Addition by Subtraction: If I ran Dungeons & Dragons 2024…
Not saying I will. Not saying I won’t.
If I did, there probably wouldn’t be any dragons…
My first ever RPG was 3rd Edition D&D. It was probably 2002. I would have been 19 or 20. I had never been a big fantasy fan, science fiction yes, but fantasy not really. Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films were a big deal, and I fell in love with those and also Tolkien’s books. So, when a buddy offered to introduce me to D&D it wasn’t too big of a stretch. Anyway, it was great, I was hooked, and we would play regularly through the rest my undergrad years.
While now I am more drawn to the older and simpler versions of D&D, its clones, and derivatives, I do feel a certain draw to post 2000 D&D. Pathfinder and 5e felt familiar and comfy, though I only really have much experience playing Pathfinder 2e before I descended into the deeper dungeons of the OSR.
The latest version of Dungeons and Dragons didn’t at first appeal to me. I’m an OSR guy, or a sci-fi, or a rules lite guy I thought. However, some people whose opinion I respect made me think D&D 2024 might be worth checking out. The collector in me knew the core books were destined for the shelf anyway, so I bowed to the inevitable and ordered them. Not all at once mind you, I still needed to sneak them in one at a time past my little inner OSR guy…and also my wife…neither of them know. Shhh…
Well, turns out it is pretty cool. I like it and I think I’d even run it. It is not that close to the top of the list of “games on the shelf I’d really want to run,” but it’s much higher than I expected. I could see myself playing or running it, but it would have to be my way, in my world, which means its going to take some pruning.
The things that bug me the most about any version of D&D, but is most pronounced in the more recent versions, is the ultra-kitchen-sink fantasy flavors and endless (yet somehow still ever expanding) character options. For me, it makes for a really uninspiring mishmash. Official settings always support this so that any character concept and background can be played. Anyway, it makes me very tired just thinking about it.
My favorite flavor of fantasy is “Sword and Sorcery” in the vein of classic 1980s films like Conan the Barbarian and Beastmaster, and aside from Tolkien, much of Appendix N. I’ve come to see D&D as a toolkit to emulate any of Appendix N, not a setting that is all of Appendix N, all of the time. A great game that really changed my thinking on this stuff is Black Sword Hack by Kobayashi. It has some really great world building tips and options for things like how magic works. The best tip in the whole book is to not use everything. Being selective gives a focus and vibrancy. I think this can be applied to the D&D toolkit as well. That means taking out things, limiting the options, for the player characters and for me as the game master in world building. Perhaps that will anger some, but there are other tables for them to join. And besides there will still be a lot of options they are hopefully just more focused.
Species
First up, playable species: Human. Yup that’s it. The world has humans in it. Humans are the best and worst thing about our world so there should be sufficient roleplay opportunities here. There can be lots of interesting and weird cultures, but they are all made up of human beings. I think Elf, Dwarf, Orc fantasy is great, but I also think they all fit and feel best in Middle-Earth, so I’m going to leave them there (The One Ring is high on my list..) In a general sense I would avoid any other “humanoids” entirely they just don’t exist in my world.
Player Classes and Subclasses
Next, and this is where it gets fun, playable classes and subclasses. I want to tone down magic more generally so dropping more straightforward (and classic) casters makes sense. Also, there will not be a large pantheon of true gods, or a complex cosmology. At most two opposed deities or maybe just one rather crappy and aloof one. Everything else is some sort of demon or outer entity. So, with that lets cross off all the classes that don’t fit, or that I just don’t like.
Barbarian: Of course, I need some barbarians here (though Conan was actually a fighter) but stick with the classic berserker. I’m torn on the Zealot since most religions will be minor, but it still works and is a cool option – maybe worshiping a demon lord or something.
Berserker; Wild Heart, World Tree; Zealot
Bard: Full caster bards seem kind of out of place, so I am dropping them. A persistent and polite player could maybe make a case for a bard from the college of lore. It’s going to be a hard sell though. Arcane trickster or eldritch knight plus lute will have to do.
