D20 Modern Buffy/Angel!!

[tecnodemon]

Is there any offical campaign setting of modern horror besides from the core book out there? Be it Wizards or other 3rd party publishers? My group is looking to do a Buffy/Angel style game with out using the Eden Studios rules.

Or similar to Buffy/Angel might cool or ok.

 

[Ranger REG]

Other than the Shadow Chaser campaign model presented in d20 Modern with material you can use from Urban Arcana Campaign Sourcebook, not that I can think of.

Then again, perhaps Dark Inheritance may be right up your alley.

 

[BenjaminB]

I could see it working quite well. Shadow Chasers pretty much IS this kind of game already, and perhaps all you would have to do is create a Vampire advanced class to replace the normal template.

I would say a 5-level class with no prereqs except you have to complete all 5 Vampire class levels before going back to a basic class or other advanced class.... I don't know, say good attack bonus, Fort and Ref saves, regeneration or damage reduction (to simulate fast healing), Strength bonus (perhaps amplified with a "vamp out" face & an Action Point).

Alternatly, a template could be used for vampires- the whole "with a soul" thing is really just a roleplaying thing, so do that how you wish.

I haven't googled for it, but there is likely something out there for it.

-Ben

 

[takyris]

Yeah, I'd say that "Vampire" is just a template that gives you fast healing, scent, DR, and bonuses to Str and Dex.

When you look at Spike, for example, he doesn't have a ton of combat training. He isn't a ninja master -- he doesn't do katas like Angel does. In fact, by his history, he was a poet, an artist, before getting vamped. He's probably something like Charismatic and Dedicated -- all those times when he could look at someone and get under their skin and figure out just the thing to say to tick them off... that's Sense Motive and Diplomacy (used for evil) right there...

 

[BenjaminB]

Sounds right... starts out Charismatic, vamps out, and alternates Strong and Fast after that (I'd put his total level at around 10 tops, with Angel and Buffy being in the 11-12 range, if that high... I figure the Buffyverse is a slow-advance, low level sort of place).

Buffyverse vamps ballance disad-ad pretty well I think... the whole invitation, cross, sunlight thing (as well as the liquid diet) keeps the fast healing/DR, supersenses and strength fairly well topped. I might still make it a short advanced class though so as to avoid issues with level ballancing and ECL and whatnot.

I'd give them a truncated set of talent trees to cover various vampy specialities... don't know.

To cover the vamp-out thing, perhaps something like a +8 Strength bonus, but if you exert yourself for more than +4 you vamp out and show your fangs & true nature... all sort of neat ways to do it.

Angel might advance class into something like martial artist, but Spike is your bad old street brawler- he gets pounded, then gets back up even more pissed off.

So perhaps Strong/Tough rather then Strong/Fast (which might be more Angel's speed).


This sort of specualtion is actually quite amusing.


-Ben

 

[takyris]

You can also make vamps different (a lot different) from D&D vamps.

For starters, on the show, vamps DO seem to be vulnerable to crits. They are also vulnerable to some mind-controlling effects (though they ARE immune to some as well). This strongly implies that vampires should have Constitution scores in a d20 Buffy game. Instead of dropping Con and having them always get d12 hit points per level, you might have them keep their Con (possibly boosted due to vampirism) and have them get a hit die one higher than normal (ie, d8 when they'd normally take d6, d10 for d8, etc.).

Giving Buffyvamps Con scores also lets you figure out a reasonable mechanic for decapitation and staking. Simply put, for vamps, Massive Damage from a slashing weapon is Decapitation. Your slayer attacks with a sword, does 15 points of damage against a vamp with Con 11, and he has to make a Fort save. He fails, he gets dusted. Ta-dah.

Stakes should be small piercing weapons that do 1d4, 19-20/x2. (and you can have a Slayer prestige class that maps to either Shadow Hunter or Soldier, to show the hero getting better with stakes as they train) -- and any critical hit against a vampire requires that the vamp make a massive damage check, regardless of whether or not the massive damage threshold was breached. This makes staking possible but not always easy -- a high-level vamp can keep making those saves.

Dunno about a vampire advanced class -- I don't know what special abilities Buffyvamps have that make it worth the progression. There are certainly some flavor-specific classes out there that I could see. The Master from the first season lost his ability to assume human aspect but gained mind-control powers and vicious combat capability. There was an ancient vampire whose hands and feet had become cloven and who couldn't be killed by ordinary stakes because he was just too darn tough. Those would both be great advanced classes (or the cloven-hand guy was a higher level version of the first-season master).

 

[tetsujin28]

Angelsboi has already done quite a bit of work on this. You might want to search for old threads.

 

[drothgery]

Sounds right... starts out Charismatic, vamps out, and alternates Strong and Fast after that (I'd put his total level at around 10 tops, with Angel and Buffy being in the 11-12 range, if that high... I figure the Buffyverse is a slow-advance, low level sort of place).

I think Buffy pretty much has to be somewhat higher than that, if only for the simple reason that any reasonable builds of Giles, Willow, and Wesley are going to give them at least 12 levels (and probably more for Willow and Wes), and Buffy ought to be the highest-level character in the Buffyverse.

 

[Zef]

But wouldn't a new slayer be almost comparable when first called, they might not have the combat training but there is ability straight off.

 

[BenjaminB]

Its an issue of campaign scaling. If I create a world where you advance at a snail's pace, and so the really big badass kicking your tail around is "only" 8th level, it really doesn't matter because you're only 2nd. Buffyverse style magic users need a new (or heavily tweaked) system to make them viable- they can do some powerful things, but are nearly useless in combat (unless juiced to the eyeballs with dark magic- a story event rather than a level-traking issue in my mind).

It may involve tweaking the DC scales on certain tasks to bring things down to scale, but this is hardly rules breaking.

Also, the advantage of running a very low-level slow-advance game is that things like +2 Strength or +1 to Hit become fairly serious advantages for the long term, and they don't get 'lost' into the mix as you advance in level.

One thing I was considering-

Use only basic classes.

Everyone picks a Template which maps to a buffyverse role:

Vampire
Slayer
Witch
Zeppo
Watcher
etc

You advance along whichever basic class fits your character the best (BUffy- Strong, Fast,; Spike- Charismatic; Tough; Willow- Smart & dedicated or whatever)

Your template gives you upfront advantages and disadvantags (enhanced strength & speed, healing factor, magical ability) and your ability scores, level, skills, and feats determine how good you are at your template's set of goodies.

Template skills would cost the same as class skills, and each template would have a set of special feats unique to it...

Using massive damage rules ofr vamp-dusting is a very very good idea... I mean, a vamp is no more vulnerable to destruction than a person when it comes to weapons- a stake in the heart, or decapitation, or being burned alive will all pretty much kill just about anyone... Basicly, a vamp's classic weaknesses are more of an advantage- he NEVER has to save vs massive damage against anythign except those few things which can kill him.

Thses templates would really be like level-equilivent races, but when everyone gets to pick one at start-of-play (or later- if a zeppo gets vamped for example). Its a wash- no one has the special advantage, and it makes for easy-mook creation. Just apply that template to a lvl 1 mook.

I think it would be quite a fun game to play out.

-Ben