作者：Chris Stevens

我曾经说过：“人人都有自己的RPG”。我这么认为是因为我自己就写了若干RPG，有些甚至有数个版本。不过，我没有发布过任何一部RPG作品——我只是出于自己的兴趣、玩家的兴趣和发泄灵感才创作这些RPG的。当我想写RPG时，经常只是因为我想玩的游戏类型在市面上找不到或者我没有办法玩到。有时候，我甚至觉得我可以做出比现在的游戏更好的版本。

在本文中，我要谈的是创作自己的RPG时总结出来的错误以及解决办法。但是，发布RPG游戏挣钱是件困难的事，而且我肯定不够资历谈这事。

注：我不是职业写手，而且从来没试过拿游戏卖钱。

我已经创作了数篇RPG。不幸的是，大数分只写了10-30页就被我丢进垃圾箱了。然而，我的RPG创作经验确实丰富，真让我高兴……

game_writer(from entwdb.blogspot.com)

1、回想中学时（我对《无限英雄》的爱恨情仇就是这个时候产生的），我认为自己可以做出一款最好的超人游戏。我用Wordperfect软件把100多页的纯超人资料放在一起（题目就叫“超人”）。悲剧的是，原创性太低，于是我重写了——但还是觉得不够原创。所以我把整个文本都丢了。

2、之后我写了两个版本的《Militech》，是关于外星人和机器人的故事。太空战舰大战和全能战斗机大战、军衔、大量选项和一些超酷的插图给我和我的读者带来了许多乐趣。我甚至打印成6本带封面的书。不幸的是，我最终放弃这部作品，因为我拼拼凑凑，试图把受电影和书籍启发的新概念放进游戏里——于是写坏了。其实我应该留下那个RPG的，毕竟我花了那么多时间写它。

3、我的最后一次努力成果是《Nighthaven》，这是一个关于剑/魔法/黑社会的游戏。这个游戏集中了所有卖点。150多页，各种选项和漂亮的插图。当然，我必须把它打印成书。我们玩了许多次，我太喜欢它了。我对它的爱太深，以至于写出3个版本。（叹气）所以它最终被丢到书架上蒙灰了。我不停地往这部作品里添加概念，为了让它变得更好——结果我自己却无力驾驭它了。我其实应该专注于修改而不是填塞。

看吧，我对自己的游戏犯下这么多错误。那么，我为什么还写这篇文章？

我恨不得重写《Nighthaven》，但我不想再犯同样的错误。所以，我考虑了一下，把我过去遇到的障碍和错误都写下来，希望我不会重蹈覆辙。如果你也打算宣泄热情而创作RPG，希望我的经验能帮助你。

RPG创作的十条戒律

1、做一个“必做”表。做一个表把必须在游戏中解释的东西罗列出来。通常来说，一个章节和一个分节就要有这样一个表。我总是研究其他RPG在游戏中解释了什么东西，以确定我的游戏也做到了。确实，通过列表，你就有了一个计划，能防止你偏题。

2、不要拖延。想到什么马上写下来。不要担心你的想法是不是原创的或者够不够完整——你必须让想法活起来。不要坐在那里靠脑子想象。我曾经坐在电脑前好几个小时，只为了等我的手指在键盘上敲出合适的词汇。结果怎么着？这几个小时全白费了。一旦你有了一个初步设想，马上写下来。写，写，写。

3、背景，背景，背景。这是重点。你的系统机制或角色选项树可能很好，但如果没有同样新鲜、充实的背景作支撑，它们就无法保持长久的魅力。背景将玩家角色与剧情相联系，这才能让玩家对游戏保持兴趣。

4、专注于你头脑中所想的东西。你不必按顺序写游戏（所以你要做一个“必做”表）。如果你正在写某个特定的章节，比如PC竞赛，那就好好构思PC等级，好好写PC等级。当你只写头脑中想到的东西时，你会发现你的效率非常高，远远超过按顺序写。相信我。