Cleric: NPCs only (if at all).
Druid: Any type of Druid will fit fine, fills the full divine caster role, but also keys into the Elemental aspects of this sort of setting that I like.
Land; Moon; Sea; Stars
Fighter: All but Psi Warrior – no psionics (aberrations excepted), they’re cool, but maybe for a different setting. I like the idea of eldritch knights and partial casters in general. I actually could see making the partial casters the only type available as PCs.
Battle Master; Champion; Eldritch Knight; Psi Warrior
Monk: Fine, these are all fine.
Mercy; Shadow; Elements: Open Hand
Paladin: Eh Nope, sorry Pally, you don’t really belong here.
Ranger: Beast Master of course, have to allow that. Fey isn’t a thing in this hypothetical setting so that’s out. Others are pretty classic and fit fine.
Beast Master: Fey Wanderer; Gloom Stalker; Hunter
Rogue: All but soul knife as psionic. Thieves and assassins are always core to S&S, and the arcane trickster is a fun partial caster that fits in lower magic setting.
Arcane Trickster; Assassin; Soul Knife; Thief
Sorcerer: NPCs Only, and then probably only Aberrant.
Warlock: Pretty perfect fit here but need to drop the Archfey (no fey) and Celestial (no “good” demons). I think too I would limit player access to this class until they can find a patron. That sounds like core concept for a campaign in some ways and shouldn’t be relegated to a character backstory.
Archfey; Celestial; Fiend; Great Old One
Wizard: NPCs only, and probably some sort of weird necromancer anyway.
Monsters
On the monster side of the house, I’m going to cull pretty heavily as well. Some creature types will be eliminated entirely while some will be trimmed and others only maybe a handful of creatures will find a place.
Aberration: Love these guys and Aboleths are a personal favorite for a bit of ancient evil. I think I I would avoid beholders and Githyanki as too iconically “D&D Worlds,” but the rest fit here pretty well. Kua-Toa and Slaad are maybe an exception for creepy hidden species that might come into play if the setting needs that.
Beast: All the beasts are on the table for sure, including dinosaurs, though I don’t know yet how central I would want dinos to be.
Celestial: No thanks, ambiguously evil outsiders only.
Construct: Golems and Homunculus are definitely in.
Dragon: Hot take, dragons are overplayed and overpowered. I’m imagining a world without dragons.
Elemental: the basic elementals are definitely in as manifestations of the physical world and possible connections for PCs. Maybe a few of the others make an appearance. Otherwise somewhat limited here.
Fey: Nope, Nope, Nope. Another setting, another time perhaps.
Fiend: Yes, Yes, Yes. Especially demons and devils as patrons and string pullers. Things like gnolls as demonic “beastmen” fit the flavor too, but I’d be careful not to overdue it.
Giant: Eh. No, like fey, too Fairey tale inspired. Maybe a cyclops or something, but only maybe.
Monstrosity: Many of these fit well as just cools monsters though the Yaun-Ti have a great S&S feel and would maybe be the result or center of a snake cult. Is Thulsa Doom a cleric or a sorcerer…
Oozes: Eh, maybe. These are kind of boring anyway and really more like traps.
Undead: All the basic undead have a place here since there needs to be a necromancer somewhere, maybe even a lich. Vampires could be fun too, with a bit of re-flavoring and reskinning. Undead based on already excluded forms are out, sorry dracolich and death tyrant.
Anyway, that’s it, mostly just thinking out loud about the beginnings of a campaign world that will probably never be. I do think it is interesting what could be created by taking things out rather than adding. Dungeons & Dragons is an amazing collection of many ideas, and I think there is great potential in highlighting just a few at a time. There is value in stepping back just a bit from the kitchen sink. Maybe I’ll continue the worldbuilding in a later post, or maybe I’ll just move on. We’ll see.
References
I think you can find D&D just fine.