d20 Dark*Matter: ongoing review

[Psion]

or it could be that the editors keep forgetting that the rules have changed.

The menace manual had the same problem in some places. So have many 3rd party publishers.

Which works just fine for me since I have NEVER liked the d20 Modern take on Nonlethal damage.


Anyway, I got this book and finally got a chance to sit down and read it. I have never followed Dark Matter before. The book is both elating and frustrating... because I was already trying to put together a setting like this. I like the backstory and the conflict. But now I feel like I am retreading a lot of what they have been doing here.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Anyway, I got this book and finally got a chance to sit down and read it. I have never followed Dark Matter before. The book is both elating and frustrating... because I was already trying to put together a setting like this. I like the backstory and the conflict. But now I feel like I am retreading a lot of what they have been doing here.

I had a similar experience.

 

[Roudi]

As I go through some of the fluff, I keep finding more things that haven't been updated. For instance, in one section it claims that the Human Genome Project will be "completed by 2005" when we all know it is already finished.

About the crunch: a lot of attention is given to psionic characters (especially the battlemind) in the new feats and powers. It might just be my personal taste in the setting, but I feel Dark*Matter is more about normal people against the darkness, not super-psions against the darkness. To each their own, I suppose.

The Field Antiquarian AdvC reminds me of a Giles/Wesley type character. He's a bit like the Bard's Bardic Knowledge ability turned into its own class with some bonus languages, bonus feats, and the Charismatic Hero's Favor ability thrown in for good measure. I'm actually surprised to see so few knowledge skills in the Field Antiquarian's class skill list, and to see no abilities that apply knowledge skills to combat (though I suppose the Field Antiquarian could be called on to pull a supernatural foe's weak spot out of his bum once a week). Of all the classes, I might actually consider using this one.

The Field Guide reinforces my belief that even advanced classes should have talent trees. Its static progression of abilities that don't really fit my idea of a "field guide" turn me right off this class. He basically gets some contacts, a jury-rigging ability (?), the Dedicated Hero's Cool Under Pressure talent, a bonus or penalty to reputation, and a boost to action point dice. The Track feat isn't even in the bonus feat list (but a lot of vehicle feats are, something that actually makes a bit of sense for the class). I could tolerate the above abilities if they were part of larger talent trees (which also involved more tracking and wilderness survival abilities).

The three prestige classes didn't impress me much. They've been addressed by others in this thread, so I won't bother reviewing them. Needless to say, when the latest SFX Skills book is finally released, I will have all three traditions covered in far more detail than these classes could ever provide.

Spells & Powers: blah. A few reprints from Urban Arcana, some original voodoo-related material, a lot of psi-blade interaction. Not my cup o' tea.

Equipment: decent offerings here. I was surprised to see six different types of ammuntion here, including types that don't directly relate to fighting the supernatural. Hunter's Kits are a nice touch, giving folks an idea of what equipment one should be taking when setting out on certain missions. The new drugs are very interesting and might actually see use in one of my games.

Beyond that, the only thing I have to say is that I wish the book didn't rely so heavily on referencing creatures from the Menace Manual. I would have liked to see some original monsters in here. However, as I understand it, a lot of MM creatures were drawn from Dark*Matter to begin with, so I can kind of understand.

 

[HeapThaumaturgist]

EDIT: Double-post?

 

[HeapThaumaturgist]

Thing about the monsters, there weren't really very many to cover outside of what had been covered in the d20Modern core book and the Menace Manual.

Here are the creatures in the D*M core book:

Armodont - (Uncovered, an odd Grey-dog)
Bering Demon - (D20M replaces with many fiends)
Ekimmu - (d20M replaces with D&D vampires)
Elohim - (MM)
Etoile - (MM)
Ghost - (in the MM or UA, I forget)
Ghoul - ((UA?))
Grey - (MM, d20D*M)
Grey Scout Ship - (MM)
Homunculus - (UA)
Kinori - (Uncovered, a lizardfolk from Egypt)
Kinori, Blackscale - (Uncovered, an advanced Kinori type)
Luciferan - (MM)
Man In Black - (Uncovered? Are the Ghyardi in MM?)
Mole Person - (Uncovered, possibly Mongrelmen)
Mothman - (Uncovered, winged Greys with native-styled magic)
Mummy - (d20Modern, which is a D&D style mummy to this zombie-mummy)
Sandman - (MM, Sand Slave)
Sasquatch - (MM, d20D*M)
Yeti - (Sasquatch, Cold subtype)

The Kinori and the Mothman are the two "big" ones left uncovered ... both had a few major plays in the original game, and the Mothmen had a large part in the biggest published adventure for the game. I, myself, didn't really like the "flavor" of either of them.

The Kinori were a step outside of modern mythology ... I don't see any myths that mention the Egyptians were propped up by D&D Lizardfolk.

Likewise, the Mothmen didn't float my raft. I prefer a more otherworldly Mothman, along the lines of The Mothman Prophecies. They're an interesting take on things, but it just seemed like a real step to one side. "All that weird stuff was unconnected, and the moth-man ... was a whole race of native-american grey aliens with WINGS that nobody noticed."

The Mole People appeared in one of the novels. Really they're just ... people ... who live underground. Some of them, though, have mutated and can regenerate and are immune to disease. It's a homeless-people civilization.

The Man In Black was one take on what they say are many types of MiB. Various governmental conspiracies send MiBs out to see people. The game-stat MiB is an unexplained psychic/shadow-magic using guy that conforms to some of the more out-there MiB reports. They were expanded into their own race, the Ghyardi, for Star*Drive and I think they're covered in the MM. My copy is elsewhere.

The Armodant, I don't think anybody will miss. It's just a bizzare Grey tracking animal ... like a hairless dog with a Grey-like face. Never heard of them in mythology, don't remember them being used in any published adventures or books. I never used them.

Replacing the Ekkimu with D&D Vampires ... ehhh ... the Ekkimu was, I thought, an interesting take on vampires. An alien symbiote that takes the form of a liquid that causes a few changes to the human body to make it vampire-like, and can place the person into a suspended animation so they live longer. The vampire-slime can creep out into a new host body. I thought the concept was cool, so I've since done my own take on the theme.

--fje

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

I promised earlier to post a few kinori. Here's a kinori using the d20 Dark Matter Alchemist class:

http://d20npcs.wikia.com/wiki/CR_11_Blackscale_Kinori_Alchemist

 

[TerraDave]

I looked at this in the book store, with no knowledge of the Alternity (that was something TSR did, right?) or Polyhedron versions.

So I thought it looked great. (I did have some concerns as Psion, but am not as far along as he seems to be, so again, great).

Anyone know if Monte Cook and Wolfgan Baur where actually involved in the update, or were they (only) the authors of the Alternity version?

 

[Ranger REG]

Anyway, I got this book and finally got a chance to sit down and read it. I have never followed Dark Matter before. The book is both elating and frustrating... because I was already trying to put together a setting like this. I like the backstory and the conflict. But now I feel like I am retreading a lot of what they have been doing here.

*Shrugs* Great minds think alike. Unless you're expecting new Dark*Matter material (usually accompanies with forwarding timeline, like Forgotten Realms).

 

[TerraDave]

Checked Monte Cook's boards.

If anyone is dying to know, he and Wolfgang Baur were not involved in the D20 update.