I'm homebrewing my own LoZ RPG and would love some ideas from you.
Main Points:
1. Heavy focus on grid, combat-as-puzzle type of game. The GM puts the map much like A Link to the Past on the table, with moving traps, pits, switches and crates alongside foes.
1.1 Because of that, I envision a combat similar to D&D 4E, with maneuvers that pushes, slides or have AoE.
1.1.1 This maneuvers are learned through the game, either by leveling up or by sidequests.
2. Group can be of any "major" race from the franchise.
2.1 Each race is governed by a Virtue (Power, Courage, Wisdom) and each race can choose from 3 archetypes, each archetype ruled by another Virtue. So a Goron (Power) Alchemist (Wisdom) is different from a Zora (Wisdom) Guardian (Power), even though both have 1 Power and 1 Wisdom.
My main concern is that I haven't chose the resolution mechanic yet:
1. I could keep myself in the safezone, d20 (or 3d6) + modifiers vs Target Number.
2. I really wanted to do something that recalls the Triforce, so I thought off:
2.1 With 3d6, but each d6 represents one Virtue (Power, Courage, Wisdom) or;
2.2 Using d4, since its pyramidal shape remembers the shard of Triforce. This way I could go on dice pooling, one d4 for each Virtue.
I'm having doubts about skills. I could go almost freeform (call a Virtue and how it can be used to fulfill the challenge - you could use Power/Courage/Wisdom to jump a pit based on how well you can convince the GM to allow it) or allocate skills to each Virtue (Athletics to Power, History to Wisdom...).
About weapon and armor, everyone can use anything, for simplicity and since I never saw Link learning the basics of anything - only advanced maneuvers, that are already covered on the main points.
>>43887842
https://1d4chan.org/wiki/Legend_of_Zelda_RPG
>>43889131
I'm aware, but found the system to be unnecessarily complex.
It all comes down to implementation, of course, but as a player, I'd be a bit put out by having 3 choices per race. My opinion would be that it would be better for designer and player to have, say, 9 global archetypes, than 3 archetypes times the number of races, from here until forever. If you have a feat, skill, or powers system, you could stick racial exclusives in there, without essentially saying that no Deku, Zora, Hylian, or Twili could ever pursue alchemy.
D4s are some of the least fun dice to roll-- they're called caltrops for a reason. They also aren't very volatile, so they're not particularly exciting until you're rolling a handful of them. 3dX could work, but what sorts of mechanics were you thinking of spinning out from each die being its own Virtue?
>>43889274
Once /tg/ has "made" a homebrew of a certain franchise they consider it done and you'll find it difficult to get good feedback on any of your ideas.
My suggestion would be to avoid d20 system like the plague, since everyone and their mother have abused it in every homebrew ever.
While the idea of d4's for their shape is thematic and has certain charm to it, I wonder if the options and percentages would be able to be fixed so the game is not unbalanced. If you think you can manage it, I say you go for it.
For Skills I guess I would go with:
>Skills for Dungeoneering
>Skills for Combat
>Skills for Social interactions
>>43889274
I'm always interested in a new LoZ game.
At first I was against your idea for pushes, slides, etc., but after thinking about it, this could be a lot of fun, and with modern computerized mapmaking and printing, it would be fairly easy for the GM to make new maps using Tiler or something.
Not a fan of "convince the GM how this aspect lets you do something". I like the idea of allocating skills to Virtues. Consider having a strict limit (like 2) on the number of skills a PC can have, which might mean they have to seek out NPCs whenever they need something out of the ordinary performed.
Strike!
Striiiiiiiiiike!
Seriously, take a look at Strike!; if for nothing else, for the combat side of things.
>Focus on Grid and Character Abilities to solve puzzles
Check out the FLOOR game thats hosted on /tg/ from time to time.
>Each Class has its own 'Action' stat that determines how many actions it can take a turn
>The default is 2. An action can be spent to Attack, use a class ability, move spaces equal to your 'move' stat, prepare a spell, de/re-equip any items or prepare a spell
>You can ascend 1 space with 1 action, i.e. cliffs. Someone can use a prepared action to let them ascend as part of a move action, allowing you to ignore the height difference
>Normal Attack Damage is done by comparing your current Attack Stat with the Targets Defense stat, because of the player heavy system no randomness is used.
>Magic Stat is both Magic Attack and Magic Defense
Check out Riddle of Steel or Song of Swords for good Knightly combat
>No HP System
>Many different weapons that play differently
>Easy to Homebrew for
>>43887842
I also didn't care too much for the direction the /tg/ homebrew version went.
If you'd like to discuss this and perhaps make some progress I'm willing to move forward with this.
There's also a dnd5e LoZ game floating around.
Is link an elf?
>>43887842
What would combat actually look like, though? I like your 3d6 idea, but is that against opposed rolls or flat defenses? How would the virtues come into play during combat?
What I'm forseeing is that each of the virtues themselves represents the creature's defenses. Different abilities will give them a change to those defenses: an attack with a sword might go against power or courage, but an enemy that adopts a shielding stance would be nigh-immune to those attacks... but an attack against wisdom with a boomerang might knock them in the side/back of the head, causing them to drop their guard.
