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File: sburb.png (3 KB, 250x265)
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To any Homestuck readers: It occurred to me that a regular Sburb session could make a great game if only the GM had read Homestuck and the players had no idea what to expect.
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>>32880437
I would walk away from the table as soon as they explained the quadrants.
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>>32880479
regular sburb wouldn't have alien races and weird cultures
it's also not bound by homestucks stupid story themes like gratuitous callbacks and character traits
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>>32880437
it could be a little hard to deal with both time shenanigans and player autonomy
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Crafting makes no logical sense. Despite its immense nature, ultimately there's going to be punch combinations that don't make any fuckin sense. It can only work in the confines of a carefully crafted story.

Everything else is just really grindy. Grind grist to grind your house to get to portals to grind levels to hold more grist.

The comic is enrapturing, but sburb doesnt work outside of it.
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>>32880437
It wouldn't be that hard to surprise players even if they were familiar with Homestuck. The comic's sessions are pretty severely atypical, and when they're not, they're generally glossed over. You'd just have to come up with a different set of twists for your own session.

>>32880803
It's not all grinding. There are also quests for the players to complete on their Lands. Plus, there's other stuff you could get involved with, like carapacian politics.
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>>32880437
That's exactly what I did in my game based on Sburb Glitch FAQ (link here https://archiveofourown.org/works/340777?show_comments=true&view_full_work=true)
I made the game based on actual stats mentioned in the so-called fanfiction, which mentions only once shipping and never has to do with trolls and quadrants.
It is basically made with the rule games of Sburb, which I expanded into an actual rpg with lots of grinding, multiple combinations of builds, interaction and some maturity issues, which can be roleplayed very well. Well, we did.
Useless to say, the players died upon entrance, so they didn't mature at all. This isn't a game for everyone, it is bugged by design, it questions logic sometimes.
But hell, it was fun. None of the players had even read or heard of Homestuck before playing and it turned out they enjoyed it even though they died because a player had prototyped the power suit from Crysis.
I kinda expected that though.
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The exact same thing occurred to me the other day. And I plan on running an Sburb campaign after this one.
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>>32881267
yeah, but beyond basic storyline I'm thinking that discovering the sburb mechanics for yourself through playing instead of reading a story about it could be really cool.
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>>32881944
It's also very deadly.
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>>32881975
true...
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I also made a thing.
The stats are complex and totally unintuitive and I'm not sure they're the best but still...
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>>32882675
prepare to see this reposted across the internet (possibly)
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>>32880437
I sense a shitstorm a brewin'
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>>32880437
What the fuck---

>>32882675
WHAT THE FUCK were you thinking when you made this
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>>32883113
what's wrong with it?
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>>32883026
Nah, HS threads have usually been rather shitstorm free.
We usually get to the point where we agree that the first few arcs are the best, and that we want to focus on Sburb and disregard the trolls and the shipping, which is what tumblr is all over. Most of us also agree that the fandom is detestable shit, and that we just want to run a fun, silly game based off Sburb's interesting but challengingly abstract mechanics.

Problem Sleuth is better.
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File: Homestuck v1.1.pdf (7.67 MB, PDF)
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I came across two different Sburb RPGs on the forums way back when. Attached was based on D&D 4e rules and from what I can tell, approaches all the weird time shit and abstract elements as DM fiat.
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>>32883225
trolls have some ok parts, I found some of karkat's logs pretty great
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File: Homestuck RPG 2.pdf (343 KB, PDF)
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>>32883645
The other uses a deck of cards for conflict resolution and has a more creative system imo, but also seems more clunky. I never looked at it too hard.
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>>32883645
I guess there's no other real way of doing it
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Sburb as presented wouldn't work, you need to get the players into a central place to play together, that means vastly up heaving the nature of the game. nigger.
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>>32883749
you don't *need* to. there are things like post-by-post.
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>>32883681
cool
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>>32881975
it's not /that/ deadly, as long as you allocate a decent chunk of time for entry
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The biggest problem with the game is that Time travel is not only extremely common, but absolutely vital to the game's progression. Determining where something has fucked up bad enough that the session isn't the Alpha timeline is going to be a nightmare for the DM.
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>>32886042
oh almost forgot classpects, great fun those fucking are.
>>32880479
Yeah no. No sane DM would allow a troll session. You need too many players and their romance shit makes any proper RP a total shitstorm because of how fucking unstable trolls can get.
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>>32886097
Wasn't that the point of the trolls? They're completely fucking unstable like a bottle of nitro strapped to a dozen vibraters and being driven down an ill-kept dirt road by an old man with no sense of speed control.

