D&D General If D&D were created today, what would it look like?

[Faolyn]

Without D&D to get the "generic fantasy" vibe existing, fantasy in AU2020 is going very different.

Fantasy literature won't be impacted that much initially. Whilst a lot of authors played RPGs a bit, I think it's fair to say they'd find something similar but different, even if not an RPG, that spurred their imaginations.

I'm still thinking fairy tales and fairy-tale adjacent works, like Alice and Wonderland and Wizard of Oz, would be a major influence. Less "group of people slaying the monsters" and more "one person or small group escaping from or outwitting the monsters."

• Rather than influencing computer games, it's likely to be influenced by them. It may well use simplified versions of systems in them.

I don't know enough about how CRPGs work, or even computer games in general. What sort of systems are you thinking?

• The default way of generating random numbers will likely use a phone, rather than dice, but it will likely allow for dice so people don't have to use phones if they're trying to get away from all that.

No bell curves, I see.

Actually, I'm thinking--since d6s will still be a thing because of regular board games--that there might be a lot more systems that call for dice pools or exploding dice. Or special dice with symbols on them that mean something. It would probably start as tables and end up with specialized dice. Hmm--did polyhedral dice (or the chit-out-of-the-bag equivalent) come from wargaming, and if so, why did wargames want d10s and d20s?

• Races may not be a thing. It may be that the game only has humans. If it has various fantasy creatures, they're unlikely to be the Tolkien ones, because without D&D, they won't be seen as "core" or whatever. So we'd probably see an original set of fantasy creatures. I would bet money that vampires would be among them (vampires will be popular regardless of RPGs - Interview with the Vampire came out in 1976). Robots of some description are quite likely another base race.

I'm not entirely convinced that it would be human-only, but I do agree that the races would be very different than they currently are, if there's no Tolkien to push certain ones forward.

OTOH, you still have elves and dwarfs from Norse myth, even if they would look a lot differently from D&D elves and dwarfs.

Classes are quite likely to exist, because they evolve very naturally from role distributions in sports and games, and the specializations of characters in TV/movies/books. They won't be the same classes, of course. Fighter won't be called that - indeed I suspect we'd see multiple "fighting man" classes who lacked magical powers, rather than only one.

Hunter, scout, soldier, knight/samurai investigator/detective, brawler... actually, I think that the rogue might not exist (no Tolkien, thus no Burglar) as well and rogue-y skills would simply be a thing that could be taken. There would likely still be an assassin of sorts, and maybe a "street fighter" class, though.

• Clerics definitely won't exist. They were a bizarre happenstance. And it's unlikely that an "invoke the divine" class will exist at all, given how incredibly rare that is in fantasy fiction. We might well see a Witch-Hunter/Vampire-Hunter-type class which has a sort of holy flare to it, but it'll be a very different kind of holiness.

Again, agree. As I wrote earlier, though, I could see a witch or shaman-type--or since this is a game that was created today, something with a better name. Spirit-Talker?

But, this being a game where presumably the gods still exist, I can see creating something--a feat or a piety system--that might allow you to suddenly gain some incredibly good luck for a brief time.

• Magic is likely to be different. Vance will be long-forgotten. Harry Potter will be pretty recent and popular. As will Avatar and various other things. Spells will thus likely be flashier, and there will be no concept of "you can only use them X times". Instead they'll probably exhaust the caster like they do in most fiction. The actual spells in the game will be very different too - likely leaning lower-powered.

I think that the magic might also be a lot more ritualistic in nature. Eye of newt and tongue of dog indeed. Or possibly alchemical in nature. Whether this becomes two classes or one class with two types of magic, I dunno.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

• Magic is likely to be different. Vance will be long-forgotten. Harry Potter will be pretty recent and popular. As will Avatar and various other things. Spells will thus likely be flashier, and there will be no concept of "you can only use them X times". Instead they'll probably exhaust the caster like they do in most fiction. The actual spells in the game will be very different too - likely leaning lower-powered.

I just want to touch on this a bit more, because I think you're 100% correct here. Harry Potter would definitely be the source material for a spellcasting system in D&D if it were created today. "Cantrip" type spells that you can use at-will would be extremely likely to be the base, just with more powerful spells being much more unlikely to succeed (to represent someone dodging an "Avada Kedabra" spell). I'm certain that a lot of spells would actually be yanked from Harry Potter, like a disarming spell and stunning spell.

 

[Stormonu]

One of the big things I think would be different would be all characters would actually be human, or at least half-human. No playable dwarves, elves or the like.

I also agree that magic would have been much more likely based on Harry Potter, and clerics would probably be non-existant. Certainly monks wouldn't be in the game.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

One of the big things I think would be different would be all characters would actually be human, or at least half-human. No playable dwarves, elves or the like.

I'm not sure about that. Even Harry Potter has Goblins, Centaurs, House-Elves, and other species that I imagine would be playable if D&D was more HP-based than Tolkien/Vance based. I do think "Half-X" races would be more common than they currently are (Hagrid is a Half-Giant, Flitwick is a Half-Goblin), but there would almost definitely full other races that people could play, IMO.

I also agree that magic would have been much more likely based on Harry Potter, and clerics would probably be non-existant. Certainly monks wouldn't be in the game.

Yeah, clerics probably wouldn't exist. I do think something like the Monk would be in D&D, though. Do not doubt the power and influence of anime.

 

[Scribe]

I just want to touch on this a bit more, because I think you're 100% correct here. Harry Potter would definitely be the source material for a spellcasting system in D&D if it were created today. "Cantrip" types spells that you can use at-will would be extremely likely to be the base, just with more powerful spells being much more unlikely to succeed (to represent someone dodging an "Avada Kedabra" spell). I'm certain that a lot of spells would actually be yanked from Harry Potter, like a disarming spell and stunning spell.

