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FRPG Ideas from D&D that ain't necessarily so


PhilFleischmann

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Re: FRPG Ideas from D&D that ain't necessarily so

 

18) Random groups of unrelated monsters will congregate in dungeons. These groups will have no ecological reason for existing in close proximity.

 

19) The dungeons these monsters dwell in will have been constructed for no conceivable purpose ... except to house said monsters.

 

20) These monsters will collect treasure, even though the treasure does not serve any survival mechanism for said monsters. In fact, the only function the treasure serves is to attract adventurers to kill the aforementioned monsters.

 

These three issues were partly what drove me to try out Xcrawl. Why is this dungeon here? Why are these monsters here? Why is the treasure here?

 

Answer: The PCs are celebrity adventurers, playing in worldwide televised deathmatches against various DJs (Dungeon Judges) over the course of their careers, exploring staged dungeons and fighting monsters hired or captured to fight against the PCs. All in front of a live studio audience.

 

And if they die? They die!

 

It was one of my more successful campaigns, expecially once the players got into the spirit of the thing, playing their characters like a mix between action movie stars and wrestling heroes. :D

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Re: FRPG Ideas from D&D that ain't necessarily so

 

I scanned back through the list, and I don't recall seeing this one.

 

62) Despite being an evil, treacherous and homicidal race, Drow are kewl to many gamers (and to at least one author many of us can probably name). ;)

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Speaking of that particular writer...

 

62) Despite being an evil' date=' treacherous and homicidal race, Drow are kewl to many gamers (and to at least one author many of us can probably name). ;)[/quote']

 

62a) Despite being an evil, treacherous, and homicidal race, three out of five Drow that you'll run into are actually Chaotic Good rebels against their oppressive society. ;)

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Re: Speaking of that particular writer...

 

62a) Despite being an evil' date=' treacherous, and homicidal race, three out of five Drow that you'll run into are actually Chaotic Good rebels against their oppressive society. ;)[/quote']

 

This reminds me....

 

63 (?): The best weapons are all Double Weapons, because they have 2 ends! The second best are any weapons Dual Weilded.

Normal 1 and 2 handed weapons are for chumps like Conan, Roland, King Arthur and Cuchulain.

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Re: FRPG Ideas from D&D that ain't necessarily so

 

64) The best warrior in the world still flings his blade into the shrubbery 1 in 20 times.

 

65) Given an open field with absolutely no cover, some characters will still be able to evade a hail of arrow fire or a torrent of dragon breath.

 

66) Rooms and chests that have never held anything of value still may be trapped.

 

67) The number of jagged points on a person's armor is usually how many steps they are from Neutral towards Chaotic Evil. More than five points means they are irredeemable and should be smited. Smote. Smitten. Whatever.

 

68) Characters with every reason to despise each other will remain together as long as it's profitable.

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Re: FRPG Ideas from D&D that ain't necessarily so

 

69) All females are stunningly beautiful or they are unhumanly ugly. There is no middle ground. Males, on the other hand, are completely average and any female who does not show instant attraction to the notice of any man can be assumed to be "not interested in men" in general.

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Re: FRPG Ideas from D&D that ain't necessarily so

 

Excellent!

 

66) Rooms and chests that have never held anything of value still may be trapped.

66a) Traps remain in good repair - functional and every bit as dangerous - forever. No part of any trap, be it made of wood, rope, string, leather, or any other animal or plant product, will ever rot, decay, stiffen, become brittle, or be eaten by termites or other vermin. No poison in a trap will ever break down or lose toxicity. No metal part of a trap will ever rust, unless that makes the trap more deadly. No sharp part of a trap will ever become dull and blunt. Traps can wait for hundreds or even thousands of years waiting to be sprung.

 

67) The number of jagged points on a person's armor is usually how many steps they are from Neutral towards Chaotic Evil. More than five points means they are irredeemable and should be smited. Smote. Smitten. Whatever.

67a) Jagged points and other extraneous flanges on armor or weapons never hinder the item's function, even though they should, by all logic - at the very least, they add to the weight. Metal is such a cheap and plentiful commodity, that it's not at all impractical to add decorative flourishes to armor and weapons.

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Re: FRPG Ideas from D&D that ain't necessarily so

 

64) The best warrior in the world still flings his blade into the shrubbery 1 in 20 times.