>>43890943
>without essentially saying that no Deku, Zora, Hylian, or Twili could ever pursue alchemy.
The archetype name is more about that - archetypes than really professions. There is Hylians alchemists, but only Goron Alchemists can use with greater effect Bombs and Powder Kegs.
Also, I'm trying to work with little and then expanding to avoid creative exhaustion.
>>43891013
Yeah, d4 are nice thematically, but I'm struggling to find a smooth way to use it.
>>43891053
The slid/push mechanic is nice for when you have anything other than a blank room in the dungeon, and LoZ is expert in making enjoyable challenges. Even pure combat ones can be made interesting - see the Lizalfos battle at Dodongo's Cavern (Ocarina). In my homebrew there would be powers that could slide the foes into the lava cracks for extra damage.
>>43892440
Sorry, have a link?
>>43893452
Will check, thank you, although in my homebrew off course the HP will mean Heart Pieces, and every 4 HP is one Heart.
>>43893555
Any help is useful.
>>43895195
He's a Hylian, a human-with-pointy-ears, people-chosen-by-Hylia. My idea is making them the Humans of the setting - free to choose most of the starting options.
>>43895213
Still working on it. If 3d6, one for each Virtue, maybe each attack have a Virtue that rules damage and can be aimed against a specific defense, also with a Virtue.
So, if Tetra uses Mind vs Body (Wisdom attack vs Power defense), she rolls 3d6.
She get 3 (Power), 4 (Wisdom) and 6 (Courage), total 13.
The foe have a Defense Rating of 9 (Power 3, Courage 3, Wisdom 3), so the attack hits and damage is 13 - 9 = 4, plus the difference between the Wisdom roll (4) and the Power defense (3) = +1, for a total of 5 damage.
But only though of it now on-the-fly, could mean a lot of math to be done even with only one roll.
And one design choice is that the player always rolls: Attack roll vs Defense Rating of the monster, and Defense roll vs Attack Rating of the monster.
>>43895449
>4hp Hearts
Hearts are 8hp in the games
>So, if Tetra uses Mind vs Body (Wisdom attack vs Power defense), she rolls 3d6.
This 3d6 Dice Mechanic is very very weak.
It's' essentially the same as a Not-d20 system
Perhaps you should expand more on your 'Virtue' concept before you start trying to fill math holes.
So far all I think you have is Virtue + Race = Ability
>>43895449>Sorry, have a link?... sorryFound this: http://www.uploadmb.com/dw.php?id=1445958856
>>43895728
Like I said, was just what I thought out while writing the post. Still trying to make a nice way to escape from not!d20, but I grew with AD&D and GURPS, I easily think that way.
Also, I'm trying to avoid dice pools to keep the game quick.
>>43895737
Thank you.
>>43895449
Interesting. My only comment on using that system for damage is that low level enemies will be taking GOBS of damage, but bosses will be taking MAYBE one or two damage at a time, if that. This could be good, if all creatures are given an equal amount of HP, to demonstrate the resilience of bosses... but if high-level enemies have MORE hp, it will just become a tedious task to take them down. Be careful with that.
>>43895449
>And one design choice is that the player always rolls: Attack roll vs Defense Rating of the monster, and Defense roll vs Attack Rating of the monster.
That would make PVP pretty difficult unless you had some alternate mechanic to handle that.
I think the biggest design challenge is handling the variety of themes and settings that Hyrule's held over the years. For example, Wind Waker's tone is far removed from Twilight Princess, and games before the N64 had no Gorons or Kokiri. As well, Hyrule Warriors was a lot less puzzle-oriented; though it may not count since it's a side-game. Are you allowing all of these with a set of streamlined/alternate mechanics, or focusing on one version of Hyrule in particular?
>>43895808
Dice Pools can be done simply.
If they're contrived from Stats then the complexity isn't with the Battle System but with Character Creation.
Riddle of Steel & Song of Swords both contrive their Combat Pools from Attributes & Proficiency
Legends of Wulin gives you 5d+Rank per roll and has a mechanic to reserve rolled numbers to use later
You're going to be stuck in that not!d20 loop as long as your characters are just doing damage and losing HP.
>>43895959
Still working on it, but your assumption is great. Thank you.
>>43895995
I'm not working on PvP, but it would be simple to adapt once I have the math right.
My first Zelda game that I managed to finish was Ocarina, so that will guide the concept, if I try not to. But Zelda was always about exploration and dungeon delving with puzzles. Hyrule Warriors was a nice addition mechanic-wise to inspire new abilities, but I have still to play it (will wait for the 3DS version).
>>43896313
I have prejudice against dice pools because I think "more dice = more time to analyze the result". But thanks for the recommendations.
>>43898576
>more dice, more time to analyze
Care to play SoS with me awhile?
>>43889274
>I'm aware, but found the system to be unnecessarily complex.
It's not complex, it has one single core mechanic, Actions, and everything else is just ways of using them. And really long tables of stand alone abilities.
Why do people keep saying this?
