In my last post, I pointed out that I am looking to make the system that I am creating be one that is multi-genre. I am not looking to be completely universal; I say this because the way I want to make this system would not work for such things as four-color comics. Let’s be honest here: the best system for that sort of thing in Mutants and Masterminds 3e. I have no illusions that I can top that.
If I do this and I make this a multi-genre system, it was asked why I would call this Arcanum at that point (thank you, Alec Dinwoodie). This is a good question. And it is not an easy one to answer.
Suppose I published the system book under a different name. I am toying with a task resolution system that would use three ten-sided dice, so let us assume I published a game system book called the 3d10 System (or what-have-you).
Then, using the races and such from the history of Arcanum, I create a fantasy setting book. Since I do not own the rights to the setting as described in The Atlantean Trilogy, what would such a setting be? I have designed settings before (Umbragia: Realms of Shadow), but that setting had its own races, not the Aesir, Andamen, Nethermen, Zephyr, and so on. So what would you guys want from a setting that included these races?
Just so you understand, one of the reasons I want a good, solid, multi-genre system that I can use for my setting creations is that I have a lot of settings I want to delve into! These include:
- High Fantasy (something using the Arcanum material)
- Low Fantasy (my Umbragia: Realms of Shadow setting)
- Post Apocalyptic (think Gamma World + Twilight: 2000)
- Space Opera (think Star Frontiers + Traveller)
- Swashbuckling (think 7th Sea + The Queens Cavaliers)
- Time Travel (think Time Lord + Time and Time Again)
So the question remains: what sort of fantasy setting do you want to be associated with the name Arcanum?
ZiLa Games 