D&D as a Tool Kit

**Warning: This is a very stream of thought, unorganized post. I'm tired, and kind of just want to write right now.

This has been talked about before, but normally in the sense of "D&D is a tool kit that can let you play fantasy (sometimes other) role playing games". As in, within the rules given, there are various tools provided to let you customize your game. But what if we made a "D&D Tool Kit" that let you build your own D&D? That's what D&D Next was supposed to be, but I just don't feel that it accomplished that all too well (not yet at least). I'll go ahead and muse on the subject, just for kicks. This is in no way a game plan, or something I intend to do, but it would be cool.

First lets talk about layout, organization, etc. What I'm thinking of is something like Basic Fantasy, mixed with the Pathfinder SRD. Release a really basic core set of rules, and then make a billion supplements, possible one page, self contained PDFs. Then you could conveniently print out a binder full of rules. Eventually, you could release pre-customized, or ready-to-roll, rule sets: "Basic", "Advanced", "Original", etc., much like Microlite20 does.

On to some actual ideas of things that would part of this system. Lets start with the most basic of basics: Ability Scores. (Here, you'll see what I'm actually talking about.) I prefer more to the point language, so I wouldn't go on about "Strength is a character's ability to lift heavy things...", but I would explain the effects of Strength on game play, and how altering Ability Scores, and selecting an option affects game play. I would present four basic options for Ability Scores: no modifiers, +1/-1, +3/-3, and +5/-5.

In other words; the original option, where Ability Scores did not modify much in game, but instead acted as a vague representation of the character's, for Referees to use as they pleased. With this option, and in fact as a blurb in the beginning of the section, I would emphasize that regardless of modifiers from ability scores, they can be used in many sorts of ways. The second method would be a +1 on 15+ score, and -1 on 7- scores. This is from Swords & Wizardry Whitebox, and is used by quite a few folks, who like to have some impact from exceptional scores, but not much.

The third option is from Basic D&D, and is used in Castles & Crusades, and other retroclones that like to clean up old school AD&D style play, without resorting to the large modifiers found in later games. The fourth option is from 3rd Edition, and would be for superheroic game play.

Clearly, you wouldn't use any of these options together, you'd pick one. You'd tell your players: "Hey this is how were doing attributes this campaign". They're all there for reference, and to choose from. The tricky part with this project, would be making a system that jives with all of these options, which is why I'd use OD&D as my basis. OD&D originally didn't have many modifiers from ability scores, but the supplements added them in; which is basically the idea here. This is nothing new really, I'd just be presenting it a different way.

Part of the beauty of this system is that you have a genuine choice when customizing your rules. If you want hard, gritty game play, use very few player bolstering abilities as possible; no ability score modifiers, restrict classes and kits, use as lower attack progression, etc.

Some other ideas I don't feel like typing out all the way right now, I'll quickly quip about here. For classes I'd offer a single "Adventurer" option, like in Searchers of the Unknown; the four basic archetypes, like in Basic D&D; and then Kits & Subclasses like in AD&D. Some of the obvious mechanics with options are Experience point progressions, Attack Bonuses, Saving Throws, etc.

With Experience Points you have the options of 3E style unified progression, with Slow, Medium, and Fast progressions. You also have Encounter based XP tables you can offer, or my preference, old school Hit Dice/Level based XP. You can also offer OD&D's 100xp/hit die option.

Attack bonuses are pretty straight forward. You can offer a Slow, Medium, and Fast set (possibly 4 if you want to be closer to AD&D). If you're using the "Adventurer" option, then it's Referee's discretion how fast he wants his players' combat bonuses to progress. If you go the more classic route, with separate classes and kits, then assign the appropriate attack progressions to those classes.

For saving throws you can offer the Single Saving Throw (Swords & Wizardry), Traditional (Parlyzation, Death Ray, etc.), Attribute Based (Castles & Crusades: Strength, Constitution, etc.), or the 3E style Fortitude, Reflex, and Will.

For common adventuring tasks you can present some skill systems, like d20 or percentile; or you can list the percent changes, or dice rolls necessary for common tasks. In fact you can have the simple B/X and OD&D method of having just a couple activities with the required d6 rolls, listing the percentage chances in parenthesis like AD&D. From there on any other, more complex, or less common tasks are simply percentage chances.

Magic would be interesting, as long as you are cautious to use consistent key words and terminology. If you chose a more abstract, classless approach you could incorporate any system. Of course, as long as all methods of spell casting have restrictions, and costs, then you can conceivably use all of them at once (not a single character, but coexisting in a game world).

With so many options it can get confusing though, even if it is just presented as a tool box. You could take a more "levels of depth option". Instead of alternatives and options, you provide layers of complexity. To go back to saving throws; instead of offering all of those methods, you can simply offer the Single Saving Throw, and the Attribute Throw options. These options are a little more interchangeable and compatible.

This is all just speculation and mental seepage. I am considering doing something like this for my house rules, but it will probably only be with the rules I like, as a sort of "Rules Compendium" to keep them all in one place, so I can customize rule sets to the campaigns I want to play. I rarely run a game system "as is", and when I want to play that game I usually house rule it anyway, or ignore a lot of the rules. So say I want to play AD&D, I might just grab the rules from my "Compendium" that make up AD&D, and shove that in one document. All just thoughts, and sleepless ideas.