Everything is like D&D if you squint hard enough
21 hours ago by fireweed to c/rpgmemes
It depends what you mean by "like d&d". I've heard the phrase is used by different groups to mean:
FYI your line breaks get collapsed. Don't worry, it's still comprehensible. Formatting tip: bullet lists would've worked here. Alternatively, for a single line break you can end the line with 2 spaces or a backslash (\)
For me, at least, "like D&D" can mean a lot of things. There are some games where you can tell their starting design point was just D&D, and everything else is either a tweak, a replacement or an addition. It doesn't matter what gets changed, so long as it's obvious what it was changed from.
The Fantasy Age system does a lot of things differently, but you can still tell they were working with D&D as their base design. You roll 3d6, but you still add your ability (and a skill bonus if you have the skill) and compare it to a target number.
PbtA
Pathfinder, but towards Argentina?
No need to guess - it's Shadowrun, chummer.
Specifically 2nd edition
Warhammer
That's grimdark, not cyberpunk though
D12 is objectively the best dice and I need to find a system that'll let me use them more.
Daggerheart is a 2d12 system for players, but it remains a d20 system for GMs
The d20 System, used as the basis for D&D 3rd edition, was in fact explicitly made to accommodate different settings and additions.
honestly, this is fine. I think people within the rpg space forget that the general public largely has no idea that the space exists. they have never heard the term "tabletop role-playing game," but they have a vague impression that "d&d" means nerds sitting around rolling dice and pretending to be in a fictional scenario, so if your game is anything like that, "kinda like d&d" is a fine descriptor for that audience
or as the famous tweet says: "guy who's only ever seen Boss Baby watching a second movie: kinda getting Boss Baby vibes." inaccurate or ridiculous as it may seem, if that's the only exposure someone has to the concept of a "movie," then using that as a jumping-off point to explain that other stories of different types can be told by pre-recorded moving images is still useful. you have to introduce the medium in general before worrying about genres within the medium, or works within the genre
For sure. If someone says "like d&d?" I take them to mean "is that a ttrpg like d&d is a ttrpg?" and not "is it a ttrpg that is similar to the ttrpg d&d?"
As someone who recently started a GURPS game set in Cyberpunk 2077... nope! Been some really rough spots introducing it to my table that's been running Pathfinder for over a decade
go to feed...
go to feed...
Okay, but if your cyperpunk RPG has "d20 plus modifier vs target number" action resolution, 4-8 ability scores, skill bonuses, feats, classes, races/ancestries/backgrounds... You're going to need to explain how it's NOT like D&D. And if you proceed to describe PbtA, I will laugh at you.
I won't shame you for being like D&D. I will shame you for pretending you're not.
save