Some initial ideas for a D&D "retro not-clone" based on the animated TV series

First off, the conventions of the cartoon are quite different from standard D&D; players essentially play themselves, but with a single magic weapon.

Because the whole "playing oneself" concept is a tricky subject, I think its best to avoid players being forced to evaluate themselves in terms of the standard d&d attributes like "dexterity" or (shudder) "intelligence".

Instead, the stats will represent the approaches a player most often takes to problem solving.

So Players chose one approach as their Primary, one as their Secondary, and one as their Flaw...

Strength - you solve problems by using your physical might or prowess. You prefer direct solutions to problems and are always ready for a physical challenge.
Dexterity - you solve problems by speed and finesse. You prefer the subtle or stealthy solutions, and value looking graceful over seeming powerful.
Constitution - you are a brick wall; you dont initiate fights, you let them come to you. Slow and steadfast, you'll play the tortoise while surrounded by hares.
Intelligence - you value logic and reason above emotion. You are booksmart and curious, but easily distracted and sometimes bewildered by personal interactions.
Wisdom - you value common sense and think in terms of the big picture; you are always cautious and take time to make any decisions, considering all sides...
Charisma - you prefer to talk your way out of situations, and make decisions based on your emotions.

Next roll for your class; this is defined by and defines what magic item you receive upon entering the world of Dungeons and Dragons...

Fighter - Magic Sword
appearing as just an empty hilt, at will you can cause a blade of blue flame to arise.

Barbarian - Club of Might
when wielding this club, your strength is increased tenfold

Cavalier - Magic Shield
no blow nor bolt, no matter how mighty, can penetrate the force field this shield emits

Paladin - Hammer of Justice
when thrown, this hammer returns to its owner's hand. When touched, none can help but tell the truth.

Ranger - Magic Bow
appearing as a simple shaft of wood,when you make the motion of drawing back a bowstring, bolts of flame are unleashed

Thief - Cloak of Invisibility
when you draw the hood of this cloak over your head, you become invisible to normal sight

Acrobat - Magic Staff
a small stick that extends to any length up to six feet at will, allowing you to make great leaps

Magician - Magic Hat
With a few small words of incantation, anything can be pulled forth from this hat, though not always what you intend

Cleric - Amulet of Healing
can cure most any wound it touches, and purify any water it is placed in

Druid - Horn of Beasts
when blown, a group of animals - be it flock of birds, or school of fish - will come to your aid

Obviously these need some more rules, but for now lets get to task resolution:

Whenever attempting to do something, the player describes their approach to the problem, and the DM decides which Attribute this approach most exemplifies.
If the attribute matches the Player's Primary Attribute, the player rolls 3D6 and takes the highest result.
If the attribute matches the Player's Secondary Attribute, the player rolls 2D6 and takes the highest result.
If the attribute matches the Player's Flaw, the player rolls 2D6 and takes the lowest result.
Otherwise, the Player rolls 1D6.

A 4+ is a success, 3 or less is a failure.

If a player rolls doubles for the Primary or Secondary Attributes, add 1 to the result.
If a player rolls doubles for their Flaw, remove 1 from the result.


Thats probably enough for tonight, but its a good start I think.


(boy, The Acrobat sure got "the shaft" when it came to magic items now that I look at it...)

Quote from: Tristram Evans;936035Some initial ideas for a D&D "retro not-clone" based on the animated TV series

First off, the conventions of the cartoon are quite different from standard D&D; players essentially play themselves, but with a single magic weapon.

Because the whole "playing oneself" concept is a tricky subject, I think its best to avoid players being forced to evaluate themselves in terms of the standard d&d attributes like "dexterity" or (shudder) "intelligence".

Instead, the stats will represent the approaches a player most often takes to problem solving.

So Players chose one approach as their Primary, one as their Secondary, and one as their Flaw...

Strength - you solve problems by using your physical might or prowess. You prefer direct solutions to problems and are always ready for a physical challenge.
Dexterity - you solve problems by speed and finesse. You prefer the subtle or stealthy solutions, and value looking graceful over seeming powerful.
Constitution - you are a brick wall; you dont initiate fights, you let them come to you. Slow and steadfast, you'll play the tortoise while surrounded by hares.
Intelligence - you value logic and reason above emotion. You are booksmart and curious, but easily distracted and sometimes bewildered by personal interactions.
Wisdom - you value common sense and think in terms of the big picture; you are always cautious and take time to make any decisions, considering all sides...
Charisma - you prefer to talk your way out of situations, and make decisions based on your emotions.

