Gauging Interest in a Pokemon Homebrew RPG

TL:DR I'm currently in the equivalent of pre-Alpha stages of putting together a Pokemon Homebrew RPG system, and was wondering what the interest level would be, and any advice for someone trying to put something like this together.  ....Yes, I know about the trainwreck that is Pokemon Tabletop Adventures. The loathing I hold for that particular homebrew is what is driving me forward at this point. I wrote up a wall O'Text to post here, then went "Fuck it" and posted the  Road Map I'd want to use on the Obsidian Portal I'm using as an organizing wiki to help me put everything together. So yeah, I have some pretty big plans for where this might go. Just gauging interest. Yes, I realize this is years of work, probably 5-7+ to get EVERYTHING in, but I'd like to get to Alpha (50 or so Pokemon fully developed, Pokemon Stats system in place) in some decent time, and move from there. And if I get everything going, there's the half dozen stories that keep going through my brain that actually want out, plus the dozen and two that will show up as I develop this and put settings and everything in place. SO. LOTS OF STUFF I'd like to get done, just wondering how many people would actually want to play something like this if I managed to get this developed to a halfway playable state. Wall O'Text and some very preliminary work in the link above. On the other hand, it's a Homebrew. So there's that.

Well I can say I am interested, but that mainly becuase I want to have a bulbasaur strangle professor oak...jk...though yeah interested.

Count me as interested.

As long as you work the anagram G.R.A.M.P.S (Galaxy, Rocket, Aqua, Magma, Plasma) in and make Professor Oak the final boss of the official campaign I'd up for it xD jk But seriously a Pokemon game would be cool.

I'd be interested. I generally prefer Homebrew.

Call me intereated.

.....Wow, that's a lot more interest than I thought I'd get. All right, well then. Maybe having an RPG going will help me keep focusing on getting the system done. SO. If you guys can make it, we'll get started Thursday at 6PM. I'll have a small selection of Pokemon available. remember, this is still in pre-Alpha stages. All information about the mechanics of the game is subject to change before the session begins, because I'll be working on it until then. Also, because of various mechanics and/or imbalances I see, any and all information regarding your Pokemon, moves, etc may be changed at any time during development. I'll try not to do it, but I'm putting it here as a disclaimer anyway. Basic mechanics : Attacks will be via d6s (type of dice subject to change before we start) for the moment,  with a certain amount of HP per Pokemon. There will be no abilities for now. For the moment there will likely be no capture mechanics. Professor Oak will NOT play the role of Vending Machine and hand out Pokemon to you (part of the lore for Leagues, etc I've got in my head). You will have either bought this Pokemon (no egg moves) from a Breeder, been given this Pokemon from a friend/family member, or been very lucky in a trip out to the tall grass with a Pokeball. I'm open to other options besides these, as long as it's well thought-out, but I'm just listing some possibilities here. As long as you don't get your Pokemon from a Professor, I'll probably be good. Timeframe will be roughly Red/Blue, but will be an alternate universe so events won't pan out like they have in the anime or the games. If you can make it, come up with a backstory for your character. There will be no Pokedexes--Oak has already assembled all the data. Instead, there will be a Pokedex app you can buy for your phone. I will send you any data you collect via the Roll20 Notes interface if you do a scan. You will probably be facing the standard low-key Pokemon we've come to know in all the games (Weedle, Caterpie, Rattata, etc), but I may have one or two better Pokemon in the hands of trainers that you might face. there is a good 80% probability I won't have any Gym Leaders ready for you guys to face. All in all, a very barebones game, but still a Pokemon game. If any of you five would be available at roughly 6 PM CST Thursday, I'll have a little bit of story prepared for you guys. If you can make it, post back to this thread (and claim your starting Pokemon before they're all gone). If you can make it, send me a Private Message with your Skype account details, please. Starting Pokemon will be 1 Bulbasaur, 1 Squirtle, 1 Charmander, 1 Cubone, and 1 Clefairy. (you can only pick 1, and no, I'm not going to allow you to swap it for an Eevee, a Pikachu, or other-gen starter. This is what you get to pick from). Link to Pokedex on Obsidian Portal All entries may not be up when you first read it, but I'll be hard at work getting move pools up and running before our game. As you can see, at the moment all I have are the types and a list of move pools that each Pokemon can learn. I will also be assigning dice to the early-game moves at the very least before we get started. I'm a little surprised myself at my willingness to start up an actual game, but I'm using it as motivation to keep myself working on the system, so we can get into deeper mechanics. And further into the Pokedex.

