D&D 5E How Close do you stick with the Game As Written?
The rules-as-written, which are comprised of the 'crunch-as-written' and 'fluff-as-written', are tools I use to build a campaign. The campaign is the game.
Practically-speaking, this means I usually leave the crunch alone --rules-tinkering was never my forte-- and replace big chucks of the fiction in the RAW with my own, for better or worse (or a lot more surreal & absurd).
Practically-speaking, this means I usually leave the crunch alone --rules-tinkering was never my forte-- and replace big chucks of the fiction in the RAW with my own, for better or worse (or a lot more surreal & absurd).
I tinkered a lot with 1e, 2e, and 3e.
For 1e, some changes included allowing anyone with the appropriate con score to get the fighter's hp bonus, ignoring weapon adjustments vs. ac, banning the monk, using revised versions of the Barbarian and Cavalier that appeared in Dragon Magazine, adding Perception as a stat (from Dragon), never including certain iconic monsters in any settings.
For 2e, some things included removing % strength, the con modifier to hp listed for 1e, allowing the optional PHB classes (bard, Druid, Paladin, Ranger, Priests of Specific Mythoi), making all clerics specialty priests (No standard PHB clerics), using non-weapon proficiencies, using optional rules from PO: Combat and Tactics, and PO: Spells and Magic, never including certain iconic monsters in any settings, some spells were banned or rewritten
For 3e, I made a lot of house rules. Some house rules were variants/replacements from the DMG, Unearthed Arcana and third parties. I had complete rewrites of the cleric, druid, and barbarian based off of DMG and UA variants. Fighters received fighting styles from Book of Iron Magic (the maneuver system from that book was also incorporated). The Monk was replaced by a variant of the OA Shaman, the Sample skill DCs are often ignored, new skills added, and some spells banned and others rewritten. Again, certain iconic monsters never inclusion.
4e: I liked a lot about 4e. However, I would have had as many changes as I did with 3e, but many seemed more difficult to implement so I skipped it.
5e. I have not played/run 5e. I don't have as many changes that I would want to make compared to previous editions and most of them including the implementation of 3e style skill points would be easy to do. My biggest issue with 5e is the classes. I want to redesign pretty much all of them. The other thing I want to do is replace hit point thresholds for certain spells.
For 1e, some changes included allowing anyone with the appropriate con score to get the fighter's hp bonus, ignoring weapon adjustments vs. ac, banning the monk, using revised versions of the Barbarian and Cavalier that appeared in Dragon Magazine, adding Perception as a stat (from Dragon), never including certain iconic monsters in any settings.
For 2e, some things included removing % strength, the con modifier to hp listed for 1e, allowing the optional PHB classes (bard, Druid, Paladin, Ranger, Priests of Specific Mythoi), making all clerics specialty priests (No standard PHB clerics), using non-weapon proficiencies, using optional rules from PO: Combat and Tactics, and PO: Spells and Magic, never including certain iconic monsters in any settings, some spells were banned or rewritten
For 3e, I made a lot of house rules. Some house rules were variants/replacements from the DMG, Unearthed Arcana and third parties. I had complete rewrites of the cleric, druid, and barbarian based off of DMG and UA variants. Fighters received fighting styles from Book of Iron Magic (the maneuver system from that book was also incorporated). The Monk was replaced by a variant of the OA Shaman, the Sample skill DCs are often ignored, new skills added, and some spells banned and others rewritten. Again, certain iconic monsters never inclusion.
4e: I liked a lot about 4e. However, I would have had as many changes as I did with 3e, but many seemed more difficult to implement so I skipped it.
5e. I have not played/run 5e. I don't have as many changes that I would want to make compared to previous editions and most of them including the implementation of 3e style skill points would be easy to do. My biggest issue with 5e is the classes. I want to redesign pretty much all of them. The other thing I want to do is replace hit point thresholds for certain spells.
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Hussar
Legend
Then I'm not really understanding your Game as Written term. If I can eject large swaths of flavour in favour of my own stuff, am I still playing the Game as Written? What's the difference between Game as Written and RAW+RAI?
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