I really want to create a campaign that's based on classic subterranean fiction and the Indiana Jones style of tomb raiding expeditions. I recently watched Atlantis: The Lost Empire, and thought it would be an awesome RPG setting. I really like the early 20th century/WWI setting and was wondering if anyone already had a homebrew system to convert D&D 5e into that. I realize that I could try to pick up call of Cthulhu or some other RPG system, but I don't really want to spend the money on that (If you do know of another system that works well for this though, let me know).
At the moment I'm thinking that for the most part the rules would be kept the same, and you just assume that this campaign is in an alternate reality where guns never really saw their rise. Martial classes could be converted to ex-military and survivalist roles, and magic users would become scientists, engineers, or scholars.
It depends on how much you want to change the rules of magic. If you want to keep them pretty much the same, then you could still have the rise of guns and just homebrew some firearms, explosive devices, and vehicles. You could also do this if you make magic extremely rare in your world, so that the PCs who are casters are extraordinary, and maybe would usually keep their powers secret. They could perhaps be part of a secret government agency that makes use of people with "paranormal" abilities or whatever term you want to use.
I don't know if that helps, but it's a thought.
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Maximilian "Mad Max" Oceanus, transmutation wizard, best known for being on the team that saved the universe from Kozelak's infinite hunger, and also an avenger of the Unspoken. Olaf Ericsson, a jolly ranger with a bit of an anger problem. Also likes to sing. Yaethel Akeelan, a druid with a plan; a very, very big plan. Damien Rook, full time author, part time adventurer. Plays god on Saturdays.
And adding scientists, engineers, etc would be important, too, most likely.
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Maximilian "Mad Max" Oceanus, transmutation wizard, best known for being on the team that saved the universe from Kozelak's infinite hunger, and also an avenger of the Unspoken. Olaf Ericsson, a jolly ranger with a bit of an anger problem. Also likes to sing. Yaethel Akeelan, a druid with a plan; a very, very big plan. Damien Rook, full time author, part time adventurer. Plays god on Saturdays.
Eberron is basically post-WW1 pulp adventure along those veins, so it could be a good place to start. Unless you still want the guns and tanks and all that. Guns are in the DMG and you can also find them here, but tanks and planes and stuff you'll need to turn to homebrew for.
Eberron is basically post-WW1 pulp adventure along those veins, so it could be a good place to start. Unless you still want the guns and tanks and all that. Guns are in the DMG and you can also find them here, but tanks and planes and stuff you'll need to turn to homebrew for.
The modern firearms rules in the DMG aren't the best. I suggest making your own.
You can also modify creatures to make WW1 area machines or people. Ex: hellfire engine with 1 INT, CHA, and WIS is a tank, a scout with a gun is a soldier, etc.
Ebberon will be the least work. Just have gunpowder not work like in the forgotten realms and magic will be big on the battlefield.
Could have ritual magic be used for the big things. This way you can have super weapons that will be rare and expensive. Could have countries in a magical cold war.
You would probably have to create a number of new sub classes. Spy, Archeologist, Mobster, and the like.
Ebberon will be the least work. Just have gunpowder not work like in the forgotten realms and magic will be big on the battlefield.
Could have ritual magic be used for the big things. This way you can have super weapons that will be rare and expensive. Could have countries in a magical cold war.
You would probably have to create a number of new sub classes. Spy, Archeologist, Mobster, and the like.
Ebberon will be the least work. Just have gunpowder not work like in the forgotten realms and magic will be big on the battlefield.
Could have ritual magic be used for the big things. This way you can have super weapons that will be rare and expensive. Could have countries in a magical cold war.
You would probably have to create a number of new sub classes. Spy, Archeologist, Mobster, and the like.
Archeologist: Inquisitive Rogue, ranger, sorcerer, wizard, warlock (my current game has a warlock who started off as an archeologist and discovered a remnant of an artifact of a Great Old One, which drew her attention and imbued him with her power).
But basically I don't think these things require their own subclasses. Any class can be a gangster or a detective, or even a spy. I think it depends more on background.
The comic series DIE isn't quite what you're looking for (more War is Hell than Pulp Action), but it does have a very WWI setting that you might draw inspiration from if you want an actual world war going on in your setting. The world is stuck in a constant war between Eternal Prussia, consisting of machines that no one knows the origin of, and Little England, your typical Shire-esque idyllic land that also sends its citizens to die in a futile war. Heads up, though, that setting is very miserable. J.R.R. Tolkien himself even makes an apparence to tell the protagonist just how much he does not care for this dark fantasy version of his story.
