Stranded

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alcyone
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Stranded

Post by alcyone »

You are stranded on a desert island. You have plenty of paper, dice, writing implements, willing players and long stretches of time with nothing to do (I guess you aren't any good at making coconut radios or rafts).

Could you write a D&D clone from memory? How close would you get, assuming you tried to get close?

Sometimes I look at something like B/X and think, geez, if I didn't care if it was exactly the same, and left out lots of the "how to play" text, this is easy enough that I should just re-implement for every campaign.
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Buttmonkey
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Re: Stranded

Post by Buttmonkey »

I'd do okay, except for the spells. I didn't play spellcasters in my youthful heyday in the 80s, so there is no way I'd get close to BTB on spells except for a famous few like magic missile and cure light wounds. I would use ascending AC and BAB, but I doubt I'd get the BAB progression correct. I'd shoot for a stripped down C&C, basically. I would tweak the rogue skills dramatically if I tried to replicate the percentage charts from early D&D (I'd make thieves better at most skills at low levels and add in new skills for higher level thieves like appraising gems/loot). The game would definitely be playable and resemble C&C (the SIEGE engine is distinctive) even if the fine points were a bit off. I have no idea how close I would get with XP requirements for classes to level. Any attempt to replicate the saving throw charts from D&D would be doomed.

If stuck on a desert island like this, I'd probably go with a really stripped down clone of Dungeon World. I'd replace most moves with Defy Danger, eliminate all moves that award XP, and shift to auto-leveling based on number of sessions played so that tracking XP would be unnecessary. Developing a stripped down clone of Dungeon World would be a lot easier than trying to actually clone a version of D&D or C&C.
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serleran
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Re: Stranded

Post by serleran »

Yes. About 90% accurate, depending on what clone I'm shooting for... especially clones of clones.

Would I want to is another story.

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Re: Stranded

Post by Treebore »

At one point in my life I could tell you what page, column, paragraph, and often the sentence something was in, in the 1E DMG and Players Handbook. So I am pretty sure I could write up a complete rules set. How much of a duplicate would it be? Not much of one. Maybe 40%, mostly because I would throw most of it out in the first place, so not even bother wirting it down.

Plus, I would just go with C&C and the SIEGE engine, and just get the spells as best as I could to original specs.
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Go0gleplex
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Re: Stranded

Post by Go0gleplex »

Nope. But I could write a similar set of game rules.
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Gringnr
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Re: Stranded

Post by Gringnr »

Go0gleplex wrote:Nope. But I could write a similar set of game rules.

This. Or, I would try to recreate Tunnels & Trolls because solo play and I'M STRANDED ON A FLIPPING ISLAND HERE.
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Omote
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Re: Stranded

Post by Omote »

I could write the Mentzer Expert Set. It wouldn't be word-for-word, but it would be within a few pages of length of the original book! Buuuuuut, my expansionist OCD would kick in and I'd add more stuff because there is no way I couldn't.

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alcyone
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Re: Stranded

Post by alcyone »

Gringnr wrote:
Go0gleplex wrote:Nope. But I could write a similar set of game rules.

This. Or, I would try to recreate Tunnels & Trolls because solo play and I'M STRANDED ON A FLIPPING ISLAND HERE.
I did say there'd be willing players. Though maybe they are all asking for Synnibarr instead.

Could you still write an RPG if Raven CS McCracken was stranded with you?
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Gringnr
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Re: Stranded

Post by Gringnr »

Aergraith wrote:
Gringnr wrote:
Go0gleplex wrote:Nope. But I could write a similar set of game rules.

This. Or, I would try to recreate Tunnels & Trolls because solo play and I'M STRANDED ON A FLIPPING ISLAND HERE.
I did say there'd be willing players. Though maybe they are all asking for Synnibarr instead.

Could you still write an RPG if Raven CS McCracken was stranded with you?

Dunno how I missed the willing players bit. It was late.

I giess in such a situation there would be a natural tendency to gravitate towards the familiar. I guess between myself AND friends, we could come up with a decent, or at least working simulacrum.
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alcyone
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Re: Stranded

Post by alcyone »

...and would you honor the OGL?
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Gringnr
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Re: Stranded

Post by Gringnr »

Aergraith wrote:...and would you honor the OGL?
I would gratefully honor the OGL of any rescuers, and upon my return to society, would release "Islands & Incubi", followed shortly thereafter with a "Rules Extension", the latter of which would add depth and scale to the game.
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serleran
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Re: Stranded

Post by serleran »

If you had your pick of 3 RPG designers, of any sort, who would you want strapped to your island chains?

As for the other questions posed above... I would not honor the OGL. And I could design a game with Synnibarr legend dude. In fact, it would help to have some outward thinking.

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Re: Stranded

Post by Traveller »

Quite honestly, I wouldn't bother emulating Dungeons & Dragons or any of its simulacra. I wouldn't emulate Castles & Crusades either. Instead, I'd take what rules I remember and use them to make something along the lines of Dinky Dungeons or Drawbridge. Of course, I could somehow manage to independently create Sherpa, but Steffan might kill me. ;)

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Tadhg
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Re: Stranded

Post by Tadhg »

I wouldn't bother with any D&D other than C&C. As mentioned above, the challenge to me would be trying to remember all the spells. I think I could recall most of the first 4 or 5 levels (at least the most useful).

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Re: Stranded

Post by finarvyn »

I've thought about the original question a lot. I think I could replicate most of my house rules and a decent replica of the important parts of the game. As with others, I'm sure I would get some of the spells messed up but maybe that wouldn't really matter.
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