Post by Deleted on Nov 8, 2021 17:07:07 GMT -6
So this is it.
I don't like 5e, but my friends sometimes want to play it and nothing else.
That's more about the "classes", and not the system itself. Guys don't want to be a nature Cleric or Magic-User, they must write "Druid" in the character sheet.
So I was thinking on something to try to match their tastes of character creation crunchiness and my tastes of simplicity and fast bloody battles.
I didn't tried some of those ideas yet, but I'll try to arrange a one-shot soon.
Anyway it's always some fun to think about creating little Frankenstein games, so, I want to share with you guys, maybe you'll also have some cool ideas on how to destroy D&D 5e.
# Classes, Background, etc
Keep it. Do as you're used to. I like Druids as well. And Warlocks.
# Attributes, Skills and Saves
## Saves
You Save on a 8+ on 2d6.
If it's a tough situation, Save against 10+.
If not, don't Save at all, let the character survive or do their backflips I guess. If you don't want it to be so easy, then, an easy Save it's 6+ on 2d6 and now we've covered all three base difficulties.
That's something between Chainmail and Traveller. I've been using it for a while and I like it.
## Ability Scores
Point-buy or roll abilities, whatever, do as you're used to.
A 13+ ability score will give you +1 for Saves.
Apart from that you might need to use your total score for contests (opposed rolls) tests.
Constitution and Charisma are special abilities.
Your Constitution equals your character Hit Points. You can only improve your HP by increasing your Constitution.
Your Charisma determines how much loyalty each of your allies and henchmen will have.
## Skills and Feats
To keep it simple, if you have a skill you get +1 for Saves.
If you have Expertise (Rogues, Bards, etc) you get +2 for Saves with that Skill instead.
## Opposed Saves
So, this is the way I've found to make useful the "full scores", since most of the time it's only the modifiers that matter.
Not here, we're already using our full Constitution for HP.
In an opposed roll, you'll do your full ability score + 2d6 agains the full ability score of the creature +2d6. The higher value win.
You might want to do a longer contest, repeat it for some rounds.
Now a "Str 18" might make difference against a "Str 17" right? And you'll be happy.
# Armour Class
Thera are three kinds of Armour Class.
Light, Medium or Heavy.
(For Light Foot, Heavy Foot and Armoured Foot in Chainmail terms).
Your "AC points" stands for your armour durability.
Every time you suffer a `destructive attack` you roll for damage and you subtract that damage from the character AC.
Any exceeding damage will be subtracted from the character's HP.
Normal attacks (non-destructive) doesn't affect the AC durability and does damage directly on Hit Points.
(Destructive Attacks are attacks from another Heavy character*, or special attacks like acid, fire breath and other attacks or magic that could destroy armour)
*Think a Heavy Armoured Knight with a Halberd charging against you, maybe in a Horse. Your armour will suffer, that's a Destructive or Heavy Attack. Naming is hard.
# Hit Dice
Your Hit Dice equals your character level.
You can use one Hit Dice per short rest or as many as you want in a long rest to recover lost Hit Points.
You recover your hit dices by resting in cities and safe places.
Maybe, you'll always do a short rest in the end of a combat, so, alternatively, use up to one Hit Dice after each combat end if it will make your life easier and your players happy.
# To Hit and Damage
This is where things can go arbitrary, hacky and suffer further adaptations.
You can use the Chainmail inspired system (three kinds of Armour Class as mentioned before), or you can use directly your D&D alternative combat system as you're already used to.
Chainmail System: Each weapon have specific scores for hitting specific Armour Class, check the Chainmail Appendix B or use my streamlined system, E.g. Dagger 7+/9+/12 meaning roll 2d6, in a 7+ you hit Light defense creatures, on 9+ you hit Medium defense creatures and on a 12 you hit Heavy creatures. But in a hit instead of killing you do damage.
Alternative System: roll 1d20 against AC or your system of choice. Note that the AC might be suffering damage and you might hit a Plate easier considering it's melted or partially destroyed after some adventures.
In a non-destructive Weapon Hit, you deal damage directly, meaning that you managed to find a way through the armour.
In a destructive Hit your damage will be first subtracted from the target AC.
This system helps mitigate a bit of the damage escalation of 5e, since your Hit Points will not be improving, your AC will get in the way of tons of dices of damage and your fragile HP.
# Weapon Damage, Magic and Other
I still need to put some thought on it, but I guess that everything else might keep the same.
Like, Magical damage can scale a lot in 5e, and your HP is smaller than you're used, so the AC points system might help in balancing giving each character basically two HP pools.
For healing, maybe make it 1d6 for Spell level.
Weapon Damage, do as you want, but I suggest 1d6 for all weapons.
Other: Has been a while since I last played or DMed 5e so I can't think of more things that will not work with those adaptations, but I'll be no surprised if there is. The system is not perfect, I know, it's just a way to make things simpler than they are in the 5e or 3e crunchiness.
I particularly want Conan, Pulp Adventures, a simple system. I don't want a Fighter with 100+ HP and three hour combats, so that's where the adaptations are: Saves, HP, Combat and AC.
You can still use the 5e character sheet, there's no change that invalidate the sheet. You still have skills, but you're using a simple system to deal with it.
Well, I just noticed a thread called "How to Hack 5e for the Old School" when I was going to create this one, so I'll take a look at it soon to steal some ideas.
