We try to stay neutral, like the Swiss
The beginning
When I first started, I knew there would have to be sacrifices made. Either it would be completely neutral, and therefore useless to everyone, or it would be biased toward one system or another. There’s a wide spectrum in there, and I decided that whenever a question came up, I would bias the system toward D&D, which I was playing at the time.
The best example I can think of is that we added race and level to the character sheets. They were freeform fields, so you could type “Elf” or “Dwarf” if you wanted. Or, if you were in a totally different system you could type “Eldar” or “Metahuman” or just leave it blank. It was up to you. Still, the concept of race and level is admittedly a D&D centric concept.
The shift to neutrality
As I migrated away from D&D to other systems, so too did my views on how Obsidian Portal should work. I realized that the central elements to all RPGs were the characters, adventures, and campaign world. As such, I focused on making those entities the core of the site. We politely declined requests to add more detail and fields to the character sheets and instead added things like the quick select popup to help you more easily interweave your story and characters. When the time was right, we released the Dynamic Character Sheets, thereby saying “Make the characters what you want!” Subsequently, we removed race and level from the character sheets, instead deferring that to the DSTs where it belonged. We want characters to embody the story, not the stats.
The commitment to neutrality
I started out thinking we would bias ourselves toward D&D, but I’ve become much more committed to overall neutrality. I’m convinced that the future of RPGs does not belong to any one company, brand, or game. Likewise, the future of Obsidian Portal, in supporting the RPG community, does not belong with any one game. So, when I’m told that we’re being too D&D specific, this is a cause for concern. What do you think? Are we too biased toward one game or another? Or, on the opposite end, are we trying too hard to please everyone all the time, and therefore offering a mediocre experience? We feel like we’ve charted the correct course so far, but I’m curious to hear what others think.
Obsidian Portal is the award winning Online Campaign Management System for tabletop role-playing games. It’s free to use, it can be accessed from any web browser and it's built from the ground up for gamers by gamers.
We host a huge community of tabletop RPG players who are all looking to get the most out of their tabletop gaming experience. You play your campaign and we help you manage it. It’s that simple.
Obsidian non being D&D enough would be immediate reason for me to unsubscribe. Apart from my personal game taste, I think that no D&D player will tell you that Obsidian is too D&D. And the same will go for every other game. So stick with you strategy and your guts, and do what you like more, to make the most possible people happy. You’ll never make everyone happy, so Obsidian will always be too much *something*. Could it be that becomes too much neutral, too.
Kudos for the good job!
Obsidian non being D&D enough would be immediate reason for me to unsubscribe. Apart from my personal game taste, I think that no D&D player will tell you that Obsidian is too D&D. And the same will go for every other game. So stick with you strategy and your guts, and do what you like more, to make the most possible people happy. You’ll never make everyone happy, so Obsidian will always be too much *something*. Could it be that becomes too much neutral, too.
Kudos for the good job!
Characters, items, adventures, maps, forum, wiki. Did I miss anything? Nothing in that list of features screams D&D to me. Then again, I haven’t been exposed to a lot of systems. I know some systems don’t really focus on items, but enough systems do focus on them that “Items” can’t really be considered D&D-specific.
Did you ask what they meant? Perhaps it’s not that the site is “too D&D-specific” but that there isn’t a focus placed on something critical to their system of choice. Then again, the wiki is about as flexible as it gets. I have no idea what they’re talking about.
Bill Cosby once said, “I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.” OP must be the exception because it is exceptional.
Characters, items, adventures, maps, forum, wiki. Did I miss anything? Nothing in that list of features screams D&D to me. Then again, I haven’t been exposed to a lot of systems. I know some systems don’t really focus on items, but enough systems do focus on them that “Items” can’t really be considered D&D-specific.
Did you ask what they meant? Perhaps it’s not that the site is “too D&D-specific” but that there isn’t a focus placed on something critical to their system of choice. Then again, the wiki is about as flexible as it gets. I have no idea what they’re talking about.
Bill Cosby once said, “I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.” OP must be the exception because it is exceptional.
Man, you took my jabs way to seriously. I was referring mostly to the ClassRaceLevel thing (which has been done away with, THANKFULLY) and how I find the Items tab to be mostly unused in 95% of the systems that I play. Aside from D&D and WHFRP 3rd I can’t think of a game that has a strong emphasis on Items.
It was mostly just a joke-jab, not a serious problem.
Man, you took my jabs way to seriously. I was referring mostly to the ClassRaceLevel thing (which has been done away with, THANKFULLY) and how I find the Items tab to be mostly unused in 95% of the systems that I play. Aside from D&D and WHFRP 3rd I can’t think of a game that has a strong emphasis on Items.
It was mostly just a joke-jab, not a serious problem.
Also: LET ME HAVE ORPHANED CHARACTERS!!!!!
Also: LET ME HAVE ORPHANED CHARACTERS!!!!!
I do not see bias and love the direction the site has gone in the near 2 years I have used it.
I do not see bias and love the direction the site has gone in the near 2 years I have used it.
