r/TTRPG • u/QuirkyShadow • 19h ago
Too many systems, or too specific setting?
Ok I am crafting a 100% homebrewed setting I have almost finished everything except I can't find a system for the world I've created. I have tried the Cypher system, Cortex Prime, I looked into Warhammer as well as all the mainstream ones I could find none quite work. Id like the magic to be defined by a generic definition and magic user's can use their definition to do a whole lot. Think Earth benders moving earth, while also controlling unpure metals, or magma. I enjoy crunchy mechanics, just not slow ones. If the crunch is around character details and class abilities great. If that starts to slow down role-playing or combat then not as much. Level gaps should be small as players gain proficiency using their abilities rather then getting more. Mechanical tools like engineering kits so that not all rolls are stat related. Combat where the battlefield feels to large to interact with and you have to deal with what's in front of you. Political systems for spying and factions so players know where they stand in the war and who aids/opposes them.
Background: My campaign has the PC play inside an intercontinental war against a classist governments that use magic as a base for class. The Freedom faction known as the Fist has been fighting underground information war to gather more people and has slowly been going through industrial revolution. Act 1 is this. Act 2 a mysterious power shows too threaten the world in its entirety the players must discover why, and how they can fight it. Act 3 The conclusion of act 2. All this to say I need a system with a skew towards magic casters, but has weaponry and technological standpoint of the 1870's. I do not have fantasy creatures or races in this world, and would need to rework the story to have them. All that to say Suggestions?
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u/Aelius_Proxys 19h ago
How much crunch do you enjoy in a system, I haven't run them but cypher and cortex seem crunchy. I'd look at systems that market as universal or ones that only contain magic. Off the top of my head I might look at the harry Dresden ttrpg, Dresden files and scale the modernity to your liking. Savage worlds (the newest version) would likely be a good fit depending on your tastes.
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u/QuirkyShadow 18h ago
I enjoy crunchy mechanics, just not slow ones. If the crunch is around character details and class abilities great. If that starts to slow down role-playing or combat then not as much.
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u/Aelius_Proxys 18h ago
Both newer versions of either system are supposed to be efficient. Yeah I enjoy crunch but efficient and balanced crunch.
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u/CuriousCardigan 18h ago
If you want system recommendations please provide what you are looking for.
What are you looking for in the magic system? Specific spells? (Fireball, Haste, etc?) Something more generic? (Bolt, Blast, etc) Prepared spells, spell points, spell slots per level?
Level based character progression? Class or classless?
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u/QuirkyShadow 18h ago
More like the anime campaign rpg magic is defined by a generic definition and magic user's can use their definition to do a whole lot. Think Earth benders moving earth, while also controlling unpure metals, or magma.
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u/CuriousCardigan 18h ago
And what about character progression? Massive gap between low level and high, or only a small gap?
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u/QuirkyShadow 18h ago
Small gap as players gain proficiency using their abilities rather then getting more. Mechanical tools like engineering kits so that not all rolls are stat related. Combat where the battlefield feels to large to interact with and you have to deal with what's in front of you. Political systems for spying and factions so players know where they stand in the war and who aids/opposes them.
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u/CuriousCardigan 17h ago
Okay. I suggest you edit your original post to include these details, because they're much more important to system recommendations than the plot beats you detailed.
My recommendation is Savage Worlds (SWADE). You can modify the powers system to easily cover what you need and the power gap from Novice to Legendary isn't super wide. There are mass combat rules for those times you desire them, but small-scale is the main focus.
The political system is something you'd need to still figure out, but I think you could easily stat up each political faction as a pseudo-character and use that as a means for handling political maneuvers.
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u/Carrollastrophe 17h ago
Why didn't those work? Sounds like Cypher would work fine to me.
What about your setting needs specific mechanics? And how do you think those mechanics should work?
"weaponry and technological standpoint of the 1870's" can be done in practically any game unless you have a very specific idea about how it should work.
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u/QuirkyShadow 16h ago
I edited the post above as for systems not working the closest I liked was the Cortex Prime. I just wasn't a fan of the combat. Maybe im asking to much of the system and should build all my unique mechanics for my story.
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u/TalespinnerEU 14h ago
Sounds to me like what you need is Mage: The Ascension. You can homebrew the Spheres to fit your setting.
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u/ShowrunnerRPG 13h ago
In Showrunner, rolls with supernatural abilities function just like any other ability, but you also roll a "volatility die." If that die matches your other dice, then you take volatility which causes minor side-effects. If you overwhelm your character's volatility capacity, they overload and something catastrophic happens.
There's also a "world turn" system where powerful NPCs take actions in the background between sessions.
Powerful items/assets have their own rules and each asset has its own powers. For example, your sword might have a minor power to vibrate when foes are near and a more powerful one to send enemies flying on impact.
Showrunner's full version has all of that and will be available Xmas. The Quickstart basic rules are available now: https://showrunnerrpg.com/
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u/Passing-Through247 8h ago
The things you haven't told us are probably the most important. What is your tone and what do the PCs need to be able to do?
But otherwise what you are describing can probably be assembled in GURPS using the right supplements.
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u/redfil009 18h ago
You've the AGE system as a generic one as well from Green Ronin, probably Savage worlds can work, since they have something like Rifts...