Source
r/rpg•
Terfmop

DMs and Bleach fans, I'd like to collaborate.

The idea of a Bleach themed DnD campaign has been plaguing my mind lately. I haven't even thought of a story for the campaign itself much, more so the conversion of the setting into the game as if making a campaign guide such as Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica or Mystic Odyssies of Theros. For this reason I'd like to request the aid of like minded individuals on this endeavor.

I know there are plenty of well done homebrew Shinigami classes, but wouldn't want to shoehorn individuals into a certain class for a campaign. And with such a large variance in Zanpakuto, it seems feasible for the different classes to still fit in.

I'd like to start with a focus towards Soul Society and the Seireitei. With chance to expand into Arancar, Vizords, and Quincy later on depending on how things go.

If you're interested in helping out in this project shoot me a message.

Posted Mar 9, 2021, 1:49 PM UTC

06
RedRiot0Recovering Munchkin•

My immediate thought, from the get-go, is not to use D&D. It doesn't emulate Shounen Anime very well. Even anime like Black Clover doesn't convert into D&D, despite being high fantasy. Given that Shounen battle series tends to be more style than tactical

Instead, a system more designed with that genre in mind would do you better. Mutants and Masterminds, GURPS with the right supplements, Fate, BESM^(*), and OVA are great starting points. The last two get special mentions because they're both anime-influenced systems - BESM is crunchier, but handles more complex battles well, while OVA is a bit simpler but does a better job with fields outside of the Shounen Jump battle types.

​

As for your setting, you'd be well served by finding a good Bleach Wikia and using that as a basis for your information. Otherwise, maybe seeking out a Bleach subreddit and/or discord would serve you well.

Good luck!

^(*Just don't go with BESM d20 - it is an atrocity and hands down one of the worst things to come from the 3.5 SRD. Use BESM proper or Tri-Stat dX instead. Trust me on this.)

15
Zurei•

Seconding this. D&D is in no way suitable for this. There are far better options out there including the ones mentioned above.

8
[deleted]•

[deleted]

1
Shibbledibbler•

Don't hack D&D into Shonen anime. Find a system that advertises an anime focus and go from there.

5
SanderStrugg•

Just use Mutants and Masterminds or something similar instead and use that system as written.

2
geeky-gamer-GM•

This might be a little bit of a stretch, but maybe consider using Dungeon World?

It's a little more flexible and rules-light. I think it will work better for a few reasons. Shinigami can move great distances very quickly, their attacks tend to be variable in range, and each individual fighting style can be very different.

Dungeon World has combat distances like Hand/Near/Far instead of discrete squares and hexes. That will help with shinigami who have zanpakuto with really exciting awakened states like Renji's or Byakura's (probably 'near') versus Ichimaru's zanpakuto (reaching all the way to 'far').

Also, this gives people more room to really have a flourish for their attacks and combat. There will still be effects/interactions between your other party members and enemies. Also, you can probably use the overall wizard rules to come up with the effects for Kido. It is easier (in my experience) to rename the Dungeon World 'spells' and tweak them than it is to balance D&D spells.

Edit: I also second u/RedRiot0's recommendation for Fate. The stunts in that setup would work really well with a lot of scenes from the Bleach manga/anime. I'm not familiar with the others so can't directly recommend them myself.

0
promontoryID•

While I agree that D20 systems aren't the best choice for BLEACH-inspired campaigns, I would like to contribute some positivity by posting my own homebrew for 5E. It hasn't been updated, so it's missing the three archetypes, and I'm sure there are errors. I hope this helps with your own campaign.

Also, this was created assuming players would be Shinigami (or Quincy, etc.), so it's not balanced against the core classes.

Shinigami Class (BLEACH)

0