Next roll for your class; this is defined by and defines what magic item you receive upon entering the world of Dungeons and Dragons...

Fighter - Magic Sword
appearing as just an empty hilt, at will you can cause a blade of blue flame to arise.

Barbarian - Club of Might
when wielding this club, your strength is increased tenfold

Cavalier - Magic Shield
no blow nor bolt, no matter how mighty, can penetrate the force field this shield emits

Paladin - Hammer of Justice
when thrown, this hammer returns to its owner's hand. When touched, none can help but tell the truth.

Ranger - Magic Bow
appearing as a simple shaft of wood,when you make the motion of drawing back a bowstring, bolts of flame are unleashed

Thief - Cloak of Invisibility
when you draw the hood of this cloak over your head, you become invisible to normal sight

Acrobat - Magic Staff
a small stick that extends to any length up to six feet at will, allowing you to make great leaps

Magician - Magic Hat
With a few small words of incantation, anything can be pulled forth from this hat, though not always what you intend

Cleric - Amulet of Healing
can cure most any wound it touches, and purify any water it is placed in

Druid - Horn of Beasts
when blown, a group of animals - be it flock of birds, or school of fish - will come to your aid

Obviously these need some more rules, but for now lets get to task resolution:

Whenever attempting to do something, the player describes their approach to the problem, and the DM decides which Attribute this approach most exemplifies.
If the attribute matches the Player's Primary Attribute, the player rolls 3D6 and takes the highest result.
If the attribute matches the Player's Secondary Attribute, the player rolls 2D6 and takes the highest result.
If the attribute matches the Player's Flaw, the player rolls 2D6 and takes the lowest result.
Otherwise, the Player rolls 1D6.

A 4+ is a success, 3 or less is a failure.

If a player rolls doubles for the Primary or Secondary Attributes, add 1 to the result.
If a player rolls doubles for their Flaw, remove 1 from the result.


Thats probably enough for tonight, but its a good start I think.


(boy, The Acrobat sure got "the shaft" when it came to magic items now that I look at it...)

But with a Magic Staff you can adjust the length of at will, you can do all kinds of evasions, trips, disarms, blocks, hit people out of HtH range, etc.  It's the most flexible of the melee weapons by far even if it's not as cool as a returning hammer of truth.

Quote from: Tristram Evans;936035Because the whole "playing oneself" concept is a tricky subject, I think its best to avoid players being forced to evaluate themselves in terms of the standard d&d attributes like "dexterity" or (shudder) "intelligence".

The way I've approached this, which is usually done in session zero because it gets kind of wacky but fun is, no one gets to evaluate themselves. You get to stat everyone else, and then the DM derives stats based on average. Player numbers that attempt to troll by being ridiculously low or high would be treated as outliers.

Mind you I am working on a kind of faux OSR that uses Approaches, one to replace skills and saving throws because actions are ascribed to them and saving throws are reactions which are still actions. Another simpler one where the Approaches replaces ability scores. The former could pair Approaches with Abilities, but kind of how Doctor Who Adventures In Time and Space could do it. You might pair Forceful with Intelligence because you know where to hit, or Quick with Wisdom because you might instinctively duck for cover even if you're not all that grateful about it. The neat thing is it can remove the neat for a separate hit bonus as well as Armor Class, though there might be some fiddly stuff when applying actual armor. The approaches I use are adapted kinda from Fate Accelerated with some inspiration taken from the d20 Modern Base Classes: Charming, Clever, Forceful, Quick, Tough and Willful. I retain the Accelerated like naming approach because using adjectives emphasizes that they are no ability scores and are more tied into actions than stating potential.

Some rules are easy:
Morale - roll a d6, on a result of 1-6 the PCs run away.

Quote from: JoeNuttall;936436Some rules are easy:
Morale - roll a d6, on a result of 1-6 the PCs run away.

Unless they are The Barbarian, which suffers from the "Chaotic Stupid" flaw