D&D (2024) Urban Fantasy via D&D 2024

[UngainlyTitan]

Again, making guns OP turns the game into a different genre.

I am not suggesting making guns OP (though I think that they are in fact OP, that is why we use them) but having combat manoeuvres or weapon masteries that reflect what guns are in fact good at.

Maybe not skills per se, but the systems behind them, for sure. Investigation is always a sticky one for D&D: do you make a system for it, or let the GM handle it?

Earth has no arcanosphere. you cannot cast any spell at all unless you directly draw magical energy from something invested with that energy (primarily monsters and artifacts from Fantasy Earth -- but a case could be made for the Spear of Destiny or whatever, if you found it).

That sounds like a no then, and restarting the earths arcanosphere would change physics as currently understood.

 

[TwoSix]

And nobody has invented magic bullets.... why, exactly?

Or, wands of magic-missile are an "uncommon" item, daily self-recharging - why isn't every SWAT team member armed with several of them? I mean, you literally cannot miss the freakin' target with those!

And so on. The problem with the urban fantasy genre, as compared to our usual fantasies, is that you no longer have low population densities to blame for not having people to craft things. In a modern setting, wouldn't there be schools to teach you how to craft magic items just like we have them to teach the plumbing, HVAC, and electrician trades?

Per the OP, magic doesn't work that way.

That's the great thing about fantasy as a genre, right? The rules are ultimately whatever the author wants them to be.

... is a freakin' emergency that will get combat helicopters with rockets and napalm dropped on it. The thing walks down the crowded streets of Manhattan or Tokyo, and hundreds of people die every minute?

I was thinking more of a situation where the monster was underground, and the adventurers were trying to kill it before it escaped and hurt people (or more people).

Less Godzilla, more IT.

Sure. I am not saying that it cannot be handled, but that it ought to be handled. Because whatever solution you use has repercussions on the setting. And if you don't handle them beforehand, players will very quickly ask very awkward questions.

For sure. Thinking through the implications of the changes you make is paramount, and even more so if you're using this as a game, not just a fictional setting. Players will inevitably go rationalist fanfic on your setting, and as a DM you need a deep well of pre-planned narrative rationales to draw from.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

Per the OP, magic doesn't work that way.

That's the great thing about fantasy as a genre, right? The rules are ultimately whatever the author wants them to be.

I was thinking more of a situation where the monster was underground, and the adventurers were trying to kill it before it escaped and hurt people (or more people).

Less Godzilla, more IT.


For sure. Thinking through the implications of the changes you make is paramount, and even more so if you're using this as a game, not just a fictional setting. Players will inevitably go rationalist fanfic on your setting, and as a DM you need a deep well of pre-planned narrative rationales to draw from.

I want to reply to the bolded bit. I think that the statement is all very well for an author but for an rpg campaign then the players and the referee need to be on the same page as to where and how far the fantasy rules trump ones understanding of the real world.

 

[TwoSix]

I want to reply to the bolded bit. I think that the statement is all very well for an author but for an rpg campaign then the players and the referee need to be on the same page as to where and how far the fantasy rules trump ones understanding of the real world.

Yes, I agree. Authorship for the game would fall onto the DM or the DM and players, depending on the play model.

It's very important that all participants are on board with the major setting conceits, with the obvious caveat that no one can think of everything and participants should be willing to adjust if unexpected complications arise.

Concepts like "how do guns work in a D&D fantasy on Earth?" are just the low-hanging fruit, the simple and obvious questions that need strong, detailed answers.

 

[AlViking]

I think it's a matter of whether or not the firearm is an automatic capable of doing lots of damage per second.

There's a lot of myths about automatic fire that movies perpetuate. For example an Uzi can fire 600 rounds per minute but the magazine only hold 32 rounds which is pretty typical even for fully automatic rifles as well. So on full auto you have to reload after a burst of a few seconds. That's great if you happen to hit at what you're aiming at but in general full auto is used more for suppression and cover fire than anything. But as I said above a brown bear which may or may not be killed with a single bullet from a hunting rifle is only a CR 1 monster. Most monsters we fight are far more deadly and resilient than natural animals.

Another example of a monster in a movie would be American Werewolf in London. Yes in the end the werewolf is killed by normal weapons but it's several people with full auto shooting at it on an otherwise empty street. So an ordinary bullet in the movie can kill them but good luck unless you have a small army to back you up. If that monster is closing fast and intent on ripping your face off it would not be that simple. If you require silver bullets to harm supernatural creatures for example they would be far more expensive, less accurate and do less damage. Guns work well against normal enemies because most humans are likely CR 1/8. Unless you're Angel Alvarez who in 2010 was shot 21 times during a gunfight but survived.

 

[Reynard]

Sure, but the real world this setting is based on has a ton of exactly those.

I'm not interested in modeling the real world, but instead creating an unholy offspring of D&D and Dresden Files, with a side of Bright and Shadowrun.

If I wanted the World to reflect ours rather than the genre mashup, I sure wouldn't be using D&D of any sort and definitely not 5E.

As to guns, I think I would want to model their effectiveness off cantrips: similar base damage, ability to increase with weapon mastery at appropriate levels, some mastery traits like scatter or auto. Stuff like that.

 

[Corinnguard]

I'm not interested in modeling the real world, but instead creating an unholy offspring of D&D and Dresden Files, with a side of Bright and Shadowrun.

Which elements are you planning to borrow from each of those four settings? Inquiring minds want to know.

 

[Reynard]

On spellcasting and otherwise fueling magical class abilitites:

First, the list would have to be curated and "mundane" folks might need dedicated subclasses, but that is beyond the scope here.

Second, you would need an appropriately powerful artifact (or pet, but that's a little weird for non-bad guys) to drain, based on spell level 9or class ability level/2):
Cantrip = common
1st-2nd level= uncommon
3rd-4th= rare
5-6th level= very rare
7th-8th level= legendary
9th level= artifact
In reality, the game would have a soft level cap where magic from PCs and regular NPCs caps out at 5th levels spells and equivalent.
I would have to mul over the draining mechanism. probably, you could try and use a less rarity item to fuel a casting but it would drain it (either automatically or by some check failure). Single use items would get drained automatically even when used normally.

 

[Umbran]

Well, in this setting in particular, you just can't because there is no magic except in items and creatures already made. That's just the magical physics of the setting.

Ah. Your OP did not specifically mention that there is no item creation. Harry Dresden makes items all the time (those books have his doing so early in each story as part of the formula), and item creation has been a standard in D&D for years, so I worked on that basis.

I'm not interested in modeling the real world, but instead creating an unholy offspring of D&D and Dresden Files, with a side of Bright and Shadowrun.

Shadowrun typically has many, many bullets.

 

[Steampunkette]

Sincere suggestion:

Make guns really simple and deal damage similar to the melee weapons and ranged weapons that exist rather than trying to go for exorbitant damage values or touch AC or whatever.

Light pistol suitable for dual-wielding at range, 1d4. Heavy pistol not suitable for dual-wielding without a feat, 1d6. Small rifle 1d8. Big rifle with the heavy trait 1d10. Add on bigger magazines, burst fire, autofire, and scopes as a separate cost and let people "Build" their guns ala carte.

Why?

1) It's a game and making it overly complicated doesn't serve the play.
Making it easy on yourself and your players is the important thing.

2) It's a game, not a mirror of reality.
Everything is abstracted and the points don't matter.

3) Style
It keeps the game in the visual medium you might desire where guns are present but don't automatically supplant swords and axes. Particularly the Mall Ninja swords and axes.