5、借鉴他人的作品。如果你喜欢《龙与地下城》中的魔法设定，那就抄袭一下。或者，先抄袭后改良。学习现成的东西没什么不好，因为你只用在个人作品中（况且你还可能改进它）。另一方面，你也可以看看其他游戏中不太理想的部分，避免自己犯同样的错误。

6、保持简单。我的几次失败部分原因是，我自认为可以使格斗规则或者远程战斗或者下落伤害……更真实。于是，我在没有测试的RPG系统中添加更多规则。借助我的“显然非凡的才智”，突出游戏某些部分的真实感结果只是让游戏变得不能玩。游戏系统中充斥着大量前后不一致的规则，使游戏变得非常笨拙。所以，保持简单。还是那句，相信我。

7、考虑使用现成的游戏系统。与“保持简单”一样，为什么不在你的游戏中使用现成的系统，如《豪客天下》或《FATE》？这样非常省功夫和（更重要的是）省精力。当然，如果你的想法是以你自己设计的独特系统机制为基础的，那么无论如何，写下去——不过我提醒你，设计你自己的系统可能是一项费时、费力、沉闷的任务。使用现成的游戏系统可以节省大量测试时间。

8、偶尔的一次性测试。这有助于你调整数字、平衡力量，以及发现不管用的东西（需要大量说明的东西肯定是不管用的）。如果玩家记不住发动技能的8个步骤，肯定不会想玩你的游戏。

9、保持规则的一致性。当你设计你自己的系统时，一个常见的错误就是：专注于战斗的解决办法，而忽略冲突的解决办法。之后，你会发现你想不出如何处理能力、技能、魔法和社交互动之间的关系。当你已经设计出适用各种情况的单一机制时，你会很快想到几种不同的处理这些冲突的办法（副系统）。

10、停止改变。当你完成作品，向玩家公布时，你一定要抑制自己再做改变的冲动。现在是玩游戏的时间，不要再折腾它了。除非你发现某些东西确实严重损害你的RPG，否则就先别管它，让游戏保持现状。当然，你会发现错误、前后矛盾和力量失衡，玩家可以原谅这些不完美。但他们不能容忍因为你的改变而中断RPG。我最成功的两个游戏最终夭折了，就是因为我想改进它们。

但愿上述建议能够帮助你创作你自己的RPG——至少对我是有用的。以下是帮助你编写原创RPG的3点建议：

1、插图。我总是从网站找图片作为我个人RPG项目的插图。我甚至会根据自己的需要修改那些图片。图片有助于形像化游戏概念，从而帮助玩家理解游戏的概念。记住，不要把网上找来的图片跟游戏一起发布在网站上。我知道这么做是行不通的。

2、制做一个角色表格。制作角色表格的方法有很多。虽然还有其他许多（更适合）图像处理软件，但对于自创RPG，Microsoft Word或者Excel就够用了。在活页纸上写下玩家自己的角色是禁忌。这么做会让玩家不高兴。做一个角色表格，哪怕是很简单的一个。

3、让玩家容易看到你的游戏。如果我走省钱路线，我会用家里的打印机打印游戏，然后做成活页书给玩家。不过，我更喜欢拿去印刷厂打印。每本彩色带前后封面的线装本只要15美元。无论你有没有打印出来，总是要给玩家一份游戏的Word文档PDF。

我想，你创作自己的RPG是因为你想到了非常棒的背景、类型或机制，或者因为你对现有的游戏不满意。创作RPG是个大工程，你很容易就会浪费掉大量时间。我真心建议你先研究一下其他游戏，看看你是否可以修改其中一个为己用。这种办法可以很容易（而且很快）得到你想要的游戏。

当然，如果你已经读到这里了，那么你很可能就像我——你可能不仅从玩游戏中得到乐趣，而且也在创作游戏中收获快乐。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，拒绝任何不保留版权的转载，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

The 10 Commandments of writing an RPG

by Chris Stevens

I’ve said it before, “We all have our own RPG, right?”  Well, I assume that’s the case, because I’ve written several, and some of them have several editions.  No, I’ve never published any of my RPGs – they were always written for my enjoyment, my players’ enjoyment, and my need to vent creative brain vapor build-up.  Most often, I wrote them simply because I wanted to play or run a game (genre) that wasn’t really out yet or readily available.  Sometimes I even thought I could make a better version of an existing game.

