Philosophy of Homebrew - In a New Sense

[TheLonelyScribe]

[I've seem some threads on this site, claiming to be about the 'philosophy' of homebrew - LIES! Every single one of them, so far as I can see, has absolutely nothing to do with actual philosophy whatsoever! So, I endeavour to make a thread that is about the actual gosh-darned philosophy of homebrew. I don't have too much strictly academic knowledge, but I like to think, and, on a very basic level, that is all you need to become a philosopher.] See Djinn's brilliant rebuttal below. However, I still think it would be fun to have a thread based around some of the more prevalent and traditional aspects of philosophy.

Some thoughts to consider:

Homebrew is, in a way transient. It is sent around the world briefly, but it only persists until the next thread purge, at which point it will be lost.

Why do we create these things that only work in a little-played, insignificant game, and will probably be used a maximum of 3 or 5 times, if we're lucky? What is our motive, and why do we find it pleasurable?

What (probably minor) ethical responsibilities come with homebrew? Is it anything beyond simple politeness to ask to use a homebrew? What of copyright and the ethics behind that?

[Djinn_in_Tonic]

Seems like a discussion for the RPG forum rather than the Homebrew forum, honestly.

That said, I'll still defend the title of my work by saying that philosophy is as much a mindset and an approach to something as it is a philosophical debate. Thus, learning the methods by which you approach a problem qualify as philosophy. Hell, that's practically what all of Socrates' dialogues are about: showing people how to approach problems, rather than giving them solutions. A series of questions that must be asked to achieve understanding.

I was a philosophy major for several years. I sort of know what I'm talking about.

Also, might I request a slight title change? I can't help but feel that this thread is sort of both poking fun at me and making my treatise seem a little undervalued. Maybe it's just that I've had a bad week, but I'm feeling slightly offended here.

[Lord Vukodlak]

The philosophy of the homebrew thread is to share any homebrew RPG material that you wish to share for any reason. Or to request home brew material that accomplishes a given task.

[Melayl]

I'd have to second Djinn in defending his thread. Philosophy is an outlook on a particular subject.

Homebrew is, in a way transient. It is sent around the world briefly, but it only persists until the next thread purge, at which point it will be lost.

Why do we create these things that only work in a little-played, insignificant game, and will probably be used a maximum of 3 or 5 times, if we're lucky? What is our motive, and why do we find it pleasurable?

What (probably minor) ethical responsibilities come with homebrew? Is it anything beyond simple politeness to ask to use a homebrew? What of copyright and the ethics behind that?

This seems, to me, not to be about the philosophy of homebrew. It seems, to me, to be more about the psychology of homebrew, and some minor legal questions regarding homebrew.

[TheLonelyScribe]

Seems like a discussion for the RPG forum rather than the Homebrew forum, honestly.

I thought that more people actually interested in homebrew would read it here, and it is related to homebrew.

That said, I'll still defend the title of my work by saying that philosophy is as much a mindset and an approach to something as it is a philosophical debate. Thus, learning the methods by which you approach a problem qualify as philosophy. Hell, that's practically what all of Socrates' dialogues are about: showing people how to approach problems, rather than giving them solutions. A series of questions that must be asked to achieve understanding.

Spoken like a true philosopher. However, I would still like to approach homebrew with some of the more traditional aspects of philosophy.

I was a philosophy major for several years. I sort of know what I'm talking about.

Cool!

Also, might I request a slight title change? I can't help but feel that this thread is sort of both poking fun at me and making my treatise seem a little undervalued. Maybe it's just that I've had a bad week, but I'm feeling slightly offended here.

Why of course. It's not only you that had a thread with philosophy in there, so it's nothing against you specifically, in case you thought that. Any suggestions on what to re-name it to?

(By the way, your thread is excellent for what it is, but I wouldn't have called it philosophy until you gave the wonderful argument above. Don't feel that I don't appreciate your thread, it's brilliant)


I think that this thread can still be reasonably termed the philosophy of homebrew, however. Ethics are a major part of philosophy, and that is certainly some of the questions I asked. 'Why?' has also always been a huge question in philosophy, and that is also amongst the questions I asked. Philosophy does brush close with psychology, but it is distinctly different, and, with my limited but fair experience of it, I think that the questions I asked are certainly philosophical.

