Help please, Homebrew - where to begin?

[Battlemarch]

So, I'm a bit overwhelmed with information overload.

Using FGC, I'd like to create a module or extension for the home brew game I ran many years ago. It was based on old D&D (before AD&D)
and took stuff/pieces from EPT, C&S, Gurps and some other house rules. It is more skill based than level based (but it still has levels) but
doesn't have 'classes' per sae.

So, I'm assuming that using the MoreCore rules set would be the place to start. I'm hoping for pointers specifically to tutorials/primers that
deal with creating character sheets in MoreCore - adding stats (that are based on race/gender), skill panels, spell system, etc. And for what
it's worth, content was centered around ICE Middle-Earth.

By the way, how difficult would it be to make the finished character sheets resemble those from 5e (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/wiki/index.php/5E_Character_Sheet)?

I'm a competent software engineer, so given and example/cookbook and reference material or developer guide, I think I can muddle through.
I just need those initial pointers since there is just too many places to look - the MoreCore rule-set thread has 253 pages!

Thanks,

Bill

[LordEntrails]

MoreCore is the place to start imo. I'll let you know what you're doing is more than I've done, so listen to others before me.

Start small, and go from there. Not sure where the best MC character sheet tutorial is. I would start with a bare MC campaign and create a character sheet in there. That will tell you what things you might be unsatisfied with, then you can build an extension to make your custom character sheet. After that, you can think about automation or ruleset customization itself.

As with every project, start small, take it in bite size pieces, and I think the default MC character sheet is the best way to start. Sorry I don't have a link to where to get started, I suspect it might be one of the YouTube videos on MC.

[RocksFall]

I used MoreCore extensively for my Homebrew system. I would highly recommend MoreCore for your Homebrew needs dood. Its very versatile and gets updates from the MoreCore team. I got about 98% of my Homebrew system, that pulls from 4 systems and a splash of a 5th under a d20 mechanic roll style. So yeah...it can be done with MoreCore.
The only downside i had was there are many more 3rd party Extensions/Modules for D&D5e/PF. MoreCore has a decent selection, but not like D&D5e/PF has.
And as you well know fellow Homebrewer, we get to ride in the back seat. :p

[damned]

Start here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54PSYMXmyvs&list=PLsgd1zJLdiKW23yt4X2qc_9w1TWQfTPUA

[Battlemarch]

Thank you Damned! I did try, but I failed in the end. I've joined the dark side and will try to get a 5e game going.

[GunnarGreybeard]

Have you checked out the Ruleset Wizard (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?61387-Ruleset-Wizard-The-new-Ruleset-development-environment)? I ask because your 1st post in this thread was a year and half ago and that tool has advanced alot since then. It would require starting your project over with a blank slate.

Another option might be the Old School Essentials- OSE Ruleset (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?70275-Old-School-Essentials-Stand-Alone-ruleset) and then tweaking it to meet your needs.

[Battlemarch]

Hello GunnarGreybeard,

Yes, I did look at Ruleset Wizard recently, including the videos that damned made. Don't get me wrong, I like it, but that wasn't the ultimate limitation.

I found myself cleaning up my rules set, finish moving them all over to HTML - oh, and hell, why not - adding JavaScript while I'm at it (that was to help automate character creation).
Then the task was getting that rules set and all the old content in FG - and the learning curve for FG for someone that hasn't played used it before was daunting.
What time I had was spent doing that (playing with the rules, mind you, it was enjoyable) instead of just getting enough working to run a simple intro session.

After speaking with my old players, I decided that I needed to start running something, anything, so path of least resistance was just going with 5e.

As I mentioned, the campaign is Middle-Earth centric, so I can pull in content I've purchased over the years; Adventures in Middle-Earth (already 5e), The One Ring, all the old ICE MERPs stuff, etc.

So, yeah, my old game was lower powered, derived from old D&D but more skill based. In the future, when I've become more expert with FG, I may revisit it. But for now, I'll hold my nose and use 5e. :-)

Bill

[Sulimo]

Not sure how interested you might be, but if you are familiar with the old ICE MERP stuff, the Rolemaster Classic Ruleset (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/store/product.php?id=DGA080) is fully compatible with the MERP books.

I use it for my games in Middle-earth.

I've added a bunch of stuff over the years (I got FG back in 2014).

It's work to add the stuff, but it's easier now with the new version of the RMC ruleset (basically make a copy of something similar and edit it, then export to a module). I can do everything in FG instead of doing it all by hand in XML as I did previously.

https://i.imgur.com/zsmO57Nl.png

[Battlemarch]

WoW!!! Excellent! I'll give it a try with my old MERP books - beats my old flat bed scanner attempts back in the day.

I was using the MERP content (MAPS!!!!) for my table top game but not the rules system. When I found something that I liked, I incorporated it into my rules, but it was mostly old D&D style and I translated NPCs/Monsters as needed.
So, going forward, this definitely looks like this is the way to go - with the extra step of converting stats/NPCs to 5e (not too much different from what I'd have to do for my home brew game).

Now I just need to decide which Description of Dale and Esgorath is best: MERPS or from the TOR and AiME PDFs that I purchased from Crucible7! (that was a sad ending:cry:)

Bill

[GunnarGreybeard]

I was using the MERP content (MAPS!!!!) for my table top game but not the rules system. When I found something that I liked, I incorporated it into my rules, but it was mostly old D&D style and I translated NPCs/Monsters as needed.
Sounds alot like the mish-mash of our group in the early 80's. We used RuneQuest for the base system, Rolemaster for combat, and AD&D for magic. No idea how we converted everything to kinda fit as it was quite a while ago. :D