Creating my own Game,Update Over View is up

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**Garuss Acine**

having played Warhammer Fantasy for a few games, I found myself annoyed with how it plays, I mean I don't mind the sea of bodies on the table(in truth i like that about it), what I don't like is the center on magic, horde units and how you have to be well paid and set to play the game(Salamanders at 24usd for 1, great now I just need 5 more, then the rest of the army ontop of that..). then the very squared movement, and the lack of flexibly(at least in my eyes) in how units move(move forward 3.5" angle a lil this way, move .5" forward, wiggle again, etc etc), well a friend who has been my ear for complaining, finally stated why not make your own rules?. well since then I have set myself to making a set of rules, that are both fun, easy to learn, and a background players can get into. of course the whole idea to the game would be the ability to use models of what ever scale beside each other(so 28mm vs 28mm, 15mm vs 15mm etc etc). so players could use models from any company out there(as long as they were of fantasy setting obviously), so you have a Dwarf Army, bring it on!, got a zombie army, awesome! oh your models don't come from the same company?!?!?! so what, its about the gaming, not the brand name of the models you use.

So as the title says, I am creating rules and setting for a Medieval-ish game, I have so ideas already set in stone, and working on the basics of the mechanics, though I am slightly hesitant on sharing my work so far, as I am worried of losing it to a full fledged company(maybe a even a GW prowler!!!

). I have no idea how Copyright works, so even if I create it all, I am worried that by putting it up on the internet it could get stolen and lobotomized by another company, so all my hard work to give something different(well differentish

) credit would go to another company, and line another of then soulless and big corporation's pockets, aiding in what I am trying to make a stand against. now I have never created a game before, but I have played quite a few (D&D 3.5, WHF,WH40k, Battletech, Centurion, WM and FOW) so I am not completely blind to how it works.

so my question before I start sharing any information over the internet is, since I created it, will it be safe from being grabbed up by another(person or company) or is it user beware in this situation?

thank you Dakka for taking the time to read this,I eagerly await your knowledge and if all goes to plan, input
hopefully I didn't come across as too preachy, its just something I am tad, enthused about.

**scarletsquig**

Have you checked out WotR, Kings of War, DBM, Armies of Arcana etc. first?

One of those rulesets might just have what you are looking for, or at least provide some neat ideas for your own system.

As for copyright, well, I wouldn't post it on the internet if you want to be 100% certain, but on the other hand, it is HIGHLY unlikely that any company will steal the ideas of some random guy's ruleset.

**LooT**

Make your own rules man! Take my lead.
Q: Can't afford more models for your army?
A: Make your own ruleset!

Q: Can't afford to buy a new ruleset?
A: Make your own ruleset!

Q: Dog barfed on the carpet?
A: MAKE YOUR OWN RULESET!!!

**Carmine the Wolf**

Garuss Acine wrote:so my question before I start sharing any information over the internet is, since I created it, will it be safe from being grabbed up by another(person or company) or is it user beware in this situation?

I applaud the enthusiasm that you have for your project and the fact that you've had the motivation to do something about the issues that you have with WHFB yourself rather than just bellyaching on the internet about it, but you're probably worrying too much about having your ideas stolen by the faceless corporations.

In all the years that I've been active as a writer I have only come across one occasion on which the work of someone that I know has been genuinely and blatantly ripped off by a company and that was when they saw something in his portfolio at an interview and simply copied his idea, but that was the only occasion and he went on to far better things with a far better company.

In the end you have to be sure of what you want to achieve with the project you're working on, because someone else is going to see it sooner or later and there's as little to stop one of your mates with whom you playtest the first draft of the rule ripping you off as there is a corporate drone seeing the same rules posted online.

If the thing is just for your own consumption then by all means keep it under wraps as you're not obligated to let anyone else see it, ever if that's what you want.

But if you want to share it with others, get wide ranging and useful feedback or even harbour a small hope of making more out of it then you will have to let go and put it out there.

I've been writing for the best part of twenty years and I've had to face the fact that the best way to get people to notice what you're doing is to put it in the public eye and let people tear it apart if they want to, otherwise you'll never really know if you're onto something or just tossing out crap.

