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View Full Version : Suppose you wanted to make a 3.5 game based on Mario



gallagher
2010-06-15, 10:03 PM
i am saying the old school Super Mario Bros, where luigi is just a pallet swap. what would you make each of the bad guys? for instance:

Bowser: i assume a type of dragon, but what would be a specific one?
Koopas?
Goombas?
Paratroopas?
Bullet Bills?
that guy who threw the little spiked turtles from a cloud?
those Beetle thingies?

i am planning on making it just one plot hook of rescuing the princess, and not a bunch of little worlds
and btw, i also need a toad. i want the players to kill him, as there is no end to the hatred that i have for toad.

i am planning it on

Raging Gene Ray
2010-06-15, 10:19 PM
Koopas and Goombas would be their own races, with variants depending on what path they followed in life. Koopas could eventually become Magikoopas, or Parakoopas.

Lakitu's (the Spiny-Throwing Cloud Guys) would be Koopas specializing in either summoning, or handle animal to maintain huge stores of Spiny Eggs.

Mushroom People should be their own race, too. Toad would probably be an NPC Mushroom Person Aristocrat (he was the Princess's Attendant), but that shouldn't mean ALL Toads have to be as annoying as you find him.

gallagher
2010-06-15, 10:25 PM
Koopas and Goombas would be their own races, with variants depending on what path they followed in life. Koopas could eventually become Magikoopas, or Parakoopas.

Lakitu's (the Spiny-Throwing Cloud Guys) would be Koopas specializing in either summoning, or handle animal to maintain huge stores of Spiny Eggs.

Mushroom People should be their own race, too. Toad would probably be an NPC Mushroom Person Aristocrat (he was the Princess's Attendant), but that shouldn't mean ALL Toads have to be as annoying as you find him.
well, i was thinking that toad would say something like "sorry, but the princess is in another castle" then they get sense motive checks or opposed bluff checks or something, or a spot check to notice he is standing on a poorly concealed trapdoor, and they find out that they must kill toad.

and i was hoping that there might be races close enough to at least mimic these guys, and i change merely what they look like

Skeppio
2010-06-15, 10:36 PM
For the Toads, I'd toy with the Myconids.
Bowser....Half-Dragon Reptilian Ogre maybe? Dunno where he'd get the shell, perhaps a Spiked Half-Plate suit.
Hammer Bros could be Crucian Fighters with Weapon Focus/Finesse/Whatever [Warhammer] or similar product.
Magikoopas could simply be Crucian Wizards.
Lakitu could be a Crucian Sorceror/Wizard who specialises in summoning spells riding on a medium Air Elemental (they can fly, right?).

balistafreak
2010-06-15, 10:39 PM
Needs Battle Jump and whatever that Little Red Raiding Hood build was, so you can literally jump on people's heads and kill them. :smallcool:

Or, if you're going all "Lost Levels" on us, Hulking Hurler to throw random objects at enemies for instant-death.

... I'm not helping, am I? :smalltongue:

gallagher
2010-06-15, 10:43 PM
Needs Battle Jump and whatever that Little Red Raiding Hood build was, so you can literally jump on people's heads and kill them. :smallcool:

Or, if you're going all "Lost Levels" on us, Hulking Hurler to throw random objects at enemies for instant-death.

... I'm not helping, am I? :smalltongue:
i mean, i figure bowser is going to need some stats himself, as i cant really use some blanket stats and have him be the same as all the koopas. i mean, he IS the BBEG of mario (not as awesome as Ganondorf, but whatever)

Bad Situation
2010-06-15, 10:48 PM
Bowser is also a sorcerer so he needs spells.

Aeromyre
2010-06-15, 10:50 PM
You should make the game very heavy in combat maneuvers
Idk if you play pathfinder but it's compatible with 3.5
Basically characters have a CMB (COmbat Maneuver Bones) and a CMD (Combat Maneuver Defence) Which is a DC. To use a Combat maneuver (like bull rush) they have to roll a d20 +CMB vs opponent's CMD Pretty simple
Jump could be added as a combat maneuver with various effects depending on creature.

CMB= BAB+STR+Size Mod
CMD= 10+STR+DEX+Size Mod

Godskook
2010-06-15, 10:50 PM
Bowser is not a Sorcerer, he's a DFA//Artificer(Seriously, have you seen the traps he's made?)

BLiZme.2
2010-06-15, 11:36 PM
Needs Battle Jump and whatever that Little Red Raiding Hood build was, so you can literally jump on people's heads and kill them. :smallcool:

Or, if you're going all "Lost Levels" on us, Hulking Hurler to throw random objects at enemies for instant-death.

... I'm not helping, am I? :smalltongue:

You mean the espy of Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic lost levels is a whole other game.