If you go through the hassle of homebrewing D&D for that era, you should make it worth it. That means the core of the game will be the same, exploration, social interaction and combat encounters with fearsome monsters. If you're looking for a different type of game, then I'd start looking for another game altogether - we're D&D players but we can't ignore there's hundreds of other tabletop RPG out there.
Now, first thing I'd do would be to come up with a revised gear and equipment list. First, cross out anything you can't readily find or buy in the 1910s. Then add everything you should. Revise prices accordingly. You can snoop in other books (d20 Modern should be helpful, Call of Cthulu might be too) for inspiration.
You will need to come up with a revised skil system, updated backgrounds and maybe do some minor quirks to classes.
Might be a lot of work but the end result could be very great. I'd play that.
Get rid of the wizard, and sorcerer classes. If you want an occult angle, druid would work better for natural magic, and warlock for arcane and ritual magic. It'll save you headaches.
Incorporate the artificer more.
Guns are like crossbows and such, but have more rounds before reload, and if you want to you can homebrew it you can do different guns and different ammo. A shot gun obviously doesn't take the same ammo as a derringer, but you might have some ammo that crosses over. I've shot a .22 rifle as a kid and it's a common size for smaller hand guns.
Keep the mechanics relatively simple. When in doubt, cut it out. It'll save you and your players headaches down the road.
Eberon campaign setting would be a good investment for the artificer support and war forged which can be reskinned as something more fitting.
(Modrons and automatons would be good monsters, as well as beasts and constructs, which is where I think I would lean heaviest. If you want some lovecraft, you could have some mind flayers show up, but they're a bit early for the time setting.
WWI we entered more hopeful, and by the end saw a world in depression, economic and otherwise, fear, and a bit shell shocked. The rise of authoritarianism was between wars, but not before. )
WWI was "the great war" before we decided to have another go around.
Trench warfare, but little things too. Disease was rampant and medicine was emerging but not the greatest. I'm not sure when germ theory really spread in the field of medicine, but I believe you're ok, but it IS still new-ish. Blood transfusions happened(it was in dracula after all), but knowing how blood types worked was pretty new and revolutionary.
Chlorine gas was discovered DURING the war, and used briefly, but I believe it was too devastating and winds could easily shift.
Tanks were new and rudimentary by today's standards. They were used to break up trench warfare, which had become somewhat more of a waiting game/stale mate.. not many and mostly french/British.
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I really want to create a campaign that's based on classic subterranean fiction and the Indiana Jones style of tomb raiding expeditions. I recently watched Atlantis: The Lost Empire, and thought it would be an awesome RPG setting. I really like the early 20th century/WWI setting and was wondering if anyone already had a homebrew system to convert D&D 5e into that. I realize that I could try to pick up call of Cthulhu or some other RPG system, but I don't really want to spend the money on that (If you do know of another system that works well for this though, let me know).
At the moment I'm thinking that for the most part the rules would be kept the same, and you just assume that this campaign is in an alternate reality where guns never really saw their rise. Martial classes could be converted to ex-military and survivalist roles, and magic users would become scientists, engineers, or scholars.
Any thoughts?
It depends on how much you want to change the rules of magic. If you want to keep them pretty much the same, then you could still have the rise of guns and just homebrew some firearms, explosive devices, and vehicles. You could also do this if you make magic extremely rare in your world, so that the PCs who are casters are extraordinary, and maybe would usually keep their powers secret. They could perhaps be part of a secret government agency that makes use of people with "paranormal" abilities or whatever term you want to use.
I don't know if that helps, but it's a thought.
Maximilian "Mad Max" Oceanus, transmutation wizard, best known for being on the team that saved the universe from Kozelak's infinite hunger, and also an avenger of the Unspoken.
Olaf Ericsson, a jolly ranger with a bit of an anger problem. Also likes to sing.
Yaethel Akeelan, a druid with a plan; a very, very big plan.
Damien Rook, full time author, part time adventurer.
Plays god on Saturdays.
And adding scientists, engineers, etc would be important, too, most likely.
Maximilian "Mad Max" Oceanus, transmutation wizard, best known for being on the team that saved the universe from Kozelak's infinite hunger, and also an avenger of the Unspoken.
Olaf Ericsson, a jolly ranger with a bit of an anger problem. Also likes to sing.
Yaethel Akeelan, a druid with a plan; a very, very big plan.
Damien Rook, full time author, part time adventurer.
Plays god on Saturdays.
