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<blockquote data-quote="Scurvy_Platypus" data-source="post: 4583488" data-attributes="member: 43283"><p>Honestly?</p><p></p><p>Just get M&M.</p><p></p><p>Silver Age Sentinels isn't _bad_, but it's not popular. Everybody and their cousin loves M&M and if you wind up having questions or uncertainties, you'll be able to get plenty of advice. How _good_ the advice is might be up for debate, but that's a whole other topic. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite8" alt=":D" title="Big grin :D" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":D" /></p><p></p><p>SAS suffers from a peculiar problem that's not quite unique to Guardians of Order games, but is darn close. It's a point buy system that relies on player/GM negotiation.</p><p></p><p>See, Tri-Stat (what powers BESM and SAS) provides a decent enough framework and costs, but it expects a few things that catch a lot of people by surprise because they don't expect it from a point-buy system.</p><p></p><p>One of those things is that the GM is going to be involved in the creation of characters and will say "No" sometimes.</p><p></p><p>People expect as close to "perfect" a balance as possible. If something is worth "1 point" than anything that's worth "1 point" is going to be as close to exactly equivalent as possible.</p><p></p><p>GoO games aren't like that.</p><p></p><p>It's not that they're horribly imbalanced, but they aren't as "balanced" as they could be. As Tri-Stat evolved, there were certain oddities that developed in the system too. PMVs are a source of problems.</p><p></p><p>If you're not sure about the Tri-Stat system, you can get the free version here:</p><p><a href="http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=368&it=1&filters=0_0_10121" target="_blank">DriveThruRPG.com - White Wolf - Tri-Stat dX: Core System Role-Playing Game</a></p><p></p><p>As I recall, The Authority version of the SAS rules is considered to be a better version than SAS, with the caveat that you should probably scaled the dice down a bit.</p><p></p><p>If you're looking at SAS d20? Skip it.</p><p></p><p>It's not bad, but BESMd20 is a _very_...quirky... system. The d20 fans hated it for a number of reasons, and the BESM fans hated it because GoO was jumping on the d20 bandwagon.</p><p></p><p>Both Tri-Stat and BESMd20 games basically expect the rulebook to be treated as more of a "guide" than a firm rules thing. Many people aren't comfortable with that, and want the rulebook to be a solid "neutral" way of keeping both GMs and Players under control.</p><p></p><p>If you're fine with going it alone and you've got flexibility at the table, SAS (either flavor) is a pretty good way to go. Not perfect, but not bad.</p><p></p><p>M&M showed up and absolutely crushed Silver Age Sentinels. I personally happen to like 1st ed M&M better than 2nd Ed, but that's a whole other topic.</p><p></p><p>It's got some solid staying power and if you're already familiar with d20, it's probably going to just be easiest to pick this up.</p><p></p><p>Plus, they've got all kinds of supplements, which is important for some folks. They're even coming out with something called Warriors and Warlocks, which I guess will let you do fantasy games using the M&M engine.</p><p></p><p>Make your life easy, go with the crowd, and get M&M. It's a solid choice and you'll be able to get far more support (in the forum of product and fans) than you will with SAS of either flavor.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Scurvy_Platypus, post: 4583488, member: 43283"] Honestly? Just get M&M. Silver Age Sentinels isn't _bad_, but it's not popular. Everybody and their cousin loves M&M and if you wind up having questions or uncertainties, you'll be able to get plenty of advice. How _good_ the advice is might be up for debate, but that's a whole other topic. :D SAS suffers from a peculiar problem that's not quite unique to Guardians of Order games, but is darn close. It's a point buy system that relies on player/GM negotiation. See, Tri-Stat (what powers BESM and SAS) provides a decent enough framework and costs, but it expects a few things that catch a lot of people by surprise because they don't expect it from a point-buy system. One of those things is that the GM is going to be involved in the creation of characters and will say "No" sometimes. People expect as close to "perfect" a balance as possible. If something is worth "1 point" than anything that's worth "1 point" is going to be as close to exactly equivalent as possible. GoO games aren't like that. It's not that they're horribly imbalanced, but they aren't as "balanced" as they could be. As Tri-Stat evolved, there were certain oddities that developed in the system too. PMVs are a source of problems. If you're not sure about the Tri-Stat system, you can get the free version here: [url=http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=368&it=1&filters=0_0_10121]DriveThruRPG.com - White Wolf - Tri-Stat dX: Core System Role-Playing Game[/url] As I recall, The Authority version of the SAS rules is considered to be a better version than SAS, with the caveat that you should probably scaled the dice down a bit. If you're looking at SAS d20? Skip it. It's not bad, but BESMd20 is a _very_...quirky... system. The d20 fans hated it for a number of reasons, and the BESM fans hated it because GoO was jumping on the d20 bandwagon. Both Tri-Stat and BESMd20 games basically expect the rulebook to be treated as more of a "guide" than a firm rules thing. Many people aren't comfortable with that, and want the rulebook to be a solid "neutral" way of keeping both GMs and Players under control. If you're fine with going it alone and you've got flexibility at the table, SAS (either flavor) is a pretty good way to go. Not perfect, but not bad. M&M showed up and absolutely crushed Silver Age Sentinels. I personally happen to like 1st ed M&M better than 2nd Ed, but that's a whole other topic. It's got some solid staying power and if you're already familiar with d20, it's probably going to just be easiest to pick this up. Plus, they've got all kinds of supplements, which is important for some folks. They're even coming out with something called Warriors and Warlocks, which I guess will let you do fantasy games using the M&M engine. Make your life easy, go with the crowd, and get M&M. It's a solid choice and you'll be able to get far more support (in the forum of product and fans) than you will with SAS of either flavor. [/QUOTE]
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