The RPG Homebrew Extravanganza Thread

[Dxpenguinman]

Some more classifications:
* Talebiters
* Wordsmiths
* Covercrushers

I should expand on classifications; Pagebenders are stealthy enemies that serve as annoying swarm-types, Bindbreakers are like controller-types, Bookburners are ambushers, Talebiters are speedy but not that strong (like a recon enemy type), Wordsmiths are magical enemies with lexicon powers, and Covercrushers are those heavy hitters.

As for an assistant suggestion, Noctuans (derived from noctua in latin, meaning owl) - they're anthropomorphic owls in cloaks who rarely speak but spy on Readers closely.

[Quirk]

OP updated.

I've added some Librarians to the list: Former Head Librarian Dewey (now sadly deceased), the current Head Librarian Gurutenbaerg (who might be some gigantic clockwork machine), and the twins Abition and Recptorus (adapted latin for depart and return. they've got the whole red oni/blue oni thing going on, plus Janus and his two faces. Heads of the Book Return.)

And can I just say you guys are awesome? Because you are.

[ragmaan]

Many libraries have children's rooms, so that could be a region. Plausibly.

And then we have the Pages (as assistants).

They shelve the books and are the messengers between parts of the library. And they are literally dressed in pages of discarded books to remind them of the burden they carry!

I'm not sure which genre you're classifying these as (or maybe you'd make it the thriller genre) but:

______ Classes:
Political Thriller, Psychological Thriller.

Fanfic Class addition:
CrossoverFic (?)

I mean honestly, you can probably use some genre's as classes for others. It's practically multi-classing.

Here's a crack-realm though. The Book Mobile.

[Quirk]

All of that can work, I believe. The kid's room would definately be overseen a Librarian who serves as nanny. Resemblance to Mary Poppins, probable.

Also, I'm imagining the Book Mobile as like a runaway freight train that decided rails were for squares, and has been speeding around the landscape for centuries. The Librarian driving it is an absolute nutjob, and so most people can't get a book from the book mobile, because the mobile is going at a hundred miles an hour and is probably on fire.

BRB updating OP. Again.

EDIT: OP updated. Meet Librarians Poparyns the nannie, and Demendux, the mad conductor.

GREAT SCOTT it is late I need to go to bed.

[Dxpenguinman]

That just gave me an idea for a sort of transport system on rails for the entire library. Obviously, the transport system cannot encompass the entire library, so instead, there are hundreds of these transporters that move between a set number of stations, with each transporter having its own line/circuit. Still havent thought of a name for it yet though.

[Dxpenguinman]

I propose the currency be Lexicoins.

EDIT: there needs to be a character named General Knowledge, just because.

[Quirk]

Okay, okay, some new stuff:

General Knowledge - The beloved, gruff and mustaschioed Librarian who has sworn himself to fight ignorance in all its forms. Known for walking up to random people, shoving an encyclopedia into their hands and saying "You need this." He also has a very impressive trophy room.

Doctors - Humanoid Assistants in black robes, wide brimmed hats, and porcelain bird-beak masks, who repair and refurbish damaged and destroyed books. If you ask politely, they might fix you up too.

I'll get around to some basic fluff for genres sometime soon.

[Atlussart]

Some stuff I came up with :

Assistants :

Translators

Thos assistants are the backbone of any retinue worth of it's name , and beside doing the obivious implied in their name they can also provide adventurers with a rather large variety of services : from turning books of a different format into another , providing with info on the different realms of the Library ,to callously calling out any spelling mistakes their employers make :

Like the other kinds of Assistant they come in a rather large number of forms ,ranging from disembodied hands moved by arcane energies to chrome coated 'bots

[Dxpenguinman]

As the game mechanics will be very freeform, I propose a similar power design system to the one of Hero System. For those who dont know it, you basically have an array of general powers (force field, fire projectile) and a bunch of customizers for each power. You require points to purchase new powers for use (those points could be lexicoins) and perhaps make it so that you can only purchase powers from 'power vendors' scattered throughout the library. I wont design the specific way the mechanic works, just throwing ideas out there.

[ragmaan]

As the game mechanics will be very freeform, I propose a similar power design system to the one of Hero System. For those who dont know it, you basically have an array of general powers (force field, fire projectile) and a bunch of customizers for each power. You require points to purchase new powers for use (those points could be lexicoins) and perhaps make it so that you can only purchase powers from 'power vendors' scattered throughout the library. I wont design the specific way the mechanic works, just throwing ideas out there.

Bioshock? Nah.

The only way to gain abilities should be reading, or at the very basic form, words. In the book world, books are power. This is the L-Space pretty much.

Thought: Tattos should provide bonuses. As long as they have words of power! Or words anyway.

[Quirk]

As the game mechanics will be very freeform, I propose a similar power design system to the one of Hero System. For those who dont know it, you basically have an array of general powers (force field, fire projectile) and a bunch of customizers for each power. You require points to purchase new powers for use (those points could be lexicoins) and perhaps make it so that you can only purchase powers from 'power vendors' scattered throughout the library. I wont design the specific way the mechanic works, just throwing ideas out there.

Bioshock? Nah.

The only way to gain abilities should be reading, or at the very basic form, words. In the book world, books are power. This is the L-Space pretty much.

Thought: Tattos should provide bonuses. As long as they have words of power! Or words anyway.

Well, both can work. Powers are gained by purchasing or trading for books, and powers can be from the books themselves or tattoos and the like. Said tattoos are usually very powerful words and verses and quotes and whatnot, and are rather rare.

