D&D 5E Thoughts on Divorcing D&D From [EDIT: Medievalishness], Mechanically Speaking.

[Reynard]

League and Van Helsing are perfectly represented via Gothic Earth 3e. Don't let the name fool you. It's just Victorian setting D&D. As a fan of League comics, i used it to run something similar back in a day. It moves tech to late victorian era, but it still has lot's of standard dnd vibe. Pulp or horor is just vibe you as a DM create via themes and types of adventures you run.

What is Gothic Earth 3E?

 

[GrimCo]

Masque of the Red Death supplement for D&D 3.x edition. Someone put even weapons chart from it here.

 

[Reynard]

Masque of the Red Death supplement for D&D 3.x edition. Someone put even weapons chart from it here.

Isn't Masque of the Red Death a 2E supplement?

 

[GrimCo]

They also made one for 3.5. At least, that's the one i used for my League of extraordinary gentleman meets From Hell inspired game. I picked it up cause it was "Ravenloft", but found it much more than that and in fact, closest to Ravenloft, or horror in general, is if you try to run monster hunting game inspired by Van Helsing.

 

[TwoSix]

Or, take Xendric out of Eberron and plop it down in mid to late19th century "Earth."

Note, it doesn't have to be Earth. In fact, I wouldn't want it to be, because there is a lot of squick in Victorian/early 20th century "exploration" and you could eliminate that by creating a setting from whole cloth to avoid it.

Do you want weaponry to be similar in kind to 19th century Earth? I'm getting a "sword in one hand, pistol in the other" vibe from what you're saying, but I wanted to clarify.

I feel like you can do a lot to define the setting with some selective class modification and trimming. I'd put druid and ranger on the chopping block, for example; this feels like a setting where nature isn't going to be an ally, it's something to be challenged and overcome instead. Primal magic feels opposed to the themes of what the PCs should be doing. (Although it would work well for NPCs.)

Likewise, some 3pp classes like Laserllama's Savant and Mage Hand Press's Investigator feel like they would be perfect for this kind of setting.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Van Helsing. The Mummy (with Brendan Frasier). Pulpier and magical interpretations of Sherlock Holmes

How does that differ from Ravenloft and Eberron?

 

[Belen]

The reason this thread is under the 5E tag is that I want to talk about mechanics and figure using the current rules makes the most sense from that perspective.

When I say "divorcing from medievalism" I mean building a D&D in a modern-ish assumed setting (not necessarily out Earth). Somewhere between the Industrial Revolution and WW1, technologically speaking. This doesn't have to be steampunk -- in fact, i would rather it weren't, but whatever. But remember in this thread I am more concerned with mechanical changes that help support this assumed setting than I am with thematic, lore or other fluffy changes.

First on the list, I think, is to greatly reduce or eliminate the focus on armor as a thing. Certain classes should be proficient in Defense (adding their PB to their AC).
Second is to add guns and decent firearms rules. Firearms should not be overpowered. Rather, they should be considered the standard weapons, from small and simple to heavy and complex. There should be a difference between a revolver and a bolt action and a tommy gun, etc. And they should not be the purview of any specific classes. Rather, there should be simple and martial firearms just like other weapons. other weapons should not be ignored, but they take a back seat to guns.
Classes would need a complete overhaul. Some, in their current form, would have to go completely (Bard, Paladin, Druid, Monk and Sorcerer) and others would have to be significantly changes (Cleric, Ranger, Warlock) to fit more modern themes. Rogue, Fighter and Wizard would need some tweaks to fit.

The idea is to maintain the same kinds of adventures that D&D does well, from treasure hunting to saving the prince from the dragon, but to move it completely out of the shadow of the medieval and into the recent (pre information age) past.

Thoughts?

Have you looked at Everyday Heroes: Evil Genius Games

 

[Reynard]

Do you want weaponry to be similar in kind to 19th century Earth? I'm getting a "sword in one hand, pistol in the other" vibe from what you're saying, but I wanted to clarify.

In my head I am seeing more "firearms and fisticuffs" but sure.

I feel like you can do a lot to define the setting with some selective class modification and trimming. I'd put druid and ranger on the chopping block, for example; this feels like a setting where nature isn't going to be an ally, it's something to be challenged and overcome instead. Primal magic feels opposed to the themes of what the PCs should be doing. (Although it would work well for NPCs.)

I agree, although a highly skilled scout/hunter is a must have class -- so, non magical ranger, I guess.

 

[Reynard]

How does that differ from Ravenloft

Ravenloft is horror. I am not interested in horror in this case, any more than D&D is filled with horror tropes anyway.

and Eberron?

Eberron is a magic-tech world. I am talking about a "mundane" world with magic and monsters at the fringes/in the shadows. Urban Fantasy like Dresden is the right milieu, but the wrong genre if that makes sense.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Ravenloft is horror. I am not interested in horror in this case, any more than D&D is filled with horror tropes anyway.

That’s just a type of story. You can use the setting without railroading the players through a gothic novel pastiche. A Bulldog Drummond pastiche works just as well. The main difference is the attitude of the players in any case.