**Garuss Acine**

well alright I will start to put some information up, I'll just keep the back ground fluff more to myself at least till I am able to secure an official Copyright. though working has been slowed down a little as of late, between School and working on rules for a Sci Fi Skirmish game as well, but I can over some insight to races and will humbling be asking for assistance in anything you think should be added or changed.

I will break up the Armies/Races into groups based on play styles that I want, and grant a small description.

Low Body Count:
Sons of the Leviathan:
few troop options but loads of customization , but powerful options, very much melee and short range ranged combat, no Calvary but lots of war beasts. will be the only race with access to Blood Magic.

Knights of the Cursed Crusade:
Lots of options, different heros grant options to different kinds of Knights, no war beasts, no damaging or healing magic, only race with inherit magic resistance, lots of mutations and curses to add changes to a unit. easy access to magic weapons and armor.

Medium Body Count:

Beastkin:
very dependent on Heros for abilities, each hero will grant access to different "clans" for a different over all game style. magic will be dependent on "spirit" energy, which is gained for lost friendly units, and for enemy units that are "offered up", can have one of the most powerful magic phases.

Kingdoms of Humanity:
will rely on a combined arms, or a sea of bodies to grind the foe under. will have easy access to ranged units in large numbers, and decent melee units, instead of magic, Humanity will have Faith that let them enact great acts.

Elves:(there will be more than one flavor and they will be alike, but different at the same time)
this one isn't solidified , but will be a reaction army, some of the best ranged units, access to very well crafted weapons, though will have very few units in anything heavier than chain mail.

Orc Tribes:
will more than likely strike last, will rely on high morale and toughness to weather incoming attacks to strike back with great weapons. lots of heavy armor, no magic, but access to Banners and abilities to boast their abilities.

Dwarves:
only race with guns and cannons, very slow movements, will play very defensively, with easy access to low level spell casters. all magic is defense and armor buffing, or degrading a charging foes stats.

High Body Count:

Lizardkin:
Horde Army made of low toughness, strength and light armor meat shields, lots of war beasts for the heavy lifting the army will need. no magic

Hordes of the Wastes:
Horde Army that will rely on quantity to be its quality, poisoned weapons to help against high toughness foes. little magic abilities, mostly spells to lash out at enemies or help bolster Morale to keep units from fleeing.

thank you guys for the encouragement so far, and I eagerly await any input your willing to give. I will get the basic rules up soon as well, and then I will start to write army books. if anyone is willing to play test, please let me know what armies you'd be interested in playing and I will get info up quickly. all I request is I get battle reps, and the like, and what you think is OP or UP.

**htj**

What's your core mechanic?

**Garuss Acine**

it will be a D6, I thought about D10, but D6 just seems easier to me.

there will be a scale of 1-10(though i am thinking of taking that scale upwards towards 13 or 15 for big critters), it will have some similarities to Warhammer Fantasy, but I hope to also have a few quirks that are a tad more original.

**Garuss Acine**

well here are some of the basics to the Core Rules

Stats

Spoiler:

Turn Order

Spoiler:

now as for Scaling the game would a 1-15 range be fair(comparable to GW scale, just with lower and higher numbers added to the mix?) or should I go for something more along the lines of Warma/Hordes? I am leaning towards GW as it is easy to learn and doesn't take more than a glance at a small reference sheet. what do you guys think?

**Ralin Givens**

This seems just like fantasy to me with the Magic Phase and Movement phases swapped...

**Garuss Acine**

well having a quick talk with a local friend, I have added more wording to make what I wanted say a little more easy to understand:

Changes wrote:Game play:
The game is split into Turns, which are further split up into Sections.

Who Goes First:
At the start of each Turn either side of the battle rolls 2d6, the player that rolls highest has won Initiative and Must go first for that Turn. Now these may not seem like much of a win, but the side that won Initiative may have to move first letting their opponent react to their moves, but they get to charge their units into Close Quarters first. However each Turn is shared by the players, which may seem confusing but it really isn’t.

Example:
John and Marry are rolling off to see who goes first, Marry rolls a 12, while John gets a 6, so Marry has won the roll off and must go first. So as it is early in the game she casts a few defensive and support spells, after she casts her last spell, it is John’s Magic Turn. After the Magic Turn, the game would continue in this manner through each of the Turns, with Marry going first in magic, moving, declaring ranged attacks and charges till she loses Initiative.

