D&D 5E Treating characters in the game as being part of a LitRPG novel/anime

[jayoungr]

My group had a short campaign loosely based on Wreck-It Ralph that worked along those lines. Each PC was a character from a different video game, and we journeyed to other game worlds. It worked fine. (My character was the plucky heroine of a point-and-click mystery adventure game set in the 1930s. Investigative rogue with the equipment reskinned--for example, flashlight, Zippo, and Thermos instead of torch, tinderbox, and waterskin.)

 

[Chaosmancer]

I had the thought, was going to do it as a magical school type of situation. Never ended up going through with it.

I think there are a lot of fascinating possibilities with the LitRPG set-up, I've read a lot of them and I generally can find a new thing to enjoy in each one. However, one of the "tricks" with those stories is either the system needs to be very flexible, or so inflexible that it allows for "cheating" by doing things the system wasn't designed for.

That aspect wouldn't really work in the game as a game, which could make it a more difficult world to work with

 

[NotAYakk]

I had the thought, was going to do it as a magical school type of situation. Never ended up going through with it.

I think there are a lot of fascinating possibilities with the LitRPG set-up, I've read a lot of them and I generally can find a new thing to enjoy in each one. However, one of the "tricks" with those stories is either the system needs to be very flexible, or so inflexible that it allows for "cheating" by doing things the system wasn't designed for.

That aspect wouldn't really work in the game as a game, which could make it a more difficult world to work with

Have you heard of "Roll for Shoes"? In it, when you roll specific rolls, you get to change your character.

And/or, you could make a table of glitches, and expose them to PCs.

 

[pming]

Hiya!

I had the thought and was wondering if anyone has done or know of treating the game as an actual game instead of a fantasy reality?

Could be as a VR simulation or just how that reality work.
Pop up screens with stats or a tattoo on the back?

(EDIT: The anime I mention is called "Is it Wrong to Try to pick up Girls in a Dungeon?")

Never actually RAN a game yet...but I do have a small document (dozen or so pages) for a HERO campaign with the general concept of...some anime I watched (basically, a big tower where "adventurers" can go in to adventure; groups are 'sponsored' by some particular god/dess, who help them out with stuff; the main protagonist is some guy who is the zero-to-hero type, taking a goddess who is 'in love' with him because he's her ONLY follower, etc...wish I could remember the name of it!).

Anyway, as you 'adventure', you gain XP's and Gold. A God/Dess can access your "Stats and Skills" by reading them on your back. Said God/Dess can then help you 'advance in level' and that reveals special skills/abilities you can use or access. The various deities of the town all sort of "compete" by using their 'adventuring groups' to see who can go the farthest down into the Dungeon.

So "game concepts" are actual "stats" that a god/dess can 'read' and everyone knows about them. So an adventurer can say "I'm a level 3 sorcerer with the Break Speed skill that allows me to move extremely fast in short bursts 3 times a day, and I wield the Twin Fang Daggers that grant +20 to damage!"...and everyone knows what that means.

^_^

Paul L. Ming

 

[fba827]

I might be mixing up movies but I think the remakes of jumanji did this by having the avatars tap their wrist and a screen would pop up next to them with their stats and inventory that they could then scroll through as if it were a VR interface.

The only ‘advantages’ I can see of using this game situation would be no fear of death (using jumanji remake as an example for instance they knew how many lives they had so they did not fear the first few deaths but once on last life then they were worried about staying alive)

It also opens space of common plot tropes to be seen and recognize (so dont try and make them subtle or subvert them more than once)

And in that same train of thought , if you want to get meta maybe each player is allowed one plot device they can insert if it fits the tropes being utilized

 

[MGibster]

I had the thought and was wondering if anyone has done or know of treating the game as an actual game instead of a fantasy reality?

My very first 5th edition campaign was taking place in a game world. The PCs weren't aware they were in a game world at first but knew about hit points, classes, levels, alignment, etc., etc. I started the world as a pastiche of AD&D and the entire kingdom fell into a slumber only to wake up and find reality had changed to 5th edition. The campaign involved the big bad evil demon realizing he was fictional and trying to find his creator. The PCs chased him to Seattle where they saved the Wizards of the Coast.

Oh, yes. The PCs even got to meet their players. That was fun.

 

[RobJN]

One of these days, I want to run a group, playing through the Stranger Things module and then picking up "after the game" with Tales from the Loop or Kids on Bikes.

 

[jayoungr]

Have you heard of "Roll for Shoes"? In it, when you roll specific rolls, you get to change your character.

I had not heard of this, so thanks for the tip!

A link for anyone else who's curious:

Roll for Shoes

Roll for Shoes tabletop RPG

rollforshoes.com

 

[Chaosmancer]

Have you heard of "Roll for Shoes"? In it, when you roll specific rolls, you get to change your character.

And/or, you could make a table of glitches, and expose them to PCs.

Huh, I had not heard of that. Kind of a neat way to handle glitchy systems

 

[Chaosmancer]

My very first 5th edition campaign was taking place in a game world. The PCs weren't aware they were in a game world at first but knew about hit points, classes, levels, alignment, etc., etc. I started the world as a pastiche of AD&D and the entire kingdom fell into a slumber only to wake up and find reality had changed to 5th edition. The campaign involved the big bad evil demon realizing he was fictional and trying to find his creator. The PCs chased him to Seattle where they saved the Wizards of the Coast.

Oh, yes. The PCs even got to meet their players. That was fun.

One of the things I always found interesting about a world where everyone can see their stats is how they would react.

I mean, how would you react to knowing that you have a below average charisma or intelligence? Stuff like that where things people usually just guess at are laid bare for the world to see.