horror theme througho…

game:torg

Thu, 05 May 2011 04:41:12 -0400

Torg was developed by Greg Gorden and published by West End Games. It is a game set in a multi-dimensional universe in which the various “Realities,” or “cosms” (dimensions, universes), are at war. Specifically, modern day Earth has been invaded by no less than seven alternate realities. The various cosms battle over the most precious resource in existence: “Possibility energy.” Possibility energy allows the possessor to alter and expand the limits of reality and to shape it to his will. Using v…

game:universalis

Thu, 05 May 2011 04:40:58 -0400

Universalis (pronounced “universe-alice”) was written by Ralph Mazza and Mike Holmes and is published by Ramshead Publishing. It is a storytelling game that so defies common role-playing game design conventions that some people may balk at calling it a role-playing game at all. Universalis has no Game Master. Or, from another perspective, in Universalis all players are the Game Master. Players can create characters at will, introduce new plot elements, and even seize control of other players’ ch…

game:warhammer_fantasy_role_play

Thu, 05 May 2011 04:41:03 -0400

Warhammer Fantasy Role Play is published by Games Workshop Ltd. It is a traditional fantasy game that pits the forces of Law against those of Chaos with the heroes getting stuck somewhere in the middle. The main rulebook includes a broad overview of the “The Known World,” whose map is obviously a distortion of Earth’s map. It contains a number of lands, including “Albion” (England), “The Old World” (Europe), and “The New World” (North America). Player characters generally come from somewhere in …