Zelda D&D

[Viscount Einstrauss]

Another forum thread got me thinking- Hyrule could be an awesome setting for a D&D game. You could even have unique races and classes based on the series, like Gorons and Sheikah. Anyone have any ideas for this?

[Jimp]

There has already been an attempt made at making a Zelda RPG. I remember taking a look at the books once.
It was quite horrific.
Though the Legend of Zelda settings would be awesome for a 3.5 game.

[danielf]

There was a Zelda television cartoon too, a long time ago.

[Viscount Einstrauss]

Yeah, I was thinking more along the lines of adapting the video game flavor into a 3.5 D&D campaign. I mean, most of the Zelda races could be pretty easily used in place of currently existing races. Gorons would behave similar to dwarves, except with a few "special moves" added in, a size increase, and an intelligence decrease. Hylians would be half-elves, more or less. Kokiri would be halflings. Etc etc.

[TheThan]

I have the zelda tv series on DvD. It aired on friday afternoon during the The Super Mario Bro. Super Show! it only lasted a season, back in 1989.

[Reinforcements]

I played in a Hyrule campaign once. It was pretty cool, and yes, Zelda is very easy to do in D&D.

[Suzaku]

Now what sort of magic items would be used in Zelda? :P

[Viscount Einstrauss]

Oh, that's easy. Magic items almost never exist outside of dungeon finds or at the ends of side quests. The best always require at least three consecutive dungeons-worth of fighting to obtain. And each magical item has some sort of enchantment on it that helps you get through the dungeon that you found it in.

[Sulecrist]

Yeah, Zelda would be pretty easy to convert (I was actually thinking about this yesterday, after beating Twilight Princess).

I recommend choosing the PC classes very carefully. Warblade, Cleric, and the Psion classes fit quite well--others are less suitable, depending on what kind of feel you'll be going for.

Thoughts:

The Zelda world is very small. If you don't want to seriously invalidate the status quo, you'll want to either make it behind-the-scenes (and carefully pinpoint it in a part of the known timeline, sticking to lower levels) or make it so obscure that nothing will ever contradict it (set it during the time of the Picori, or place it outside of Hyrule's borders).

Possible spoilers: (Only for Wind Waker and Ocarina of Time, though).

One of my favorite campaigns was set just after Ocarina of Time, in the future that Link did not exist in. It was pretty stellar--we essentially got up to the part where Ganondorf rose, and there was no one to stop him.

It had a very tragic feel, which I rather liked. We accomplished things, though, and essentially guarded the flooders as they buried their homeland.

I've contemplated running an evil campaign using either the Twilight Princess or Ages/Seasons bits, but it's all up in the air at this point.

[Sulecrist]

Oh, and standard weapons/armor should be fine with a modicum of tweaking. Make the wondrous items more colorful, and tone down on the amount of them overall. In order to keep the world from just becoming D&D with fairies, though, I'd severely cut spell caster lists (or just crop them altogether. Honestly, Psions and Martial Adepts seems like all you'd need.)

[Iron_Mouse]

You can find Zelda d20 here ^^
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/da.vane/ZeldaD20.htm

[Matthew]

Quite the amusing circle this, considering Zelda / Final Fantasy type CRPGs were inspired by Pen and Paper RPGs...

[Nerd-o-rama]

I'd hardly consider Zelda and FF to be the same gameplay genre, but they were both inspired by American Pen&Paper games, to be sure.

And I would recommend Tome of Battle to suit the flashier fighting styles of later Zelda games.

[Closet_Skeleton]

Quite the amusing circle this, considering Zelda / Final Fantasy type CRPGs were inspired by Pen and Paper RPGs...

Except that Zelda IS NOT AN RPG. Not that I care myself, some people do though.

Yeah, its quite painful, the Japanese version of Final Fantasy even had Beholders...

[Matthew]

Huh? Not an RPG or not a CRPG? I could swear it was advertised as a CRPG on the box of some of the old ones...

[Edit]

Looks like the Hair Splitters are up to their old tricks. It appears to have no genre definition on Wikipedia, but rather is a combination of action, adventure, roleplaying and puzzle solving. Sounds suspiciously like an CRPG to me. Still, I'm sure you know what you are talking about...