In this article, I’m going to talk about some of the pitfalls of writing your own RPG, and how to overcome them.  Actually publishing a role-playing game for profit is a whole other ball of hot magma, one that I’m certainly not qualified to talk about.

*I am not a professional writer, and I’ve never tried to sell a game.*

I’ve written several RPGs.  Unfortunately, most of them were 10-30 pages destined for a fiery death in the recycle bin.  I did, however, have a few juggernauts that saw some serious game-time, so I’m very happy about that…

Back in high school (when my love / hate relationship with Heroes Unlimited began), I felt that I could make a better supers game than anything else out there.  Using Wordperfect, I put together 100+ pages of pure super material (titled “Supers“).  Unfortunately, it ended up being nowhere near original, so I rewrote it – only to find it still wasn’t very original.  So I just dumped the entire thing.

I then created two editions of Militech, which was a brilliant combination of Aliens and Robotech.  Space Marine combat and Versatile Fighter combat provided our group many hours of entertainment, complete with military rank, tons of options, and some cool (ripped) artwork.  I even had six books printed, complete with a cool front cover.  Unfortunately, I eventually killed the game because I kept tinkering with it.  I’d get inspired by a movie or book and then try to add those new concepts to the game.  I should have just left it alone, since a lot of time went into that RPG.

My last major endeavor was Nighthaven.  A Blade/Buffy/Underworld kind of a game.  This game had all the bells and whistles.  150+ pages, great options, and great (ripped) artwork.  Of course, I had to have it printed in book form.  We played this game through many, many sessions, and I simply liked it so very much.  I liked this game so much that it went through three editions.  <sigh> And that is what ultimately shelved it.  I kept tinkering with it, changing things, making the game “supposedly better” – and it simply ran away from me.  I really should have focused more on fluff than stuff.

So, where did I go wrong with all of my games?  And why am I even writing this article?

Well, I’m getting the itch to start developing Nighthaven again, but I don’t want to run into the same old problems.  So, I thought about it, and then came up with some of the roadblocks and pitfalls that I’ve faced in the past with the hope that I don’t make the same mistakes again.  If you’re looking to write your own RPG for fun, hopefully you’ll find this useful as well.

The 10 Commandments of RPG Writing

1.Create a “to do” list.  Create a list of things that need to be explained in the game.  This is most often a list of chapters and subchapters.  I always look through other RPGs to see what kinds of things get explained in those games, to help ensure that my game will be complete.  Really, in creating a list, you’re creating a plan of attack, one that will help you stay on track.

2.Don’t stall.  If you get an idea, go with it.  Don’t worry about your idea not being original or perfectly figured out – you simply have to get the ball rolling.  Don’t sit there trying to flesh it all out in your head.  I’ve sat for hours in front of my computer just waiting for the right words to mystically flow through my fingertips onto that keyboard.  And you know what?  Those were hours well-wasted. Once you get that initial idea, just go with it.  Write, write, write.

3.Setting, Setting, Setting.  This is important.  A great system mechanic or character options tree might be cool, but it won’t last when paired with a poor, uninspired, or under-developed setting.  A setting connects the player characters to the story, and that’s mucho important in keeping players interested in the game.

4.Only focus on what is on your mind. You don’t have to write your game from front to back (this is why you created your “to do” list).  If you’re working on a specific section – like PC  Races, but then get inspired about your PC Classes, work on your PC Classes.  You’ll get so much more done writing about what’s on your mind than if you try to finish one section before moving on to the next.  Trust me.

