The Sacred Cow Slaughterhouse: Ideas you think D&D's better without

MoonSong · Oct 6, 2013

Dog Moon said:
Does a sacred cows taste better than a regular cow?

Just be careful, watch out for random gods toasting you from the sky

Argyle King · Oct 6, 2013

N'raac said:
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Very true. I also post on the Hero boards, and it is amazing how many posters want to emulate D&D with the Hero rules. My usual response is "WHY??" There is no way you will get a better system for playing D&D (whatever edition you are working to emulate) than D&D. Use the system for its own strengths, not to created a watered-down version of another system.

I don't play HERO, but I can understand why someone would want to do that. There are a lot of D&D ideas which I think are really cool, but don't really mesh with the system/particular edition's mechanics in a way which I like. As a matter of fact, I first learned GURPS by playing in a game where the GM was running a Pathfinder adventure using GURPS 4th Edition.

For what it's worth, I do agree that there are certain aspects of D&D which make D&D feel like D&D. However, I can also completely understand wanting to take an idea or a concept and placing it into a different set of game mechanics.

Still, I can't argue with what some have said. Changing some things would make D&D into something that is no longer D&D. If that's really what someone wants, then they're probably better off playing a different system anyway.

N'raac · Oct 6, 2013

To me, the key is transitioning the feel, rather than the mechanic. Trying to shoehorn saving throws, for example, into different game systems doesn't always work, but creating a Charm or Fireball spell certainly does.

Wiseblood · Oct 6, 2013

Instead of a slaughterhouse you should open a distillery. Then you could get the best sacred cows and put the rest out to pasture.

Greg K · Oct 6, 2013

Zireael said:
I'd throw out the sacred cow of "Thou Shalt Not Deviate From What is Written".

Really, people take the rules too seriously. The DMG needs to resemble Gygax's DMG more.

Holmes Basic says it is ok to deviate
Moldvay Basic says it is ok to deviate
1e DMG says it is ok to deviate, but certain things must be kept for it to be D&D

Second Edition provides lots of optional rules: For example, in the core books: There are optional non-weapon proficiencies and both Priests of Mythoi and other classes other than the Cleric, Fighter, Thief, Wizard must be approved by the DM for inclusion. Get it into supplements and there are kits, alternate spellcasting mechanics, new mechanics and options, options for single class campagins, single race campaigns, no magic campaigns. Then, look at the different types of settings that have moved away from pseudo medieval.

Third Edition DMG says it is ok to deviate and gives you numerous options. Then, you have Unearthed Arcana which is all about tailoring the game and supplements which are about new or additional alternate mechanics. On top of that, there were/are all of the d20STL and OGL add-ons and variant rules.

N'raac · Oct 6, 2013

Perhaps the actual sacred cow is explicit statements that it is OK to deviate!

Kinak · Oct 7, 2013

While I personally dislike a lot of the sacred cows (the d20 as a resolution mechanic and Vancian casting being at the top of the list), I don't actually think D&D would be better without them. It would just be a different game, which is why they're sacred cows in the first place.

The question is how to design a game that works with those sacred cows, rather than fighting them. For the d20, I'd like to see large bonuses or mechanics like rerolls or floors to take out some of that randomness. For Vancian casting, I'd also like to see other options, arcane and divine.

I wouldn't like D&D better if it switched to 3d6 or a dice pool system. And I wouldn't like it better if it abandoned Vancian casting in favor of something else. I've got a whole shelf of not-D&D and I don't foresee D&D fighting with them on that basis. It just has to be the best D&D it can be.

Cheers!
Kinak

Systole · Oct 7, 2013

I recommend that everyone reading this thread go check out 13th Age. It is D&D/PF with every single sacred cow slaughtered and turned into tasty, tasty hamburgers. Seriously, it's the best thing to happen to RPGs since 3rd edition.