Temperature Test: D&D?
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I've had an idea kicking around my brainholder for a while now. A D&D game that has elements of an actual game in it. I don't mean like a MUD, but an actual MUSH with parts that are a game and more than just "a place to rp."
You would earn xp and gold as an Adventurer. You'd be able to hire adventuring troupes to go reclaim relics/artifacts in your name as a Noble. You'd be able to make a name for yourself and earn dat money by being a Crafter. Or you could be any other sort of general civvie type and own a tavern or inn or work on the docks or be a guard and the like.
Before I put too much time and energy into this, I want to know if there'd be interest in a different type of game than most of the MU's around here.
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It's not a bad idea, but I would suggest that you take it a step further and require that players use the gold they get to survive. Otherwise, they'll just hoard shit for no good reason.
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Of course. Depending on who they are and what they do, the Cost of Living would be X. Plus taxing and having to pay for shop space and materials and the like. There wouldn't really be much ability to horde unless you're a member of like one of the Noble houses and have an "allowance from the piggybank" as it were.
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Promise me that there won't be any PC members of a noble house, and I'll be happy to assist you on developing a workable D&D "economy" system.
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I liked the d20 Modern rewards system. I don't know how good it was, but I felt the abstraction was a good start.
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Can't say that. People enjoy political RP too much to say no. I wouldn't let PC's be in charge (to start, maybe never), but people enjoy playing the noble with the money. I would have to create some sort of Social currency to give them something to focus on (the group championing your name brought back the mayor's kidnapped child, so you get more renown for it).
Look at it like Changeling. You have the chance to play pretty much any sort of character you want. All of them are useful and important. I would, ideally, enjoy something along those lines.
Can't say I've seen them. I've been reading through D&D 5e before going back over prior editions to see which ones would "fit the best" with my idea.
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@lavit2099 said:
Can't say that. People enjoy political RP too much to say no.
Political RP does not require noble houses. There are plenty of politics among mercenary guilds, farmer co-operatives, families, thieves, merchants, etc. Why do people need titles to think that they can wield political power?
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@lavit2099 said:
People enjoy political RP too much to say no.
Do they really?
I've seen maaaaaaaaaaaaaybe five players, in my life, who are actually, truly interested in feudal politics. The rest want to be knights and lords and princesses without actually doing anything. Which I honestly think is fine, but it's not political RP, and I honestly do think it should be minimized in my ideal D&D game. My ideal game is not others' ideal game, though.
Any real approach to politics in that kind of society also requires attention by staff to delegating resources and keeping tabs on alliances, all of which is a stupid amount of work if you want to do it right and just becomes nonsense if you don't.
I concur you can have plenty of scheming and alliance building between more D&D-ish groups, like mercenary guilds.
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Do yourself a favor and read d20M. Absorb it; it's a short read. It's as close to an "indie game" as D&D has ever been, and it directly addresses the issue that the modern world is so complex that there's no way that D&D could fit directly into it. Alignments are gone. Humongloid spell and feat and magic item lists are gone. The Four Basic Classes, gone. It feels a lot like "D&D 1/2", but it has a great number of ideas that would be good for a persistent, non-currated online game.
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I'll give it a look this weekend, thanks for the suggestions.
You're both right. Don't need noble houses. I just wanted to include them. Hmm. I'll rethink that, then.
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I mean, it's your game, do what you want, and a lot of players enjoy them. They just come with a certain amount of baggage and attract a certain type of RP, and I think you should think about if that's what you want your game to be.
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@Three-Eyed-Crow said:
@lavit2099 said:
People enjoy political RP too much to say no.
Do they really?
I've seen maaaaaaaaaaaaaybe five players, in my life, who are actually, truly interested in feudal politics. The rest want to be knights and lords and princesses without actually doing anything. Which I honestly think is fine, but it's not political RP, and I honestly do think it should be minimized in my ideal D&D game. My ideal game is not others' ideal game, though.
I definitely have met a number of players extremely interested in the dynamics of political groups interacting and the RP that comes from it, and I've seen it done well. But I think they are a small minority compared to individuals who enjoy the trappings of power/control but have no interest whatsoever in ever RPing the responsibility that would come with it, particularly when it comes to generating RP for people below them.
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I would think that political machinations exist on a different scale of scraping up coppers to survive. Then, I don't like mixing high- and low-level campaigns.
“If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe.”
― Carl Sagan, Cosmos -
A medieval miner could pull 2000 pounds of ore a day. Ore can easily be 20% of the desired material.
Not an ounce a month! Grumble grumble, stupid Peverel, grumble grumble, never gets over it
Oh, right, a functional economy. Make it happen.
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Not my thing. I just never bought into D&D as somewhere I want to RP. Its awesome for RPGs on my computer, though.
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@Thenomain said:
Then, I don't like mixing high- and low-level campaigns.
I'm not suggesting doing so; I'm suggesting sticking to the low-level campaigns. They are so much more rewarding. Eventually, as Levels go up, you can get into a grander scale, but it'd be nice to start low.
“It is better to live doing the things that you like. It is foolish to live within this dream of a world seeing unpleasantness and doing only things that you do not like.” -- Yamamoto Tsunetomo.
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Not everything is about you, you know!
I see different social classes in D&D working out as well as setting them in entirely different cities. Everyone might have what they like, but are there enough people in one group to make it work for anyone?
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I would be intrigued, but, the problem, as I see it anyway, is D&D is all about the Dungeon Crawl, and will that translate well?
I'm a rodeo clown.
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@tragedyjones I see your dungeon crawl, and raise you Spelljamming
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Also, do you use a version of D&D that's married to a grid? If so, how do you handle that?
