So, I have DMed a couple games here and there, but i have only ever played DnD. a friend of mine and i have been talking about making a campaign where the characters and NPCs are all Pokemon but i'm having a bit of trouble. Primarily regarding hit die, Armor Classes, and stats for random encounters. If anyone has any ideas i would love to hear them.
I honestly feel like D&D is not a fitting system to properly emulate a Pokémon Mystery Dungeon-esque campaign. Mainly because D&D was made with much, much different goals in mind. I would recommend either finding a good TTRPG core system that fits halfway decently and then making your own tweaks and changes here and there to better fit the experience you are looking for - If you were to do that with D&D 5e I think you would have to throw out most of the system and almost build from the ground up without anything, and at that point, you are practically making up an entirely new RPG System, which can be fun, but is very time consuming and hard.
You could also go and look for systems that other people have worked out on the internet and possibly play one of those and, again, tweak it to your own needs. I don't think you are the first who have asked themselves this question and sometimes people are so passionate about an idea they throw out all rhyme and reason and suddenly start writing up a 20+ page PDF of an entirely new TTRPG system. Crazy lads those people I tell ya!
Other than that, honestly, don't overthink it too much. Figure out which Pokémons the players want to be and focus on those first and foremost. I would recommend looking to the Mystery Dungeon series for inspiration since that is a series that is already very close to what a Pokémon RPG could be like. Give everyone a generic "Attack" action that does little damage but does not consume PP and then have them learn their attacks, just like in the games, and figure out what they do. For example, if a player of mine wanted to play say a Quilava and they want to use that Pokémon's signature move Flame Wheel, then you have to figure out what that move does. If you have a party of a Cyndaquil, a Totodile and a Mareep - Yeah I have some 2nd gen bias... - then don't concern yourself with what in the world the move Vine Whip does unless you want an enemy to have it.
I still have a lot more to say on this - I actually have some crude notes on making a half-way working system for a Pokémon TTRPG, because I was bored someday - but the message is already getting too long so I'll wrap this up neat and tidy. My point is, don't overthink it, at its core Pokémon is a very simple game and figuring it out does not take as much as you would think, especially if you are playing with friends just be comfortable and if you forgot about something or did not figure something out when it comes up don't panic and figure it out then and there.
Since you've already read through my inane babbling this far. If you want, I will gladly talk more about this with you and share some more ideas, but I feel like I've already said enough for one single message.
Make the beast master subclass accessable to all classes, and the have to choose it as a poke trainer, or Shepard druid, or conjurer wizard. I would re-skin many official monsters in DnD, but maybe small adjustments (like a walking speed, or resistances).
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'The Cleverness of mushrooms always surprises me!' - Ivern Bramblefoot.
So, I have DMed a couple games here and there, but i have only ever played DnD. a friend of mine and i have been talking about making a campaign where the characters and NPCs are all Pokemon but i'm having a bit of trouble. Primarily regarding hit die, Armor Classes, and stats for random encounters. If anyone has any ideas i would love to hear them.
I honestly feel like D&D is not a fitting system to properly emulate a Pokémon Mystery Dungeon-esque campaign. Mainly because D&D was made with much, much different goals in mind. I would recommend either finding a good TTRPG core system that fits halfway decently and then making your own tweaks and changes here and there to better fit the experience you are looking for - If you were to do that with D&D 5e I think you would have to throw out most of the system and almost build from the ground up without anything, and at that point, you are practically making up an entirely new RPG System, which can be fun, but is very time consuming and hard.
You could also go and look for systems that other people have worked out on the internet and possibly play one of those and, again, tweak it to your own needs. I don't think you are the first who have asked themselves this question and sometimes people are so passionate about an idea they throw out all rhyme and reason and suddenly start writing up a 20+ page PDF of an entirely new TTRPG system. Crazy lads those people I tell ya!
Other than that, honestly, don't overthink it too much. Figure out which Pokémons the players want to be and focus on those first and foremost. I would recommend looking to the Mystery Dungeon series for inspiration since that is a series that is already very close to what a Pokémon RPG could be like. Give everyone a generic "Attack" action that does little damage but does not consume PP and then have them learn their attacks, just like in the games, and figure out what they do. For example, if a player of mine wanted to play say a Quilava and they want to use that Pokémon's signature move Flame Wheel, then you have to figure out what that move does. If you have a party of a Cyndaquil, a Totodile and a Mareep - Yeah I have some 2nd gen bias... - then don't concern yourself with what in the world the move Vine Whip does unless you want an enemy to have it.
I still have a lot more to say on this - I actually have some crude notes on making a half-way working system for a Pokémon TTRPG, because I was bored someday - but the message is already getting too long so I'll wrap this up neat and tidy. My point is, don't overthink it, at its core Pokémon is a very simple game and figuring it out does not take as much as you would think, especially if you are playing with friends just be comfortable and if you forgot about something or did not figure something out when it comes up don't panic and figure it out then and there.
Since you've already read through my inane babbling this far. If you want, I will gladly talk more about this with you and share some more ideas, but I feel like I've already said enough for one single message.
Make the beast master subclass accessable to all classes, and the have to choose it as a poke trainer, or Shepard druid, or conjurer wizard. I would re-skin many official monsters in DnD, but maybe small adjustments (like a walking speed, or resistances).
'The Cleverness of mushrooms always surprises me!' - Ivern Bramblefoot.
I'll worldbuild for your DnD games!
Just a D&D enjoyer, check out my fiverr page if you need any worldbuilding done for ya!