You get the shitstorm started and watch as people self-destruct and self-deconstruct and throw the survivors into a new session when they realize they can't win because they're a part of the most uncooperative species ever.
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>>32887607
If you're fine with all your players quitting, then yeah. Well except for two or three autists who start dressing are cartoon freaks and worshiping your feces.
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>>32888128
You never run a troll game if you like the people you're with. It's in the title.

Speaking of title, how can we make this sheet actually work?
>>32882675
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>>32882675
this looks like some top-tier bullshit and I can't make out a word of it
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>>32882984
I didn't expect anything less to be done. Do you think I could claim anything out of something based on a fan-fiction of a game described in a webcomic I don't own? This was for the fun.
>>32883113
>>32888248
Why, of course, I didn't attach the back.
I'm still playtesting the rules.
Do you guys want to have a read?
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>>32894052
Yeah sure.
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>>32883645
The use of language in this thing is fucking killing me. I can't understand shit.

Same goes for the comic itself
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>>32894998
Very well, then.
Let's start with stats.
STATISTICS:

STRUCTURAL
Echeladder - level
Cache limit - amount of obtained materials
Ceramic Porkhollow - amount of boondollars
Fraymotif - up to 3 per player (4th gained through questing)
Fetch Modus - start with a bad one or an average one
Strife specibus start with one, add up to 3 (4th with quest)

PHYSICAL
Mangrit - strength, intimidation, lifting, fighting
Health Vial - constitution, hp
Gel Viscosity - physical damage reduction, armor/clothing
Scamperway - movement, agility

SPECIAL
Flummoxie - special ability based on title and aspect
Pluck - mental focus, concentration, use of high flummoxie special abilities without passing out (Ladpluck/Lasspluck)
Semperstand - magic damage reduction, resistance to normal sleep and fatigue
Sleep Ratio - good sleep, synch with dreamself, if negative dreamself always awake, if missing rogue dreamself attacks you

MENTAL
Brainitude - intelligence, puzzle-solving, problem-solving, recognition of danger
Triggerance - limit for loss of control and stress reaction
Egoportions ????1 - sense of identity, identity override in [Infinite Rage] mode
Soulicity ????2 - belief, Angel/Other Corruption
CONT.
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>>32896236
CONT.

INTERACTIONAL
Pepleader - leadership, suggest command, get friends, gets high for first entering player (also session leader)
Youngster Gumption - fear resistence
Radnaturality - exotic look, coolness, shipping effect
Verballistamina - dialog options, verbal attitude, shipping effects, diplomacy, rhyming ability

PRACTICAL
Trasmutancy - smithing, ability to produce alchemization
Item Mastery - mainly using and activating special abilities in objects
Smovability - use of satyride, comical effect, driving objects, stunting
custom stats - interests levels

SOCIAL
Carapace Reputation WHITE/BLACK - reputation for white carapacians for prospit/derse players
Land Reputation - basic reputation on your land
Sprite Value - relationship with your sprite
Heroicantics/Justicaption - level of good/bad necessary for heroic or just death in god tier

More explainations later
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>>32880437
Alot of people have thought that before Hussie went up his own ass with other bullshit then proceeded to drag that out.

