so phase 1 is done

I have my setting.  Now I need people to populate it.  To do that I need a stats system.  My partner and I have plans to come up with a custom D20 system that is stats based.  Googleing around you lots of skill based systems, but not  stats based ones.  We figure this is due to player abuse.  However we won't have this problem.  I sound very confidant.  It's cause I am.  Either my players will actually role-play their character and not abuse the system or I will kick them out.  It's as simple as that.  I know all the people who I'm planning to ask to play and I trust them to develop real characters, not math equations.  We are in it for the role-play, the interaction, not rules.  I want freedom for good story telling, not someone looking up some obscure reference in a stack of books.

We plan to have it so that the GM has the final say in whether something is doable with the stat.  The player can make a case, and the other players can voice an opinion.  The decision will ultimately be with the GM.  This could lead to abuse on the GM's part.  My players will have to trust that the GM is not out to get them...much.

This system will not be good for most groups.  It is only going to work for us because of the unique blend of people we happen to be.  Despite all this I will post all details of the system we work out here for anyone interested in using it.  But I want it made clear that we are not proposing this as an alternate to the D20 system we all know at hate.  This is a system we are developing to meet our specific needs as role-players.  Le sigh.  This will be my first GM experience.  I love being a player character, and I think I will miss it.  It's fun coming up with all this information for the world, and reading about what other GMs have done with games.  The elaborate and cool schemes they come up with and orchestrate.  Between reading the comments from Darths and Droids and stuff Howard says on Shlock Mercenary  I get these really grand ideas of what is possible. I also realize that I'm never going to be as great or creative a GM as a lot of people out there.  But I think I can do a passable job, and it will make me a better player character in the future.

Now for a to do list of what else will need to be prepared for the campaign to commence on schedule on December 31st!

-timeline competed
-system worked out
-NPCs rolled and worked out
-loot worked out
-plot finalized
-props purchased
-player characters confirmed
-playing times scheduled
-character sheets and supplies complied

Well that's not to bad to get done in a....shit I only have a month and a half left.  Crap.


----a