Comment from discussion Hey Mike, super glad you are in charge of D&D.
How much of an influence have OSR games had on D&D?
How much of an influence have Indie GamesTM had on D&D?
Any specific games, from either camp?
I hope these questions aren’t viewed as charged, because they’re not. I am a fan of games from all camps!The concept behind the OSR – lighter rules, more flexibility, leaning on the DM as referee – were important. We learned a lot playing each edition of D&D and understanding the strengths and weaknesses each brought to the table.
Similar to the OSR, I think indie games bring lighter rules via focus and an emphasis on storytelling to the table that we learned a lot from. While a traditional RPG like D&D by necessity has a much broader focus than traditional indie games, there’s a lot to learn there in being clear and giving people a good, starting goal or framework to work within.
For OSR stuff, we drew directly on older editions of D&D. In terms of indie games, or games cut from that cloth, Dungeon World, FATE, and the GUMSHOE engine leap to mind.
For more traditional RPGs, Warhammer FRP (hello, backgrounds!) and Pendragon definitely had their say on the game. Runequest and Rolemaster had an influence via 3e.
The fun part was taking those design ideas and looking at how they’d work within a D&D context.AMA: Mike Mearls, Co-Designer of D&D 5, Head of D&D R&D.
How much of an influence have OSR games had on D&D?
How much of an influence have Indie GamesTM had on D&D?
Any specific games, from either camp?
I hope these questions aren’t viewed as charged, because they’re not. I am a fan of games from all camps!The concept behind the OSR – lighter rules, more flexibility, leaning on the DM as referee – were important. We learned a lot playing each edition of D&D and understanding the strengths and weaknesses each brought to the table.
Similar to the OSR, I think indie games bring lighter rules via focus and an emphasis on storytelling to the table that we learned a lot from. While a traditional RPG like D&D by necessity has a much broader focus than traditional indie games, there’s a lot to learn there in being clear and giving people a good, starting goal or framework to work within.
For OSR stuff, we drew directly on older editions of D&D. In terms of indie games, or games cut from that cloth, Dungeon World, FATE, and the GUMSHOE engine leap to mind.
For more traditional RPGs, Warhammer FRP (hello, backgrounds!) and Pendragon definitely had their say on the game. Runequest and Rolemaster had an influence via 3e.
The fun part was taking those design ideas and looking at how they’d work within a D&D context.AMA: Mike Mearls, Co-Designer of D&D 5, Head of D&D R&D.