>>32880479
there would be none in a regular game
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>>32896243
Let's start explaining character creation
ECHELADDER - level
Every Sburb Player starts at level 1.
Player Creation:
-Pick/Roll Aspect
-Pick/Roll Class
-If not determined by the aspect, roll for Derse or Prospit. Remember to keep it in opposed pairs with other players no matter what.
-Choose a rolling stat method:
-Roll 20d10+20 points and distribute them at will
-Roll 2d100+40 points and distribute them at will
-Roll 1d10+1 for each stat separately as they come along
-Roll 1d10+1 for each stat separately and organize them
After rolling put them in the 20 stats from PHYSICAL, SPECIAL, MENTAL, INTERACTIONAL, PRACTICAL, and at least a score of 2 in each
-Put 1 in each of the SOCIAL stats and 1d100 Heroicantics and 1d100 Justicaption, and subtract one from the other.
-Put 10 as the starting Cache Limit for all ranked Grist Kind and 100 for Build Grist.
-Put 0 Boondollars in your Ceramic Porkhollow
-Add your Class and Aspect bonus and malus to your stats, counting every + and - as a +5 and -5
-Roll the Awakening Roll
-Roll the Glitch Roll
-Choose two stats from your main choice class stats, add +10 to each. They are now your primary stats.
-Choose two stats from any other stats, add +5 to each. They are now your secondary stats.
-Choose/Roll a Fetch Modus from Average Tier or gain 20 points to distribute in your stats and choose/roll a Fetch Modus from Shit Tier
-Choose Strife Specibus
-Write down Fraymotives
-Describe Self
-Describe Room, House and Possessions
-Describe Familiars/Pets/Friends/Relatives/Guardians
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>>32896255
Leveling up
-Gain your current level^10 in Boondollars
-Add 10 x your previous level to your Cache Limit and 100 x your current level to your Build Grist capacity
-Add 5 x your previous level to Gel Viscosity
-Add 2 x your previous level to your primary stats
-Add your previous level to your secondary stats
-Add 1/2 your previous level to your Health Vial
-Distribute your current level in any stat you want
Remember that:
-bonus/malus (+/-) means that you add/detract your Class and Aspect bonus and malus to your stats, counting every + and - as a +5 and -5. each stat with a bonus or a malus gets that malus even if you don't have added bonuses for that level
-A MAXED stat means that you already add +100 points from level 1
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>>32896266
When you reach your top level for the class (59 for a Knight, for example) your only means to go further are to ascend to God Tier Levels. All experience gained beyond that needed to get to the next level is uselessly lost. When ascending, however, you immediately reach the first god tier level and add all bonuses. Unfortunately, gaining such power and knowledge puts a huge block on the capacity of a player's ability to learn further. Any further experience gained results in being reduced to 1/10 of its original amount.

God Tier Level Up:
-multiply all stats x10 before leveling up to the first god tier level.
-Gain your current level^100 in Boondollars
-Add 100 x your previous level to your Cache Limit
-Add 5 x your previous level to Gel Viscosity
-Add 8 x your previous level to your primary stats
-Add 4 x your previous level to your secondary stats
-Add 2 x your previous level to your Health Vial
-Distribute 2 x your current level in any stat you want
Remember that:
-bonus/malus (+/-) means that you add/detract your Class and Aspect bonus and malus to your stats, counting every + and - as a +10 and -10. each stat with a bonus or a malus gets that malus even if you don't have added bonuses for that level
-MAXED means that you already add +100 points from level 1
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>>32896274
As I mentioned top class level, here's an example of classes

-Knight
Role: active combat (FULL STRIFE)
Primary Stat Blocks of choice: PHYSICAL, PRACTICAL
Attitude: people who don't want to fight or to protect themselves or others.
Stats: atk 1 def 5 sup 3
Modifiers: Item Mastery MAXED [In Shining Armor] mangrit + smovability + verballistamina ++ youngster gumption -
God Tier threshold level: 60
Echeladder Progression: add double bonuses to stats from lv 40
Knight Abilities:
1 In Shining Armor (Passive)
20 Valiant Rider (Passive)
40 Dragonslayer

