D&D General Time Machine and a New D&D.

[CreamCloud0]

no multiclassing, class and subclass would be redesigned to be entirely mix and match.

your species would have progression and be a far more notable part of your build.

safe haven and gritty realism scheduling rules.

martials get healing surges and AEDU, casters get slots.

 

[Doc_Klueless]

Oh… goodness. Most current D&D players would hate my D&D.

So….

Only 3 Classes: Fighting Guy, Magic Using Guy and Sneaky Guy
Low HP. Low Damage.
Boon and Bane Die instead of modifiers.
Humanocentric
Non-Wizard Dwarves
Momentum from 2d20 which I adore. ADORE!


Hmmm… I’m sure other things.


But otherwise, pretty much the same.

 

[GMMichael]

If D&D was released for the first time tomorrow after never having existed, I'd wonder why someone was making their Tunnels & Trolls fantasy heartbreaker so late in the game.

I see what you did there.

If D&D was being released tomorrow an you were in charge whateoukd you do?

Akthoubar benoshkidt. Seriouthld.

If a genie granted me a wish and I was in Chris rocks position I woukd not do the above. Mostly hands off with the occasional order eg make a new FRCS or more oversight on updated legacy campaign systems.

If I were in Chris Rock's position, I'd duck faster.

As for D&D, I'd have some work to do. Remove classes, alignment, races . . . stuff that players can define on their own. I'd make characters very simple, allowing players to add complexity to taste. Remove tables, so diving into the book isn't necessary during play. Empower the DM to make lots of judgment calls, and encourage PCs to add ideas to the fiction. I wouldn't use fail forward, but I'd turn pass/fail into an open-ended conversation instead of yes/no. Oh, and I'd make combat fluid and interactive, so players don't disengage between turns. P.S. I have something for you if you like these ideas

 

[MuhVerisimilitude]

It would look fairly similar except it wouldn't at all, probably...

• No ability scores. Everything you can do depends on your class
• No spell slots, seriously they're a bad idea and should never have been a thing
• Hit points should scale slower, but you should start with more of them
• Martials should have actually cool stuff

 

[Zardnaar]

I'm into it. My own homebrew heartache version of D&D- "dnd Jazz"- is ten levels, with significantly reduced hps and damage- at least in its current form, we're playtesting tomorrow night. It's much closer to 1e or Basic than the revised 5e rules.

In doing a homebrew as well. It draws heavily on 5E but I'm using it for a 3.75/OSR hybrid.

I've got 7 or 8 classes done to level 5 and a small bestiary.

 

[Vaalingrade]

If I were in Chris Rock's position, I'd duck faster.

And miss tanking the hit, shrugging it off with a joke and coming out of it looking like a badass and a class act? Never!

 

[Mind of tempest]

Would you still call that game D&D? I guess you could get away with that, since all previous editions of D&D (and all of their fans, as well as games inspired by D&D and all of their fans) never existed either.

the question is how unrecognisable would Earth's media landscape even be?

 

[CreamCloud0]

no multiclassing, class and subclass would be redesigned to be entirely mix and match.

your species would have progression and be a far more notable part of your build.

safe haven and gritty realism scheduling rules.

martials get healing surges and AEDU, casters get slots.

curated weapon lists for classes.

more weapons and armours, with more properties that influence how you play.