Dibs on Cubone. That poor little guy doesn't have a mother, and I'm a sucker for that kind of backstory. Question, will the game be similar to D&D, where we have environmental challenges to overcome? Things like traps, Pitfalls, Natural Hazards?

Hey, if nobody else claims the 5th choice, I'll take whatever is left (if they fill up I understand)  You definitely have my interest.  I will be done with work at that time, and I wanna do this XD

John H. said: Dibs on Cubone. That poor little guy doesn't have a mother, and I'm a sucker for that kind of backstory. Question, will the game be similar to D&amp;D, where we have environmental challenges to overcome? Things like traps, Pitfalls, Natural Hazards? Woo! You picked my favorite Pokemon. For that, I shall award you--a Cubone! :D I would like to eventually add traps, etc in. Certainly in secret bases (or Secret Bases? 0.0 ) there would be stuff like that. Places like the Rocket Hideout in Cerulean, Silph Co (arguably), And Gyms. And in random spots in the wilderness where random trainers have *claimed* territory and try to waylay passing trainers for money, badges, etc. But that probably would not be fully implemented until I get to the point where I can focus on Trainers. Because at that point I do plan on adding a Skill system to go along with various Feats. And once I get Skills implemented, I can implement more traps, etc, that would require various Skills to get past. THAT SAID, I'll probably be implementing a barebones Skills package (not this session) to allow for more variety than Pokemon Encounters, etc. Robert R. said: Hey, if nobody else claims the 5th choice, I'll take whatever is left (if they fill up I understand) &nbsp;You definitely have my interest. &nbsp;I will be done with work at that time, and I wanna do this XD Fair enough. Send me a PM with your Skype info, please, and if there is an empty spot I'll call you first. FYI for those still looking at this: If I run out of story material I'm very tempted to *save the game*, and throw a horde of Pokemon at our heroes until their Pokemon die and the trainers are eaten. Or our trainers and their Pokemon emerge, covered in blood, but victorious. In fact, that sounds awesome just as a stand-alone. Give trainers X amount of time and resources to build a Secret Base, and then the Pokemon Hordes would attack. Hmm....... *adds to to-do list* Also, Charmander Move List complete! 2 of the starters down, 3 to go. Oh yeah, and the Looking For Group ad is done: <a href="http://app.roll20.net/lfg/listing/3001/pokemon-homebrew-campaign" rel="nofollow">http://app.roll20.net/lfg/listing/3001/pokemon-homebrew-campaign</a>

Well, i'm exited to do some pokemon dungeon crawling. I mean, the Pokemon games are practically built for adventure RPG action. Five guys on a journey to become the best poke-master.&nbsp;Travelling&nbsp;through sunken ruin, darkened cave, and shadowed forest just to get to the next fight is pretty sweet. I expect at least one researcher to pay us to enter a cave so we can excavate a pokemon fossil. So many possibilities, my head spins.

And along with that, you've got bids for power. Amongst the Pokemon Masters, Pokemon Trainers, and the criminals that span the entire spectrum. Intrigue within the League, a threat from without....the possibilities are endless. But quite honestly I hadn't considered pure dungeon crawls. I suppose I had my head stuck too far into the Pokemon headspace and wasn't considering the RP-at-large headspace. .....hmm.......

I would like to say not only am I interested but im also myself in the middle of game development. Im already a few years in and can give some advice on what to expect getting up to where I am. If all goes well I'll be releasing a box set here in the next 2-3 years.

Right, first game starts in about an hour. So far only one of the original five has contacted me. Arsenio B. and someone else has applied to join, but I've got two spots open for a Pokemon Homebrew game that starts at 6 PM CST--hour and a half from now. I'm officially opening things up.

First game went awesome, especially when I beat up the trainer and recalled his pokemon. Need more people for next game though... DM was great at improvising and going off script. This is a campaign to envy.

Cool, are you still recruiting?

John H. said: First game went awesome, especially when I beat up the trainer and recalled his pokemon. Need more people for next game though... DM was great at improvising and going off script. This is a campaign to envy. Gee, I'm blushing. And I'm only half sarcastic :P But really, wasn't really sure how I was doing, or what I was doing some of the way. you definitely gave me some insight into what needs to be worked on next. Even if Isaac Monday is a giant douche. lol King said: Cool, are you still recruiting? Yes, I'm still recruiting, but I do require getting Skype Information up front. I like to think I learned my lesson from all the people who said they were interested and then didn't leave me with a way to get in touch with them. So yes, if you're interested in joining us, we're still open, but I need your Skype info ASAP. Next session's going to be something of a dungeon crawl.

Nice, my skype is kookaburrabies.

Sweet. Skype Contact request sent.