Toward a Vision of *My* Best D&D

As I work on my next campaign, I'm cobbling together all of the things I like from D&D and its close imitators, descendants, and retroclones to create what I am tentatively calling "my best D&D"--a "best parts" version, if you will that fits the play style at my table.

While I do enjoy D&D 5th edition, characters still seem a bit too superpowered for my tastes: nearly every class wields magic, or has a magic-wielding subclass, characters get new powerful abilities every level, etc. I would prefer something a bit more along the lines of James Maliszewski's "Pulp Fantasy D&D" aesthetic.

I will likely be using this blog as a set of notes to put together this Frankenstein of a game, listing the bits I enjoy from various other games, then paring these options down, removing redundancies until I get the core D&D experience I'm after.

For example, one recent-ish innovation that I like is 5th edition's Advantage/Disadvantage mechanics. It was an elegant way to dispense with a slew of charts and modifiers while keeping game play simple and fast.

So let's put that on the list first:

• Advantage/Disadvantage (D&D 5th edition)

As I read through my vast library of D&D and OSR games, I'll continue piecing through my options. Different topics I can already perceive are:

• Attributes: do we really need six attributes? Shadow of the Demon Lord makes a compelling argument for just four. But is cross-compatibility enough of a reason to simply go with the traditional six? (If I do keep the traditional 6 attributes, it'll be roll 3d6 and let the player assign as they choose.)
• Level caps? 
• Unified Experience Point mechanic vs. each class having its own XP chart?
• Attribute Modifiers: which edition should I use? I like the way Sine Nomine games assign attribute modifiers. 
• Proficiency: keep it? Ditch it?
• Skills vs. Ability Checks with Backgrounds
• Saving Throws: currently, I'm leaning toward "Saving Throws are essentially Attribute checks, with types of saves associated with specific Attributes," as in Castles & Crusades and D&D 5e. However, Crypts & Things remastered edition has an interesting system as well, where Luck replaces Saving Throws.
• Should there be some kind of Luck mechanic? Dungeon Crawl Classics and Crypts & Things remastered have some interesting options. Perhaps I should steal a page from the old Fighting Fantasy game books? Could a Luck mechanic replace Saving Throws? I was never really satisfied with the Inspiration mechanic in D&D 5e. Perhaps I might borrow Bennies from Savage Worlds? 
• Which version of Thief/Rogue, if any, should I use? The Specialist from Lamentations of the Flame Princess's (LotFP) is very appealing.
• How do we track Encumbrance in a simple, meaningful what that requires the least bookkeeping? Again, LotFP has a nice system.
• Gold piece or silver piece economy?
• How many different Classes do we really need, anyway? Aren't Rangers and Barbarians simply variants of Fighters? 
• Should Fighters (and their subclasses) be the only class that gets better at fighting with level advancement?
• How quickly should characters be able to recover from injuries?

So these are just some initial questions that are already bouncing around in my head, and I'm sure I'll come across others as I continue. 

Fantasy Cultures, Part 1: Notes on Dwarven Culture

Many science fiction shows and films have a variety of aliens on display that is visually impressive. Rarely do the shows involve themselves with elaborating the aliens' cultures; most of them are simply humans with funny faces, antennae, different colored skin, etc. At most, a given alien species represents an exaggerated or extreme aspect of human society and culture, as with the warlike nature of Klingons, the greed of the Ferengi, etc.

Similarly, many fantasy RPGs have a variety of demihuman or nonhuman races / species / ancestries for players to choose from. Most players, in my experience, tend to run these sorts of characters just like humans with pointy ears and funny accents, with little in the way of considering what makes these fantasy cultures unique and different. Let's face it - the players really wanted the demihuman bonuses and abilities.

And that's just fine, frankly - run your character however you like. 

But as I'm working on my next old-school fantasy RPG campaign, I wanted to jot some notes down about other ancestries' cultures above and beyond the commonly understood tropes of fantasy culture. These are personal notes simply used to add a bit of flavor, throwaway "facts" that players might enjoy if they bother to ask or happen to spend time in other lands. 

Dwarves are cool, so I'll start with them.

Dwarven Music and Dance

Dwarven music is heavy on the percussion, which makes sense when you think about it. Just as dwarven weapons are extensions of tools (axes and hammers favored over swords), dwarven music reflects the primary activities of dwarves as blacksmiths and stonemasons. So we're talking big taiko style drums and anvils "tuned" to various notes depending on where you strike them with a hammer. Dwarven stringed instruments will sound closer to heavy bass music than lutes, and a dwarven bass could probably second as a sturdy melee weapon in a pinch.

I imagine dwarven traditional dances to be akin to the Maori Haka dances - postures and rhythmic movements, shouting, a lot of stomping and chest-striking, and perhaps some simulated violence.

Dwarven Martial Arts: Kadrin da Wyr

Many human cultures have developed their own forms of martial arts, so why not other fantasy cultures? Dwarven monks would be awesome. 

The dwarven martial art is "Kadrin da Wyr," which roughly translates into Common as "Anvil of the Soul," or simply Kadrin for short. 

Dwarven monks renounce their clan names and actually shave their heads and beards as a sign of humility - a dense thicket of runic tattoos replaces their hair, and tracks their progress in Kadrin as different colored belts represent skill in other martial arts. 

Dwarves would likely have taken their knowledge of engineering, including principles of torque and tension and tensile strength, and applied those principles to physiology to create a style of unarmed combat that resembles a combination of wrestling, ground fighting, and small circle jiu jitsu, emphasizing leverage, grappling, and joint locks, as well as powerful fist strikes. Dwarven bodies already possess a lower center of gravity than most humans, making this type of combat ideal. Also owing to dwarven stature, Kadrin doesn't have any flashy acrobatics or high kicks; most footwork is primarily focused on strong stances and unbalancing an opponent, though tumbling and the occasional foot stomp and leg sweep are thrown in for good measure.

Training involves a punishing physical regimen to maximize strength, endurance, toughness, and resistance to pain, along with meditative techniques that build an iron will. 

How does this all work out in game terms? I haven't spent much time gamifying Kadrin yet - it's mostly been an interesting thought exercise - but I imagine that Kadrin practitioners can grapple opponents of Large size without penalty, gain bonuses (or advantage) when grappling opponents, and can more effectively strangle opponents (if you use rules for holding one's breath, this simulates a more effective chokehold, rendering opponents unconscious much more quickly). On a natural roll of 20, Kadrin practitioners might break one of their opponent's bones, rendering that limb useless in combat. 

Dwarven monks use their Constitution and Wisdom bonuses (rather than Dexterity) to determine Armor Class.

Thoughts? Constructive criticism is welcome.