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<blockquote data-quote="bento" data-source="post: 4230750" data-attributes="member: 36597"><p>As a GM you should think of True20 as a toolbox. I mean by this you can use it to run a wide variety of games, but there might be some up-front work for you to do before you run your first game. When you read the primary rule books you see all kinds of skills and feats that you'll need to winnow down for your players. (i.e. in our fantasy game please ignore all the feats dealing with using computers or high-tech gear). The Companion book is handy as it provides new options for fantasy, horror, modern day and sci-fi games.</p><p></p><p>If you get the revised True20 book which comes out this month, it will contain the original True20 book (rules but excluding the four settings that were included) and the content from the Companion book. Also I hear that some of the rules that were a bit vague are better explained in the revised. This revised version is just that, and not a 2.0 edition. I hear you say that you don't like PDFs, but you might consider it. I purchase all my True20 books as pdfs because I sometimes make handouts for my players containing specific rules. </p><p></p><p>I find True20 works best when you want to do cross-genre stuff. I've heard complaints from people who have used True20 to run a dungeon crawl, that it doesn't have the same feel as D&D. Well that's because D&D excels in this area, and True20 isn't specifically designed for this. Rather True20 works better when you have a variety of things at play. I've used it to run historical-horror and Asian fantasy, where it worked great. I also like True20 because it doesn't have that slavish "mini+battlemat" feel that D&D or other D20 games have. I have used a variety of methods for running melee encounters, like the traditional 1" hex map, a quickly sketched map or even just a description of an area. The game worked great in all three.</p><p></p><p>Another nice thing about True20 I've found is that it sometimes helps players come up with creative solutions to combat. With combat feeling a little more "lethal" (this is more perception on the player's part as in most cases they can use action points) my players are oftem more willing to parlay with NPCs and villains. I see more planning on their part and asking about things in the environment they can use. </p><p></p><p>Magic and technology are broadly defined in True20, so you find players using these more creatively than they would in most D20 systems.</p><p></p><p>My suggestion would be for you is to run a one-shot for your players. Don't take them through character creation just yet, but create a short adventure that has a variety of activities. Use some pre-generated characters (a warrior, a couple of skill-based characters, an adept) and then run a game. Use this adventure to introduce the rules of the game, let them discover what a character can do, and provide plenty of different encounters. Don't make anything too lethal as they are trying to adjust to the subtle differences between True20 and D20. </p><p></p><p>I did this a couple of times with my historical-horror. It was Three Musketeers meets demon hunters in 1500s France. I pre-gened two warriors (a swordsman and a pistollero) two experts (an assassin and a "face') and one adept (clergyman/demon hunter). The scenario was investigating a missing royal gameskeeper and I mixed in a witch trial and ultimately the BBEG - a demon. The players were given the basics (you travel to this town to find the gameskeeper, except the cleric - he was there for the witch trial), and let them loose. The two times I've run this game were completely different, but I basically let the players lead the game and I had specific NPCs they could meet who would give pieces of the puzzle. </p><p></p><p>Good luck and let us know if you have other True20 questions.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="bento, post: 4230750, member: 36597"] As a GM you should think of True20 as a toolbox. I mean by this you can use it to run a wide variety of games, but there might be some up-front work for you to do before you run your first game. When you read the primary rule books you see all kinds of skills and feats that you'll need to winnow down for your players. (i.e. in our fantasy game please ignore all the feats dealing with using computers or high-tech gear). The Companion book is handy as it provides new options for fantasy, horror, modern day and sci-fi games. If you get the revised True20 book which comes out this month, it will contain the original True20 book (rules but excluding the four settings that were included) and the content from the Companion book. Also I hear that some of the rules that were a bit vague are better explained in the revised. This revised version is just that, and not a 2.0 edition. I hear you say that you don't like PDFs, but you might consider it. I purchase all my True20 books as pdfs because I sometimes make handouts for my players containing specific rules. I find True20 works best when you want to do cross-genre stuff. I've heard complaints from people who have used True20 to run a dungeon crawl, that it doesn't have the same feel as D&D. Well that's because D&D excels in this area, and True20 isn't specifically designed for this. Rather True20 works better when you have a variety of things at play. I've used it to run historical-horror and Asian fantasy, where it worked great. I also like True20 because it doesn't have that slavish "mini+battlemat" feel that D&D or other D20 games have. I have used a variety of methods for running melee encounters, like the traditional 1" hex map, a quickly sketched map or even just a description of an area. The game worked great in all three. Another nice thing about True20 I've found is that it sometimes helps players come up with creative solutions to combat. With combat feeling a little more "lethal" (this is more perception on the player's part as in most cases they can use action points) my players are oftem more willing to parlay with NPCs and villains. I see more planning on their part and asking about things in the environment they can use. Magic and technology are broadly defined in True20, so you find players using these more creatively than they would in most D20 systems. My suggestion would be for you is to run a one-shot for your players. Don't take them through character creation just yet, but create a short adventure that has a variety of activities. Use some pre-generated characters (a warrior, a couple of skill-based characters, an adept) and then run a game. Use this adventure to introduce the rules of the game, let them discover what a character can do, and provide plenty of different encounters. Don't make anything too lethal as they are trying to adjust to the subtle differences between True20 and D20. I did this a couple of times with my historical-horror. It was Three Musketeers meets demon hunters in 1500s France. I pre-gened two warriors (a swordsman and a pistollero) two experts (an assassin and a "face') and one adept (clergyman/demon hunter). The scenario was investigating a missing royal gameskeeper and I mixed in a witch trial and ultimately the BBEG - a demon. The players were given the basics (you travel to this town to find the gameskeeper, except the cleric - he was there for the witch trial), and let them loose. The two times I've run this game were completely different, but I basically let the players lead the game and I had specific NPCs they could meet who would give pieces of the puzzle. Good luck and let us know if you have other True20 questions. [/QUOTE]
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