Yeah, I think it would be extremely magical compared to whatever one thinks of as a more grounded 'low fantasy' or whatever roots. I think you would be looking at still a wide variety of lineages, absolutely anime (the other thread we have rolling here) would be a big influence as well. I look at the visual style of the animated intro for Critical Roll for example, or the cartoony style of WoW (yeah, WoW may or may not exist at all but still) and I think that is where the game would be looking for inspiration.

Do not doubt the power and influence of anime.

Yeah, Monks would be in. Even outside of anime, you have things like Avatar.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

Yeah, I think it would be extremely magical compared to whatever one thinks of as a more grounded 'low fantasy' or whatever roots. I think you would be looking at still a wide variety of lineages, absolutely anime (the other thread we have rolling here) would be a big influence as well. I look at the visual style of the animated intro for Critical Roll for example, or the cartoony style of WoW (yeah, WoW may or may not exist at all but still) and I think that is where the game would be looking for inspiration.

Yep. Full agreement here. I like how the current Vancian magic system in D&D works, but I would also love the game just as much if its magic system was more Harry Potter-inspired or was connected to your physical health a bit more, like Raistlin from Dragonlance (I kind of mentioned this in the "Sorcerers using CON" thread).

Yeah, Monks would be in. Even outside of anime, you have things like Avatar.

Yep. They certainly would be different (probably more Ninja-y), but would almost definitely still be in the game.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Oh, I know LotR is popular. Its just, Tolkein estate is, yeah. Would folks be willing to take that risk of being sued out of existence, or would they just put hobbit stereotypes on another short race (Gnomes or something totally original) instead?

Halflings as we know them today (Barely concealed hobbit stereotypes with the occaisonal new flash) wouldn't exist. The halfling-like would be a different thing

I disagree. I think they’d be at least as close as, say, 4e Halflings. Simple small folk. No magic, just cleverness and skill at hiding and a hearty resilience of spirit.

 

[Minigiant]

Races may not be a thing. It may be that the game only has humans. If it has various fantasy creatures, they're unlikely to be the Tolkien ones, because without D&D, they won't be seen as "core" or whatever. So we'd probably see an original set of fantasy creatures. I would bet money that vampires would be among them (vampires will be popular regardless of RPGs - Interview with the Vampire came out in 1976). Robots of some description are quite likely another base race.

Vampires and a lot of beings on the human to furry scale.

Classes are quite likely to exist, because they evolve very naturally from role distributions in sports and games, and the specializations of characters in TV/movies/books. They won't be the same classes, of course. Fighter won't be called that - indeed I suspect we'd see multiple "fighting man" classes who lacked magical powers, rather than only one.

I think the whole "attempt to fit every weapn user into one class" thing would never happen. We'd see many types of warriors and mages to match the various types of warriors and mages of different areas and supernatural baseline. There will be no compulsion to jam Hercules, Gilgamesh, Conan, Robin Hood, Guts, Batman, and John Wick into the same class.

Clerics definitely won't exist. They were a bizarre happenstance. And it's unlikely that an "invoke the divine" class will exist at all, given how incredibly rare that is in fantasy fiction. We might well see a Witch-Hunter/Vampire-Hunter-type class which has a sort of holy flare to it, but it'll be a very different kind of holiness.

Perhaps holy magic wont be stripped of wizards. A "cleric build" would come from a warrior-mage opting to use "white magic" and religious order purposely trained battle healers and banishers via personal focus and not an artificial divine/arcane divide.

Races may not be a thing. It may be that the game only has humans. If it has various fantasy creatures, they're unlikely to be the Tolkien ones, because without D&D, they won't be seen as "core" or whatever. So we'd probably see an original set of fantasy creatures. I would bet money that vampires would be among them (vampires will be popular regardless of RPGs - Interview with the Vampire came out in 1976). Robots of some description are quite likely another base race.

Elves and dwarves would be either closer to myths or be very monsterized. Elves would be unable to handle iron and be bound to fey laws. Dwarves would be forced to roll GREED! checks to handle their greed. They likely wouldn't be humans with funny ears.

 

[Tonguez]

I disagree. I think they’d be at least as close as, say, 4e Halflings. Simple small folk. No magic, just cleverness and skill at hiding and a hearty resilience of spirit.

I actually think the small race niche would be given over to a more cute furry race like the Moogle rather than short human. Short human would be dwarf or gnome.

Goblin’s also a possibility

• Clerics definitely won't exist. They were a bizarre happenstance. And it's unlikely that an "invoke the divine" class will exist at all, given how incredibly rare that is in fantasy fiction. We might well see a Witch-Hunter/Vampire-Hunter-type class which has a sort of holy flare to it, but it'll be a very different kind of holiness

I’m intrigued as to why people think a Divine invoker class wont exist.
Arguably Gandalf was such a character and off the top of my head Marion Zimmer Bradley and Mercedes Lackey feature a number of Priest characters. David Gemmel features many warriors with divine powers, Cycle of Arawn and the Deryni novels also feature cleric types. Also add in the Exorcist and the evil Bishop in Ladyhawke

It probably wont be the DnD Cleric but a divine invoker/healer (Priest) and Temple Warrior type dont seem out of the question

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

Hercules, Gilgamesh, Conan, Robin Hood, Guts, Batman, and John Wick into the same class.

I'm sorry, I agree with your overall point, I don't get this. Hercules is almost definitely a Barbarian, Conan is a Barbarian, Gilgamesh is a Fighter, Robin Hood is a Rogue, Batman is a Fighter/Artificer/Rogue, and John Wick is a Fighter/Rogue.