Poll over but... keep recommending d20 Modern books! (It's all good.)

[Knightfall]

Well, of course you've already made your decision and bought the book, but I can't let such a thread go by for 2 pages with no mention at all of Year of the Zombie. Which gives you zombie-killing goodness and post-apocalypse goodness, either of which you can take together or as a whole.

YotZ is good. Really good, especially the flavor text. The mechanics are often confused and clunky, but the new vehicle stats are much more appropriate and the Diaries of Becka are worth the price of admission by themselves.

However, if you've already got d20 Apocalypse, as you said you do, it's not that great. It merely expands upon what Apocalypse talks about. It expands in great detail, engrossing flavor text, and with a simple frankness that Apocalypse was afraid to use, but it's just an expansion.

I'm not really into the whole "zombie" world apocalypse thing. So, I don't think Year of the Zombie is for me.

Any of the Deadlands: Hell on Earth supplements can give you similar inspirations and almost as much mechanical utility.

I'm assuming that these "Hell on Earth" books are part of the d20 version of Deadlands, correct? I've considered Deadlands before but I've never felt a desire to look at the setting in detail. Is it "Old West" meets "apocalyptic zombies?"

 

[Knightfall]

I can't recommend Darwin's World enough (but you already know that). I'm psyked that the whole line is going to print. I've already got a spot on my shelf for my soon to be expanded Darwin's World collection!

I agree. It's a great setting. And I made sure I let a couple of my favorite FLGSs know that RPGObjects inked their deal with Amazon.com. Hopefully, that will give them an incentive to order in the books for me once the first print versions becoem available.

It makes me giddy with PA glee just thinking about it.

Dawning Star, especially Helios Rising is chocked full of stuff (dinosaur aliens, wolf aliens, power armor, tech yeah!), even if you don't use the core campaign setting, you should still be able to find something to use.

Dinosaur aliens??? That's just cool.

Sidewinder Recoiled is great, I'm even gonna take elements from it to use in my P.A. Campaign. The Brave Advanced class will work perfectly for my Vengequan (from the old Shockforce minis game) and The Proud People. Might even use it for some of the Grey Runners (adapted from Redline RPG).

Okay, I hadn't realized that Sidewinder: Recoiled was a d20 Modern-based game. It definitely goes on my "I'm interested" list. (And, I'd totally forgotten about Redline.)

I picked up Solid! for a buck. Not quite my speed but it will be put to some use. A Retro-Seventies Gang "The Soul Sistaz" from my PA campaign are based on stuff from it. Along with Reverend Tyrone Jones...

Hmm, not really my style, either...

I've heard the recently released Psi Watch pdf (based on the old Image Comics ; Stormwatch series) is good, but I don't have it yet.

I don't really know anything about Stormwatch. What's it about?

I ordered Prime Directive d20 Modern today, I'll let you know how it is. Course the question is how do I work Andorian Commandos into my PA Campaign....Hmmmmm.

Heh. Andorian commandos. Intereesting. Perhaps you could do a Mirror Universe thing where your P.A. campaign is the "dark mirror." Just an idea.

 

[Blackrat]

It's easier for me to tell which not to get Of those books the only ones I consider nearly useless are Urban Arcana and Dark Matter. The other's are all must have in my mind. But those two also depend on the type of game you like running. Urban Arcana might be best book ever if you wish to add magic to your game. Dark Matter as is setting specific too.

 

[ValhallaGH]

I'm assuming that these "Hell on Earth" books are part of the d20 version of Deadlands, correct? I've considered Deadlands before but I've never felt a desire to look at the setting in detail. Is it "Old West" meets "apocalyptic zombies?"

No, no. It's part of their original line and only has zombies as an incidental feature. Specifically, it's their Science Fiction Apocalypse setting. Essentially, the Deadlands: Weird West setting was advanced about 200 years until there was a massive nuclear war between the Union (and allies) and the Confederacy (and allies). Which is when the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse decided to invade the real world.
It gets quite messy and apocalyptic for a while, but the short version is that the only inhabitable land on the planet is west of the Mississippi River, and there's just pockets of civilization left to fight the fear. Oddly enough, there's still a small sliver of hope for actually saving the world, if the party can overcome cyborgs, robots, demons, the living, the dead, and their own twisted natures to defeat key evils and spread real hope to the rest of humanity. Piece of cake.

