D&D 5E 5e IN SPACE!!!!!

LordEntrails said:

Maybe you should outline the setting and the objectives first. It's very difficult to determine usefulness of anything if we don't know how it's going to work, what flavor it should deliver etc.

More info like post #5 gives us a feel for what the system should do and what the setting should feel like.

Click to expand...

Good critique! I originally was just wanting people to PEACH the rules changes I am implementing, but that would be hard without knowing what I am trying to achieve.

I updated the first post to give a better introduction to the campaign.

Satyrn said:

Have you seen Dragonstar, which was 3e in space. I recommend it for inspiration. One of my favorite bits was how it differentiated blasters from laser guns. It had lasers dealing fire damage while the blasters dealt electricity damage.

Lightning damage just seems so much more appropriate for blasters to me, since most of the time (watching Star Wars) the blasters just scorch the surface they hit while lasers (Here, the video game FEAR leaps to mind first) readiky set their targets aflame.

Click to expand...

Interesting angle. Sense blasters are basically plasma weapons, I thought they should be fire damage....

Oh and I love the dragon star setting. But I thought the rules of 3.5 didnt mix well with Scifi.
Bounded accuracy means that mook storm troopers can still be a road block to high level PCs.

Backgrounds

While I love the backgrounds in 5e, I wanted a more generic set to use for my Scifi setting. I decided to take the d20 modern occupation system as a starting point for conversion. This is still largely a work in progress. More backgrounds need to be added, and I need to put in starting equipment. PEACH please.

Background List

Academic
Academics include librarians, archaeologists, scholars, professors, teachers, and other education professionals.
Skill Proficiencies: Education and Investigation.
Languages: Uncommon and one other language of your choice.
Tool Proficiencies: Field Journal
Starting Equipment: Field Journal
Researcher: You almost always know where you can go to get the information you’re looking for. This might take the form of a library, university, research facility or a particular scholar. Furthermore, your reputation as an academic allows you and your allies access to most of these locations.

Adventurer
Adventurers include professional monster hunters, relic hunters, explorers, dungeon delvers, thrill-seekers, and others called to face danger for a variety of reasons.
Skill Proficiencies: Dungeonrering and Athletics
Languages: Pick one of your choice.
Tool Profiiencies: Pick either Thieves’ tools or field journals.
Starting Equipment:
Seasoned: Your reputation as an adventure gains you the support of local populations. You and your allies can live in a modest lifestyle for free as long as you don’t cause problems for the local population. Additionally, people with problems know of you and will often seek you out to offer you various odd and dangerous jobs.

Criminal
This illicit starting occupation reveals a background from the wrong side of the law. This occupation includes con artists, burglars, thieves, crime family soldiers, gang members, bank robbers, and other types of career criminals.
Skill Proficiencies: Stealth and Deception.
Languages: Outlandish.
Tool Proficiencies: Pick one from; Thieves’ Tools, Forgery kit or Disguise kit.
Starting Equipment:
Criminal Background: You are a criminal with a criminal record which causes problems for you from time to time. You also gain two of the following features;
• Notorious: You have such a reputation of violence and havoc that you and your companions can commit minor crimes without fear of repercussions.
• Criminal Network: You can easily gain access to criminal organizations.
• Card Shark: You gain proficiency with one gaming set. You gain advantage on all rolls made to cheat when using that gaming set.

Dilettante
Dilettantes usually get their wealth from family holdings and trust funds. The typical dilettante has no job, few responsibilities, and at least one driving passion that occupies his or her day. That passion might be a charity or philanthropic foundation, an ideal or cause worth fighting for, or a lust for living a fun and carefree existence
Skill Proficiencies: Culture and Education
Other Proficiencies: Choose one language, musical instrument, or gaming set.
Equipment:
Feature: Choose one of the following features;
Broad Access: You are well known and respected throughout the galaxy. Many seek your opinion and favor. You can easily gain access to Noble, National and Cooperate organizations for you and your allies.
1%: You can afford for you and your close friends to live a comfortable lifestyle without paying for it. If you chose to live at a wealthy or aristocratic lifestyle, subtract 2gp from the price each day.