(for anyone wondering, philosophy literally means love of wisdom)

[Milskidasith]

People post up homebrew because they like working with the crunch, want to get an idea of balance for something they are presenting for their game, want to improve D&D, or have an idea they want to share.

It's a good thing people homebrew, and I respect the people who take their time to do it (even if my posts seem to be contrary to that); I certainly don't have enough unique ideas to put together anything, and I'm better at finding things that aren't balanced than actually balancing something myself.

[TheLonelyScribe]

Sorry for the double-post, but it just occurred to me, we've already started to philosophise on the very nature of philosophy! Preety good work for a thread that's only been up a couple of hours

EDIT: Oops! Ninja'd. Turns out it wasn't a double-post after all.

[Samm]

Well, I enjoy doing a little homebrew, because it gives me the satisfaction of achieving something. Knowing I've done a decent job at something makes me happy.

Also, I find the process of creating a homebrew fun. I like figuring out how to fix the problems presented in the WOTC rules.

[Vaynor]

This seems almost identical to your last thread on homebrew, and asks pretty much the same question. Was your question not suitably answered there (that is, why homebrew?)?

The legal question is irrelevant, official D&D books suggest that people create homebrew for their own games, and the OGL permits such actions.

[TheLonelyScribe]

This seems almost identical to your last thread on homebrew, and asks pretty much the same question. Was your question not suitably answered there (that is, why homebrew?)?

Um - I think you're mistaking me for someone else. I'm pretty sure I've never started a thread on homebrew in general before.


Anyway, to explore my own question of 'Why homebrew?' I would say this:

The first thing we have to establish is this - how much semi-objectively sensible point is there to homebrew? I would say that often the answer is very little. I would say that because homebrew often simply falls flat. Either few people see it, it is faulty in some way, it just isn't a cool concept etc. etc. and no-one ends up using it. A successful homebrew, I would say, is the exception rather than the rule. If you find that most of the ones you can remember were successful then that's probably because good homebrews are more likely to stick in your mind than bland, boring, worthless ones.

So why do it at all? I would say that, beyond simply enjoying the process (which is reason enough), we do it in a hope that it will become non-futile, that we will eventually be able to make something with worth. This, I would say, is not a bad goal - trying to make something that not only shows our own craftsmanship and develops our skill but also brings possibility of enjoyment for other people. True, D&D and other RPGs aren't the most important thing in the world, but I would say that a homebrewer practising his homebrew, possibly to get published in a sourcebook one day, is at least as admirable as a dedicated amateur footballer practising his sport, hopefully to play in a tournament some day.

[Djinn_in_Tonic]

Why do we create these things that only work in a little-played, insignificant game, and will probably be used a maximum of 3 or 5 times, if we're lucky? What is our motive, and why do we find it pleasurable?

Um...because it's fun? I homebrew for the same reason I write: all my homebrew classes come with a story and a theme, and crafting a fitting result becomes an entertaining and sometimes challenging game in which I have to seamlessly integrate mechanics with flavor into a single cohesive whole. I build things I envision, however random they might be (really...how many Artificer/Barbarians or Artificer/Incarnates are there out there?). If people use them, well, that's just icing on the cake. That's really all there is to it.

What (probably minor) ethical responsibilities come with homebrew? Is it anything beyond simple politeness to ask to use a homebrew? What of copyright and the ethics behind that?

I have no ethical responsibilities when I'm homebrewing, except to credit the ideas of others if I draw inspiration from them, or ask if I want to take an ability entirely. People using my work have no ethical responsibility to me, except to credit me with the result, and not post it elsewhere as their own work, nor edit it and distribute it without crediting me with the original and themselves with the edits (and preferably linking to the original). That's really about it. I don't do it for the intellectual copyright: I do it for my own enjoyment and the enjoyment of others.

[Vaynor]

Um - I think you're mistaking me for someone else. I'm pretty sure I've never started a thread on homebrew in general before.

Hm, I definitely am. My apologies. In my (somewhat lacking) defense, Deathdarken's avatar looks kind of similar to yours in my muddled mind.

[Kurtmuran]

why homebrew? why not? the dungeon master manual says you can make your own world like your imagination goes to, and remember the phrase of gary gygax

"knowledge , logic, reason and common sense serve better than a dozen rule books" gary gegax (27-7-1938.4-3-2008)