D&D Adventure!! (Interest Check)

Cwispy

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I know that typically D&D games don't get very much traction on this site. But I'd really like to DM a game for some lovely folks and see where it goes. What I love about D&D is that it's a fun and creative outlet that encourages teamwork and rewards roleplaying. It's fun to step out of your own shoes for a moment and fill the shoes of a fantastic adventurer in the next. And yes, I even enjoy the rules and mechanics that underpin the game because they give a sense of weight to your actions, a sense of rigidity that you can flex on to see how far you can bend those rules in your favor (which I'm all for, go nuts).

However, I do have some thoughts on using variant rules so the game runs smoother in the context that this will be a text based forum role play. We will be using D&D's 5th edition rules, so I do expect you to be familiar with those (although if you're not that's fine, you just need to be willing to learn). My plans are to actually take a lot of the dice rolling out of the equation. You might be thinking--"Well Chile, D&D is all about rollin' them dice, why would you want to remove that sweet, sweet dice rolling action?"--WELL I'LL TELL YOU WHY, IMAGINARY VOICE IN MY HEAD! *cough cough*

Ahem.

It's because this is also a forum roleplay where I would rather we spend most of our time doing that- roleplaying our characters. The rules and ability sets for those characters are a framework that informs you what your character can do and is good at. Now when it comes to combat, we will absolutely be rolling dice, but for general exploration and roleplaying checks, I plan on letting players use static values. I hope this also encourages the party to plan their characters with each other, so that everyone spreads their skills for a degree of versatility in the party.

So to roughly explain what this variant rule will look like. If you're familiar with how skills and tool proficiency works in D&D then you know that a skill you're proficient in is likely to have a +5 bonus to that skill. Well that'll translate into you being competent in that skill, meaning you can do the thing without wasting a whole lot of time. It means success on most things that aren't above your skill level. As your character levels up, you'll become even better, and values like a +10 in a skill translate to expertise, meaning most things will never be above your skill level, and you can do the thing without wasting any time.

Does this mean you can't roll? No. Anyone who wants to roll can. It's just a crime in my opinion to watch the sneaky-stabby rogue who is supposed to be good at stealth trip over a pile of logs and alert an entire bandit camp because he rolled a 1. Although in that scenario you could argue that the rogue was under a degree of pressure and that could account for why he failed (maybe he was nervous, or drank some month old milk and had Hershey squirts). However, absent that pressure your characters should just be good with the skill set they have. You can still definitely roll for things you're not good at, because it is always entertaining to watch the hulking half-orc fighter clad in plate mail roll a 20 on a stealth check. However the difficulty class of something you're good at versus not good at varies accordingly.

ANYWAYS

That's an example of a variant rule I plan on using, and I'll go through the others if this gets enough interest. Now I want to roll out some campaign ideas, but please don't hesitate to tell me what type of campaign you want to play. If that idea can get enough support from everyone else then I'll roll with it ^_^ (hehe geddit.... roll with it...)

IDEA NUMBER ONE: In a world where monsters are so prevalent they've united the races of the world in a struggle for survival you would be playing a group of monster hunters tasked with pushing back the ever encroaching darkness. You would also be hunting for powerful relics that can aid civilization in that fight. Both Arcane and Divine magic are rare in this world (although you can certainly play a caster) because the gods are hardly talking to people these days, and arcane magic is a precious resource needed for defending civilization.

IDEA NUMBER TWO!! A sandbox adventure? This would be more classic fantasy and the plot would be driven by the players. Oh hey, remember that crazy band of orcs you fought on your first adventure? Turns out they're mad you took their leader's head and are out for revenge, so they're going to sack every town you've visited until they find you :D THE PLOT THICKENS! Basically plot hooks and potential story threads will be everywhere, and whichever one the party naturally gravitates toward will help the larger story unfold. And also personal character arcs are much more important in this campaign.

IDEA NUMBER THREE!!!... Wait. I don't really have an idea number three. Maybe a more themed roleplay? Like a political campaign against corrupt powers, being at the center of a revolution, stopping a war between races?? Idunno. You guys can fill in this blank for me.

Okay. So that's all I got. I hope you don't feel assaulted by this wall of text ^_^

P.S. If you're worried about my ability to quickly create a world around a campaign idea--DON'T!- I plan on taking the lazy way out by generically naming everything and rolling randomly on tables to generate the world ^_^ It will be quick and easy and I'll breath color and life into it withreddit my INCREDIBLE IMPROV SKILLS! Plus you guys will help me flesh out the world. This is a team effort, after all.
 
I wouldn’t mind seeing what kind of GM you are. Maybe we can chat about mechanics some time as well.
 
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I wouldn’t mind seeing what kind of GM you are. Maybe we can chat about mechanics some time as well.

I would love to. I haven't GM'd on this site in a while, but I DM for the games I run quite a bit. I'm in a weird place right now where I play D&D more than I DM and its bothering me xD So I came here to see if anyone's interested.
 
While I am not big into DnD on sites, I do like the concepts put forth.
 