I just got off the phone with the friend who helped me make this up, and she and I had quite a few good ideas:

New enemies:
Bookworms (some are Dune sized)
Mary-sues (they're parasitic to fanfic authors)
Slenderman (He's Slenderman)
Autograph hounds (they're big dogs)
Water Molds

New Racial genre: Young adult fiction. Also, some basic physical descriptions to some of the other racial genres.

New Assistants:
Margineers - They scribble notes in the margins
Bookpackers - Wandering salesmen and traders of books.

New Areas:
Book Bazaars and Dropboxes - both places to purchase new books.

So yes, powers will be derived from books, which are bought and sold at the Bazaars, by travelling Bookpackers, or traded with locals. Books give characters powers. That sounds like a good start to the system to me.

Oh well, time to update the OP

[Varkarrus]

Non-fiction Supernatural Romance
:P

[Quirk]

Non-fiction Supernatural Romance
:P

It's possible, and as such I think there should be special rules stating that summoning a vampire significant other is grounds for the GM throwing their chair at you. Just in case.

heh. Non-fiction Science Fiction. Now that is what we call internal conflict.

[Dxpenguinman]

Ah, I just realized, powers are NOT skills, right? Skills are gained from leveling up in your class, and are genre-themed, whereas powers are gained from reading purchased books, and are trope-themed, I guess.

On another note, how are book bazaars and dropboxes different? I figured that bazaars are like markets, with the occasional rare deal, whilst dropboxes are like book vending machines.

[Quirk]

Ah, I just realized, powers are NOT skills, right? Skills are gained from leveling up in your class, and are genre-themed, whereas powers are gained from reading purchased books, and are trope-themed, I guess.

On another note, how are book bazaars and dropboxes different? I figured that bazaars are like markets, with the occasional rare deal, whilst dropboxes are like book vending machines.

Yeah, skills are class based, powers are from books.

Dropboxes have a far more limited selection of books, but they allow for quick communication with the Catalog Citadel, or quick transportation of books over long distances, like the pipes in LOWAS. Bazaars are your typical open air markets of varying sizes and levels of legitimacy.

[Dxpenguinman]

Cool, we should start designing some basic class fluff, and some basic library history.

[Quirk]

Cool, we should start designing some basic class fluff, and some basic library history.

Yup, sounds good. I have one sentence fluff for racial genre appearences, but that can wait until tomorrow to be fleshed out.

[littlequietguy]

I missed one of Fanfiction's classes (or a prestige class), the drabble. Maybe that doesn't count.

Also: Real Person fanfic. That's also a thing.

[Dxpenguinman]

What will the stats be named?

Stuff like ATTACK, DEFENSE, INTELLECT seems too bland.

EDIT: An assistant idea: Vendormen - Anachronistic steampunk robots who patrol and maintain Dropboxes throughout the library.

EDIT 2: Have some cheap rendered logo I made whilst bored:

[Quirk]

What will the stats be named?

BIBLIOBRAWLING and BOOKSMARTS for attack and intelligence. Can't think of anything off the top of my head for defense. I'm guessing we're only going to go with 3-4 stats to keep things simple?

[Karhs12]

All the stats now have to start with B.
It'll be like Andrew and his strife words. (Abscond, Assail, Aggrieve, Armamentify, Arf)

[ragmaan]

Supposing that the basic set up is
Strength
Agility
Intelligence

Brawniness
Briskness
Booksmarts

[ch00_bakka]

Charisma = Beauty. Or Briskness could work as cha/dex/agility like in KoL.


Also: so the readers all have the genres and classes? Is that based on what they like to read, or what?

I am also gonna fluff out a class like a boss.

Science Fiction, Lovecraftian/Cosmic Horror.
Cosmic horror. Lovecraftian fiction. Cthulhupunk. Whatever you choose to call it, the readers of this class believe in one thing: There is no hope for mankind. The Elder Gods, the Great Old Ones, the Horrorterrors, and the Dwellers Between the Worlds: chaotic evil god-beings that seek to destroy the world, try to subjugate humans, or just don't care enough not to step on us like the ants we are. All the "heroes" can do is delay them for a little while, light a match to banish the night. But the match will go out, and the darkness will spread in, the evil seeking humanity like moths to a flame. These Readers try to keep up their Briskness and Booksmarts, to better outrun and outsmart the agents of the Other. Or to help them in, so they may revel in the sweet chaos of the mad world the Gods will create.

The way I see it, Lovecraftian readers will fall into two subclasses, Investigators and Cultists. Or something like that. Unless I have completely misunderstood the whole idea.

[ragmaan]

Charisma = Beauty. Or Briskness could work as cha/dex/agility like in KoL.

Was trying for a KoL approach there For all the stats anyway.

But I think I need an example of a class fluff/description from the creator to see what to emulate in stylistic approach and content?

[Dxpenguinman]

ch00_bakka, that's some great fluff you wrote there, but I think that you've misread the classes idea.

Basically, classes are genres and subclasses are subgenres, with every class having access to every subgenre. That would mean, in your case, that Science Fiction is the genre, whilst Lovecraftian Horror is the subgenre.

But still, great work!

EDIT: So the stats are:

• BIBLIOBRAWLING (Attack/Strength)
• BRISKNESS (Dexterity/Agility)
• BOOKSMARTS (Intelligence/Wisdom)
• BEAUTY (Charisma)

Do we still need one for defense?

EDIT 2: How about BULWARKNESS for defense?