Entertainer
Perhaps you were on reality TV, maybe you hit a billion views on Ütube, and maybe you’re a concert violinist. Regardless, there are people who recognize you, and for you, any attention feels like good attention.
Skill Proficiencies: Culture & Perform
Other Proficiencies: Choose two languages, musical instruments, or gaming sets, or disguise kit.
Equipment:
Feature: Choose two of the following features;
In Demand: Any noble would love to count you and your followers as friends. You can easily gain access to nobles and noble organizations.
Good Contract: You know how to turn fame into cold hard cash! Whenever you make a living using the perform skill, double the amount of money earned. You can always find a place to perform in a settlement.
Well Liked: Not only are you famous, but you are adored. You gain proficiency with the persuasion skill, and people generally have a friendly starting attitude towards you.

Law Enforcement
Law enforcement personnel include uniformed police, state troopers, federal police, federal agents, SWAT team members, and military police.
Skill Proficiencies: Pick two from: Athletics, Insight and, Investigation.
Tool Proficiency: Evidence Kit
Starting Equipment:
Watcher’s Eye: You have access to law enforcement personnel and facilities and you can easily identify dens of criminal activity.

Medical Practitioner
You might be a physician (general practitioner or specialist), nurse, pathologist, a surgeon, or a psychiatrist.
Skill Proficiencies: Education and Medicine
Tool Proficiencies: Surgery Kit & Medical Lab
Starting Equipment:
Feature???

Military
Military covers any of the branches of the armed forces, including army, navy, air force, and marines, as well as the various elite training units such as Seals, Rangers, and Special Forces.
Skill Proficiencies: Athletics and Intimidate.
Tool Proficiencies: Firearms
Starting Equipment:
Rank: Even if you are no longer a member of the military, you are respected by your fellow soldiers. You can requisition some basic equipment from allied military members, and gain access to personnel and military installations.

Pilot Savant
Languages: Machine Spirit
Tool Proficiencies: Pick two from; Navigator’s tools, Repair Tools, or any vehicles
Starting Equipment:
True Bond: You can have up to one additional bond at a time. This extra bond must be made with a spirit imbued vehicle.

Primitive
You come from the outlands, a place where the wonders of Technomagic has never reached. You grew up in a primitive fashion.
Proficiencies: Athletics and Survival.
Languages: Outlandish.
Equipment: Any one archaic weapon with which you are proficient. A survival pack. Tattoos, piercings or other indications of your previous lifestyle.
Nature’s Bounty: When traveling in the wilderness, you can find enough food to feed yourself and up to five other companions. Also, choose one of the following options.
Outlander: You and your group never risk becoming lost in the wilderness.
Badlander: You gain advantage in attempting to avoid ‘natural’ hazards.

Religious
Ordained clergy of all persuasions, as well as theological scholars and experts on religious studies fall within the scope of this starting occupation.
Skill Proficiencies: Education and Insight.
Languages: Pick one of your choice.
Starting Equipment:
Shelter: Most communities will support you and your allies at a modest lifestyle. You gain access to religious figures and facilities.

Technician
You belong to a powerful techno guild responsible for creating and repairing spirit imbued machines.
Skill Proficiencies: Education & Computers
Tool Proficiencies: Repair Kit
Language Proficiencies: Machine Spirit.
Starting Equipment: Repair Kit
Over Time: You are used to working long exhausting hours. Each day you attempt to build or repair a piece of equipment, you can spend 12 hours doing so.

Skills

Adding Scifi elements needs a new skill list;

Acrobatics DEX
Arcana INT
Athletics STR
Computers INT
Culture CHA
Deception CHA
Dungeoneering CHA
Education INT
Insight WIS
Investigation WIS
Medicine WIS
Notice WIS
Performance CHA
Persuasion CHA
Sleight of Hand DEX
Stealth DEX
Survival CON

New Skills

Computers (INT)
Use computers whenever you want to;
• Hack into a hostile system.
• Understand the specifics of a computer program.
• Bypass certain electronic security features.

Culture (CHA)
is a general understanding of sociology, current events and pop culture that let you understand the cultural events going on in society around you.
Culture is used for;
• Knowing how to behave in a delicate social scene.
• Impressing others with your knowledge of pop culture.
• Recalling information’s about local customs and laws.

