The Red Dragon Inn - home of the Audalis campaign setting.  Online D&D gaming, art, poerty, stories, advice, chat, and more

Support the Inn! If you are doing holiday shopping online, please use this affiliate link for Amazon.
You pay the exact same prices, but the Inn earns a small referral fee. Thanks!

We currently have 4063 registered users. Our newest member is Hammeyaneggs.
Online members:
Username Password Remember me
Not a member? Join today! | Forgot your password?
Latest Updated Forum Topics  [more...]
Q&A Threads - Return to Charadun - Q&A (posted by Chessicfayth)Return to Charadun - Q&A
Posting Games - The Morphing Game (posted by TannTalas)The Morphing Game
Posting Games - The One Word Game (posted by TannTalas)The One Word Game
Recruitment Threads - Return to Charadun - Recruitment (posted by Eol Fefalas)Return to Charadun - Recr
Personal Creations - Miniature Painting (posted by t_catt11)Minis!
Latest Blog Entries
Revenge of the Drunken Dice
Latest Webcomics
Loaded Dice #80: Priorities
RPG MB #15: Master of the Blade
Floyd Hobart #19: High School Reunion IV
There are currently 3 users logged into DragonChat.
Is the site menu broken for you? Click here for the fix!

You are here: Home --> Forum Home --> General Forum --> Common Room --> Gritty and Realistic D&D variants?
Jump to:    1   
    Messages in Gritty and Realistic D&D variants?
RDI T-shirts!

Lawful Stupid
Price: $16.00



RDI T-shirts!

Geekier Kid
Price: $14.00

Schnozzle
Ma' Nozzle
Karma: 38/0
668 Posts


Gritty and Realistic D&D variants?

I'm putting together a bunch of one off and short game ideas for the group I play with IRL. Everyone who plays is up for a Game of Thrones setting, but I think that Dungeons and Dragons rules miss the fatality of GoT. I'm also interested in doing a film noir setting, hard boiled detective stuff. In either case, death would be permanent (or usually so) and getting stabbed or shot would often prove fatal.

Are there any variant rules for a "hardcore" mode of D&D? I know HP serves a purpose but I think a little gory realism would work well sometimes.


Posted on 2014-04-14 at 10:46:04.

Padre J Roulston
Resident
Karma: 16/1
428 Posts


alternate rules...

I don't know if there are any existing rules like what you are looking for... But something that you could do is run it more like the game Traveller.

Instead of taking hits from HP you take hits to your physical attributes (Str. Dex. Con.) When your attributes are reduced to 0 you are dead.

This makes it more like real life, to signify blood loss, and/or the lack of use of wounded limbs, etc.


Posted on 2014-04-14 at 12:06:45.

Jozan1
RDI Fixture +1
Karma: 67/14
1556 Posts


I know just the thing you're looking for....

http://hyboria.xoth.net/index.htm


That site links you to a D20 setting for the Conan movies.
You're going to want to navigate to here, the "Die, Stygian Jackal!" alternate rules. It's a rule set that I've been dying to use for a long time (along with a few other alternate things for a total home brew game)that is really just the grittiest, deadlist system I've seen.

http://hyboria.xoth.net/rules/die_stygian_jackal.htm

I've personally put a few spins on it but this is the basis for something that I think you're going to like.


Posted on 2014-04-14 at 13:27:19.

Philosopher
Bill-osopher
Karma: 37/4
502 Posts


Short Lived Adventurers!

I made a D20 variant that simply takes out HP. Your saving throws are what keep you alive. Fail, and you die. Makes for an interesting, quick paced game. The great thing is, you can level up a lot, and it matters for skills and techniques, but the truth of the matter is a level 1 character can still kill a level 20. Not that anyone ever made it that far...


Posted on 2014-04-14 at 13:31:05.

Grugg
Gregg
RDI Staff
Karma: 357/190
6192 Posts


asdf

There is a variant in unearted arcana where you have a pool of "endurance" and then one for "hp" where if I remember correctly endurance is like you normally would do HP but your "HP" is just your constitution score.

Normally if you get hit you take it off your endurance first, and then when that's done it goes off your HP, but if you get hit with a crit it skips the doubling or whatever and goes straight off your HP.

Didn't explain this overly well because it's 7am, but basically it means if someone crits you, you're almost certainly dead. Kinda provides that one wrong move you die feel.


Posted on 2014-04-14 at 14:24:46.

Schnozzle
Ma' Nozzle
Karma: 38/0
668 Posts


Thanks

Thanks guys, I will be taking all of this into consideration. The Jackal one seems the best thought-out but also the most complicated. I'm going to brainstorm with my IRLs and let you know what I come up with.


Posted on 2014-04-16 at 12:45:26.

   
Jump to:    1   


  Partners:       Dungeons and Dragons resources, from 2nd to 4th Edition gamegrene.com | for the gamer who's sick of the typical Dungeons and Dragons Adventures, #1 resource for D&D Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition  
View/Edit Your Profile | Staff List | Contact Us
Use of the RDINN forums or chatrooms constitutes agreement with our Terms of Service.
You must enable cookies and javascript to use all features of this site.




Page loaded in 0.059421 seconds