5.Steal what works from your competitors. Hey, if you like how Wizards formats their D&D Powers section, copy it.  Or, copy and alter it.  Whatever.  It’s ok to study what’s out there, because it just might work for your game (and you may even be able to improve it).  On the flipside, you can also check out things from games that don’t seem to work, and avoid making those mistakes.

6.Keep it simple.  Several of my failures occured in part because I thought I could make grapple rules more realistic, or ranged combat, or falling damage… whatever.  All that did was add more rules to an untested RPG system.  Using my “obviously superior intelligence” to make certain parts of the game more realistic only makes the game less playable.  It makes the game clunky, and opens your system mechanic to a vast set of inconsistent rules.  Just keep it simple.  Again, trust me.

7.Consider using an existing game system.  In line with keeping it simple, why not make your game using an established generic system, like Savage Worlds or Stands of FATE?  This is soooo much less work and (more importantly) less stress.  Of course, if your idea of a game is based off a unique system mechanic of your own design, then by all means, go for it – just remember that desiging your own system can be a daunting, time-consuming, tedious task.  Using an existing generic game system can easily cut out tons and tons of age-inducing playtest hours.

8.Playtest with one-shots on occasion.  This will help you adjust numbers, balance powers, and show you what simply doesn’t work (and anything that takes a lot of explanation certainly doesn’t work).  Players are not going to want to play the game if they can’t remember the eight-step process for determining initiative.

9.Make the rules consistent.  When you design your own system, a common error occurs – it’s very easy to focus on combat resolution while disregarding conflict resolution.  Then, later you’ll realize that you need to figure out how to handle ability checks, skill checks, casting spells, and social interractions.  Pretty soon you could end up with several different ways of handling such conflicts (sub-systems), when you should have devised a single mechanic that applies to just about every situation.

10.Stop making changes.  After you’ve finished your game and distributed it to your players, resist the urge to make changes.  This is the time to play the game, not work on it.  Unless you find something that is seriously breaking your RPG, leave it alone.  Just go with what you have and let it be. Sure, you’re going to find errors, inconsistencies, and power imbalance, but your players will forgive that.  They won’t forgive you for interrupting the campaign when you start making changes.  My two most successful games were ultimately killed because I kept trying to improve them.

That’s it, I think.  Hopefully this list will help you with your homebrew RPG project – I know it’ll help me.  Here’s a few more ideas to help make your original role-playing game a success:

1.Include artwork.  I always rip images off the web for my personal RPG projects.  I’ll even doctor those images to suit my needs.  Imagery adds a great element – it helps give the game flavor, and helps your players envision the game’s concepts.  Just remember, don’t post your game online with ripped images, and I know you’re not going to try to sell it that way.

2.Make a character sheet.  There are all sorts of ways to create a character sheet. Microsoft Word or Excel is usually fine for a homebrew RPG, though there are many other (better suited) graphics programs out there.  Really, having players write their characters down on some binder paper is a no-no.  Doing so will irritate your players. Make a character sheet, even if it’s a very simple one.

3.Make your game easily available to your players.  If I’m going the cheap route, I’ll print my game on my home printer (or at work) and put it into binders for my players.  However, I prefer to have it printed in a printshop.  I’ve done it for as little as $15 per spool-binded book in color, with front and back covers.  Whether you print it or not, give your players a Word document or PDF of the game (you can save as a PDF in Word if you want).

I’m assuming you’re writing your own homebrew RPG because you have a cool setting, genre, or mechanic that you’d like to play, or because you’re dissatisfied with the output of the current industry games.  Writing an RPG takes a lot of work, and can easily lead to a lot of wasted hours.  I really do first suggest looking at other games to see if you can modify one of them to suit your needs.  That could very easily get you the game you want (and much sooner), instead of starting from scratch.

Of course, if you’ve read this article down to this point, then you’re probably like me – you probably get enjoyment not just from playing the game, but in creating it.(source:stuffershack)