D&D General ‘Witcher’ Style Adventures?

[Micah Sweet]

I real issue, I think, is that people like reading and watching stories of great hardship, distrust and even prejudice more than they enjoy playing in them. That's why WotC doesn't focus on this stuff, as much as I would like them to.

 

[Lyxen]

I real issue, I think, is that people like reading and watching stories of great hardship, distrust and even prejudice more than they enjoy playing in them. That's why WotC doesn't focus on this stuff, as much as I would like them to.

I can't do statistics, but the players at our table really like playing them too.

 

[TheSword]

I real issue, I think, is that people like reading and watching stories of great hardship, distrust and even prejudice more than they enjoy playing in them. That's why WotC doesn't focus on this stuff, as much as I would like them to.

I think people do enjoy mysteries and investigations though. Most of what happens in Witcher short stories is that. The game too to be fair.

The betrayal is actually far more rare. Geralt usually stays at least on acceptable terms with most players.

 

[Micah Sweet]

I think people do enjoy mysteries and investigations though. Most of what happens in Witcher short stories is that. The game too to be fair.

The betrayal is actually far more rare. Geralt usually stays at least on acceptable terms with most players.

I'm not talking about betrayal. I'm saying life is extraordinarily rough for most people in these "gritty" worlds, and part of that is distrust and prejudice from nearly everyone toward nearly everyone. This makes the story more realistic to me and I think that feel is part of the draw. WotC's focus is in entirely the opposite direction in that regard, and that, combined with a lack of interest in cultural nuance in favor of scant, inoffensive lack of detail, makes official D&D a poor fit for stories like the Witcher or GoT.

 

[Lyxen]

I'm not talking about betrayal. I'm saying life is extraordinarily rough for most people in these "gritty" worlds, and part of that is distrust and prejudice from nearly everyone toward nearly everyone.

I think the key here is the "nearly", because this is for me the reward of playing at least a bit lawful and/or good (which Geralt certainly is), the fact that despite the world being a gritty place, there are still a number of people that you have forged bonds with and that you can rely upon. And it mostly about these relationships / friendships with NPCs (although yes, some might be shaky, of convenience or just actually untrustworthy) that make the story move forward satisfactorily.

 

[AtomicPope]

In order to kill a monster you need to know it's weakness
I think this is the hardest to do in 5e, which leans heavily on the mechanic of killing monsters by hitting them repeatedly over the head until they fall down. It means redesigning a lot of monsters and leaning into research/knowledge skill checks.

Interesting you bring this up, because I was thinking that a NWoD provides a good system for Witcher for several reasons, but this just added another reason: Bans. When dealing spirits, and certain types of monsters, they have vulnerabilities, weaknesses, and compulsions that are often necessary to exploit in order to overcome their otherworldly defenses. Other reasons NWoD works well for Witcher:

1. Deadly Combat - If you're using a knife you can kill someone in one hit. It changes the way people view combat, especially lethal combat. If someone pulls out a sword you get very worried, especially if you're mortal. In order to avoid
2. Morality/Sanity - There are systems in place to guide behavior, sanity, and a certain style of play. When you're a murder hobo eventually you'll end up like Charles Manson. The NWoD system has monsters that can use your morality against you. If you have low morals you're way more susceptible to their powers.
3. Powers/Magic - Lots of different systems to choose from. I would choose Promethean the Created, especially since Witchers change when they use their alchemy. That's precisely what happens when Prometheans use their alchemy, they change and reveal their true alchemical nature, which is quite disturbing.

 

[CubicsRube]

The Book of Tales expansion for the witcher ttrpg is really good, even just for the lore.

I wrote what i liked about it in a previous thread, but some key elements that drive the theme home to me are:

Monsters often have immunities and vulnerabilities.

Monsters are often drawn to an area by a curse or by some sinful actions that seemingly innocent people have done

Not all monsters are bad

Sometimes, the humans are much worse

Besides other aspects of the lore, i feel this sets a clear mood that investigation is rewarded, and in some cased even necessary. It's important not only for survival, but also to know what the moral choice is.

So if a king or a mage employs you for a quest there's always what they say their reason is, but is that the real reason? Just having the threat of duplicity and betrayal makes a big difference i think in theme.

 

[TheSword]

I think the naming of things is a powerful way of making monsters interesting and exciting when combined with customization.

The simple ghoul is a great example. It could have many names, necrophage, alghoul, striga, lacedon, ghast, gul, strigoi, or ghole. Or maybe something more euphemistic. Eaters of the Dead, Hungry ones, Feeders, Biters, or Crypt Horrors. Maybe they’re called multiple things adding to the confusion.

What if you added extra traits. It has its famous paralyzing bite, but what if it also had regeneration, or resistance to non-magical weapons, or something more unusual like (hawthorn, or it’s sap).

What if the bite is acidic not paralyzing, or poisonous.

I’d be really interested to see what extra vulnerabilities creatures could be given too. There is definitely design space around the relatively simple monsters in the monster manual to really soup them up with some simple templates.

 

[Tales and Chronicles]

Beowulf 5e, from handiwork game could be use as a inspiration. You are a hero (like, its your class) and you travel from land to land to find monsters to slay. But, most named monsters have a specific Condition that makes them invulnerable until X. Either you must find their true name, craft a special item or potion, find an incantation, complete a ritual etc. After X is completed, the monster becomes defeatable.

The game uses 5e as a core system, is low/null-magic and use only one class, the Hero. Its made for 1 player and 1 DM, but I think it could work well with more than a single player. Many features of the class boost the retainers traveling with the Hero; retainers are only in the background and once they used thei one Trait, they are unuasable until the end of the scene.

I think a mix of AiME for its classes, social and travelling encounters and the magic list from the loremaste book + Beowulf would fit the witcher perfectly.

 

[TheSword]

Beowulf 5e, from handiwork game could be use as a inspiration. You are a hero (like, its your class) and you travel from land to land to find monsters to slay. But, most named monsters have a specific Condition that makes them invulnerable until X. Either you must find their true name, craft a special item or potion, find an incantation, complete a ritual etc. After X is completed, the monster becomes defeatable.

The game uses 5e as a core system, is low/null-magic and use only one class, the Hero. Its made for 1 player and 1 DM, but I think it could work well with more than a single player. Many features of the class boost the retainers traveling with the Hero; retainers are only in the background and once they used thei one Trait, they are unuasable until the end of the scene.

I think a mix of AiME for its classes, social and travelling encounters and the magic list from the loremaste book + Beowulf would fit the witcher perfectly.

Vaesen could be a good source for inspiration for monsters as well too.