D&D 5E D&D in the Grishaverse
- Thread starter CubicsRube
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Paul Farquhar
Legend
Sounds rather like the old AD&D psionics.
Ruin Explorer
Legend
Yeah that's what I originally said - there's a definite similarity between 2E AD&D Psionics and The Small Science.
If you take out the telepathy (and related powers), pretty much everything else a 2E Psioncist could do is something a Grisha could do albeit most Grisha are limited to one Discipline (as I think they're called in 2E), and Grisha powers tend to be more powerful in combat than D&D ones (again because they're "balanced" for a setting where a Grisha may well get shot dead at any moment - and they do get shot - a lot), but are often much slower out of it. They can sustain their powers much longer than Psionicists generally could though.
But D&D magic is mostly what the Grishaverse would call Merzost (abomination), because it warps reality, brings new entirely things into being, gives things life (rather than just impacting their existing biological processes), communes with other planes, and so on. Even a cantrip like Prestidigitation would be the equivalent of Merzost, or maybe a Fabrikator on Jurda Parem (a drug that elevates them to godlike power), because it's instant. Could a Fabrikator recolour a dress, say? Yes, but - it would take minutes to hours of work, and they'd need something to dye it with. But a D&D Wizard wishes they could stop hearts as fast and reliably as a Heartrender.
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LuisCarlos17f
Legend
The franchises from the literature can be more famous and popular than the TTRPGs but they aren't too appropiate for RPGs because the worldbuilding can be radically different. The RPGs are designed to happen a lot of interesting things in several different places, while the novels are more focused into the main plot and a relatively group of characters, the heroes and atangonists. A good example is Dragonlance, where your PCs can't be more important than the famous companion.
daddystabz
Explorer
Thanks! I saw this conversion a day or so ago. I don't think it includes anything on playing Grisha, does it?
bedir than
Full Moon Storyteller
If I were to make Grisha in D&D I would start with Warlocks. Their common castings would be invocations and cantrips. Then the combo and/or amplified actions would be the spells.
I think this gets closest to mirroring the show
I think this gets closest to mirroring the show
daddystabz
Explorer
I enjoyed both seasons of Shadow and Bone on Netflix. If it was turned into a tabletop RPG I want to play a heartrender!
This setting is screaming for a TTRPG. That is my quest.....to get something to play this setting in. I hope Leigh Bardugo considers licensing the setting for an official TTRPG.
Gradine
🏳️⚧️ (she/her) 🇵🇸
I did once watch an interview where Bardugo referred to Matthias as "my big blond Zuko", in case there was any doubt that she was One Of Us
Tonguez
A suffusion of yellow
They have added Grisha playbooks, I havent tried them
CubicsRube
Hero
We've come full circle with this. I'd forgotten about it!
Shadowdark spell casting checks could be indeed a a good way to do grisha powers IMO. Maybe less on the spell misfire side but maling successful checks harder so you have to be really skilled to be able to rely on your powers.
I'd gone down a rabbit hole a couple of years back trying to make a heartbreaker for the game and then stopped when it hit me just how much work editing and playtesting would be.
Shadowdark spell casting checks could be indeed a a good way to do grisha powers IMO. Maybe less on the spell misfire side but maling successful checks harder so you have to be really skilled to be able to rely on your powers.
I'd gone down a rabbit hole a couple of years back trying to make a heartbreaker for the game and then stopped when it hit me just how much work editing and playtesting would be.
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