Can you Ship of Theseus a D&D edition into a new game?
Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2020 2:51 pm
I was wondering if it would be possible to patch an RPG sufficiently to make it a new game. I mean, Tome D&D is almost a different game, even though they were not made with an overarching plan.
If it is possible (or even if it’s not, since otherwise there’s not much to talk about,) how would you go about it? Are there any parts of the game that would be impossible to change?
In my thought experiment, I’d like to start with Basic Fantasy or one of the other open-source, OSR rulesets with ascending AC. This is for a couple reasons: My gaming group has played OSR games, but not 3e. The rules are pretty light, so there’s not much I’d have to contradict. And the OSR scene is pretty amenable to people writing whole new subsystems and putting in vague merchandise like saying a monster’s AC is “as chainmail.”
I think it’s be best to begin with a Book of Doods that presents replacement character classes and coincidentally unifies their XP requirements. The problem is that PC options would need to include classes and spells and maybe backgrounds/skills/proficiencies that would also necessitate work on the subsystems for interacting with the environment. Could those be broken out into their own book?
Another option would be to do things BECMI-style and write a book with low-level options, low level monsters, and just the rules for dicking around in a dungeon. The next book adds a few more levels and the rules for traveling the wilderness and dicking around in town. Then you write a big or’ monster manual, repackage the first two books into a unified system, and get to work on your domain rules.
Really, a big impetus for this idea is that I like the aesthetic of slim paperbacks that lie flat when you open them. Like a fantasy heartbreaker zine series. Also, this section of the board has gotten kinda dead while we all argue about the democratic primary.
If it is possible (or even if it’s not, since otherwise there’s not much to talk about,) how would you go about it? Are there any parts of the game that would be impossible to change?
In my thought experiment, I’d like to start with Basic Fantasy or one of the other open-source, OSR rulesets with ascending AC. This is for a couple reasons: My gaming group has played OSR games, but not 3e. The rules are pretty light, so there’s not much I’d have to contradict. And the OSR scene is pretty amenable to people writing whole new subsystems and putting in vague merchandise like saying a monster’s AC is “as chainmail.”
I think it’s be best to begin with a Book of Doods that presents replacement character classes and coincidentally unifies their XP requirements. The problem is that PC options would need to include classes and spells and maybe backgrounds/skills/proficiencies that would also necessitate work on the subsystems for interacting with the environment. Could those be broken out into their own book?
Another option would be to do things BECMI-style and write a book with low-level options, low level monsters, and just the rules for dicking around in a dungeon. The next book adds a few more levels and the rules for traveling the wilderness and dicking around in town. Then you write a big or’ monster manual, repackage the first two books into a unified system, and get to work on your domain rules.
Really, a big impetus for this idea is that I like the aesthetic of slim paperbacks that lie flat when you open them. Like a fantasy heartbreaker zine series. Also, this section of the board has gotten kinda dead while we all argue about the democratic primary.