I'd rather respond to this via e-mail, because I don't want to come off like a shill, but since I can't:
I've been designing for a long time. Every game is a group of good ideas that a designer got from other games and put his own unique twist on. The difference is that I say so up-front. It's not really an amalgam, as much a bibliography of influences.
As for "new to the table," I'm not going to try and sell the game. If you want to know why it's not the suck, feel free to read this post on an RPG forum:
You're wrong on the open source D&D-alike comment: the damage system in this game does not pretend to bear even the most fleeting resemblance to blood-and-flesh damage. It's a meter of how close you are to being eliminated from the story.
I know a game that does do what you're looking for, though. You should check out The Riddle of Steel, which has a damage system almost exactly like what you describe.
You've got a good point on the tools used. I'm still extremely excited about using Scribus, but part of that is that I am something of a ranting prophet on DIY RPG publishing. (I've been running the biggest site on the Internet for RPG creator-publishers for the last three or so years.) The tools used are more important to those people who don't already know about them.
As for free-as-in-beer games, they're great. They're not truly free, though. JAGS, while not being my cup of tea, is cool. I haven't seen another RPG (besides, well, some others of mine) that are specifically licensed to be freely used to create derivative works without restrictions.
That's exactly why I submitted the story. Scribus in particular is something that needs highlighting. It's a great open-source DTP publication, but I haven't seen anything of any size or, to be honest, complexity come from someone using it.
The interior of this game is lush, and Scribus did a great job handling it.
I'd rather respond to this via e-mail, because I don't want to come off like a shill, but since I can't:
I've been designing for a long time. Every game is a group of good ideas that a designer got from other games and put his own unique twist on. The difference is that I say so up-front. It's not really an amalgam, as much a bibliography of influences.
As for "new to the table," I'm not going to try and sell the game. If you want to know why it's not the suck, feel free to read this post on an RPG forum:
http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?t=160951
Or. feel free to contact me via e-mail - the e-mail's on my website - and I'll explain to you why it's pretty much the best role-playing game ever.
You're wrong on the open source D&D-alike comment: the damage system in this game does not pretend to bear even the most fleeting resemblance to blood-and-flesh damage. It's a meter of how close you are to being eliminated from the story.
I know a game that does do what you're looking for, though. You should check out The Riddle of Steel, which has a damage system almost exactly like what you describe.
You've got a good point on the tools used. I'm still extremely excited about using Scribus, but part of that is that I am something of a ranting prophet on DIY RPG publishing. (I've been running the biggest site on the Internet for RPG creator-publishers for the last three or so years.) The tools used are more important to those people who don't already know about them. As for free-as-in-beer games, they're great. They're not truly free, though. JAGS, while not being my cup of tea, is cool. I haven't seen another RPG (besides, well, some others of mine) that are specifically licensed to be freely used to create derivative works without restrictions.
That's exactly why I submitted the story. Scribus in particular is something that needs highlighting. It's a great open-source DTP publication, but I haven't seen anything of any size or, to be honest, complexity come from someone using it. The interior of this game is lush, and Scribus did a great job handling it.