So I just finished up running a fairly long game and I asked my players what they wanted to play for the next one. They said 5e as some have played and enjoyed it and the rest wanted to try it. I've yet to actually run a game of it, only play through it when it first came out, so I agreed. I set about making a setting and campaign while trying to be too cliched when I had a sudden realization; Why?
Why avoid the cliche? Why not run a game of the MOST cliche'd, cartoonish, in your fucking face with it's big floppy Dungeons and Dragons dick game of D&D ever? I've decided to not avoid the cliche, but EMBRACE IT and give my players the most blatant D&D experience possible. No parody, no "winking at the camera" so to speak, just straight and hard D&D.
A stalwart group of adventurers recruited in the shady tavern to scour the undercity for the Tome of the Lich of Lysaloth, fighting dragons for their hoards of gold and rubies, orcs and goblins out the ass.
I'd personally prefer to do this in an older addition that is more suited for this kinda thing, but I think 5e should work fine. My question for y'all is what you think I should do to make this the most truly Dungeons and Dragons game that is possible. Let's get wonderfully unoriginal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8LBpMuSTrQ
>an elf and a dwarf who bicker but secretly respect each other
>mimic treasure chest
>evil wizard with a tower set upon a cliff
>a blind beggar who knows all the city's secrets
>goblins lead by hobgoblins lead by two bugbears lead by an ogre
>a magic +1 sword that glows
>a noble who's snobby and rude but cowardly and weak
>a pit with a gelatinous cube at the bottom
>an ancient library with a wise sage
>skeletons that put themselves back together
>pirates on every body of water
>a dragon
Some artifact that's been seperated into parts that needs to be pieced back together.
I love the character classes in the video
>Fighter
>Thief
>Wizard
>ELF
Old school as FUCK
>>46485206
>>goblins lead by hobgoblins lead by two bugbears lead by an ogre
>>a magic +1 sword that glows
I did an adventure with both of these in 5e--but the monsters were a biker gang. They'd kidnapped a gnome inventor and rode around on big motorcycles he built for them to save his own hide.
The top bugbear had a +1 greatsword that glowed when humans were nearby, which is how they were so successful so far.
He also had an electric guitar that needed no external power supply, another invention of the gnome's. Describing the music echo around their hideout was a lot of fun!
>>46486113
>>46485006
I had Dragonstrike when I was a kid, before I got a D&D starter set. Tremendous fun.
>>46485006
before they were cliches they were good original ideas
>>46486307
Which is what I want to get at.
I want to describe a deep cavern, dripping condensation from stalactites as the wind howls through the dark depths. The distant rattle of some slumber beast is audible, but its exact position is impossible to discern....if it's even there at at all and not just an artifact of the howling breeze. The smell of mold and death surrounds as you feel as if you are being watched and a shiver runs down your spine.....
Ahead lies a chasm stretching an underground river with a rickety rope bridge spanning it. What do you do?
This isn't getting too much response, so I'll make the question easier. Where would y'all go for inspiration for an old-school adventure? I posted Dragonstrike to give the kind of unabashed fantasy I want to invoke, but beyond that I've never really looked all that much into older fantasy. Should I just find old AD&D adventure modules or something?
>>46487473
Sorry you aren't getting the response you want. But I got to tell you, this is the sort of thing I like. The super original deconstruction with a twist campaign has become so cliche, that old school feels fresh and innovative to me.
>>46487473
You'll get a better response on the OSR thread.
>>46486235
>high fantasy
>>46485006
You DO NOT host this banquet... DEATH hosts this banquet!
>>46487473
>Where would y'all go for inspiration for an old-school adventure?
Do you really have to go looking? I mean, if you're going for cliched, then everything should be readily apparent to you, from meta-culture if nothing else. Just think Tolkien rip-off mixed with some Arthurian mythology mixed with standard fairy tale cliches (knight saves princess from dragon, etc.). Maybe mix in some amoral murder hobo-ing if you want to touch base with the old school spirit of D&D in particular (for more on this, you could try asking in the OSR thread).
>>46488429
good suggestion
>>46487473
>Art by Frazetta
>Stories by Jack Vance
>old school adventure modules like Keep on the Borderlands
>first and second edition War Hammer Fantasy Roleplay
Really just do whatever you do and keep it gonzo as fuck. I approve of your approach and wish you luck--no apologizing or theorycrafting... just ADVENTURE.
>>46487473
Just read Faerun stuff.