It combines just about every science fiction trope there is, from kung-fu to psychers to cyborgs to armies of murderous robots (some might call them terminators), and blends them with the style of the Old West for a really iconic and unique setting. There's magic, undead, demons, devils, a few living saints (miracles and all), and road gangs straight out of Mad Max. You've got vaults full of special forces soldeirs put into cryo-stasis in case the world exploded, the remnants of Chinese army units keeping an American town safe and prosperous, and street cops right out of Judge Dredd policing Las Vegas. Heck, they've even got aliens, from the one serious attempt at a human colony, but only one or two aliens maybe came back to Earth (thank all that's holy).
Hover tanks, powered armor, Sioux warriors riding horses, and soul-eating rains. Hell on Earth lives up to its name, and is a fantastic post-apocalyptic setting. The mechanics are good for the parent rules, but can be completely ignored when reading the books.

 

[Brutorz Bill]

Hell on Earth lives up to its name, and is a fantastic post-apocalyptic setting. The mechanics are good for the parent rules, but can be completely ignored when reading the books.

Let me second that the Deadlands : Hell on Earth books are great. I've got most of them and use alot of stuff from them for my PA Campaigns. Good Stuff! I've incorporated alot from the Doomsayers in particular (really cool Radiation worshipping/weilding types).
Even if you have no interest in the system they are still a great read! I wasn't that impressed with the d20 version. We played it a bit (the d20 version) in a Campaign I ran but we had problems with the rules. It seemed very rushed and incomplete. Some of the tables were even accidentally cut & pasted from the original rules. Still it was fun. I'll never forget the face of one of my players when he realized he'd run into an old Confederate minefield while running from Giant Eight Legged Freaks with no ammo! Ahh yes Good times!

 

[TheAuldGrump]

Hmmm, D20 Past almost killed the game for me. Enough information to not run games in any time period! I was so very disappointed, since D20 Past was what made me pick up D20 Modern in the first place, two months before D20 Past fell flat on its face. I wanted enough material to run a game not the Setting McNuggets that they had.

I did pick up Dark*Matter - not as good as the original, but that is really only because the original was so darned good. I intend to use it someday in Spycraft.

The Auld Grump

 

[Brutorz Bill]

I agree. It's a great setting. And I made sure I let a couple of my favorite FLGSs know that RPGObjects inked their deal with Amazon.com. Hopefully, that will give them an incentive to order in the books for me once the first print versions becoem available.

It makes me giddy with PA glee just thinking about it.

Dinosaur aliens??? That's just cool.

Okay, I hadn't realized that Sidewinder: Recoiled was a d20 Modern-based game. It definitely goes on my "I'm interested" list. (And, I'd totally forgotten about Redline.)

I don't really know anything about Stormwatch. What's it about?


Heh. Andorian commandos. Intereesting. Perhaps you could do a Mirror Universe thing where your P.A. campaign is the "dark mirror." Just an idea.

Helios Rising (for Dawning Star is a massive book, I'm sure you can find something to use, it has several different "Dino-related" aliens, a wolflike race, gear, weapons etc.
Regarding Redline, some useful stuff in there, although I mispoke I actually got the Grey Runners from Spellslinger another game from FFG.
Regarding Stormwatch, harken back to '90's comics. Big guns, cybernectic armor, telekinetic powers...did I mention BIG guns!
I like the suggestion about a Mirror Universe thing. Thanks,
Bill

 

[Knightfall]

Helios Rising (for Dawning Star is a massive book, I'm sure you can find something to use, it has several different "Dino-related" aliens, a wolflike race, gear, weapons etc.

I'm pretty sure that Helios Rising will be one of the few PDFs I buy when and if I can convince my sister to let me use her CC.

I like the suggestion about a Mirror Universe thing. Thanks,
Bill

You're welcome.