My efforts continue.
Confession time. I thought this was going to be a lot easier at first blush than it has turned out to be. I’m still going strong. I’m still going to at least have one if not two proposals done under deadline.
My plan was to pull out one of my many, many system agnostic campaign worlds and just plug the Basic Roleplaying: The Universal Engine system into it. That seemed awesome on paper. Then I got into the weeds on this project and suddenly it’s become a, well, a challenge. Don’t get me wrong- this is the kind of challenge I enjoy.
Disclaimer: Statements expressed in this article are strictly my opinion. If you disagree or have a different opinion, that’s okay. I’m not an expert on everything. I’m not always right. I’m just writing from my experience as I know it. Your mileage may vary.
I’ve been coming up with campaigns and campaign worlds for decades.
I’ve had so many “cool” ideas in my head and on paper for years that I’ve lost sight of them all. Some are just a few hastily scrawled lines in a journal or a notebook somewhere. Others are in a notebook of their own because they contained more detail than I could jot down in five minutes.
I remember when I first got the Star Wars RPG from West End Games back in 1987 I thought, “What am I going to do for planets?” You can only visit Tatooine and Hoth so many times, after all. My first characters were smugglers and as such were going to need ports of call and secret bases to hide away on. (Have I mentioned I started solo roleplaying many years ago?) I started designing planets.
One of the first worlds I built was a forest world. I hadn’t been officially acquainted with Traveler yet and there wasn’t a heap of material for Star Frontiers at our disposal in those days, so I didn’t have a handy dandy planet generator or anything. I was going widely off of Star Wars canon worlds and what I gleaned from Star Trek in terms of designing planets. My freshly discovered forest world turned into an entire Dungeons & Dragons campaign world.
Planet creation kept growing into world creation alongside Star Wars prep. I was also dreaming up new worlds and entire campaigns before I went to sleep at night. I only wish I had written more campaign ideas down back then. That’s okay, though. I made up for it later.
Along came universal game systems.
I don’t remember exactly which universal game system I discovered first. I think it was Big Eyes, Small Mouth from Guardians of Order. It could have easily been Steve Jackson’s GURPS. I think GURPS is probably the first and foremost universal game engine ever invented, but that’s not why we’re here, is it? The disadvantage of GURPS is its level of complexity. It has been said that if there’s a sourcebook to be made for something,
The d20 System was born out of The Open Gaming License. Remember the Great OGL Debacle of 2023? It’s the document Wizards of the Coast tried so hard to destroy. I built any fun number of worlds for d20 from mecha to science fiction and horror. Mongoose and Green Ronin made some killer sourcebooks full of even more ideas. Unfortunately some of those files are locked up in laptops past, but that’s still okay.
I discovered FUDGE, FATE, BareBones d10, and so many other cool universal games over the years. Cartoon Action Hour from Spectrum Games actually ended up being one of the most productive game systems ever. Phrasing things as playsets is just plain fun. I love superheroes, action figures and cartoons about both.
Even now I’m on a quest for that perfect system. Cypher, ICRPG, W.O.I.N, and Everyday Heroes are within easy reach on my shelf. I’ve built so many system agnostic titles and they’re kinda like my children. I’m pretty nervous about letting any of them out into the world. (I have four kids IRL, so it’s relatable.) Some things have open licensing while others have no licensing which means no-can-sell online or anywhere else. (I always give attributions where necessary when I do attempt to sell.)
About selling stuff.
One of the reasons I start coming up with a new world every time I pick up a new system is on the off chance I can sell it. I’ve even reached out to certain creators to see if there’s a niche one of my campaigns can fill or if I can write a sourcebook for the game. So far every attempt has met with absolute failure.
I kinda get it. I’m a control freak, too. If I owned a game company, which is becoming a reality, I probably wouldn’t want a lot of additional input right away, either. Profit sharing was never my goal, just creative collaboration and maybe a foot in the door of the TTRPG industry. I feel sad when I think the TTRPG community, industry, etc has become cliquish and nepotism runs rampant. This is obvious all the way from Wizards of the Coast all the way down to individual authors on the DMsGuild and DriveThruRPG.
Do I want to make money? Do I talk about the Law of Attraction every other day? Yeah. I want to roll in cash and do kind things for all of my friends in the industry and out. I want to share my expressions and entertain as many gamers as possible. Money is awesome, but what we do with that money is truly great.
Has anyone ever gotten rich making TTRPGs? We used to think it was impossible. Then in 2023 we saw how many Kickstarter projects go six digits or higher? I’m all kinds of proud and amazed by those beautiful people.
I’ve seen very few TTRPG creators get a foot in the door without connections.
That’s just my observation after 40 years watching the industry (give or take.) I think everyone seems to know someone that’s already been making games. Even my beloved Kelsey Dionne of the Arcane Library knew a bunch of Gygax’s crew before she started writing adventures and Shadowdark. It seems like everyone who’s anyone in the TTRPG industry catches a few breaks somewhere.
What am I doing wrong that I haven’t hit the big time yet? Well, I’m a little isolated save some friends on social media. I don’t get out to run convention games like I used to. Local conventions in Iowa have dried up almost completely and I have family obligations every weekend. (Four kids.) Even if I had the time, there’s still that pesky money issue. (Isn’t that always the case?)
See also: cliques and nepotism. Take one look at WotC, Paizo, Kobold Press, and even some of the smaller publishers such as Sly Flourish. They play musical staff with one another. Every other writer has worked on some other 🦆🦆’s product. Don’t even get me started on Darrington Press.
That’s why the BRP Design Challenge is so beautiful yet terrifying to me.
I considered the previous edition of BRPG, but I kept passing on it due to the lack of an open license and its obvious semblance to Call of Cthulhu. When I heard the new BRP was under the ORC License, I was sold. Thank you Great OGL Debacle of 2023.
When the BRP Design Challenge was announced, I was head over heels in love with the idea. I’m still very excited a month later. Every now and then a little fear creeps in because I really want this one! This is my chance to get a foot in the door that I’ve always wanted. If this is successful, I feel like I can finally branch into something else or just keep going for a good relationship with Chaosium.
Chaosium is no small game company and I feel like a foot in the door there would lead to a lot of awesomesauce opportunities. I might not become a Chaosium shill, but I’d definitely owe them one if they give me a chance to live out my lifelong dream of becoming a real TTRPG designer. (Yes, I’m geek gushing everywhere.) Call of Cthulhu is the number one TTRPG in Japan, after all. (I’ve always wanted to visit Japan as a complete side note.) Heck yeah I want to impress Chaosium!
The challenge of not overthinking everything.
This article has gone longer than the three or four paragraphs I originally intended. (Nervous Lol.) This design challenge has been in my foremost thoughts for quite a while now. It’s pretty important in the overall scheme of things.
Will it work out perfectly? I don’t know. All I can do is take what I learn from this project, rain or shine, and apply the lessons to the next one. Right now that $2,500 to develop my digital game zine is looking pretty attractive.
Thank you for being here today with me. I appreciate you. Please embrace the things that bring you the most joy.
Jeff's Game Box 