The intricately balanced world rules of Dungeons & Dragons, along with the complete freedom to choose how each player wants to approach every situation, has brought the tabletop RPG into the legendary status it enjoys today. However, sometimes players want to bend those rules a little, stepping away from standard, epic D&D campaigns and sometimes taking the role-playing into different worlds like The Witcher or Pokemon.
One homebrew builder who goes on Twitter as @JOEtheDM, has shared a new set of rules that combines with the 5e version of Dungeons & Dragons in order to bring Pokemon into the tabletop adventure. JOEtheDM also hosts a D&D related podcast, titled "You Meet in a Tavern", and uses this in-depth knowledge of the game and its systems to craft a homebrew that blends in perfectly with 5e rules.
Adding mechanics from Gens 1-6, this homebrew includes rules for capturing, battling, and breeding Pokemon, as well as hundreds of items and abilities available in the series. For fans looking to play as their favorite Pokemon, that isn't what this set of rules is for, with the focus instead being on creating unique trainers and forming a team in a video game inspired D&D campaign. Players familiar with the Beastmaster or Ranger classes in 5e should find these rules fairly familiar, although the rules for customizing Pokemon go quite a bit further than standard pets and familiars.
Along with the rules for capturing Pokemon, the homebrew also comes with an app that can track a player's Pokedex along with the abilities and stats of their team. With a new Monster Manuel for each generation of Pokemon, adding to the already staggeringly impressive list of monsters available in D&D, the app is a handy way to make sure that players can easily keep track of their progress. Primarily available through iOS, the app, created by developer Jerakin, is most useful on Apple products, but is also available on Github for players who use alternative brands.
Similar to mods within the modding community on games like Skyrim and Minecraft, the homebrew community is a huge part of the D&D experience, especially for players who have been adventuring for years. Adding everything from Final Fantasy's ribbon accessory, to entire character classes like Witchers and Jedi, the community has a unique ability to completely remake the game they already enjoy. To a degree, this makes adding fully expanded worlds like Pokemon a sure hit for players looking to play roles otherwise unable to be added by Wizards of the Coast in any official capacity.
Dungeons & Dragons 5e is available now for tabletop players.