I think that it is neutral enough. The hobby cannot but be shaped by where it came from, and a larger percentage of players out there play some version of D&D than any other particular game. Obviously, the more a game deviates from the basic forms and tropes established by D&D, the less similarity there will be in what website support is needed. Several of the more story/narrativist indie games from The Forge might be in this category. As a homebrew guy, what you guys do is great for me. Thanks!
I think that it is neutral enough. The hobby cannot but be shaped by where it came from, and a larger percentage of players out there play some version of D&D than any other particular game. Obviously, the more a game deviates from the basic forms and tropes established by D&D, the less similarity there will be in what website support is needed. Several of the more story/narrativist indie games from The Forge might be in this category. As a homebrew guy, what you guys do is great for me. Thanks!
One thing that would be useful to me (using my completely own system and campaign world (Saya – for a blatant plug)) was the ability to hide the Items tab (aka a check mark in the campaign settings). Otherwise, I find Obsidian Portal very useful even though I have nothing to do with D&D.
One thing that would be useful to me (using my completely own system and campaign world (Saya – for a blatant plug)) was the ability to hide the Items tab (aka a check mark in the campaign settings). Otherwise, I find Obsidian Portal very useful even though I have nothing to do with D&D.
I DM a campaing hosted on OP, and have played on two more (one of them cancelled, the other doens’t use it as much as myself).
Neither campaign is D&D, and I love using the site. I’m thinking of a new campaign, again not D&D, and I will definetely use this again. So, no, I don’t think it’s too D&D. I think it’s perfect.
I DM a campaing hosted on OP, and have played on two more (one of them cancelled, the other doens’t use it as much as myself).
Neither campaign is D&D, and I love using the site. I’m thinking of a new campaign, again not D&D, and I will definetely use this again. So, no, I don’t think it’s too D&D. I think it’s perfect.
I’ve noticed that there really aren’t any options for modern or sci-fi stuff in the items tab. For example, I had to put an implant (A rather nasty one, really. It’s a small amount of explosives very specifically shaped to break an arm or leg without killing you.) into “other”.
I’ve noticed that there really aren’t any options for modern or sci-fi stuff in the items tab. For example, I had to put an implant (A rather nasty one, really. It’s a small amount of explosives very specifically shaped to break an arm or leg without killing you.) into “other”.
I am fairly new to Obsidian, but I think that the site is as neutral as can be. I have GM’d for over 20 years, and I love the site!
I am fairly new to Obsidian, but I think that the site is as neutral as can be. I have GM’d for over 20 years, and I love the site!
I don’t see where you are D&D specific anyways. I can see this site working for so many different RPG systems as it has a lot ot offer.
As to the items tab, I like it just fine. It’s great for homebrewed items or for pulling in special items seen in other systems.
Your site has a lot to offer and I’m quite happy with it. Except for not being able to upload pictures…..
I don’t see where you are D&D specific anyways. I can see this site working for so many different RPG systems as it has a lot ot offer.
As to the items tab, I like it just fine. It’s great for homebrewed items or for pulling in special items seen in other systems.
Your site has a lot to offer and I’m quite happy with it. Except for not being able to upload pictures…..
Only the items tab is more D&D than any other system. I’ve read the blog post that this may become something like a spreadsheet. If so then that might be useful for other games.
Only the items tab is more D&D than any other system. I’ve read the blog post that this may become something like a spreadsheet. If so then that might be useful for other games.
Hey, just chiming in to say that i run a strictly homebrew system, divergent from D&D or any other system as far as i can tell, though it does take inspiration from plenty of sources (D&D, WOD, Wayfarer’s Song, various anime, folklore, classic mythology) and as a home brew system Obsidian Portal works just fine. I haven’t even tapped all the resources yet.
Hey, just chiming in to say that i run a strictly homebrew system, divergent from D&D or any other system as far as i can tell, though it does take inspiration from plenty of sources (D&D, WOD, Wayfarer’s Song, various anime, folklore, classic mythology) and as a home brew system Obsidian Portal works just fine. I haven’t even tapped all the resources yet.
It is a neutral system and though I’m about to use OP for a Pathfinder game, I’d love to use it for a GURPS campaign, if I could find the players. What I like about OP is the ability to integrate the world creation so that it is easy for players to reference. The Adventure Log is going to be fantastic. But why people would think OP as DnD specific is pretty obvious, DnD is the most popular RPG and therefore more people would use OP for DnD than other systems. You search for campaigns and 4E campaigns (which I would not personally touch with a 10′ pole) pop up at the forefront.
It is a neutral system and though I’m about to use OP for a Pathfinder game, I’d love to use it for a GURPS campaign, if I could find the players. What I like about OP is the ability to integrate the world creation so that it is easy for players to reference. The Adventure Log is going to be fantastic. But why people would think OP as DnD specific is pretty obvious, DnD is the most popular RPG and therefore more people would use OP for DnD than other systems. You search for campaigns and 4E campaigns (which I would not personally touch with a 10′ pole) pop up at the forefront.
I feel it is very neutral and that’s what is so great about it. However, I also agree the items tab is not really useful. I think I’ve used it all of one time ever.
I feel it is very neutral and that’s what is so great about it. However, I also agree the items tab is not really useful. I think I’ve used it all of one time ever.