Dungeons and Discworlds !?!

[Kae'Yoss]

I'm astounded that his has not been done by any big d20 publishers.

Before you groan and think "another humour campaign setting", consider it for a while:

I think that the Discworld would be the perfect campaign setting for humorous roleplaying!

The thing about the Discworld stories is, once you take the puns and real-world references out, you have mostly good, thought-provoking fantasy there. And most of the fun is mainly funny for the reader, not necessarily for those actually within the stories.


The puns would mainly populate the flavour text (and the footnotes - this rulebook/campaign setting would have to have footnotes!) and in my opinion, the whole "comical and logical evolution" thing going on on the discworld would be a very good basis for an RPG: humorous, yes, but even without the humour, there's enough there to play into the strenghts of D&D.

You could play it without any humour (though that would be a waste), or you could play it as a mostly serious campaign with humorous elements.

I know that this would be perfect for me, and probably for our gaming group, too. I'm making humorous references and puns all the time, anyway.


The book would have to come with a map - with mostly blank spaces (you can't map humour) and "there be dragons" everywhere. The map would need some built-in comments ("There be dragons" - "I think this one's a lie")


And, of course, players would not have to stop when their character died: They'd first have to have smalltalk with Death.

 

[DarkKestral]

Kae: Discworld's already a licensed RPG. It's already in print, even. It's just not d20. It's GURPS. And... AFAIK, Pratchett is not likely to authorize a d20 version of the Discworld as a setting.

So, as much as you might like it, it's not likely at all to happen.

However, it's got most of what you've already described. So you may wanna check it out, if you play GURPS.

 

[Stone Dog]

Not only does it have its own wonderfully illustrated (some original pieces, just for the game) hardback, but it also has a supplement (diskworld also) to go with it. Even if you don't play GURPS at all the book is an excelent resource for gaming on the Disk and pokes fun at roleplaying in general with the same dry wit as the books poke fun at anything else.

The part that leaps to mind is when it describes "Guerilla Mimes" as a character concept. I don't have the book on me, but the jab at Vampire gamers is good humored fun.

And there is also a map of the Disk sold seperately. A full map of the whole Disk with little numbers that point out key places. It is a fine little item if you can get your hands on it. Extremely well made. it even has a small dotted outline where Leshp goes.

Damn, I'm going to have to dig my Diskworld RPG out when I get home now.

Link for the curious... http://www.sjgames.com/discworld/

 

[Huw]

White Dwarf 82 had an article about Discworld for AD&D. I believe Pratchett had a hand in it - he might even have written it, but I don't have the issue handy.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

I forgot about the GURPS incarnation.

Too bad, really. I think a d20 version would sell like C.M.O.T. Dibbler's sausages in a bun. I'm sure I'm not the only one who doesn't want to learn GURPS, and d20 is probably the most popular system.

 

[JustKim]

I think a d20 version would sell like C.M.O.T. Dibbler's sausages in a bun.

That is, only once and with great trepidation?

I don't know how to play GURPS, but I've bought a few of the setting books, including Discworld, because they're rules light and well researched. I don't understand the notion of Pratchett not wanting to authorize a d20 Discworld, though. Discworld is a very merchandized property over in England. There's even an Unseen University paper model book.
http://www.artificer.co.uk/
http://www.paulkidby.com/

 

[Kae'Yoss]

That is, only once and with great trepidation?

Hey, they buy them with enthusiasm. It's only later that you realize what you have done to your stomach. And once is all everyone has to buy the book.

I didn't say that it should be of the same quality as Cut-Me-Own-Throat's merchandise, just that it should sell like it.

 

[DarkKestral]

I believe Pratchett's pretty much said the Discworld RPG that's out there will be the ONLY Discworld RPG that's official, save perhaps editions updated to the newer versions of GURPS.

That said, GURPS books have long been used for setting mining purposes by D&D players haven't had any intention of using the rules. Why can't you do the same and roll your own version?

 

[Kae'Yoss]

I believe Pratchett's pretty much said the Discworld RPG that's out there will be the ONLY Discworld RPG that's official, save perhaps editions updated to the newer versions of GURPS.

That said, GURPS books have long been used for setting mining purposes by D&D players haven't had any intention of using the rules. Why can't you do the same and roll your own version?

Why indeed? I think I might just do that. I'll just have to hunt down that book.

 

[Psychotic Jim]

I ran a very successful Discworld game for 2E very long ago using the GURPS book as a reference, so I can attest to its usefulness. Might have some notes floating around somewhere if it might help anybody in their endeavors.