 

Missing and flinging your blade into the shrubbery are quite different in my game. Yours may be different. It's easily changed. Multiply every modifier by 5 and roll d100, auto miss on a 1 and autosuccess on a 100. Now we only miss an easy (autohit) shot 1% of the time (getting clower to that 1 in 256 chance Hero gives).

65) Given an open field with absolutely no cover' date=' some characters will still be able to evade a hail of arrow fire or a torrent of dragon breath.[/quote']

 

Hmmm...much like in fantasy novels and fantasy movies. Can't have that, I suppose!

 

66) Rooms and chests that have never held anything of value still may be trapped.

 

This can be in any game - it's a GM issue. To me, there should be a reason the person who built the trap put it there.

 

68) Characters with every reason to despise each other will remain together as long as it's profitable.

 

Just like many real-world business relationships!

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Re: FRPG Ideas from D&D that ain't necessarily so

 

69) All females are stunningly beautiful or they are unhumanly ugly. There is no middle ground. Males' date=' on the other hand, are completely average and any female who does not show instant attraction to the notice of any man can be assumed to be "not interested in men" in general.[/quote']

Uhm...I never saw this in any of my games. Beyond the Fantasy In General terms. Must have been your games.

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Re: FRPG Ideas from D&D that ain't necessarily so

 

Like any book in which the hero would be atomized by fire but isn't. That's a fair number.

 

Now I'm curious - are these good books worth reading? I don't read a lot of fantasy (I prefer scifi) mainly because I view it as the genre more likely to contain crap writers. but if there are books that have these tropes in them - I would like to have a read. Can you suggest some?

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Re: FRPG Ideas from D&D that ain't necessarily so

 

Now I'm curious - are these good books worth reading? I don't read a lot of fantasy (I prefer scifi) mainly because I view it as the genre more likely to contain crap writers. but if there are books that have these tropes in them - I would like to have a read. Can you suggest some?

 

The ones by Paul Kidd are a hoot, and quite subversive. There's more than a few lines where the editors really should have been paying more attention *evil grin*

 

plus, as a bonus, the Justicar Trilogy drove Bob Salvatore and other drow fans out of their minds, and had to be incorported into the setting history

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Re: FRPG Ideas from D&D that ain't necessarily so

 

The ones by Paul Kidd are a hoot, and quite subversive. There's more than a few lines where the editors really should have been paying more attention *evil grin*

 

plus, as a bonus, the Justicar Trilogy drove Bob Salvatore and other drow fans out of their minds, and had to be incorported into the setting history

 

So, do you think they're good books or worth reading? Maybe on a "how not to write" lesson?

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Re: FRPG Ideas from D&D that ain't necessarily so

 

Now I'm curious - are these good books worth reading? I don't read a lot of fantasy (I prefer scifi) mainly because I view it as the genre more likely to contain crap writers. but if there are books that have these tropes in them - I would like to have a read. Can you suggest some?

No it was a general statement. Heroes in adventure Fiction (Sci Fi, Fantasy, Spy novels, Historical Fiction....whatever) dodge things all the time. I don't see what the big deal is.

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Re: FRPG Ideas from D&D that ain't necessarily so

 

So' date=' do you think they're good books or worth reading? Maybe on a "how not to write" lesson?[/quote']

 

good books, worth reading, keenly aware of the D&D tropes and lovingly satirising them whilst still staying true to the genre.

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Re: FRPG Ideas from D&D that ain't necessarily so

 

No it was a general statement. Heroes in adventure Fiction (Sci Fi' date=' Fantasy, Spy novels, Historical Fiction....whatever) dodge things all the time. I don't see what the big deal is.[/quote']

 

I think it's more "the monk/rogue in an empty locked room with no way out and nothing to hid behind triggers a trap that fills the room with acid/explosion/fireball - the monk/rogue takes half or no damage because they dodged".

 

Rather than "the hero dodged behind something" or "out of the way of".

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Re: FRPG Ideas from D&D that ain't necessarily so

 

good books' date=' worth reading, keenly aware of the D&D tropes and lovingly satirising them whilst still staying true to the genre.[/quote']

 

Now that does sound interesting!

The closest I've got is the myth adventures, pratchett and Grunts by Mary Gentle to fantasy satire.

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