Adventure Time TTRPG Drops "Yes And" System, Switches To 5E

When the Adventure Time roleplaying game was announced back in June, it was going to be using a brand new RPG system called the "Yes And" system, which involved dice which had Yes and No on one die, and things like And or But on the other.

However, publisher Cryptozoic Entertainment has recently indicated that, following fan feedback, the upcoming Kickstarter will now be powered by 5E instead. The update was included last week as part of the FAQ in its current Adventure Time card game Kickstarter.

Has Adventure Time: The Roleplaying Game changed since you announced it a few months ago?

Yes, we made the decision to make it a 5e experience, based on feedback from fans. That doesn’t mean the game shown at Gen Con earlier this year won’t be released too, but the main offering in the upcoming Kickstarter will be the 5e RPG.

 

[Parmandur]

What class is Jake?

Clearly a Rogue, he is the Grey Mouser to Finn's Fahfred.

 

[Shardstone]

What class is Jake? BMO? LSP, Hot Dog or Fire Princess? Lady Rainicorn?
Who's the party when the group is usually 1 or two people? What's Magic Man's spell list?

It's not D&D.

Sorry but none of this works as a counter argument. Just because the game is making new character creation materials doesn't mean it's no longer a 5E-based game. Espur Genesis is a 5E based game. There are others based in Cyberpunk, Symbaroum, ROkugan, and so on.

All you've done is prove to me yes, I can't take my Fathomless Warlock into Adventure Time. Good job. That has nothing to do with whether you can make 5E into Adventure Time or not.

And for what it's worth, you can take the Sidekick classes and emulate all of this with magic items, spells, and some reskinning. It isn't that hard. What you think is an insurmountable task just shows the limitations of your ability, not whether the idea is feasible or not.

 

[Parmandur]

Yeah, people seem be overestimating the difficulty of thr task considerably, and underestimating the skill of the authors.

 

[MatthewJHanson]

You clearly never watched an episode of Critical Role!

Please don't hate me for this, but...

I tried an episode and couldn't get into it.

For the sake of this discussion though, I'm willing to give it another chance. Can you point me to an episode where the driving conflict of the episode is an internal conflict or a conflict between the PCs. (And if you really want to really convince me that I am wrong, please recommend one where the D&D 5e system added something to this conflict beyond what could be accomplished by a group of professional actors improving a story.)

 

[MichaelSomething]

Please don't hate me for this, but...

I tried an episode and couldn't get into it.

For the sake of this discussion though, I'm willing to give it another chance. Can you point me to an episode where the driving conflict of the episode is an internal conflict or a conflict between the PCs. (And if you really want to really convince me that I am wrong, please recommend one where the D&D 5e system added something to this conflict beyond what could be accomplished by a group of professional actors improving a story.)

Honestly, it's not my thing either. You could always watch the animated series, or read a prequel novel, or get the setting book, or look at fan art, or buy their home grown rpg system, or go see them live at a convention?

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Critical Role's style isn't for everyone, but the fact that it's all actors means that a lot of the drama is about internal conflict and desires. (Honestly, there doesn't seem to be an apocalypse that their characters aren't willing to have a sidebar during to discuss their feelings.) It definitely can be made to work in D&D.

That said, it's a much more natural fit in games like MonsterHearts, where emotional conflict receives direct mechanical support, rather than D&D, where such things have almost no mechanical support whatsoever. (A motivated DM can find ways to use the skill system to support it, but it requires a bit of DIY to get it done.)

 

[Bayushi_seikuro]

Critical Role's style isn't for everyone, but the fact that it's all actors means that a lot of the drama is about internal conflict and desires. (Honestly, there doesn't seem to be an apocalypse that their characters aren't willing to have a sidebar during to discuss their feelings.) It definitely can be made to work in D&D.

That said, it's a much more natural fit in games like MonsterHearts, where emotional conflict receives direct mechanical support, rather than D&D, where such things have almost no mechanical support whatsoever. (A motivated DM can find ways to use the skill system to support it, but it requires a bit of DIY to get it done.)

For the Venn diagram, I found it interesting that CR did a one-shot of Monsterhearts to expose their fan base to it, AND did an episode of Handbooker Helper to explain the system (Bonus points because Matt says that playing Monsterhearts is for people who wondered about being Taliesin Jaffe as a teen...)

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

That Monsterhearts episode also sold out the remaining run of the book at the time. It was an extremely good fit for the CR folks.

 

[overgeeked]

Please don't hate me for this, but...

I tried an episode and couldn't get into it.

For the sake of this discussion though, I'm willing to give it another chance. Can you point me to an episode where the driving conflict of the episode is an internal conflict or a conflict between the PCs. (And if you really want to really convince me that I am wrong, please recommend one where the D&D 5e system added something to this conflict beyond what could be accomplished by a group of professional actors improving a story.)

Critical Role is my jam, but you're 100% right. The 5E system fights against their style of play constantly. There are quite a few moments where there's conflict within the group of PCs...but none of it is due to the game system. It's all the players being professional actors improving a story together. D&D 5E only gets in their way, it doesn't help or drive thsee kinds of conflicts.

 

[overgeeked]

That Monsterhearts episode also sold out the remaining run of the book at the time. It was an extremely good fit for the CR folks.

Which they're hoping to capitalize on with their Illuminated Worlds engine and releases like Candela Obscura. Now that system definitely fits their general style of play.