Eberron is basically post-WW1 pulp adventure along those veins, so it could be a good place to start. Unless you still want the guns and tanks and all that. Guns are in the DMG and you can also find them here, but tanks and planes and stuff you'll need to turn to homebrew for.
The modern firearms rules in the DMG aren't the best. I suggest making your own.
You can also modify creatures to make WW1 area machines or people. Ex: hellfire engine with 1 INT, CHA, and WIS is a tank, a scout with a gun is a soldier, etc.
There is no dawn after eternal night.
Homebrew: Magic items, Subclasses
I got you copy this link then search https://inkarnate.com/maps/DBl8V4dG6qnWxY53a2Qpk9ZzwO19bzX0yOZveRJ7g1EPMKNw/MTU5MDkyMDk3ODc4NA== this map
Ebberon will be the least work. Just have gunpowder not work like in the forgotten realms and magic will be big on the battlefield.
Could have ritual magic be used for the big things. This way you can have super weapons that will be rare and expensive. Could have countries in a magical cold war.
You would probably have to create a number of new sub classes. Spy, Archeologist, Mobster, and the like.
Spy= Rogue
Mobster=Barb/Fighter
Acheologist=Weak NPC
There is no dawn after eternal night.
Homebrew: Magic items, Subclasses
Or:
Archeologist: Inquisitive Rogue, ranger, sorcerer, wizard, warlock (my current game has a warlock who started off as an archeologist and discovered a remnant of an artifact of a Great Old One, which drew her attention and imbued him with her power).
But basically I don't think these things require their own subclasses. Any class can be a gangster or a detective, or even a spy. I think it depends more on background.
The comic series DIE isn't quite what you're looking for (more War is Hell than Pulp Action), but it does have a very WWI setting that you might draw inspiration from if you want an actual world war going on in your setting. The world is stuck in a constant war between Eternal Prussia, consisting of machines that no one knows the origin of, and Little England, your typical Shire-esque idyllic land that also sends its citizens to die in a futile war. Heads up, though, that setting is very miserable. J.R.R. Tolkien himself even makes an apparence to tell the protagonist just how much he does not care for this dark fantasy version of his story.
If you go through the hassle of homebrewing D&D for that era, you should make it worth it. That means the core of the game will be the same, exploration, social interaction and combat encounters with fearsome monsters. If you're looking for a different type of game, then I'd start looking for another game altogether - we're D&D players but we can't ignore there's hundreds of other tabletop RPG out there.
Now, first thing I'd do would be to come up with a revised gear and equipment list. First, cross out anything you can't readily find or buy in the 1910s. Then add everything you should. Revise prices accordingly. You can snoop in other books (d20 Modern should be helpful, Call of Cthulu might be too) for inspiration.
You will need to come up with a revised skil system, updated backgrounds and maybe do some minor quirks to classes.
Might be a lot of work but the end result could be very great. I'd play that.
ww1 baby
This IS interesting.
I would honestly cap levels at about 5 or 6.
Get rid of the wizard, and sorcerer classes. If you want an occult angle, druid would work better for natural magic, and warlock for arcane and ritual magic. It'll save you headaches.
Incorporate the artificer more.
Guns are like crossbows and such, but have more rounds before reload, and if you want to you can homebrew it you can do different guns and different ammo. A shot gun obviously doesn't take the same ammo as a derringer, but you might have some ammo that crosses over. I've shot a .22 rifle as a kid and it's a common size for smaller hand guns.
Keep the mechanics relatively simple. When in doubt, cut it out. It'll save you and your players headaches down the road.
Eberon campaign setting would be a good investment for the artificer support and war forged which can be reskinned as something more fitting.
(Modrons and automatons would be good monsters, as well as beasts and constructs, which is where I think I would lean heaviest. If you want some lovecraft, you could have some mind flayers show up, but they're a bit early for the time setting.
WWI we entered more hopeful, and by the end saw a world in depression, economic and otherwise, fear, and a bit shell shocked. The rise of authoritarianism was between wars, but not before. )
WWI was "the great war" before we decided to have another go around.
Trench warfare, but little things too. Disease was rampant and medicine was emerging but not the greatest. I'm not sure when germ theory really spread in the field of medicine, but I believe you're ok, but it IS still new-ish. Blood transfusions happened(it was in dracula after all), but knowing how blood types worked was pretty new and revolutionary.
Chlorine gas was discovered DURING the war, and used briefly, but I believe it was too devastating and winds could easily shift.
Tanks were new and rudimentary by today's standards. They were used to break up trench warfare, which had become somewhat more of a waiting game/stale mate.. not many and mostly french/British.