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

[Reynard]

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

I'm not really borrowing from the settings per se (except insofar as D&D's rules are its settings), just inspiration.

My setting is pretty well developed at this point. the short version is that Fantasy Earth had a World Ending Catastrophe when the Blighted Queen (are mother goddess gone corrupt) decided to devour everything. All the wizards in the world (except crazy cultists) got together and built gates to Earth. They knew about Earth because way back when Earth had its own arcanosphere, there were natural gates (it is how people accidentally slipped through to Faerie or whatever). All at once, across Fantasy Earth, the most powerful wizards opened the gates and held them open while everyone else fled through. One Earth, the gates opened up in more or less random locations (the geography of the planets is identical) and these "alien" refugees streamed through -- along with monsters and other things fleeing the destruction behind them. The vast majority of wizards were killed because they could not hold open the gates and pass through them at once.

That was ten years ago. The refugee camps have only recently started to open and people from fantasy Earth are integrating into society. In democratic countries, it is at least going "okay" -- in other places, it is Very Bad.

I have run the following (short) campaigns in this world (mostly using Savage Worlds but also Monster of the Week once):

Oberon's Eleven is focused on the magic item and creature black market and a group of thieves (from both Fantasy Earth and Mundane Earth) who nick items for "Oberon" -- a shadowy figure.

heX-Files (this was the MotW game initially) was exactly what it sounds like. The second iteration was less X-Files mystery and more action adventure.

The Reborn throne was a campaign focused around trying to set up a New Fantasy Earth government. it fizzled pretty quickly though.

 

[Reynard]

Shadowrun typically has many, many bullets.

Only because the Street Samurai can't keep it in his holster for FIVE FREAKING MINUTES.

Every time.

 

[Piperken]

I am considering starting a little urban fantasy project via the new D&D rules (once the SRD is released). I am curious what folks might think will be the biggest barriers to using D&D 2024 for urban fantasy, and what rule tweaks or other changes might be necessary...

...The plan is stand alone adventures in an Urban Fantasy setting, so I am thinking (as minimal as possible) changes to existing classes etc, rather than buildinga whole d2024 Modern or whatever.

Similarly to skills, one thought that came to mind was to check if the 2024 free actions list might need a little massaging.

 

[Kobold Avenger]

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.

There's a thing where I noticed that the Modern Firearms in the DMG are based off of what the stats for guns were in D20 Modern, where by design based on the interaction of feats such as Double Tap and Burst Fire and guns had to have 2 die of damage, whether it was 2d4 (for light pistols), 2d6 (heavier pistols and SMGs), 2d8 (rifles) or 2d10 (heavier rifles and machine guns), because those feats did something like "add 1 die of damage". Also D20 Modern since it was based off of 3e ranged weapons typically didn't add Ability modifiers to damage. So I feel that they could downgrade the damage by 1 step, and not adhere to the use 2 die design limitation.

Anyways I feel the upper limit should be 2d8 for firearms reserved for "big guns" and everything else should be around 1d8 to 2d6. But I don't think the details should be that important for Urban Fantasy, as it's in the Urban Fantasy genre and not the Military genre. In an Urban Fantasy setting assault rifles are going to be rare unless the PCs have to fight a Vampire Black Ops Team, so probably nothing higher than 1d10.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

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.

It seems to me that you have a pretty developed idea about how your world works and I find myself questioning D&D as a fit template. You seem to want D&D mundane combat but really low magic.

 

[THEMNGMNT]

Sounds like a fun idea.

 

[Reynard]

It seems to me that you have a pretty developed idea about how your world works and I find myself questioning D&D as a fit template. You seem to want D&D mundane combat but really low magic.

It is not low magic so much as rare magic, which is a somewhat different thing.

 

[Micah Sweet]

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.

Ok. If maintaining the narrative genre is your priority, then what you're suggesting makes sense.

 

[Reynard]

It seems to me that you have a pretty developed idea about how your world works and I find myself questioning D&D as a fit template.

I realized I did not address this bit: it is just me trying to see if it can be done in the format I am imagining. I am not interested in a 300 page rule and setting book, but rather short (probably free) adventures that tie into the fiction.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

It is not low magic so much as rare magic, which is a somewhat different thing.

You are correct but most modern D&D classes have a high magical dependency.
I think if I was doing this, I would be inclined to separate slot recovery from rests.

Like, is it possible to play a fifth level warlock in your world? How would it work?