(more abilities come from the aspect itself, and obviously I still need to add more)
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>>32896319
Here's an example of Aspect.
LIGHT
Whisperings: The Shine
Stats: atk 1 def 3 sup 5
Element: light
Attributes: good luck, knowledge, light
attitude: too optimistic, sef-absorbed, very talkative
Denizen: Cetus
Planet features: light, treasures, diamonds, crystals
modifiers: youngster gumption + egoportions ++ verballistamina ++ gel viscosity - health vial -
Light Abilities:
-Let There Be (automatically uses Song Of Light, shines)
-Flare (mid-level attack)
-Vision Omnifold (alternative vision mode)
-Daylight Is Never Wasted (high cost, all medium range, raises moonfolk spirits related to player)
-Hello, Sunshine! (one-player target, makes them happy)
-In Fading Lights (makes sudden stunning realization)
-No One Left Behind (team builder)
-Kiss Of Lady Luck (low-level support)
-Feel Good Inc. (mid-level support)
-Only Grazed (active)
-Lucky Break (active)
-Unfettered (mid-level immunity to restraints)
Endgame Abilities:
-Dance Of Thorns
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>>32880508
Why not just make up your own race?
That way you can play without having to deal with horrible troll characters, or people comparing the humans to John or Dirk.
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>>32896362
I assume you wouldn't be playing this with any fantard who has read beyond the scratch and would feel the need to compare the game to the shitty webcomic.
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I've just noticed a trend in troll characters to be against the hemospectrum. Like, aggressively so. As if that makes their character good. Or people trying to make the next Vriska.

Plus making up you own race could be fun?
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http://www.mspaforums.com/showthread.php?45062-SBURBage-Worlds-a-Homestuck-tabletop-RPG-based-on-Savage-Worlds-Ready-for-play!!

There's this. It's pretty old though, doesn't seem to line up with canon as of the most recent updates.
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>>32896358
For the level-up echeladder I considered what D&D proposed for epic levels, since it was ludicrously high, but of course the game itself is shitty. A nice pairing, if you allow me.

For the roleplay I intended using mangrit as roll for attacks against a counterroll with scamperway or (if using a weapon) mangrit. Rules are more complex, but basically work on rolling a d% to add a percentile of possibility. If you are lower than 100 points than something else you should start buffin yourself, debuffing the enemy to get to hurt him, or run like hell. That's how unbalanced Sburb was, after all.
I still haven't found a way to make a good mechanic for critical hits, but since damage relies on d10s when rolling multiple equal numbers it could raise the multiplier.

There's obviously a fuckton of stuff I have been working on (underling statistics, more aspects, rules for specific synergy among specific stats when they reach a certain level), but I don't know how to put it into a pdf (all I've done is in block notes).
You guys have any ideas?
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>>32896255

But the entire joke of the Echeladder/stats is that they are complete nonsense. Sburb is a game that makes fun of games, trying to create an ACTUAL game based on that would be fucking stupid as fuck.

You could have fun playing an Sburb session, but you would have to be completely free to bullshit. Have fun alchemizing stuff, explaining bullshit fetch modi, etc.

Trying to set down rules for a game that supposedly has stats for everything in existence (and, by virtue of the Alchemitizer, every possible combination of everything in existence) is fucking laughable.
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How the hell do you make mechanics that adequately reflect the relationship between class and aspect?
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>>32896498
I was thinking the best way to handle this is to just.... not. Let players built their own powerset using a toolkit, and have them create what they think best reflects their classpect.
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>>32896522

absolutely
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>>32896498
I was thinking you could handle it by having each Aspect's abilities have a passive and active side.

