Ever since I first learned about tabletop RPGs, I had this one reocurring thought: "I need to make my own."
"Pax Galactica" is the working name for my latest rebuild of my ideal tabletop system. Think of it like a total conversion mod, but for a non digital game. I am not going to monetize this system itself and instead leave it here for anyone who shares my same niche. After all, this system is in a strange gray area between original creation and mod. It builds on concepts from multiple existing rule systems, built into a mechanically and thematically distinct system meant to be more entry level and balanced; while still having the same "feel" as classic hardcore RPG adventures.
Let me disclose my inspirations upfront.
The first tabletop game I ever played was, like many young people's, D&D 5th edition. It was, in hindsight: pretty bare bones, but it kicked ass. It was everything I thought that Dark Souls and Skyrim could be if they had no technological limitations.
Then those preconceptions of what makes a good RPG were broken. Disco Elysium is a CRPG with no combat system, and all of your skills are voices in your head. Being stuck in my ways, I would have written this off as a cool gimmick and never played it, but marketting won and I bought it on sale. This impulse purchase has irreversibly changed the way I look at video games. I am not qualified to explain the layers of artistic intent and perfect execution crammed into every inch of this game, but I can explain why it's special to me. Disco Elysium does not sound like a fun game on paper. You play as an insecure amnesiac detective recovering from a hangover that can only be described as a medical miracle and uncover your own depressing backstory as you publicly humiliate yourself due to your low stats in Psyche; but that was just my first playthrough. I saw one single branch in this hand sculpted tree that was this game's story and reacted like an orangutan being shown a card trick. I would have never imagined myself enjoying a game that is entirely just talking to people.
This didn't at all make me like D&D less, it made me appreciate both of these games more.
But the imaginary gameplay and promotional art that has shaped my dream RPG was the surreal and distinct worlds of Planescape and Spelljammer. Truly novel and exciting concepts I only ever got to hear about from old guys at comic shops. That sense of peeking into a whole new fictional world probably seemed so perfect because I only ever got to sample the books in the store, not having anyone who shared my interest in these specfic settings.
But thanks to the wonderful technology of PDF I can read these games now, and while they didn't capture the specific feeling that cover art evoked in me as a kid, they, much like 5E, kicked ass.
To bring that meandering tangent back to the point, these particular RPGS have undeniably inspired Pax Galactica's design philosophy. I take inspiration from the combat systems and aesthetics of the dungeon crawler subgenre, with more experimental social mechanics and lots of dialogue!
Expect the game to be built around the core loop of beating a dungeon, then selling your loot and engaging with settlements. Despite the familiar gameplay loop, the aim will be to explore these tropes in a new setting with reimagined mechanics.