ForumsForum Games[GUIDE] How to create an RPG in this forum

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obould
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obould
712 posts
Nomad

Hey guys, me again. If you remember the last thread on how to PLAY an RPG, this will be fairly similar, only focusing on the creation/narrating aspects of the game.

PART 1: All rules about being a player still apply!

PART 2: BASICS OF CREATION

a) Every RPG has the same basics. They all have storylines and player's. If your RPG is missing it's storyline, it will not get many players. If your player's have no storyline, more are less likely to join.

b) When click the 'New Topic' button and are planning on creating a new RPG, first ask yourself a few questions
I) What is this RPG about?
II) What sets your RPG apart from other current RPGs?
III) Why will the community stick with my RPG?
IV) How many players are welcome to join my RPG?
V) What will I do if people ask for change in my RPG?
VI) Will my players interact with each other or be on their own?

All of these questions are important, and must be known BEFORE creating your RPG. If you do not know the answers to these questions, DO NOT MAKE YOUR RPG!!!

PART 3: THE CHARACTER SHEET

When you create your RPG, you generally have the players of your RPG make characters. This is generally done through the use of a character sheet. Of course, there are other ways, but that will not be covered. You will need to find those for yourself.

A basic charactersheet has the character's age and several attributes. You can also add a description of the character and different types to the character to make the game more interesting. A general character sheet may look like this.

EX --> Name:
Level: 1
Hit Points: (Your Vitality)
Strength: (Your ability to deal damage)
Defense: (Your ability to resist damage)
Agility: (Your speed in battle)

Above, you can see a VERY simple character sheet. You, as the creator, may ask the players to use a certain number of points, say 10-15 for this one, where every point used in Hit Points = 5 hit points. The player would copy your character sheet, and make one similar to this, using 13 points:

EX --> Name: Zedugai
Level: 1
Hit Points: 20
Strength: 5
Defense: 2
Agility: 2

This would be posted, with slight differences by the player, on EVERY POST that they make in character, and EVERY POST that YOU make responding to their actions. ONLY YOU can change their sheet once the RPG is started, unless you say otherwise.

PART 4: CONTROL

a) You are in control of the RPG at all times. Never back down to the players if you do not want to. That doesn't mean ignore thier suggestions, but if they declare an outcome of an action, you don't have to go with it. YOU decide outcomes, THEY decide thier actions.

b) If a player asks you a question about the game, or why something happened, answer them. When you do this, you start to become much more popular with the RPG community, making newer RPGs much more popular, with more characters and richer storylines.

PART 5: CONTINUING YOUR STORY

If your adventure takes off, you need to keep changing and adding to your storyline. If at any time you get stuck, ask your players, for they are likely to know how they want to play in your adventure. Don't be araid to ask your players! They don't bit! Most players are looking to be interacted with more than just through the story of the game.

PART 6: MOVING ON

If you ever want to move on from your adventure, first consult your audience. If most of the players would like to continue, you have a few choices. You can find a player that verymuch enjoys the RPG to run it for the rest of it's existance, or you can ask me. I enjoy running RPGs of any kind, unless they are based off of Twilight :P. Aside from that, you can also ask your friends if they would like to help you out and run it.

PART 7: VACATION

Always alert your player's when you will be absent from the RPG for some time. If you are going for more than a week or so, you should probably have one of the better players run it for a while while you are gone.

Well, that's my tutorial. I hope you learned something from reading it! Please comment if you have any questions about creating an RPG. You can also contact me through my 'about' page.

Thanks again,
--> OBOULD <--

  • 178 Replies
SirNoobalot
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SirNoobalot
22,207 posts
Nomad

nice-sticky anyone???

locoace3
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locoace3
15,053 posts
Nomad

yeah this is only guide to make RPG's here although i could never do all that

Renjineon
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Renjineon
3,912 posts
Nomad

lol neva doubt look at sirnoob he doin like 4 well 3 wit some help

obould
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obould
712 posts
Nomad

Thank you guys! I have been hoping to get this stickied,but none of the mods have responded yet... It feels good that someone with a reputation like Sirnoobalot would ask for this to be stickied!

SirNoobalot
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SirNoobalot
22,207 posts
Nomad

i have a reputation??? jeez i just got into rpg making!

locoace3
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locoace3
15,053 posts
Nomad

i'm friends with a guy with a reputation???....cool!

obould
offline
obould
712 posts
Nomad

I have looked at your RPG's SirNoobalot, and I like how you do it. If you ask your participants, I'm sure that they would say the same. Keep up the good work!

locoace3
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locoace3
15,053 posts
Nomad

i am a participant and he is really good at it i'd give his RPG's a 5/5

sonicheroes95
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sonicheroes95
13,701 posts
Peasant

i'm just glad we have a few good RPG makers here....

*looks at obould, then SirNoobalot*

SirNoobalot
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SirNoobalot
22,207 posts
Nomad

thank you =D. i guess i really am good... hehe

Secretmapper
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Secretmapper
1,748 posts
Nomad

There was already a thread about this in the S&S.

sonicheroes95
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sonicheroes95
13,701 posts
Peasant

actually, that wasn't about how to create an rpg, but rather, armorgames not becoming a MMO

Secretmapper
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Secretmapper
1,748 posts
Nomad

@sonic
No, it was perfectly about creating an rpg. I doubt you have read it. That was a pretty old thread.

Cenere
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Cenere
13,658 posts
Jester

1. Stickied.

2. Note that this only goes for, well, hack and slash-ish rpg. Or I guess, not for story telling games, which is the awesome type of rpg that never happens, which is sad.
This is like DnD, while story telling games are like WoD. If that makes sense.
Makes Cenny sad.

knight_34
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knight_34
13,822 posts
Farmer

I have to say, this is a very good guide. There is an apparent lack of instructions when it comes to making games for the Forum Games section, so we get a number of failed/poorly executed RPG threads. Despite the fact that it is usually expected for people to be aware of the rules and guidelines of making a pen and paper RPG. Yes, these are much like those except for the fact that typing is used.

Thus, having this here will definitely provide guidance.

Heh, it's been some time since I remembered anything being stickied.

A few suggestions..

Increase the length (I think it ought to be good to update this when you have more to add) and use bold for the headings and subheadings.

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