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Grumpy, yet verbose.

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Perfect video game-based RPG setting.

Sorry it's been a while. Taking my GM hat off lately has led to less bizarre ponderings and flipping through rulebooks. But I had an amusing thought this morning that I thought I'd share.

Normally I'm against taking things like computer games and turning them into an RPG setting, but this one is nigh-perfect.


Seriously. This game is a terrific sandbox. IMO, a minecraft-based campaign would be a lot of fun! Imagine this:


  • Your character(s) find themselves in a strange land, utterly without equipment.
  • The world is nigh-uninhabited and full of different climates/terrain.
  • Monsters come hunting by night.
  • Some monsters can destroy defenses (creepers, endermen).
  • You have the skills to survive, but there is no set plan to exactly how you go about it.
    • You can wander and explore
    • You can build and fortify
    • You can look for other people
    • You can grow/raise food or hunt/gather
  • Eventually, you may find natives (NPC villages), and trade with them (or raid them for food and supplies).
  • There is great wealth, but it isn't lying around. You have to explore deep caverns and dig it out of the earth!
  • Occasionally you encounter a treasure chest, but it's often gear and food more than magic or wealth.
  • Resource management is KEY. You need food, you gear wears out, your ammo runs out, and you can only carry so much stuff.
  • You can enchant items (with the proper equipment), make potions, travel to other dimensions, sail the oceans, and gather wealth.
  • There are lost temples and strongholds, too. 
  • If you really want, you can go fight a dragon.
Granted, in a tabletop RPG you might have more than just a few of the same monsters over & over, and maybe there's a point at which you can get back to civilization with piles of gold, but the concept is basically the same. 




4 comments:

  1. I notice you left out the crafting portion of the game -- which would admittedly increase the bookkeeping quite a bit.

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    1. You can totally do crafting, albeit probably with resources a little more abstract than being measured by block.

      I envision a series of tables, gear wear vs. yield per man hour of mining, etc. Repairs could be done if you lacked the materials to fashion a whole new tool. Much like when you combine two worn out picks to make a new one in better condition.

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  2. That sounds like a lot of fun, actually. Almost like your typical "shipwrecked" scenario, and it could work in pretty much any system.

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    Replies
    1. Yes, exactly. I don't know that I'd use a class & level system, though. If I did, just to be an SOB, I'd probably institute spell components, or leave out spell-casters entirely. Potions and magic items are enough. I certainly wouldn't like to much clerical turning of undead :-p

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