[Originally Posted by RangerWickett
Tal d20 would accomplish the same thing any other system adaptation accomplishes: it makes people who normally stay inside the d20 system look at things that they'd otherwise have missed.]
Hmm. I would have to disagree with you on this conclusion based on my own experience. Most players comfortable with a system do not jump systems to play the "real" thing if they start playing a conversion. I do not know *any* gamers that play Oriental Adventures/d20 Rokugan that went over to play Legends of the Five Rings. I don't know *any* GURPS players that went over to play Vampire or Mage, after playing their GURPS version. Likewise, I don't know any D&D players using Swashbuckling Adventures that ran out and bought 7 Seas. Does it ever happen? I'm sure it does... but I seriously doubt that the impact on the gaming population for that particular game is noticeable.
Dancey himself intimated that d20 is there to be that juggernaut that other brands want to get a piece of. Why? because its got the largest player-base with a consistant if not growing population. If anything, dual-system games help d20 a *lot* more than d20 helps the other half. Otherwise why have dual-stated books out there? Obviously to force both camps of people to buy the same book.
The issue for me is that while I still like d20, and it has a lot going for it, doing d20 Talislanta is like saying, "Hey everyone! Let's turn this Ferarri into a Monster Truck." Note that I'm not saying d20 is a piece of crap (it's a Monster Truck for God's sake. It's big, it's tough, somewhat customizable, and people like plowing through crap (bad adventures modules)with it.) I'm saying that it's not as streamlined and efficient as Talislanta's system.
Then again, it sounds like you're just mining Talislanta for it's ideas and races etc. I don't think the d20 magic system in the PHB comes even remotely close to the versatility of the Talislanta system which is a huge drawback. To me that's the largest hurdle for you. Most of the other issues can be swept under the rug (which would be ugly, and wipe out a lot of the color of Talislanta), but acceptable to the d20 populace at large. I think the best that would come from this is Arcana Unearthed-looking confection.
Tal d20 would accomplish the same thing any other system adaptation accomplishes: it makes people who normally stay inside the d20 system look at things that they'd otherwise have missed.]
Hmm. I would have to disagree with you on this conclusion based on my own experience. Most players comfortable with a system do not jump systems to play the "real" thing if they start playing a conversion. I do not know *any* gamers that play Oriental Adventures/d20 Rokugan that went over to play Legends of the Five Rings. I don't know *any* GURPS players that went over to play Vampire or Mage, after playing their GURPS version. Likewise, I don't know any D&D players using Swashbuckling Adventures that ran out and bought 7 Seas. Does it ever happen? I'm sure it does... but I seriously doubt that the impact on the gaming population for that particular game is noticeable.
Dancey himself intimated that d20 is there to be that juggernaut that other brands want to get a piece of. Why? because its got the largest player-base with a consistant if not growing population. If anything, dual-system games help d20 a *lot* more than d20 helps the other half. Otherwise why have dual-stated books out there? Obviously to force both camps of people to buy the same book.
The issue for me is that while I still like d20, and it has a lot going for it, doing d20 Talislanta is like saying, "Hey everyone! Let's turn this Ferarri into a Monster Truck." Note that I'm not saying d20 is a piece of crap (it's a Monster Truck for God's sake. It's big, it's tough, somewhat customizable, and people like plowing through crap (bad adventures modules)with it.) I'm saying that it's not as streamlined and efficient as Talislanta's system.
Then again, it sounds like you're just mining Talislanta for it's ideas and races etc. I don't think the d20 magic system in the PHB comes even remotely close to the versatility of the Talislanta system which is a huge drawback. To me that's the largest hurdle for you. Most of the other issues can be swept under the rug (which would be ugly, and wipe out a lot of the color of Talislanta), but acceptable to the d20 populace at large. I think the best that would come from this is Arcana Unearthed-looking confection.