Dungeoneering CHA
In a world where monsters prey upon distant worlds, and ancient treasures lie hidden in abandoned outposts, Adventurers will arise. Adventurers are the rock stars, or reality TV personalities of the galaxy. When you ask a child what they want to be when they grow up, chances are they will say Adventurer!
While few ever realize their dream to become a professional adventurer, and even fewer survive it, a seasoned adventurer is skilled in the ancient art of Dungeoneering.
Dungeoneering is and skill of getting to a dungeon, overcoming its guardians, finding the treasure and getting out alive.
Dungeoneering is used to;
• Find Valuable treasure.
• Recall facts and rumors about monsters.
• Recall information about famous dungeons.
• Decipher and Follow treasure maps.

Education
Education is a catch all for knowledge skills. It represents both formal education and what you have learned in life. If you need to know something, this is the skill for you. There are limits to this skill however. Knowledge which is related to magic is handled with Arcana. Knowledge about monsters, treasures and dungeons is covered by Dungeoneering.
Education is used to:
• Recall information and rumors.
• Research topics in a library or the nets.

Antonlowe said:

Oh and I love the dragon star setting. But I thought the rules of 3.5 didnt mix well with Scifi.

Click to expand...

To be honest, D&D rules generally do not mix with SciFi. The reason for this is HP bloat. One can accept that a guy in full plate runs through an arrow shower to start hitting people with his sword. But the same guy doing the same in a modern or sci fi setting? No.
Yet the D&D system puts a huge emphasis on melee and very close range combat. The rules are simply not made for long range combat where both sides trade ranged attacks and instead are geared towards bringing to combat into melee range. Yet this long range exchange is exactly how most SciFi combat would play out.

Derren said:

To be honest, D&D rules generally do not mix with SciFi. The reason for this is HP bloat. One can accept that a guy in full plate runs through an arrow shower to start hitting people with his sword. But the same guy doing the same in a modern or sci fi setting? No.
Yet the D&D system puts a huge emphasis on melee and very close range combat. The rules are simply not made for long range combat where both sides trade ranged attacks and instead are geared towards bringing to combat into melee range. Yet this long range exchange is exactly how most SciFi combat would play out.

Click to expand...

I know what you mean about high level character's being unrealistic. For me the bigger problem is AC. in 3.5, by 10th level, a normal person with a gun is just not a threat unless they also happen to be 8-12th level.

5e handles one of these problems with bounded accuracy, AC just doesn't go up that fast. I tried to solve the HP problem with exploding dice on blaster weapons.

When an attack would reduce a character to less than 0 hit points, that character is dying. The character is still conscious and can act normally, but quickly approaching death.
whenever you start your turn with 0 hit points, you must make a Special saving throw, called a death saving throw, to determine whether you creep closer to death or hang onto life. Unlike other saving throws, this one isn’t tied to any ability score. You are in the hands of fate now, aided only by Spells and features that improve your chances of succeeding on a saving throw.

Roll a d20: If the roll is 10 or higher, you succeed. Otherwise, you fail. If you fail, you gain one level of exhaustion. If you reach six levels of exhaustion, you die. If you succeed three times, you stabilize.

Rolling 1 or 20: When you make a death saving throw and roll a 1 on the d20, you gain two levels of exhaustion. If you roll a 20 on the d20, you regain 1 hit point.


Damage at 0 Hit Points: If you take any damage while you have 0 hit points, you suffer a death saving throw failure. If the damage is from a critical hit, you suffer two failures instead. If the damage equals or exceeds 1/2 your hit point maximum, you suffer instant death.

Resurrection: Any spell that resurrects you from death, only removes the 6^th level of exhaustion (death). A character who is recently resurrected still suffers 5 levels of exhaustion and should probably take the week off.




1 Disadvantage on physical ability checks.
2 Speed Halved
3 Disadvantage on attack rolls and saving throws
4 Hit point maximum reduced to half.
5 speed reduced to 0.
6 dead.

Updated my firearms rules and added 'Charge Guns' http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?528113-5e-IN-SPACE!!!!!&p=7039719&viewfull=1#post7039719