I tried introducing my own story and system a few months ago. It didn’t catch on like I hoped. I do run a private game on my personal Discord with about five or six players. They seem happy with it.
 
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I tried introducing my own story and system a few months ago. It didn’t catch on like I hoped. I do run a private game on my personal Discord with about five or six players. They seem happy with it.

Yeah it's tough to get rolling. I think most members of Iwaku have an aversion to rules or systems in a roleplay, which is fair. If this gains enough traction, it might just end up being something we run on a discord. We'll see though. I'm looking for interest first and then we can discuss how it is we want to play, the pace we want to go at, ect..

While I am not big into DnD on sites, I do like the concepts put forth.

And that's why I want to introduce some variant rules to streamline things since this is probably going to be a forum roleplay. HOWEVER. I'm not averse to trying to run something on say discord, where maybe we create a transcript of what our characters have done, and then post that here (for other people to read if they want, or just so we can fully flesh out how our characters think, feel, react; as opposed to snappy responses to make the game run more quickly on the discord).

Stick around if you're interested. ^_^
 
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I'd be town to RP this out, if there's no dice rolling involved. I do enjoy the lore of DnD, but never really did a campaign due to the mechanical requirements. I prefer idea number two, where the adventures come as the group progresses. It sounds more improvisational, but I think it would be fun.
 
I would also be down to clown. I've been wanting to be a player in a 5e campaign for once.
 
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I'd be town to RP this out, if there's no dice rolling involved. I do enjoy the lore of DnD, but never really did a campaign due to the mechanical requirements. I prefer idea number two, where the adventures come as the group progresses. It sounds more improvisational, but I think it would be fun.

Well I want to be clear, there will be dice rolling and stats (your character sheet). And depending on the setting we may not be using traditional D&D lore, although I really don't plan on changing much (I'm gonna build a world the lazy way :D )
 
Im down. My other campaign essentially never meets up due to certain people’s inability to post their work schedules so we can never plan a date to play. I’m having D&D withdrawl. Lol
 
Not really looking for a standard DnD campaign atm, but I would like to suggest Dungeon World. It is a rules-lite version of 5e, basically, and is generally far more geared and focused towards the narrative aspect of the roleplay. I think it also works wonderfully in text.
 
Im down. My other campaign essentially never meets up due to certain people’s inability to post their work schedules so we can never plan a date to play. I’m having D&D withdrawl. Lol

Woot! I think we have enough interest then for me to get the ball rolling. I probably won't have anything until next week, so stand by.


Not really looking for a standard DnD campaign atm, but I would like to suggest Dungeon World. It is a rules-lite version of 5e, basically, and is generally far more geared and focused towards the narrative aspect of the roleplay. I think it also works wonderfully in text.

I'll have to check it out, although I'm certainly going to run a D&D campaign.
 
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I’ve done Dungeon World before. It’s a fun system, and it has some interesting design choices.

Also I forgot to mention, but I’m leaning more towards Idea 2 since I like classics
 
I'd be town to RP this out, if there's no dice rolling involved. I do enjoy the lore of DnD, but never really did a campaign due to the mechanical requirements. I prefer idea number two, where the adventures come as the group progresses. It sounds more improvisational, but I think it would be fun.

Well I want to be clear, there will be dice rolling and stats (your character sheet). And depending on the setting we may not be using traditional D&D lore, although I really don't plan on changing much (I'm gonna build a world the lazy way :D )

But I won't have to roll right? I don't mind others rolling. i just remember this quote from your first post: "Does this mean you can't roll? No. Anyone who wants to roll can." I'm fine with stats, but when I RP, I likely won't use them strictly, mostly as indicators for my character's capability.
 
I'd be town to RP this out, if there's no dice rolling involved. I do enjoy the lore of DnD, but never really did a campaign due to the mechanical requirements. I prefer idea number two, where the adventures come as the group progresses. It sounds more improvisational, but I think it would be fun.

Well I want to be clear, there will be dice rolling and stats (your character sheet). And depending on the setting we may not be using traditional D&D lore, although I really don't plan on changing much (I'm gonna build a world the lazy way :D )

But I won't have to roll right? I don't mind others rolling. i just remember this quote from your first post: "Does this mean you can't roll? No. Anyone who wants to roll can." I'm fine with stats, but when I RP, I likely won't use them strictly, mostly as indicators for my character's capability.

The only time I foresee people rolling is either A)when they want to, or B) persuasion checks for a particularly important NPC (although this depends on what your character wants from said NPC) and C) combat. There will probably be other scenarios, but it's something I'll ask for most of the time.

There are other variant rules I might add in but those will be put forth for players to vote and veto me on when I get the OOC going.

EDIT: I should add. If dice rolling isn't your thing, or if me asking you to make a roll (or me making a roll for you) is not what you're looking for, then this might not be for you. I am certainly looking for players who are committed to the game and excited for what we're going to do. But I will try to eliminate a lot of unnecessary rolling.
 
I am definitely intrigued by Dungeon World. I will have to give it a go sometime.
 
By the by, what classes are y’all planning on if y’alls got one in mind?
 
Druid Barbarian owo