Jack Daniel
dice-universe.blogspot.com
So by now, the D&D Next/5th edition playtest has come out, and we've mostly all gotten a chance to see some of the things that the design team is considering. And over the next few months, we'll see the playtest material evolve; they'll roll out new stuff, cut out the rules people didn't like, test out new experimental ideas, generally throw stuff at the wall to see what sticks.
And I can't wait that long!
There were enough good ideas in the playtest packet that it got me thinking, "As an experiment of my own, could I incorporate some of this stuff into my preferred edition of the game?" (Which is, namely, Basic D&D.)
More than that, I've had a problem with D&D of late. Every campaign that I run seems to devolve into a Monty Haul/Munchkin fest by the time the game reaches the 10th-12th level range. Bonuses inflate, magic items proliferate, and the characters become invulnerable. I tried running an E6 campaign using the B/X rules (instead of its intended 3rd edition rules) once or twice, but that actually capped character power levels a little too low, and left things entirely uninteresting for the players after the level cap was reached.
So this sub-game, which I've dubbed "Jack's Hack", is kind of like E6, but remodeled to work better with Basic D&D than with the d20 System. It brazenly cops a few of the better ideas from the 5th edition playtest packet (like hit dice for healing -- that's a really cool idea!), and it seriously flattens out the attack roll, saving throw, and spell progressions. Experience levels run from 1st to 12th level, with XP required doubling at every level (so that 12th level actually takes quite a long time to reach), and along the way, levels only impart a maximum +3 increase to attack rolls and saving throws; spells top out at 3rd level; the greatest number of hit points that any character can have is a 12th level fighter with CON 17+, clocking in at an astonishing 42 HP.
This is a hack for gritty, low-powered, low-magic fantasy, or for "Lord of the Rings" type worlds where the heroes have to face insurmountable odds without the hope of a raise dead spell or a teleport to save their bacon after the fact.
Take a look, tell me what you think.
This looked too much like a derivate work of WotC's copyrighted material. Please do not repost this.
And I can't wait that long!
There were enough good ideas in the playtest packet that it got me thinking, "As an experiment of my own, could I incorporate some of this stuff into my preferred edition of the game?" (Which is, namely, Basic D&D.)
More than that, I've had a problem with D&D of late. Every campaign that I run seems to devolve into a Monty Haul/Munchkin fest by the time the game reaches the 10th-12th level range. Bonuses inflate, magic items proliferate, and the characters become invulnerable. I tried running an E6 campaign using the B/X rules (instead of its intended 3rd edition rules) once or twice, but that actually capped character power levels a little too low, and left things entirely uninteresting for the players after the level cap was reached.
So this sub-game, which I've dubbed "Jack's Hack", is kind of like E6, but remodeled to work better with Basic D&D than with the d20 System. It brazenly cops a few of the better ideas from the 5th edition playtest packet (like hit dice for healing -- that's a really cool idea!), and it seriously flattens out the attack roll, saving throw, and spell progressions. Experience levels run from 1st to 12th level, with XP required doubling at every level (so that 12th level actually takes quite a long time to reach), and along the way, levels only impart a maximum +3 increase to attack rolls and saving throws; spells top out at 3rd level; the greatest number of hit points that any character can have is a 12th level fighter with CON 17+, clocking in at an astonishing 42 HP.
This is a hack for gritty, low-powered, low-magic fantasy, or for "Lord of the Rings" type worlds where the heroes have to face insurmountable odds without the hope of a raise dead spell or a teleport to save their bacon after the fact.
Take a look, tell me what you think.
This looked too much like a derivate work of WotC's copyrighted material. Please do not repost this.
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