Discussion Topic: What sets MetaScape apart from other roleplaying games? What makes it unique? Please click <comments> below and leave your two cents worth.
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About Me
- Jodar
- I've been designing roleplaying games since 1982. I worked for TSR for several years designing AD&D 2nd Edition product and Buck Rogers product. My current hobby and love is my evolved MetaScape RPG Game system. One Small Accolade: I share the patent on the 16-sided die
MetaScape is an ad-lib, heroic system.
ReplyDeleteAd-Lib: Because all stats in the game are on the same scale (a 10 door is as hard to burst, as a 10 rock is to lift as a 10 defense is to attack, as a 10 Armor is to penetrate, as a 10 cliff is to cliimb) it means that the GM can easily assign a single number or very small set of numbers to any game aspect, on the fly, without much tought and completely define that aspect. Most systems have oen number scale for the AC, anotehr for Dmg dice, another for stats, another for X. This makes ad-lib gaming very difficult as the game master must come up with a wide plethora of numbers on the fly to define an event. MetaScape was designed from the onset with ad-lib gaming in mind.
Heroic Gaming: MetaScape uses the doubling die to create the potential for any roll of any maginitude to be generated on a diminishing scale. This means that the heroic character CAN slay the dragon in one shot, though not likely. So, unlike many traiditonal games where your character MUST bash the ogre in the head 3 times or more to slay it, a MetaScape character may get the job doen in as little as one blow.
I've played varuious versions of MetaScape, and as noted above, it's a cinch to GM. You very quickly become accustomed to the difficulty scale and it not only makes things easy to run, but easy to adjust as well. Shaping the environment to present a variety of challenges to the PCs is easy, internally consistent, and satisfying for both GM and players. With such an easy approach to nuts and bolts in a game, the GM has ample opportunity to add color and life to the milieu. There's no excuse for a dull game in MetaScape!
ReplyDeleteFrom the player side, MetaScape affords a consistent system for crafting a character's abilities. A wide variety of premade options exists for the pick-and-play players. For those that like to customize, I've used tips from MetaScape's sister game The Ultimate Power, to let them get under the hood, shape existing abilities, and craft new ones. They get precisely the results they want in a way that's fair, consistent, and engaging for everyone.
And everyone loves those crazy dice.
I've had mixed feeback from players about going from the fixed and repeating die difficulty and magnitude scale to the long, incremental scale. But everyone has always loved the doubling dice. They've added a flavor of wild unpredictability without being difficult to understand. It encourages players to play less conservatively and has led to some highly energetic rioleplaying.
I find that it's the ease with which I can improvise rules. I played a session a while back where the players decided to play zero-g hockey, and I had to come up with a set of game rules on the spot. It took me about five minutes. Later on I refined the rules and the final version is here: http://www.arthwollipot.com/games/metascape-11/rules/zero-g-hockey/
ReplyDeleteFor me, the ability to make up stuff as I go makes this game unique.
Wow, I can tell I made my post at 4:30am. Ripe with misspellings. I'll try to do better in the future. :)
ReplyDeleteThe guys who designed this game are total loosers... Just kidding Blake, I'm not a looser.
ReplyDeleteSeriously though. I have always found the dynamics of the game very interesting. There is literally nothing you can not do. Andrew's hockey game is a great example of how you can wip something out on the fly with these rules and make your games more fun for your players.
While Blake and I have had many conversations on the die system, I must admit that the D16 system is the best I have ever played with as a player. Doing the heroic feat and having the wild results has added many dimentions to my RPG experience.
As a GM it has occastionaly presented some challenges but I have watch my players enjoy killing that big boss in one hit. You know, the one that took you like two hours of designe time, with all the special abilities and would realy bring unique situations to the combat and add a great deal of challenge to the players so they really had a sense of accomplishment. hehe
Its all good in the end though.
Great game, great system, I look forward to our many years of desigen and development together.
Dave
What makes Metascape better than others? Playtesters! When the development of the game is based on input from "normal" people vs a business oriented conceipt you end up with a game that is designed around enjoying the game, not making the most money from the smallest amount of effort.
ReplyDeleteBecause Metascape uses a evolving system that changes as issues are discovered, rules are tweaked, advancement and base stats are modified you get a fluid gaming enviroment designed for the best gameplay for gamers.
When the designer is open to and enjoy's evolution, not opposed to changing or defending the existing system as it is, the game will naturally evolve into a superior system. Like evolution, changes will be discarded, rules repealed, classes tweaked, and dice rolled for one purpose... ENJOYMENT. That's the real reason Metascape is a blast to play.
Well the whole game of Metascape is just amasing as a Whole, but to simplify it down to what i like the most, well i would have to say the way it is played. I mean im still kinda new to RPG but MetaScape seems to be the funnest so far.
ReplyDeleteThe other thing I particularly like about Metascape is the setting. I think even if I changed to a different system, I'd still love to run games in GuildSpace. There's just so much there to work with!
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the good feedback guys. I appreciate the information and support. It's what keeps me designing!
ReplyDelete