The Gaming Den

Well, Erfworld is apparently deciding to officially get behind a community created RPG - and are surprisingly realistic in their optimism for getting the game completed (estimating a working model in 2019+). Their first goal is looking at designing rules for stack vs stack combat for the core foundation; with some acknowledgement they want to eventually expand it to Civ-style 4X gameplay.

I'm going to go ahead and join in on this, wish me luck.

So by "RPG" you mean "wargame?"

I thought the rules of Erfworld were "make stuff up as I go along". Admittedly I stopped reading it a while ago, once it slowed down to a crawl.

Seems silly, since the aspects of Erfworld that make it unique (Fate) can't really be mechanically represented, and the world without those features is a very generic hex-based system.

The parts that they can do, have almost certainly been done better than they can, and the parts they can't do - well.

Chamomile wrote:So by "RPG" you mean "wargame?"

Yeah, Erfworld is a story told within the universe of a turn-based fantasy wargame in the vein of Fallen: Enchantress or Endless Legend. You could create that game if you wanted to - and as a light-hearted boardgame that encouraged comedic byplay through integration of pop culture elements into unit types I think you could build something fun, but an RPG? The universe isn't built the right way.

Occluded Sun wrote:Seems silly, since the aspects of Erfworld that make it unique (Fate) can't really be mechanically represented, and the world without those features is a very generic hex-based system.

I have little faith in fan projects in general but I don't really agree with your specific concerns. Erfworld's fluff is all glib parody and homage but the mechanics themselves are still largely undefined and thus still leaves some room for novelty. From a fanboy perspective I would think the whole thing where new comics are super likely to conflict with the tabletop rules you gin up would be more galling than the idea of hexes being generic. Shit like fate could be represented in game as things like cooperative modes with traitor mechanics, secret win conditions and other asymmetric information gimmicks and is basically a non-issue.

A somewhat original aspect of Erfworld is the way you get casters.
-You can't decide to specifically recruit a caster. Sometimes when you recruit a regular commander they just happen to pop with magic powers instead of combat bonus.
-The chance of getting a caster by recruitment goes down by the number of casters you control, seemingly dropping to zero by the time you have about 3 casters.
-You don't get to decide what type of caster you get either. So each game is different depending on the initial combination of casters you roll. And sometimes you just roll full warlords and get to go raiding extra hard.
-However you can capture enemy casters and add them to your ranks, plus there's the magic kingdom where every turn there's a selection of barbarian casters available for hire. What casters are willing to work for you also depends on your nation, like healers don't like high-level croakmancers very much. However if a barbarian caster really likes your nation they may permanently join your side.

I also find interesting the natural allies bit. You can diversify your troop recruitment options by allying with wild tribes, but every types doesn't like another type so you'll lock yourself of certain options no matter what you pick. You can however ditch old allies to make room for new ones if you find a type you like better.

hogarth wrote:I thought the rules of Erfworld were "make stuff up as I go along". Admittedly I stopped reading it a while ago, once it slowed down to a crawl.

Actually a key characteristic is that the comic mentions what appears to be a minor rule and later on that minor rule is exploited for a tactical genius maneuver, like "fliers in the air carrying a heavy unit drop to the ground". Although other times yes it does pull stuff out of nowhere but at least manages to avoid too much self-contradiction. And the author isn't afraid to go back and fix things when the fans point something just doesn't flow correctly. Or just blatantly retcons stuff like the black dwagon extinction and twolls losing regeneration.

Plus it's managing to update twice a week for the last months, not too shabby.

Chamomile wrote:So by "RPG" you mean "wargame?"

Because D&D isn't and doesn't have memories of trying to also handle larger scale combat?

When the core foundation of your game is mass combat and your ultimate goal is 4X empire building, in what way can your game possibly be described as an RPG and not a wargame?

What on Earth is Erfworld? I can't even tell if it's the proper name of the thing or a corruption.

Ah, a webcormic then.