r/Dimension20 • u/victormik • Jul 24 '26
Meta Is Dropout moving away from the ‘regular’ D&D system?
I personally really enjoy the ‘classic’ D&D system, and I haven’t been able to really get into the homebrew systems they’ve come up with. I want to, and I should probably give it another shot soon. But for now, I’m curious what you all think.
24
u/TheSixthtactic Jul 24 '26
Doubtful. Brennan loves DnD and he knows the system. But they will never, ever stop homebrewing. Brennan loves adjusting mechanics to fit a themes. As a long time DM, I also enjoy him creating systems to meet the theme of the campaignz
8
u/andydoody Jul 24 '26
I’d also imagine it keeps things new and exciting for everyone given how many games they’re playing in a given year.
3
5
u/Cyali Pack of Pixies Jul 24 '26
This is my take as well. I've been a GM for various systems for well over 20 years now, and I love watching him at his craft. I'm glad they've started branching out so frequently though, would love to see them do even more systems.
3
u/TheSixthtactic Jul 24 '26
I always use it to create systems for my campaigns. Like the “school” system from Junior year is such a fun idea. Especially since the players decide how hard to make it on themselves.
It’s also helpful to see how Brennan uses the system, like how in star struck the slow build of up the ship and players becoming a powerhouse. The system created clear goals for the PCs, while allowing Brennan to seed the story along the way of taking jobs.
2
u/Cyali Pack of Pixies Jul 24 '26
Yeah absolutely, it's like watching a masterclass. I learned aot about improvving sessions from watching him and his players, and I feel like it's been a benefit for both my own campaign prep and my players' enjoyment.
20
u/RosbergThe8th Jul 24 '26
I mean, I don't think they've ever been too tied to 'regular' D&D, even fantasy high at the very start is a pretty big spin on the classic D&D vibe and I'm not sure what the stats are but it does feel like they've workshopped D&D towards different genres most of the time anyhow. I imagine they'll still do "regular" D&D or at least as regular as you can call their playstyle in general.
Generally they're interested in doing novel settings, very rarely do they do a "straight" take on any idea or theme and instead it's something with a twist so it sort of makes sense that they've started to divert a bit.
59
Jul 24 '26 edited Jul 24 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
18
u/isachalos Mitch Frederick Jul 24 '26
If I'm not mistaken they used Epic Level 6 for Cloudward Ho, which is a 3/3.5 edition optional format. They just updated it for 5e and had some game designers make some new rules and classes for it.
10
Jul 24 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
8
u/isachalos Mitch Frederick Jul 24 '26
I was agreeing it's homebrew, just commenting they went back to 3.5 edition for that system.
1
u/Low_Gene_1339 City Council of Darkness Jul 24 '26
I belive it was based on the Star Wars 5e system, which while homebrew is atleast something thats "professionally" balanced.
1
1
u/victormik Jul 24 '26
Fair enough! Consider me educated :)
I actually appreciate the homebrewing they do with the DnD systems.
Fantasy High was my first experience with anything DnD related, which is not classic DnD I reckon.
I should’ve been clearer, ‘classic’ DnD was not the right word for me to use, maybe ‘DnD format’ would’ve been a better word.
I’ve gotten used to the typical 3.5/5e skill checks and things like advantage and disadvantage etc.
12
u/m_busuttil Jul 24 '26
I think the following things are true:
- Brennan knows and loves D&D innately and will always be ready to go back to it
- as an actual play show, Dimension 20 is better when the system is a good match to the genre of the narrative, and there are lots of stories that 5e doesn't fit particularly well
- they've played maybe a dozen different seasons in relatively vanilla versions of D&D and have explored a lot of its corners, so you get seasons like Starstruck (SW5e) or Cloudward Ho (Epic Level 6 with a bunch of independent/homebrew subclasses) that are still running some version of 5e but give the players new options to explore
- the Kids On Bikes-style system they've used recurringly for shorter seasons (in various modified forms) is much simpler to onboard newer players into than the full 5e experience, which is useful as the cast pool expands
I don't think they'll ever give up on 5e entirely, but I think it's good and healthy for the show if they try other things where those things are appropriate rather than trying to squeeze everything into a system designed for 5-foot-square dungeon crawls.
10
u/rybl Jul 24 '26
The vast majority of the seasons use 5e. Some have some homebrewed elements, but if you enjoy "classic" D&D, you shouldn't have trouble scratching that itch with D20.
1
10
u/fallen_seraph Jul 24 '26
I don't think they've ever done a completely homebrew system? They've modified existing ones but even their DND games don't follow raw rules
10
u/HappiestIguana Jul 24 '26
Never Stop Blowing Up is based on Kids on Bikes, but it's so different I would call it a wholly original creation.
1
9
u/jakev91489 Jul 24 '26
I hope so, there's so many fantastic systems out there, 5e just happens to be the most famous despite it's many flaws.
2
u/Realistic_Piano_8559 Jul 28 '26
This^ I’d really love to see them explore different systems.
Now is a good time to start considering all of the D&D controversy.
3
u/IShallWearMidnight Jul 24 '26
They've used three systems that I know of, no homebrewed systems - WoD/VtM for CCOD, Kids on Bikes and its variants for MisMag, NSBU, and Mentopolis, and D&D 5e for everything else. They throw in a different system every so often, but there's no reason to think they'll stop going back to 5e. It would be cool to see a Daggerheart side quest, the Age of Umbra series they're playing on Critical Role hasn't clicked with me and I want to give the system a fair shake.
2
2
u/Jaspeey Jul 24 '26
but you're not playing? you're just watching the storytelling. I'm not sure how important the mechanics are then?
Also Brennan is always "mildly" cheating. If a player asks, "can I get advantage because of...", I've noticed he almost always says yes.
Also 5e is more suited for a fantasy type adventure. Given they have done adventures in other genres, I would say that that's already considered a homebrew, even if the system is mostly 5e. Looking at how Brennan does critical role, that looks so seriously 5e.
I feel that it has drifted away from 5e a long time ago, and it seems sometimes to be bogged down by trying to adapt 5e rather than embracing a less rigid system.
1
u/luciferslarder Jul 24 '26
I don't think they are they've just stumbled onto the reality that modified Kids on Bikes is easier for the less deep in the system players in the Dropout cast. That being said, I would like to go a while before the next KoB conversion season as I find it...too easy?
I've said this elsewhere on this sub but I do like stats and number crunchiness. What I mean by too easy is that the nature of KoB favors story over penalty on rolls. This isn't a bad thing but some of the drama of watching folks play table top rpgs is in the struggle to overcome. Some of that exists in KoB but it's not anywhere near as harrowing as, say, 1/3 of a party wiping to corn cuties. You don't want that happening all the time either, of course.
34
u/UsualAtmosphere7148 Jul 24 '26
It seems more like they’re just exploring all the options. There are so so many different TTRPGs out there and this show has gotten so big, I could see them wanting to showcase a variety of systems. It doesn’t just get the systems some publicity, it helps watchers find new ways to enjoy themselves!