D&D 5E Indifying 5e

[nightspaladin]

Really liking 5e right now, but I'd like to add more narrative style options that other more "Indie"(hate this term) games offer. I didn't find the options in the DMG for this all that inspiring. I'm looking for some way to have character aspects have a bigger effect on the mechanics of the game than they do with just Background effect. I guess similar to 13th age or maybe even Cortex Plus, with concepts of character having not necessarily baked in mechanical effects, but the ability to give them weight beyond just (here's inspiration). I could graft on aspects and such to 5e, but I'm not sure how to apply them without breaking the already fragile game math. Any suggestions from fans of indie style games and 5e alike? Thanks.

 

[The Mirrorball Man]

As far as I'm concerned, 13th Age IS D&D with an indie sensibility. It has everything you seen to be looking for, loads of narrative aspects and innovative mechanisms, it is balanced and it feels like D&D. In fact, it is D&D, with the same classes, the same races, the same characteristics and the same monsters.

 

[Paraxis]

Use fail forward, all rolls out of combat move the story forward just failed checks cause complications, frequent use of inspiration for ideals/bonds/flaws, maybe compel those things to force actions if they refuse the DM gets inspiration to spend on the npc's/monsters, let the narrative of the world be influenced by the players if you haven't stated clearly what isn't/is in the room for example let them add to it. (Example, instead of asking the DM if there is window he can throw the bad guy out of, assume if the player wants to throw the guy through a window, there is infact a window, unless you described it as a windowless room when they entered.)

Stuff like that, [MENTION=97077]iserith[/MENTION] is good at this kind of stuff and runs most of his games this way it seems hopefully we can get some of his input.

 

[pemerton]

frequent use of inspiration for ideals/bonds/flaws, maybe compel those things to force actions if they refuse the DM gets inspiration to spend on the npc's/monsters

If you want to use compels, then you would compel the player based on the PCs bonds or flaws, and give inspiration in return.

I'm looking for some way to have character aspects have a bigger effect on the mechanics of the game than they do with just Background effect. I guess similar to 13th age or maybe even Cortex Plus, with concepts of character having not necessarily baked in mechanical effects, but the ability to give them weight beyond just (here's inspiration). I could graft on aspects and such to 5e, but I'm not sure how to apply them without breaking the already fragile game math.

How fragile is the maths? I'm not sure.

Anyway, here's an easy suggestion: allow Inspiration to stockpile, and then frame the PCs into situations in which they have to use their Inspiration to survive. (The non-stacking of advantage means that they can't use all their Inspiration on a single roll.)

Going beyond inspiration, for out-of-combat resolution you want a mechanic that introduces finality. So you need "let it ride" (ie no retries) for stat/skill checks. (Here is a link to some 4e-era advice in relation to this on the WotC site.)

And you also need a non-combat scene resolution mechanic. Marvel Heroic RP, HeroWars/Quest, Burning Wheel and 4e all have this. 13th Age doesn't, which is a significant strike against its claim to be an "indie" version of D&D. The easiest to adapt would either be 4e's skill challenges (but using 5e principles for setting DCs), or HeroQuest revised's extended contest rules, which use a d20 and target numbers roughly in the range of 5e target numbers.

You also need fail forward, discussed above. The best treatment of that (as Jonathan Tweet acknowledges in both 13th Age and the 20th Anniversary edition of Over the Edge) is by Luke Crane in Burning Wheel. The key is to distinguish "intent" and "task". If the player succeeds in the check, the PC succeeds at the task and achieves what s/he intended. If the player fails, the GM narrates the consequences, but focusing more heavily on failure of intent than failure of task.

 

[SirAntoine]

As far as I'm concerned, 13th Age IS D&D with an indie sensibility. It has everything you seen to be looking for, loads of narrative aspects and innovative mechanisms, it is balanced and it feels like D&D. In fact, it is D&D, with the same classes, the same races, the same characteristics and the same monsters.

Why haven't they been sued if that is the case? They don't own the rights to those IP's.

 

[SirAntoine]

Really liking 5e right now, but I'd like to add more narrative style options that other more "Indie"(hate this term) games offer. I didn't find the options in the DMG for this all that inspiring. I'm looking for some way to have character aspects have a bigger effect on the mechanics of the game than they do with just Background effect. I guess similar to 13th age or maybe even Cortex Plus, with concepts of character having not necessarily baked in mechanical effects, but the ability to give them weight beyond just (here's inspiration). I could graft on aspects and such to 5e, but I'm not sure how to apply them without breaking the already fragile game math. Any suggestions from fans of indie style games and 5e alike? Thanks.

Just apply the narrative you want.

 

[The Mirrorball Man]

Why haven't they been sued if that is the case? They don't own the rights to those IP's.

To what IPs? Barbarians? Wizards? Goblins? Dragons? Wisdom? Charisma? What?

 

[Prickly]

There is the option to have skills replaced with the characters background in the DMG

 

[Paraxis]

There is the option to have skills replaced with the characters background in the DMG

That is a good one, don't worry about skills. If their background or class suggests they should be good at something just let them roll the ability check and add proficiency.

 

[pemerton]

Why haven't they been sued if that is the case? They don't own the rights to those IP's.

The game is published under the OGL, whereby the owner of that IP (to the extent that it is owned) licences its use for free (as part of the 3E SRD).