I’ve been playing RPG’s for a while. Not necessarily a long while. I’m not one of those guys who can remember getting into the original Dungeons and Dragons, or even liking AD&D. I got into it somewhere in the 90’s. So granted, its not a really long run. However, it was long enough at that time to notice how fundamentally flawed so many games seemed to be. It really bothered me how certain aspects of the games were simply there for the sake of the designer. It was like a flawed retelling of how things were. Games were mostly designed with the developer’s idea of how it should be represented. The problem I had with this is that most of the time it seemed like the rules for things were generally just made to get a result that fit within the scope of the world. Then, they would make sure that my character would have to fit within their pre-determined idea of what the game’s reality should be.
I have serious problem with that. I hate being limited by someone else’s idea of what my fun should be like. I get a game, it should be mine, through and through. It just felt like they couldn’t figure out a better way so they did it the best way they could and then forced the rest on us. It didn’t take long for me to start changing their plan.
When I stared running my own games I house ruled a lot. I found out that doing this was just plain impossible. House rules invariably break something, requiring another house rule, which would require another. It came to a point where every game session would have a point where we would have to fix a house rule. Eventually I learned the truth, all of the text in the book that said “Make this game your” and like minded nonsense was just a false sense of empowerment. It was a lie. Sure I could change things, but that would break the game.
The problem was that each system within the game system was a miniature game system. Take magic as an example. Magic would be a completely different system than anything else in the game. However, it is so firmly intertwined in the game that if changed, it unbalances the framework between character classes, advancement, etc. To fix advancement or relationships between classes I have to fix just about everything.
So I eventually decided that if I were going to have to rebuild the game, I should just start from scratch. However, I would base the game on an underlying idea, not a system, and build systems independent of each other. That is why magic in E-RPG is the way it is. It looks so familiar to the rest of the rules, but still seems different in some small way. This is because ultimately magic is still a skill test, not unlike an attack skill. In an attack you roll to perform, and then you roll to see the effect of the performed skill. That is exactly what magic is. So the effects vary, but ultimately it is the exact same system.
It continues on through modern, and will continue into sci-fi. It is constantly a game of rolling performance, and then rolling to see the strength of the performance. A hit to damage roll. In Modern things depend more on our technology. We roll for our manipulation of that technology, but then the tech takes over to a degree. So even in Modern, underneath the layers of attributes for your vehicles and computer equipment, is still the same philosophy. This makes E-RPG one of the easiest, if not the easiest, systems to manipulate. You can alter any system in the game, and it will not hurt anything else. It was designed so that a system in the game can get a complete overhaul without changing the overall dynamic of the game.
I think that is an important note about E-RPG. If you don’t like something, then change. Try to break it. I haven’t and I’ve tried for over 8 years.