I don't like 5e, but my friends sometimes want to play it and nothing else.
That's more about the "classes", and not the system itself. Guys don't want to be a nature Cleric or Magic-User, they must write "Druid" in the character sheet.
So I was thinking on something to try to match their tastes of character creation crunchiness and my tastes of simplicity and fast bloody battles.
I didn't tried some of those ideas yet, but I'll try to arrange a one-shot soon.
Anyway it's always some fun to think about creating little Frankenstein games, so, I want to share with you guys, maybe you'll also have some cool ideas on how to destroy D&D 5e.
# Classes, Background, etc
Keep it. Do as you're used to. I like Druids as well. And Warlocks.
# Attributes, Skills and Saves
## Saves
You Save on a 8+ on 2d6.
If it's a tough situation, Save against 10+.
If not, don't Save at all, let the character survive or do their backflips I guess. If you don't want it to be so easy, then, an easy Save it's 6+ on 2d6 and now we've covered all three base difficulties.
That's something between Chainmail and Traveller. I've been using it for a while and I like it.
## Ability Scores
Point-buy or roll abilities, whatever, do as you're used to.
A 13+ ability score will give you +1 for Saves.
Apart from that you might need to use your total score for contests (opposed rolls) tests.
Constitution and Charisma are special abilities.
Your Constitution equals your character Hit Points. You can only improve your HP by increasing your Constitution.
Your Charisma determines how much loyalty each of your allies and henchmen will have.
## Skills and Feats
To keep it simple, if you have a skill you get +1 for Saves.
If you have Expertise (Rogues, Bards, etc) you get +2 for Saves with that Skill instead.
## Opposed Saves
So, this is the way I've found to make useful the "full scores", since most of the time it's only the modifiers that matter.
Not here, we're already using our full Constitution for HP.
In an opposed roll, you'll do your full ability score + 2d6 agains the full ability score of the creature +2d6. The higher value win.
You might want to do a longer contest, repeat it for some rounds.
Now a "Str 18" might make difference against a "Str 17" right? And you'll be happy.
# Armour Class
Thera are three kinds of Armour Class.
Light, Medium or Heavy.
(For Light Foot, Heavy Foot and Armoured Foot in Chainmail terms).
Your "AC points" stands for your armour durability.
Every time you suffer a `destructive attack` you roll for damage and you subtract that damage from the character AC.
Any exceeding damage will be subtracted from the character's HP.
Normal attacks (non-destructive) doesn't affect the AC durability and does damage directly on Hit Points.
(Destructive Attacks are attacks from another Heavy character*, or special attacks like acid, fire breath and other attacks or magic that could destroy armour)
*Think a Heavy Armoured Knight with a Halberd charging against you, maybe in a Horse. Your armour will suffer, that's a Destructive or Heavy Attack. Naming is hard.
# Hit Dice
Your Hit Dice equals your character level.
You can use one Hit Dice per short rest or as many as you want in a long rest to recover lost Hit Points.
You recover your hit dices by resting in cities and safe places.
Maybe, you'll always do a short rest in the end of a combat, so, alternatively, use up to one Hit Dice after each combat end if it will make your life easier and your players happy.
# To Hit and Damage
This is where things can go arbitrary, hacky and suffer further adaptations.
You can use the Chainmail inspired system (three kinds of Armour Class as mentioned before), or you can use directly your D&D alternative combat system as you're already used to.
Chainmail System: Each weapon have specific scores for hitting specific Armour Class, check the Chainmail Appendix B or use my streamlined system, E.g. Dagger 7+/9+/12 meaning roll 2d6, in a 7+ you hit Light defense creatures, on 9+ you hit Medium defense creatures and on a 12 you hit Heavy creatures. But in a hit instead of killing you do damage.
Alternative System: roll 1d20 against AC or your system of choice. Note that the AC might be suffering damage and you might hit a Plate easier considering it's melted or partially destroyed after some adventures.
In a non-destructive Weapon Hit, you deal damage directly, meaning that you managed to find a way through the armour.
In a destructive Hit your damage will be first subtracted from the target AC.
This system helps mitigate a bit of the damage escalation of 5e, since your Hit Points will not be improving, your AC will get in the way of tons of dices of damage and your fragile HP.
# Weapon Damage, Magic and Other
I still need to put some thought on it, but I guess that everything else might keep the same.
Like, Magical damage can scale a lot in 5e, and your HP is smaller than you're used, so the AC points system might help in balancing giving each character basically two HP pools.
For healing, maybe make it 1d6 for Spell level.
Weapon Damage, do as you want, but I suggest 1d6 for all weapons.
Other: Has been a while since I last played or DMed 5e so I can't think of more things that will not work with those adaptations, but I'll be no surprised if there is. The system is not perfect, I know, it's just a way to make things simpler than they are in the 5e or 3e crunchiness.
I particularly want Conan, Pulp Adventures, a simple system. I don't want a Fighter with 100+ HP and three hour combats, so that's where the adaptations are: Saves, HP, Combat and AC.
You can still use the 5e character sheet, there's no change that invalidate the sheet. You still have skills, but you're using a simple system to deal with it.
Well, I just noticed a thread called "How to Hack 5e for the Old School" when I was going to create this one, so I'll take a look at it soon to steal some ideas.