So, your luck abilities as a Light player would manifest differently based on if your class is passive or active. Classes would have their own abilities too, naturally.

It's far from a perfect simulation of the system but it might be an okay middleground.
>>
Should Dave's attitude on time travel be taken into account?
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>>32896559
Mechanics for ruining fucking everything by abusing time travel could be cool. Maybe treat it like perils of the warp in 40k; every time you time travel, there's a risk of bad shit happening, complete with a table of potential bad shit.
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>>32896578
>Worst possible result is the entire party ending up in a doomed timeline
>Have to figure out some way to get the fuck out or be trapped forever
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>>32896471
>Savage Worlds
wwhy
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>>32896362
Are humans not interetesing enough
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Having run homestuck campaigns, it doesnt work as well as you think. Ever geard the term 'dont split the party'? Yeah, doesnt work that well.

We got around it by starting over, and havinf everyone start in the same apartment building, which got teleported into the medium all at once, amd players unlocking new lands Dead Session style.
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>>32883645
That one is shit. Dont use it. Those of us who were designing it were extremely new to game design and handled the whole thing horribly.
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>>32896274
>god tier
That is where the Gamma World hack fell apart. You dont want to do that. God-tier is an OPTIONAL role for players to pursue. Its debatable if it even gives you any power at all before you climb to higher tiers (remember, John hit his potential BEFORE going god tier, when he unlocked the windy thing.)

As far as we know, the only thing God Tier does is bounce you to the top of the echeladder, and get a new progression to go through, but its hard to do that without making it just absolute bullshit, where you become flat out better than anyone in the party who doesnt god tier.

I think the best way to handle it would be as a aystem similar to the prestige classes in 3.5, where whatever level you god toer at, you switch from your normal level up tract, to the god tier one.

Its not perfect emulation of the comic, but as the pokemon tabletop has proven, perfect emulation isnt exactly a good thing.
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>>32896498
Resource generation. Have a power point like mechanic that is spent to use powers. Class abilities generate resource points which you can spend to use aspect abilities.

Will run into some trouple with things like Bard and Prince, which break their normal aspect, but it should get close enough to be workable.
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>>32896255
Got anything for making rolls or combat or anything like that?
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What can the doom class do offensively?
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>>32900088
>>32900088
Basically bring people to their deaths.
By which means, it was never specificated in the comic and I believe it was by entropy.
Go figure.
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>>32896489
>>32896498
>>32896522

Heavy on the narrativist, build-your-own-power-set kind of thing, I would think. Not quite Freeform, but definitely rules-lite and easily customizable.
>>
If any of you actually want to make this work go ahead and read the Glitch FAQ (and subsequently ignore the shrill screechings of its subfandom). I'm not saying that you should use all or even any of the ideas in it, but what it does VERY WELL is provide a framework to understand Sburb.

Because Sburb DOES NOT make sense from any kind of game design or gameplay point of view. The only way it works in the comic is a bunch of narrativist handwaving, and if that's how you're going to run Sburb, you may as well run literally anything else and not subject your players to Homestuck.

At first glace, TTRPG looks like a great fit for it because you’ve got parallels for classes, levels, sidequests to do, dungeons to delve, puzzles to solve and all this other crap that is totally like an RPG!

Except none of that shit matters.

Sburb isn’t an RPG. It’s a sandbox Bildungsroman. Homestuck portrays its fictional game full of absolutely pointless shit like the echeladder, a boondollar stock exchange, and a Kiddie Camper Handysash that COMPLETELY INVALIDATES YOUR ENTIRE PRIOR LEVELLING SYSTEM. None of this is good game design and very little of it even MAKES SENSE. What it is, however, is a fantastic metaphor for growing up.

