D&D General What do you NOT want systems for?

[Reynard]

Thinking about this based on another thread but it's kind of a tangent:

When you open up a D&D rule book,what sorts of rules systems make you wrinkle your nose. As an obvious example, a lot of folks don't want "social combat" and many players of old school games could very much do without skills.

What, in your personal preference, can D&D do without or is better off not having rules for?

 

[overgeeked]

Combat shouldn’t be a separate subsystem to regular skill checks and task resolution. It’s no where near as complicated as people pretend. They are just used to the crunch and want heavier rules for combat. But the game would play better without them. Give monsters a number of hits they can take and be done with it.

Social abilities and skills shouldn’t be in the game. That’s what roleplaying is for.

 

[Tales and Chronicles]

Social abilities and skills shouldn’t be in the game. That’s what roleplaying is for.

I kinda agree, though it be a huge turn-off for people who are shy or less outgoing. Some of my friends wouldn't be able to persuade anything if their life depended on it. So there would be a huge list of character archetypes they would not be able to play at the table.

 

[Tales and Chronicles]

Combat shouldn’t be a separate subsystem to regular skill checks and task resolution. It’s no where near as complicated as people pretend. They are just used to the crunch and want heavier rules for combat. But the game would play better without them. Give monsters a number of hits they can take and be done with it.

This I agree with.

 

[overgeeked]

I kinda agree, though it be a huge turn-off for people who are shy or less outgoing. Some of my friends wouldn't be able to persuade anything if their life depended on it. So there would be a huge list of character archetypes they would not be able to play at the table.

Or they use the safe space of the game to learn and test out their social skills.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

I'd like optional minigame subsystems for nearly everything - Combat, Social Encounters, Trap encounters, Environmental Hazards, Shopping Sprees, Magical Rituals, Downtime Activities, Overland Travel, Ship-to-Ship Combat, Aerial Combat. The Works.

I might not use 'em, but I want them.

On the other hand, I have absolutely no use whatsoever for a random table of anything. I DON'T need Random Encounters, Random Treasure Tables, Random Dungeon Builders, Random Name Generators - NONE of that stuff.

 

[Campbell]

I mostly just want the systems and subsystems to hang together in a comprehensive game so I can achieve some level of flow state when playing or running the game. Wandering Monsters mixed with cinematic set piece design throws me off as an example.

 

[CleverNickName]

Stuff I don't want? That's a refreshing angle to look at.

I do not want or need a system for bodily functions. I do not want to have to roll on a table to determine my urination frequency or the current stage of my character's menstrual cycle. And I will never, ever want or need a system for sexual intercourse, STDs, pregnancy, childbirth, or anything of the sort. I still haven't recovered from The Book of Erotic Fantasy and that was like two decades ago.

I do not want or need a system for injury, either. I don't care if that skeleton hit your arm or your shoulder, or how badly you got concussed by that rock golem. I'm content to let the player describe their characters' injuries to any level of detail they desire because it's the HP number and/or status conditions that are important. Hit points and damage get really weird really fast in 5E when you try to describe them ("You take 10 damage. Except it's not damage. I mean, yes, it's damage, but it's not damage damage. Unless it is. But not really.")

I don't want an instant reset mechanic. I already dislike how 5th Edition D&D automatically resets everyone's hit points to full after an 8-hour nap...to think there are people who want everything else to reset just as effortlessly? in even less time? No thanks. I'm looking for ways to move that needle in the opposite direction.

 

[Composer99]

The only thing in the PHB that I would like to see dropped is pound-weight for encumbrance. There's stuff I wouldn't miss, but that's what I'd like to see gone.

For play at most tables, I suspect carrying stuff is hand-waved, and if there is any question about how much a character can carry, they can just sort of go by their Strength score, go by what "feels right" (with either the DM or DM/player agreement as determinant), or roll an ability check to lift, displace, deform, or otherwise manipulate something that is excessively heavy.

(I am on record suggesting that "variant" rules could replace pound-weight for encumbrance that keep some of the mechanical heft with a lot less bookkeeping, such as some kind of slot-based system, but I could live without them.)

 

[Twiggly the Gnome]

I kinda agree, though it be a huge turn-off for people who are shy or less outgoing. Some of my friends wouldn't be able to persuade anything if their life depended on it. So there would be a huge list of character archetypes they would not be able to play at the table.

I tend to give a shy or awkward player a lot of leeway if they're playing a charismatic character, and they're making a goodwill effort.

The guy that thinks he can get around the consequences of dumping a non-physical stat through "roleplaying". That guy rolls. Every. Damn. Time.