D&D General What makes a TTRPG a "D&D Variant" to you?

[Reynard]

I would disagree. I think D&D style fantasy tropes are fairly darn specific and only appear not to be to people who are very inundated to them.

That is exactly backwards.

EDIT: Uh, reading is hard.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

That is exactly backwards.

Is it?!

Genuine question, because it sounds exactly right to me, but maybe I'm missing something? D&D has odd number of odd tropes that don't really appear as much in general fantasy, and I know from long experience that a lot of D&D players don't know or understand that these tropes are not common.

A good specific example is re: fantasy novels. I know we're a bit more erudite about them now, but even ten years ago, many people on this board were happily claiming orcs, dwarves, halflings, clerics/divine magic, fire-and-forget-style spells and so on were "common" in fantasy novels. Even that they were the norm - that if you picked a random fantasy novel off the shelves, you could expect orcs and dwarves and clerics to be in it!

But that's not true and it's never been true either.

The only medium in which it is even partially true is fantasy videogames, and that's only because so many of them derived pretty heavily from D&D or other videogames which derived from D&D. And even now it's becoming less true - it probably peaked in true-ness in the 2000s.

 

[numtini]

D20 system with class/level mechanics and armor class that affects the chance to hit, rather than reducing damage.

 

[el-remmen]

It’s all D&D to me.

 

[Reynard]

Is it?!

Genuine question, because it sounds exactly right to me, but maybe I'm missing something? D&D has odd number of odd tropes that don't really appear as much in general fantasy, and I know from long experience that a lot of D&D players don't know or understand that these tropes are not uncommon.

A good specific example is re: fantasy novels. I know we're a bit more erudite about them now, but even ten years ago, many people on this board were happily claiming orcs, dwarves, halflings, clerics/divine magic, fire-and-forget-style spells and so on were "common" in fantasy novels. Even that they were the norm - that if you picked a random fantasy novel off the shelves, you could expect orcs and dwarves and clerics to be in it!

But that's not true and it's never been true either.

The only medium in which it is even partially true is fantasy videogames, and that's only because so many of them derived pretty heavily from D&D or other videogames which derived from D&D. And even now it's becoming less true - it probably peaked in true-ness in the 2000s.

I... completely misread the post I quoted.

So, uh, yeah, what @Ruin Explorer said.

 

[DEFCON 1]

It’s all D&D to me.

## What's the matter with the game I'm playing?
## Can't you tell when I roll my dice?
## Maybe I should buy some new d20s
## Or will my dice pool mechanic suffice?

## Where have you been using Foundry or Roll20?
## You can't get a mini without spending lots of money

## Everybody's talkin' bout the Old School
## Funny, but it's still D&D to me

- Billy Joel

 

[aco175]

I tend to only play D&D, whatever version is current, so to me a variant is something I could play that feels like I'm playing D&D and that I do not need to learn a bunch of new rules.

Granted plays like D&D is different from basic/OSR, 3e/Pathrinder and 5e/TOV, but if someone says it is just like D&D and then list pages of things I need to learn, I'm not sure it would be it to me.

 

[Corinnguard]