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Best Open Game Licences to use in a turn-based RPG?

Tavernking

Don't believe his lies
Developer
Joined
Sep 1, 2017
Messages
1,216
Location
Australia
I'm likely just fantasizing, but what's a cool game that I could based an RPG's mechanics on?
 

nikolokolus

Arcane
Joined
May 8, 2013
Messages
4,090
BRP (OpenQuest, Legend, Mythras, et al.) and Traveler are both super elegant and well designed, but the way they handle advancement (no "levels" and very flat power curves) would probably be very jarring to most CRPG players/fans. Tip of the cap and some shekels to anybody who manages to pull off a fun adaptation of either.
 
Joined
Jan 14, 2018
Messages
50,754
Codex Year of the Donut
FWIW, in USA game rules cannot be copyrighted. They arguably are covered by patent law(open legal question), but typically nobody files for game mechanics patents(I can only think of one off the top of my head and it's about Magic the Gathering) and therefore 1 year after being made public they cannot be covered by a patent.
The text(and any art accompanying the text) of the rules themselves may be copyrighted such that you can't blatantly copy+paste another person's work, but there is nothing stopping you from using the rules expressed by their work.
The US government openly states this, btw: https://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl108.pdf
Copyright does not protect the idea for a game, its name or title, or the method or methods for playing it. Nor does copyright protect any idea, system, method, device, or trademark material involved in developing, merchandising, or playing a game. Once a game has been made public, nothing in the copyright law prevents others from developing another game based on similar principles. Copyright protects only the particular manner of an author’s expression in literary, artistic, or musical form.

To be clear: If you were going to base your work on a game's ruleset it would be best to choose one that uses a permissive license. But don't fall victim to FUD.
 

Zed Duke of Banville

Dungeon Master
Patron
Joined
Oct 3, 2015
Messages
11,756
I'm likely just fantasizing, but what's a cool game that I could based an RPG's mechanics on?
I've heard there's an exciting new ruleset for fantastic medieval wargames playable with paper and pencil and miniature figures, called Dungeons & Dragons or something like that. :M

odnd1.jpg
odnd2.jpg
odnd3.jpg
 

Galdred

Studio Draconis
Patron
Developer
Joined
May 6, 2011
Messages
4,346
Location
Middle Empire
Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
None!
I think lifting the ruleset with the mechanisms closest to what you want to do works best. Generic ruleset are either too detailed with 90% rules you won't need, or too generic to make the game justice.
Having D20 slapped to everything is really not something I enjoyed, even though I like building characters with the ruleset.

That said, for fantasy, I really liked the CODA system (they made a Lord of the Rings game). It was efficient, and character advancement was notable without looking like stat hyperinflation.
For mech combat, the Silhouette+Heavy Gear RPG works nicely (even though it makes dodge too strong compared to armor, and pumping stats gives massive benefits early on, then decreases to very little quite fast).
 

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