RPG Errata: D&D Alternatives

So I’ve been somewhat unkind to Dungeons and Dragons, I’m sure you’ve noticed.

I have my reasons for that, and I don’t really care to rant about them here, again, for those of you who aren’t sympathetic. If you love D&D, great! Go buy the next edition, and I hope you have a great time with it!

But for those of you who are at least curious about the world beyond the Red Wizards of the Coast, I would like to hand you a stepping stone, as it were. A small collection of simple RPGs that I think will be an easy and gentle dipping-of-toes-in to the alternatives. Better to try one of these first, then jump straight into Wanderhome or Noumenon.

The purpose of this list is to provide a collection of Systems that are very D&D-like, so you can hold onto whatever it is you enjoy about that system while exploring alternatives. It is, in effect, letting you choose something different off the menu of your favorite restaurant, before pushing you to an entirely different cuisine.

Plight

If you’re new to RPing and don’t want to support D&D, the game space might feel a bit overwhelming.¹

If you are more interested in the idea of free-play and sandbox games, you might do well to glance at the OSR scene. There are, frankly, an embarrassing number of retroclones and first-edition-like games out there, and most any of them are certainly viable alternatives. The Black Hack is possibly one of the closest to its origins, streamlining a bunch of rules with modern innovations. Knave and Cairn are fiercely rules-light, and come with a large number of supplements and compatibility with hundreds of third-party modules. Dungeon Crawl Classic has a brilliant deity/patron system, while opting for a 70s/80s aesthetic and style. A Dungeon Game opts for simplicity. Any of them could be what you’re looking for.

I would suggest Plight as a place to look first. It’s solo-friendly, rules-light, and has a sizable collection of oracles and tables to help give you answers. It might seem overwhelming at first, but almost any time you have a question or balk at the plethora of options, a few die rolls are all it will take to get you playing again.

Add to this the inclusion of a “Calendar of Nechrubel” system in the form of oncoming war, and you have a system that encourages personal story while maintaining a looming future campaign-length threat.

6E

Maybe you aren’t a fan of the OSR style of play, however. Maybe you want a bit more structure to ease into the idea of “roleplaying.” Maybe you’re familiar with D&D, but want to explore different dice-mechanics; or you like D&D primarily for its value as a method of telling stories. You like the setting, you like the style, all you really want is a new ruleset that is a little less clunky and perhaps a bit more narrative. So long as it meant you and your table could continue to tell stories about the roughed-up wizard, money-obsessed mercenary, and fame-seeking rogue that have such a fascinating chemistry together, you’re happy.

To you, I suggest 6E. 6E is one of many D&D alternatives that is Powered by the Apocalypse. You might also like Dungeon World, which is more Powered by the Apocalypse than D&D; or World of Dungeons, which is more OSR than Powered by the Apocalypse; but 6E is a good place to start for the narrative focused fan. It’s rules-light, using very simple rolls to force the table to advance the characters and story. Well worth a look for anyone who wants to keep the old flavor while branching beyond the familiar.

Trespasser

Maybe you don’t want rules-light. Maybe you like D&D not so much for its world-building or system, but rather because you enjoy the fiddly bits like character-builds, powers, and feats. Perhaps you love miniature combat and strategy, but not as much as 4th ed, and games like Lancer make your head spin. Something a little more accessible perhaps? Trespasser is a tactical RPG that takes D&D style combat in a different direction.

If you like making characters mechanically as much as narratively, this system has a lot to offer. Your characters will advance in suitably different directions purely because of your choices. High and low stats are not requisites or barriers to effectiveness, and one Knight need not play the same as another Knight. Add to this a game structure that encourages a full campaign length game and building/maintaining a stronghold, and you’ve got a great alternative to D&D.

Embark!

One of the problems people tend to have with D&D is the limitations on character growth. Once you’ve picked your class, you’re pretty well locked in to how your character grows — excepting, of course, multiclassing and feats, but these are pretty minor adjustments, considering. Then add in the fact that you’re probably never getting past level 12 — unless the campaign is specifically designed for high-level play — and you could get frustrated.

Embark! is a generic (sort-of) system that develops your characters not through classes, but through actions. Every skill-roll you make gives gives your skill XP, similar to the Elder Scrolls VGRPGs, which eventually gives you access to feats, spells, and specialties. Heavier than OSR, but lighter than D&D, this is a great option for those of you who keep getting disappointed with D&D’s class system.

Gateway

If even this list seems too daunting, and you really like D&D, but don’t like its ubiquity or the Red Wizard Monopoly, you could do worse than taking a look at Gateway. Gateway is a TTRPG designed for introducing new players to the medium, and keeps things simple to accommodate.

Designed as a Generic system, Gateway uses a lot of similar methods and mechanics as 5th edition D&D, but streamlines and universalizes a lot. Most everything is decided on a d20 roll vs a target number, with proficiencies and bonuses decided by narrative and granting advantage/disadvantage on a roll. This makes it easily compatible with any 5th ed. source material, and fully expandable and adaptable to other genres if you’re interested in branching out.

---

I hope this give you a good place to start looking for your new RPG needs — assuming, of course, you have them. If you don’t, that’s fine! Keep playing what you and your table loves. Life is too short to spend your time worrying about whether you’re having the right kind of fun. Embrace it, embrace others, and delight in the discovery.

That is, after all, the life of the Adventurer.