[RandomNPC]

every game is a rpg, you play the role of the main character.

some games just have a more focused role than Video Pin Ball, and Warlords.

[Closet_Skeleton]

every game is a rpg, you play the role of the main character.

some games just have a more focused role than Video Pin Ball, and Warlords.

Yes, and football is an RPG because you're assigned positions.

[Sulecrist]

Yes, and football is an RPG because you're assigned positions.

No, but if you're pretending to play football (on a GCN or whatever) it would be.

Being a cop and chasing robbers isn't RPing. Playing cops and robbers is. [Simulation] games are almost always role-played on some level.

EDIT: If anyone turns this into a GNS discussion I'll be forced to kick 'em in the shins. Zelda is an RPG. That's all I'm saying.

[Viscount Einstrauss]

Thanks for the link, Iron Mouse. This looks to have a lot of what I was looking for.

[Closet_Skeleton]

No, but if you're pretending to play football (on a GCN or whatever) it would be.

Being a cop and chasing robbers isn't RPing. Playing cops and robbers is. [Simulation] games are almost always role-played on some level.

Football is simulated warfare between towns and schools. At least, they treat it like it.

You said every game was a RPG and I was agreeing with you.

[Hefty Lefty]

I have the zelda tv series on DvD. It aired on friday afternoon during the The Super Mario Bro. Super Show! it only lasted a season, back in 1989.

Dude, I totally remember watching that show like six years ago at five in the morning before school! Good times, good times.

Football is simulated warfare between towns and schools. At least, they treat it like it.

I play football (z0mg, a physical sport playing DnD-er!?), and it is far from "simulated warfare". It's just a competition. Now paintball is simulated warfare.

[Sulecrist]

Football is simulated warfare between towns and schools. At least, they treat it like it.

You said every game was a RPG and I was agreeing with you.

Oh good.

It's also a religious tradition of great importance, sacred to the God Nuffle.

Back on topic... is this the D20 book that people hated, or a different one that people liked? I skimmed it, but the jury's out.

[MrNexx]

Oh good.

It's also a religious tradition of great importance, sacred to the God Nuffle.

Dude, I live in Texas. Most of the people are Christians here, except between September and December, when they worship High School and College Football.

It's the start of Advent that turns them back into Christians again.

[Sulecrist]

Dude, I live in Texas. Most of the people are Christians here, except between September and December, when they worship High School and College Football.

It's the start of Advent that turns them back into Christians again.

Haha, it's exactly the same in Lancaster County. That was a Blood Bowl reference, though.

[MandibleBones]

Dude, I live in Texas. Most of the people are Christians here, except between September and December, when they worship High School and College Football.

It's the start of Advent that turns them back into Christians again.

I may need to borrow that quote when I get back from this desert to that one.

[MrNexx]

I teach High School. The only thing that has kept me from being buried in talk of football is the fact that I teach ESL, which means I have students getting into shouting matches about soccer games.

[monkionotron]

I ran a campaign a couple of times set after the original 2 zeldas.....and just had the lower half of hyrule completely insane because when the link asks the triforce to take away ganon's evil it doesn't really understand how to make things right and the most civilized end being a savage band of moblins. my favorite though were the fairy springs because the fairies like being put into bottles and were totally into bondage and the great fairy queen was ressurected as a lich and she was crazy too.... it definitely is more fun if you go directly from the game (as far as maps) and then try to make sense of the world that way.... it forces you to get a little more creative especially if you compare the maps from the original and link to the past.....there's a big lake with a dead deku tree where hyrule castle used to be. actually still playing it and the players don't know that it's going to actually turn into a captain N type game spanning several games.

[Tengu]

Thread necromancy much?

[TheElfLord]

Seeing as how this is an old thread that I didn't bring back on a topic that interests me, I was wondering if anyone had a working link for the information that Iron Mouse linked to, as the original one doesn't work anymore.

[Drascin]

You could try here: http://www.kobolds-keep.net/downloads.html. I haven't tried the downloads, but they do seem to have most of it.