Elthos RPG

Hi All.
I started GMing my own homebrew system, Elthos RPG, in 1978. My website is https://elthos.com … it may be the first RPG that has it’s own web application that supports its rules with a comprehensive World Building and Character Management system. Not sure, but I did start working on it 1994, so I think so. Anyway, Elthos RPG is relatively light-weight, uses by default 1d6, and has a single General Resolution Matrix for all action determinations in the game, including magic and skills. It’s a great little system that I’ve been GMing with for 45+ years. I’ve recently put the rules up on DTRPG in the ElthosRPG store, so if you’re curious, please do feel free to take a look. Anyway, I’m interested in feedback and help with promoting the game. If you think this has promise, please let me know. Thanks and great gaming to you all, whatever system you use!

Hi there, small world. I am a sucker for the free/PWYW banner on DTRPG and got Elthos a little while back. I am primarily a solo player, was looking at the system for ideas to use even if it didn’t play well solo. I haven’t read it in depth yet, but it certainly looks interesting. I was also trying to wrap my head around how the other products fit with the core rules. I assume that feedback, when I have some, would be better directed somewhere on the Elthos website?

Mike

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Hi, thanks a lot for checking out Elthos. :slight_smile:
Yes, I’d very much be interested in any feedback on the rules and/or Mythos Machine. You can find the website at https://elthos.com … The website has an associated Forum which you can find under the menu Community > Forum. The forum has little usage so I don’t exactly monitor it all the time, but you could post there which would be a great spot to have a feedback thread. Or here would be fine as well. I look forward to hearing from you, and hope you find Elthos useful for your gaming. It’s not really designed for solo play, but I suppose something could be done with it, perhaps. I haven’t really thought about it from that perspective. I’d be curious to hear if you find it of use. Anyway, thanks again for getting in touch!

Will do! Of course I understand that most games are not designed with solo in mind. Most any game can be played that way with the collaborative go-around-the-table or “everyone creates the game as they go” types being the most challenging. A standard GM runs the game setup should work fine. I’ll start haunting your forums once I get a chance to dig in! :grin:

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Elthos RPG was originally designed to help me more easily create whatever kinds of worlds I would ever want. I didn’t want a huge number of highly specific tables to run every possible mechanic, or store properties for every conceivable entity, which was the direction me and my fellow GMs thought TSR was heading back in 1978. So I have a single General Resolution Matrix (or formula if you prefer it) to determine all character action resolutions, whether it be magic or skills based. I wanted a few relatively simple properties for all game elements (weapons, armor, equipment, skills, powers, races, cultures, etc.) and so I created a basic and general framework by which I could easily create new worlds, or add new things to my existing worlds without unbalancing or breaking them, or taking a long time adjusting things to make them fit in. The idea was to make world building as easy as I could because I knew I would want to create lots of different worlds. My first world was named Elthos, and so that became the name of the rules system. Anyway, that’s the gist of it. The other thing to know is that in 2006 I started working on a streamlined version of the original rules and called that “The One Die System”, because it uses 1d6 for most things. I wanted tiny numbers math to save me headaches at the table. It also happens to create stark odds, which I figured out finally is a good thing because it forces players to make decisions based on an “all or nothing” premise to a greater degree than bell-jar curve systems (3d6, 4d6, etc). The starkness of the 1d6 has its own interesting charm. Not everyone likes it, of course, so the rules come with 2d6, 3d6, and 4d6 charts in the appendix to provide those options as well. Anyway, take a look and let me know if you have any questions! Thanks!

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