**Ralin Givens**

Yah and if Marry is A. not playing a CC army this sucks, and B if marry is out of range this sucks. You shouldnt force them to take first, just give them the option

**Garuss Acine**

well instead of copying and pasting I will put what I have up in a File so people can get a full look at it all as one, this is very WIP, but as I update the rules I will switch the files out until the final product is done. then I can put my entire focus on the races, now thats going to be quite the choir, though with a few trades about to finish I may be able to add a Human army to my play testable races here in person (Dwarves, Lizardkin, Sons and hopefully Humans) so this will give me a decent grouping and let my locals get stuck in. then after that gets set its time for a Skirmish Sci Fi game, which I have some fun ideas for(customization, on a Trooper by Trooper level etc).

now the rules are not finished, though I eagerly await responses and thoughts, unlike GW I would very much prefer the finished product to come out smooth and easy to understand, so if anything looks odd, or easy to confuse(cough- twist-cough) let me know and I will get on it to make it plain and understandable.

: Removed for lack of interest.

**Garuss Acine**

ok, been very free this last week and have made some leaps and bounds in the Core Rules and Army Books for Sons of the Leviathan, Lizardmen. also Split Beatkin into two books, the Hertal and Beastkin Armies, also Humans now have a pair of books, Hordes of the North and The Realms of Humanity.

Update over view:
Magic, I have settled on this becoming Token based, each army generated Tokens in their own ways, there is a base amount each army can get (2d6 +X) X will depend on the army. most of these armies will force players to be aggressive, to claim as many kills as they can. sometimes this will be done by a Hero, or by the army as a whole.

Spells, each army will have some basic School of Magic, then there will be a selection in the core book from which most Armies will be able to pick from.

there is a way to dispel spells, a way to purchase +1 to the roll, and a debt system for the player not going first to watch carefully. as you can spend as much as you want, but if you build up to much of a debt and go negative in the Tokens on your turn, you can end up killing one or more of your casters.

S.O.L.: these guys are shaping up to be a very low body count, very durable and killy lot, they will have the fewest options, but what they have is going to be very choppy, most of their Spells are geared towards buff and preserving the units in the army as a whole, I will even give them a single resurrection spell and two or three direct damage spells. this army will be able to take all "Dragons", so they can be extremely low count models, though it will be an uphill march against a ranged heavy army. I can't wait to see these guys evolve into the finished product.

LM: now these boys are starting to shape up as a Horde force, with tons of debuffs, poison and nasty critters. these guys can fill a battle board if they just go Troop heavy, but with all the fun beasties they have, why would you? Barb flinging Wyverns, Acid spewing Nagas, and most critters to come(any thoughts are greatly welcomed)

H.o.t.N.: Warriors of the North, Barbarians clad in furs and leather armor, wooden shields, blood thirsty beserkers, a Savage White Dragon(the only Ice Breathing Dragon in the game), Feral Elves and Bear Calvary. most of the magic will be elemental based, so less on buffs and more on bringing just pain to the enemy.

T.R.o.H.: Knights both on mount and on foot, Men at Arms, Archers, Militia fodder units, and Heros mounted on Horse Back may join infantry units. Heros will be able to take Griffons and Rocs(Griffons without wings) and access to a bodyguard unit with the same mounts. haven't figured out the magic for these guys yet, still thinking it over.

I have settled, for the time being on a 1-15 scale and it seems to be doing well so far, now that I have two books down to a playable level, its time to start play testing, soon I will be turning my attention to Dwarfs and get them set on their feet. I also will be getting a a Hordes of the North Army set up as well as(hopefully) as well as a The Realms of Humanity one as well.

if anyone is interested in playtesting, hit me up and I can get you the Core Book and the Army books of your liking. all I ask is that you put up the results in Battle Reps here on Dakka.

**haloreach4ever**

I would playtest for you.

**Garuss Acine**

Two New Army Books have Proto types:
Kemet Legions of Munack (Egyptian~ish/ Tomb Kings)
Realms of the Sun(High elves)

will hopefully have my next Battle Rep up soon, I should be able to get in a second game in the next day or so.

**haloreach4ever**

Perfect. play testing will commence over the summer holidays and will get back to you as soon as possible.

**Garuss Acine**

well seeing as a large group has downloaded the books, I am wondering if anyone has got some games in with the rules and armies?