Building Bhakshal - Running from the Wizards

For the last week or so I have been assessing developments at WotC with respect to online D&D gaming, microtransactions and the changes to the OGL to determine if they would impact Bhakashal. The interim conclusion is “not really”, I may have to alter my presentation of certain information,  but I won’t have to use anything from the WotC PI, and I have changed all of the classes and “races” so I suspect that there won’t be concerns. I have no need to involve anything with D&D online. So I think I’m good.

However, it’s not just designers that are hit by this, it will also impact DMs and players who decide to switch away from 5e D&D to something else. Pathfinder is an obvious choice, and from what I hear it’s pretty fun.

However, I think people are vastly underestimating the choices available to them, even if they don't want to stray "too far" from D&D.

D&D Adjacent Games

There are a number of games which are “D&D adjacent”, e.g., they are similar enough to 5e that you should be able to switch to them without too much difficulty. An obvious example is my system of choice, AD&D 1e. It is NOT the same as 5e, but 5e was created by mixing and matching bits from previous systems of D&D, AD&D 1e included. 

I know this can be done as dozens of my players have done it. They play 1e with me, but some run 5e at home. They want to be plugged in to the latest thing, or their parents got them the 5e books, or whatever, but they play 5e at home and 1e with me, and they have no issues. The games are different, but similar enough that they can figure it out.

The thing is, there are quite literally hundreds of games that would fit in this category, OD&D, AD&D 1e and 2e, Holmes Basic, Moldvay BX, Mentzer Red Box BECMI, Rules Cyclopedia, Classic D&D, 3rd Edition, 3.5, 4e, any of these games will be approachable by someone who played 5e.

Then there are the retroclones, OSRIC, Iron Falcon, Swords and Wizardry, Castles and Crusades, Swords and Six Siders, Whitehack, Adventurer Conqueror King, BlueHolme, Labyrinth Lord, Lamentations of the Flame Princess, Adventures Dark and Deep, Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperborea, Basic Fantasy, etc, etc, etc. There are over 100 retroclones of D&D that are approachable by anyone who has played 5e.

So far we are still on D&D adjacent games, games that emerged from D&D so they should be easily approachable by a group of 5e players.

D&D Inspired

When D&D originally hit the scene in the 70’s it inspired competitors, and they were legion. Tunnels and Trolls, Tekumel, Talislanta, Chivalry and Sorcery, Skyrealms of Jorune, Runequest, Rolemaster, Basic Role Playing, Stormbringer, Amber Diceless, GURPS, Warhammer… Some of these games are very different than D&D, but they are no more difficult to learn and run than at least some of the editions of D&D. 

The reason I’ve listed these games is that most of them would be “close enough” to 5e that your group could pick them up, and there is a metric ton of support materials available between them.

Honestly, if you have played any edition of D&D (with the possible exception of 4th), I think you will find enough familiar in most of these systems that you would be able to pick them up and run a game that would be tons of fun for your 5e group.

And as for the systems that are quite a bit different (Amber Diceless, Jorune or Runequest), the level of complexity is approachable, which means, IMO, that you would be able to make this work for your 5e group.

Personally, my recommendation for someone who wanted to transition a group off 5e would be Talislanta. Hands down one of the most flavorful settings ever made, mechanics that resemble D&D enough to be usable with minimal fuss, a unique system, tons of support materials, an online community with resources, and mountains of it is FREE (http://talislanta.com/). 

Talislanta materials are free because the game designers wanted them to be available, and that means that the website and the community are a LABOR OF LOVE. These are people who WANT to share this unique gaming world, and WANT you to be able to play in it for FREE. 

I know to people who want all the bells and whistles and to be involved in the “current thing” this may seem ephemeral, but that sort of enthusiasm means you will ALWAYS find people willing to help you with rules problems, you will never exhaust the support materials, and you will get to experience fantasy gaming unlike anything you have played before. 

Some people might think it would be too much a shock to transfer to a game like Talislanta, but here’s the thing. If you can master D&D (5e or otherwise) you can master Talislanta or any of the games that I have listed above. 

Give WotC the business and go play Talislanta!

It will keep you busy until Bhakashal is ready!!!!!