Unfortunately, we're on /tg/ so people are going to attempt to make a game out of this. I know the feeling, because I've tried. What follows are some basic tips, based wholly on my experience. YMMV
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>>32904649

1. Completely ad-lib alchemization. Maybe have a random effect generation table ready to roll up some effects, fluff them to be coherent with the previous items and then add a bunch of utterly cosmetic bullshit descriptors.

2. Make players completely dependent on themselves for their power (this goes hand in hand with 1). Equipment should be pointless, crap granted by the game should be hilariously disappointing and the only thing sidequests should be good for is XP. And reward the SHIT out of creative gameplay, class builds, etc.

3. In light of 2, really think out your classpect system if you're completely homebrewing. Really, this should be your core gameplay mechanic. Everything else can go suck a bulge. If you are using a different game system, good luck balancing that shit with anything having to do with Sburb. Make everyone the most OP class or whatever and scale shit in game to counter this (the whole prototyping system is conceptually gold for this kind of anti-player fuckery.

4. For the love of fuck, don't use any derivative of the d20 system.
>>
An idea I had for classpects working on power points and stuff was that they would reward you for acting in line with them. Say, we go with the idea of a Heir being one who is tutored and learns from their aspect, apply it's powers in new ways and having an intuitive understanding of doing the [Aspect]y Thing. Combine it with the aspect of Doom which is the elemental representation of entropy, death, and bad luck to make an Heir of Doom.

The Heir of Doom will learn the meaning of loss and that nothing will ever last. To this end, they gain power points (To spend on powers) by acting as the Heir of Doom should. Whenever you are tutored under a greater power, get some points. Whenever you use your powers in a strange, new way, get some points. When you use your powers to inflict a curse of ill fortune on someone, gain some points. When you shatter something via entropy (Items, relationships, or even people), gain some points. If you combine the two above methods and learn a great deal when you break an upper-echelon item, get twice the points.

There might be power point spending breaks for using powers within your classpect theme. I dunno, this is just me musing.
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>>32880437
There's a homebrewed SBurb system based off Gamma World. It goes pretty well over Maptools.
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>>32897840
God tier isn't too stupidly powerful. You still die like a bitch to backstabs (see john and vriska) and you lose your second life automatically in exchange for a rather arbitrary death system that can be influenced by outside forces (see Jade and possibly Vriska)
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>>32905740
> second life
I assumed they weren't limited by # of respawns, so long as they never died a heroic or just death. Where did the Huss say that?
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>>32906903
Pre-god tier if you die, another player can kiss you so you wake up in your dreamself. Sollux is notable for having two dreamselves and thus 3 lives.

It's rather clearly demonstrated here. Act 6 Act 3 spoilers ahead in case anyone gives a fuck.

http://www.mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=007138
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>>32880437
The game mechanics might be okay, but any GM who wants to run something in the style of Homestuck would be a horrible That DM.
>>PCs doing okay with the challenges presented?
Introduce a flat character who is totally invincible and exists only to humiliate them.
>>Players getting comfortable the game being more about relationship drama and roleplaying than action?
Quadruple the number of NPCs they need to keep track of, and replace "roleplaying" with "the most byzantine and idiotically designed social simulation rules ever devised by man".
>>Players getting invested, story starting to build up to a climax?
Somebody (or rather, everybody) dies anticlimactically, and everything that's happened over the past year of game time is rendered worthless in ten seconds.
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>>32907336
See also: the style of writing* employed by George Martin.
* Read: explosive vomit via a pen
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>>32907336
We're talking about SBURB game not Homestuck, which is why it's so hard to build a game around the setting thanks to all the shit that went horribly fucking wrong.
>>
Isn't Homestuck about how sburb should not happen? So a typical sburb session would be different from what happens in the comic.
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>>32908148
Well Homestuck is more about what happens if the game is played by the wrong motherfuckers (cherubs) and the shitton of fallout from it. A typical playthrough is that all the players get into the game, ensure their own existence with ectobiology, breed a perfect frog, kill the black king and queen and claim the final prize.



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