Zeta Kai
2010-06-15, 11:43 PM
I'm really surprised that nobody has linked one the several Mario d20 projects that have already been done. Some of them are quite excellent, especially this one from Kobold's Keep (http://www.kobolds-keep.net/MD20Rules.pdf). It's very long, very thorough, & very much worth a look.

Frosty
2010-06-15, 11:44 PM
Bowser is not a Sorcerer, he's a DFA//Artificer(Seriously, have you seen the traps he's made?)
Traps? What are you talking about? Bowser has never had level designers of this quality. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=in6RZzdGki8)

Another_Poet
2010-06-16, 12:10 AM
I know there have been many threads stat'ing various SMB characters but my personal opinion is that it's a bad fit. 3.5/d20 is so greatly different in its style, complexity, and focus (the rules were built for, and best support, a simulation of medieval fantasy combat; not cartoon combat) that I think you are better off choosing a different system for a tabletop Mario game.

An existing system meant to be cartoonish could work well, or start from the ground up by emulating Mario RPG with dice.

Godskook
2010-06-16, 09:57 AM
Traps? What are you talking about? Bowser has never had level designers of this quality. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=in6RZzdGki8)

I've seen Bowser build traps out of concrete walls. Players have emptied entire years at his challenges and hit nothing but air. Yet his cunning and his intellect are still based in a world that is built on rules.

Lycanthromancer
2010-06-16, 11:45 AM
I know there have been many threads stat'ing various SMB characters but my personal opinion is that it's a bad fit. 3.5/d20 is so greatly different in its style, complexity, and focus (the rules were built for, and best support, a simulation of medieval fantasy combat; not cartoon combat) that I think you are better off choosing a different system for a tabletop Mario game.

An existing system meant to be cartoonish could work well, or start from the ground up by emulating Mario RPG with dice.What?

http://pixelorama.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/mrpg.jpg

Frosty
2010-06-16, 01:55 PM
I've seen Bowser build traps out of concrete walls. Players have emptied entire years at his challenges and hit nothing but air. Yet his cunning and his intellect are still based in a world that is built on rules.

There is no shell.

Another_Poet
2010-06-16, 01:59 PM
What?

http://pixelorama.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/mrpg.jpg

You do realize that I referenced that game in my post, right?


One of my suggestions was to stat Mario RPG instead of the old SMB as it will be an easier transition.

DoodlesD
2010-06-16, 03:16 PM
While you probably could do this with DND rules, my recommendation would be that you use the Mutants and Masterminds RPG power point system to build monsters and characters because most of the villains and heroes from the SMB series will not fit neatly into categories and classes. Also, MnM gives you a very large amount of flexibility in how characters can function, what they can specialize in, and what kind of powers they can have. leveling characters up is also very flexible as it allows for specific stats, skills, feats, or powers to be upgraded individually and at a chosen rate rather than a graduated preset leveling system. I've managed to make a decent Legend of Zelda bestiary databese from the MnM rules that worked out fine. i would recommend that you not let your players be Very powerful to begin with and place heavy restrictions on how they can build their characters because some powers available to them can ruin entire campaigns by allowing them to bypass major obstacles easily. I had this problem and it was very hard to work around.

If, however, you don't have MnM, i'd suggest that you Build yourself a different set of classes using 3.5 classes as a general guidline. that way, you can have mario like characters with DnD like progressions.

Another good reference you might want to check out is Super mario RPG. Great game. Great example of how one might set up characters and enemies from a SMB world.

Another_Poet
2010-06-16, 03:28 PM
If, however, you don't have MnM, i'd suggest that you Build yourself a different set of classes using 3.5 classes as a general guidline. that way, you can have mario like characters with DnD like progressions.

Agreed. I second Doodles.

Aeromyre
2010-06-16, 03:34 PM
While you probably could do this with DND rules, my recommendation would be that you use the Mutants and Masterminds RPG power point system to build monsters and characters because most of the villains and heroes from the SMB series will not fit neatly into categories and classes. Also, MnM gives you a very large amount of flexibility in how characters can function, what they can specialize in, and what kind of powers they can have. leveling characters up is also very flexible as it allows for specific stats, skills, feats, or powers to be upgraded individually and at a chosen rate rather than a graduated preset leveling system. I've managed to make a decent Legend of Zelda bestiary databese from the MnM rules that worked out fine. i would recommend that you not let your players be Very powerful to begin with and place heavy restrictions on how they can build their characters because some powers available to them can ruin entire campaigns by allowing them to bypass major obstacles easily. I had this problem and it was very hard to work around.

If, however, you don't have MnM, i'd suggest that you Build yourself a different set of classes using 3.5 classes as a general guidline. that way, you can have mario like characters with DnD like progressions.

Another good reference you might want to check out is Super mario RPG. Great game. Great example of how one might set up characters and enemies from a SMB world.

Masterminds is a great game and very versatile doodles and i play together.
It's definitely worth the buy.