Subject:
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Re: Elements of a brick oriented RPG
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.gaming
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Date:
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Tue, 14 May 2002 15:45:58 GMT
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Viewed:
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3343 times
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Frank, this sounds like a game I would love to play. I'm such a visual
person that I feel like I miss out in standard RPG's. I like them, but a
hint of physical world like LEGO would be cool. Here are my suggestions to your
questions posed:
In lugnet.fun.gaming, Frank Filz writes:
> I've been thinking about combining my hobbies of The Brick and Role
> Playing. The question is what is the best way to go about it. Some
> questions I've been asking myself:
>
> 1. Do I go with an existing RPG and just use LEGO bricks to build sets?
Depends on how much you enjoy designing game systems. They can require some
play-testing to de-bug them. I suggest using LEGO scenery primarily for
important 'physical' settings- battles, tavern/cave investigation, campsites
that pose danger or plot movements like finding the Wicked Sword of Cruelty
under a bush.
> 2. Do I use LEGO minifigs, or do I use standard metal miniatures?
If you are using LEGO for anything, it should be the minifigs.
> 3. Do I use a rules light system, or a heavy system, or something in
> between?
Consider who is likely to play with you most often and choose a style that will
make for fun games with those people.
> 4. Do I use a canned setting, or build my own setting which is keyed to
> a LEGO theme?
The current LEGO themes are all good starts, but would not provide enough
'world' for a good game. Create your own or plan to expand on LEGO company's
'outlines'.
> 5. If I key the setting to a LEGO theme, do I try and maintain purity,
> or do I just use the theme as a starting point?
See above
> 6. If I don't go with an existing game, do I build from scratch, or do I
> start with an existing game, and adapt it?
Adapting an existing game is most likely going to give you a quick start and
allow for intergration of the LEGO aspect. I have a friend who has been
developing from scratch a new system, we've been waiting about a year now.
> 7. What is the intention of the game? A game for one off con events? An
> alternative RPG to give a break from something else? A long term
> campaign as a primary game?
Can't help you there.
> I'm very strongly thinking that I want to use LEGO elements for scenery
> and miniatures. This will limit the inhabitants of the setting to those
> easily representable by LEGO elements. A reasonable number of creatures
> exist, and many more can be built from bricks, so a wide range of
> settings should be possible. I'm mostly leaning to a fantasy setting
> since I find that is what I enjoy gaming the most. Science Fiction also
> works well and could be fun with LEGO.
You could also set up some 'symbolic' creatures. A 1x2 blue brick on a minifig
could 'symbolize' a orc, etc.
> There is some consideration of a Pirate themed game to interact with
> Evil Stevie's Pirate Game.
> ...
> I'd like to base the game heavily in an existing rules set to make it
> easier to recruit players (this makes me wonder if I should look at D20,
> though long ago I got tired of many of the elements of D&D).
You should definately look at the d20 system. It has some flaws, but is MUCH
simpler than AD&D 2nd Edition
> A brick based RPG clearly calls for a moderately detailed combat system
> which is tactical in nature (this would probably eliminate Everway for
> example [of course Everway's character generation system wouldn't
> interact with LEGO too well either I don't think]). On the other hand,
> the toyness of bricks suggest that the system should not be too serious
> or too detailed.
>
> I had been thinking of trying to use LEGO pieces to build the character
> sheet, but I think that wouldn't really work out (you'd be constantly
> looking at the rules to determine just what skills you had). On the
> other hand, keeping track of things like hit points and spell points
> screams out for use of bricks (for wounds, you can even use different
> colors for different meanings [red=wounds, blue=stun, green=poison]).
> Depending on the system, either a large plate or a baseplate could be
> used (20-30 hit points would fit on a 6x6 plate, magic users could use a
> 6x10 plate to have room for their spell points (even larger if they have
> things like crystals which store spell points, or familiars which have
> their own).
I think paper sheet rules would make the game faster and more fun. I've looked
at Yet Another Lego User's Game instructions on stat 'sheets' using brick and
it requires either an excellent memory or a paper sheet that translates. Stick
to the paper.
> It might be interesting to produce printed tiles for all the equipment
> used in the game. Then you can just stick the tiles onto a plate and
> have an easy record of your equipment, and encumbrance could even be
> based on the space taken on a plate by all your equipment. Things like
> arrows could be represented by bricks where different colors represent
> different quantities (though don't use too many colors). An alternative
> would be to just assume the quiver is the main encumbrance, and just
> keep track of the arrows separately.
> ...
> Character's minifigs should try to be representative of what the
> character wears, but need not be absolute. Perhaps the system should
> encourage modest or light armor so not everyone is wearing a helmet. A
> fair range of armor is certainly representable given the variety of
> armor pieces, and torso printings.
> ...
> I would make the campaign mostly human centric, but some non-humans are
> clearly useable. I don't usually do elves in my FRPGs because they
> generally are just set up as humans which are better at magic. Some of
> the possible races (not all would be available for PCs):
In the games I've played, Elves tend to be slighter, faster, weaker, but more
agile. No magic preferences implied. Just a thought...
> - human
> - dwarf (use stubby legs)
> - wookies
> - ewoks (well, maybe not - though I'm not personally offended by them)
> - goblins
> - cat people (Fabuland head)
> - rat people (Fabuland head)
> - wolfman (new head or Fabuland)
> - Stingrays
> - Bulls
> - undead (skeletons, mummies, Darth Vader heads)
> - lizard men (Fabuland head)
>
> I think I would be inclined to restrict PCs to human, dwarf, goblin, and
> perhaps cat people (the Fabuland cat head is just to nice [almost cute,
> but not absurdly so, and hey, I'm a sucker for cats]). I'd probably
> allow rat people also (I've used rat people in some of my FRPGs as a
> race which lives in the undercity, too bad the Fabuland head looks a
> little to goofy for such a shadowy racial concept.
>
> I think I would set up the campaign to be strongly centered on a modest
> town for which the important buildings and their neighborhoods could be
> constructed as permanent sets. I've got some ideas on modular dungeon
> pieces which would make it easy to set up dungeons for exploration (the
> ease of this compared to building wild expanses of wilderness suggest a
> return to the dungeon oriented campaigns, but with care, plenty of
> outdoors can be done also).
This part sounds great!!!! Perhaps the town was built on an old city and the
dungeons have been partially dug out. The single town would allow you as you
say to keep it constructed, but add new NPCs and decoration, and allows for a
strategy/mystery plot style. It would limit how many people-eating monsters the
players could encounter.
> I welcome additional thoughts and ideas.
>
> FUT: lugnet.fun.gaming
>
> Frank
Good luck
Aaron Sneary
BrikWarrior
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: Elements of a brick oriented RPG
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| (...) Well, I do enjoy designing games (I've been a game designer almost as long as I've been playing war games - shortly after getting Tactics II, I designed a new board for it, I started fiddling with D&D [the original Basic D&D in the blue cover] (...) (22 years ago, 15-May-02, to lugnet.gaming)
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