Space:1889 to d20Modern rules

Maxecat1 · Sep 8, 2010

Ok, so once again - the title says it all.

I'm working on converting the 1st Ed Space:1889 to d20, &
would appreciate any advice people have to give.

Please do NOT advise me to get the new Savage Worlds, as
it ain't gonna happen (not that I dislike the system), and I
would not consider that helpful...

I have d20Modern & am using that plus d20Past. (I'm not
likely to buy any other books to assist.)

So far I'm part way through converting an expanded list
of starting careers into the more flavoursome 'Social Class'
based careers which Space:1889 has - rather than the
careers as presented in d20Modern.

Thanks in advance.
Philip

Xorial · Jan 28, 2011

I know you didn't want to buy any new books, but if you want a Victorian age group of d20 Modern supplements, you should look at Imperial Age.

Eridanis · Feb 26, 2011

It's an old request, but perhaps [MENTION=99]Rel[/MENTION] would have some advice.

Rel · Feb 26, 2011

I did in fact use d20 Modern for several years as my Space: 1889 system of choice. I benefit however from the fact that I only ever ran it as episodic one-shot games at Game Days and GenCon. So I didn't have to worry about converting everything the players might choose for a character. I only had to worry about making sure the stuff I picked for them fit the flavor.

As such I didn't so much convert stuff as simply cherry picked the things that seemed in line with the Victorian Steampunk of Space: 1889. Ultimately it was pretty much d20 Modern as written for most of the parts I picked. The changes I made also tended to be small and simple (for example one character had a Sharps Big .50 rifle and it required a Move action to reload).

If there were any specific changes that Maxecat was wondering about then I'd be happy to discuss them though.

Maxecat1 · Mar 21, 2011

Thanks Y'all,
I don't have any specific questions, & did ask on another thread where games of Space:1889 in D20 were referenced.
I got part way to changing stuff over - mostly the starting classes + a couple of extra bits.
As all gamers do however, my interest has passed on to Pathfinder at the moment... As a result I haven't worked on the conversion since Xmas.
I will get back to it in a year or two, but for the moment it's on hold.
If anybody wants a copy of what I have - feel free to post...

Thom · Sep 24, 2013

I realize that this is thread necro, but has anyone else tried to play Space 1889 using D20 rules? Years ago I added bits of Space 1889 to our SpellJammer game, but I have never tried a full port.

Dannyalcatraz · Sep 24, 2013

Not D20, but I did use the Space:1899 setting as the backbone for a supers campaign in HERO 4th.

My advice: there aren't too many whacky things in the setting. There's no reality bending magic, just Vernian/Wellsian versions of tech we already have. So all you have to do is find the stats for something analogous and wing it.

About the only real work you need to do is convert the truly alien things, like the Martians themselves. And homestly, you may be able to find a published D20 race that is close enough. Check out some of the Sci-Fi D20 games, like DragonStar, the Alternity D20 update, Urban Arcana or the Polyhedron Magazine version of Spelljammer

Rel · Sep 24, 2013

I've run a fair bit of Space: 1889 in the last two years using Savage Worlds. IMHO it is a much better fit for the high adventure action I focus such games around. My understanding is that there is also a HEX version in the works or just released. I like HEX a bit less than I do Savage Worlds, but I still feel like it's a better fit for Space: 1889 than d20 is.

Thom · Sep 25, 2013

Thanks for your replies. I am just too old and lazy to invest the effort into learning yet another rules system, I was hoping to stick with what I am comfortable playing. I have seen some of the HEX/Ubiquity products advertised, but I really have no clue about that rules set. I would imagine there are Savage Worlds ports, but I have never spent any time with those rules either.