Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Newsflash! You can make FASERIP open!

Phil Reed is offering to make an OGL version of the engine that powered the original Marvel Superheroes roleplaying game. He's doing this ransom style, just like Greg Stolze has done for several projects. If he can get $1000 in pledged donations, he'll write the game and distribute it as a free PDF. I've put ten bucks in the hat, and I'm challenging all my readers who are FASERIP fans to do the same. Let's make this happen, people! Click here to hop on the bandwagon and make your pledge.
For $1,000 in donations Philip Reed will take two weeks to create a game titled "FASERIP." This will be a new, free, professionally-produced game that is opened so that other publishers may create supplements compatible with it.

FASERIP will be compatible with the old Basic and Advanced games that inspired it; the game's sole purpose is as an open source document for publishers. Players can use the game to play, but they'll gain little new value from the free product planned. It is the new supplements that can be created that will be of true value to everyday players.

FASERIP, if funded, will be created and released as a free PDF. After 30 days all feedback will be considered and the file updated at which point it will also be made available in print at cost.

NOTE: No work has been started. FASERIP will not be created until after it is funded.

If you have any questions about FASERIP please contact
roninartspresident@yahoo.com.

Thanks to Chris at Dorkland for this tip!

4 comments:

  1. I am really hoping that this takes off, but from seeing the early surge out of the gate, I think that we'll get to see a FASERIP game once again.

    I know that I am tingling (in a Spider Sense kind of way) with the thoughts of the things I would like to do with the system. Due to the quality of the stuff that I've gotten from him in the past (if you don't have vs. Monsters you need to), I have a lot of faith in Phil to pull this off. I know that he's excited about doing this too.

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  2. Anonymous8:22 AM

    There's a part of me that lights up at the notion ... MSH was my very first experience with gaming. So, as a gamer, I like considering what things this might lead to that I could later buy and enjoy.

    But there's a part of me that wonders where the whole "clone systems" trend will take us. It certainly doesn't seem to have harmed computer games (for example) to have a dozen freeware Civ II clones floating around, so I guess it's nothing to worry about, but I manage to worry anyhow.

    On another note, I'm happy to learn about Fundable. Earlier versions of the ransom approach (where the money is paid rather than pledged) would have been impossible for me to even consider using (since I'd feel ethically obliged to do the work even if an underfunded ransom went to charity. With something like Fundable's approach, I may actually try it someday.

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  3. For me, it's all about the physical book line at the end. I can totally run Marvel whenever I want. I've got the tools and I can find interested people. But the words "out-of-print" seem to be like the evil eye to some players. A new FASERIP rulebook helps me get those people onboard. "Look! Shiny new rulebook!"

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  4. Anonymous11:33 AM

    My own interest is mostly down to seeing what people would do with it as a multi-genre platform. I think FASERIP would make for nice, fast-moving space-opera game, for example, if someone would put in the elbow grease and stock a hundred richly-packed pages of space-opera resources behind the few pages of rules at the front.

    But then the cynical demon on my shoulder says: "The kind of designer who'd glom onto a free open clone game isn't the kind of designer interested in writing quality resource material. He's the kind who'd like to slap on some genre surface-gloss so he can move onto his next cut-and-paste project."

    And then the pollyana angel on the other shoulder says "But S. John! Maybe there's some designer out there who wants to do exactly that, and he needs a free open clone game so he can get past the systemic nonsense, roll up his sleeves and begin the impassioned creation of resources he's always wanted to do!"

    And then they fight. I hate it when they fight.

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