r/RPGcreation • u/SeniorArcanine • 7d ago
Worldbuilding Looking for creative collaborators for several original settings, as well as a heavily modified D&D bases system
Hey everyone, I’ve been working on what started as a heavily modified version of Dungeons & Dragons for quite a long time now, and I’m finally reaching the point where I’d really like to find some other creative people to build with.
This is not really a “looking to hire someone” post. I’m looking more for like collaborators or creative types who enjoy this kind of thing and might want to actually contribute to a project together. I've VERY passionate about this stuff, and spend a lot of my time on it... and having people to share this sort of passion with would be awesome! (outside the players in my game of course, who only get to see the results and not the creation. lol.)
I’ve been DMing with my modified rules on Roll20 for over seven years, so this isn’t just a new thing I'm just starting. Most of the major mechanical changes already exist and have been used extensively in actual campaigns, and have also gone through years of tweaking based on how they feel at the table. The reception from my players has generally been extremely positive, especially toward a few of the larger systems I’ve created. Two of the biggest examples are my Magic School based magic system and my Fighting Stance system.
Magic has been heavily reworked from standard D&D. I wanted spellcasting to feel like something characters actually develop expertise in rather than simply selecting spells from a list every few levels. My main gripe with 5e's system is that 1, it's too limiting and 2, it's a bit illogical (in a certain sense). Like if I, as a Wizard, take Fireball, but I don't take Create Bonfire, then I have sooo much control over fire that I can shoot a giant fireball... but so little I can't catch logs on fire? I wanted my system to have a logical flow within the setting, but also be more magical and whimsical, allowing players to create their own spell effects. This is by far my most popular system I've created.
The fighting stance system does something similar for martial characters. Instead of combat mostly becoming “I attack again,” characters can develop different styles and approaches to fighting that change what they are capable of doing in combat. And, using a Bonus Action, they can swap between known styles, having different answers to specific situations. One Barbarian might approach fighting trying to grapple constantly with their Lockdown Stance, or switch to defending the weakend Sorcerer with their Guardian Stance. To be honest, the main reason I came up with the Fighting Stance system was because my magic system was so well recieved, people didn't want to play martial classes. But I now love this system too and martials are used a lot more often again.
There are a lot of other changes as well. Overhauls to Character Creation, tactical rules, altered conditions, parrying system, changes to positioning, new classes and subclasses, custom races, monsters, and a lot of smaller rules that have accumulated and evolved through actual play over the years.
At this point, though, one of the things I enjoy most is worldbuilding. I have multiple original settings that I’ve been developing that all sit in my "planarverse". I still use the base idea of the Cosmic Wheel or the Great Wheel... but I have changed so much of how the planes around the wheel are... as well as how the Great Tree leads to other Great Wheels (think parallel universes)... or how there are wheel sized planes (think alternate dimensions)... etc... Lore building is one of my favorite parts.
The setting I am running my Monday game in is set in Avaron, which is one of the great continents of Torrenia (One of the Material Planes). My Sunday game, which will be starting in 2 weeks, is set in Caelondria, which is quite a bit east of Avaron.
Another is Asterion (working title. lol), an Ancient Greek-inspired fantasy setting I’ve been developing. Its gods are not simply renamed Olympians. The central pantheon begins with four mortal brothers who ascended into godhood and divided fundamental aspects of reality between themselves, then took their new found divinty to an undeveloped plane and made it their own. From there I’ve been building the mythology, divine politics (my favorite part), islands, city-states, cultures, monsters, heroic traditions, and history of the setting around that foundation.
And that is generally how I like creating things. I like figuring out why cultures developed the way they did, what people believe, how their religion affects everyday life, etc. The problem is that I am very much a creator first. I love coming up with mechanics. I love lore. I love designing classes, gods, monsters, cultures, characters, magic systems, combat systems, blah blah blah.
What I am considerably less experienced with is taking this pile of material and turning it into an actual professional-looking tabletop RPG book.
So I’d love to meet people interested in any of the following:
• Game design: Someone who likes discussing mechanics, balance, combat systems, classes, progression, and generally tearing systems apart and rebuilding them better.
• Worldbuilding/lore: Someone who wants to bounce ideas back and forth, create cultures, mythology, history, factions, characters, monsters, religions, locations, and entire settings together.
• Art: Someone interested in fantasy character, creature, environment, map, or book artwork who would enjoy helping establish the visual identity of the worlds.
• Book/layout design: This is probably the area where I personally have the least experience. Someone who understands how actual RPG books are organized and formatted, page layouts, tables, sidebars, chapters, indexes, PDF layout, print formatting or anything along those lines would be incredibly helpful.
You absolutely do not need to be a professional. I am definitely not a pro. Just a nerd that likes nerding out. I just figured, since I do this soooo often, would be awesome to do it with some cool, like-minded people.
Right now I mostly want to find other creative people and see what happens when we start putting our brains together.
If you love TTRPG design, worldbuilding, lore discussion, fantasy art, or book design, I would genuinely love to talk.
Feel free to comment or DM me. I’d be happy to show examples of the rules, settings, lore, and systems I’ve already built.
2
2
u/Ambi0V1str4 6d ago
I have a project that im reviving for 5e if youre interested in collaboration. I sent details as a message
1
2
u/romeowillfindjuliet 6d ago
Not sure if they'll delete these, but here are two different discord channels for just such things.
1
1
11
u/TalesFromElsewhere 7d ago
In general, these sorts of posts struggle to drum up interest, mainly because most folks are working on their own systems and aren't interested in fulfilling someone else's dream, particularly when it's largely based on modern D&D.
It's generally a better approach to engage in community discussions (here, Discord, etc), where folks can offer insights, advice, and constructive criticism. Start a discussion about a type of mechanic, see how others tackled a similar problem, etc.
I don't say this to discourage your passion, far from it! I'm just attempting to direct your passion toward avenues that are more likely to help you achieve your goals.