Laslo Tremaine
Explorer
I'm just wondering if there is anything new in the area of a simplified d20 game system.
What I am looking for is a system that would let me use the majority of existing d20 stuff that is out there (scenarios, monsters, feats, etc) while being much more simplified and streamlined than D&D 3.5.
My ideal would be something like a amalgam of True20 and Castles & Crusades. There are things I like about each system (True20 more than C&C), but both have quirks that would keep me, or some of the other players in my group, from using either of them.
Here are some of my requirements for a simple d20 system.
•Flexible Character Generation: True20 and Grim Tales do this really well! A few generic classes with multi-classing and feats giving customization and flexibility. Here's where C&C completely drops the ball for me.
•Basic Skill System: True20 captures this almost perfectly for me by folding many of the skills into each other (listen and spot become notice, for example). I really don't like the way C&C handles (or fails to handle) this.
•Reduced number of standard feats. True20 almost has too many for me. C&C obviously does not have enough.
•Fast Combat. No Attacks if Opportunity, and no reliance on miniatures. Keep the number of options in combat fairly low. Just a move action and a standard action. Reduce the number of character conditions (stunned, dazed, shaken, etc). This is very important to me in speeding up the flow of play. C&C seems to do this very well.
•Simple Creature Mechanics: C&C seems to do this well enough. Just some basic stats are all I really need. True20 fails, in that all creatures use all the the same stats as players, ending up in too much time spent on scenario creation or conversion.
•Portabilty From Other d20 Systems. C&C seem to do pretty well with this (mainly by making its internal system so dead simple). True20 fails, mainly because of the whole "damage save" mechanic.
My main goal for a simplified d20 system is to create a fast and light game engine that maintains compatibility with existing D&D materials. This would allow for a more streamlined play experience while being able to minimize prep time (both through simpler mechanics and access to pre-generated materials).
C&C succeeds on a number of levels with this. You can take pretty much any existing D&D scenario and play it using the C&C rules with a minimum of effort. This is my ideal.
Unfortunately C&C is saddled with a number of systems that I find fairly unpalatable and most of it is due to C&C's unflagging nostalgia factor. First off, I want a skill system; the SIEGE engine is not for me. Secondly I want much more generic and flexible character classes. And while I am not a fan of the Vancian magic system, I am willing to maintain it for compatibility purposes.
True20 is pretty much the perfect game system for me. It hits almost every note just right. Unfortunately, for this specific purpose, I want easy compatibility with existing d20 material, and mainly because of the Damage Save mechanic, True20 complete falls down.
So I ask if anyone knows of anything that comes close to this. I really don't want to have to write a game system from scratch, and it seems that there should be a market for this kind of thing. Anyone know of an existing system that I might have missed that comes close to meeting these requirements?
What I am looking for is a system that would let me use the majority of existing d20 stuff that is out there (scenarios, monsters, feats, etc) while being much more simplified and streamlined than D&D 3.5.
My ideal would be something like a amalgam of True20 and Castles & Crusades. There are things I like about each system (True20 more than C&C), but both have quirks that would keep me, or some of the other players in my group, from using either of them.
Here are some of my requirements for a simple d20 system.
•Flexible Character Generation: True20 and Grim Tales do this really well! A few generic classes with multi-classing and feats giving customization and flexibility. Here's where C&C completely drops the ball for me.
•Basic Skill System: True20 captures this almost perfectly for me by folding many of the skills into each other (listen and spot become notice, for example). I really don't like the way C&C handles (or fails to handle) this.
•Reduced number of standard feats. True20 almost has too many for me. C&C obviously does not have enough.
•Fast Combat. No Attacks if Opportunity, and no reliance on miniatures. Keep the number of options in combat fairly low. Just a move action and a standard action. Reduce the number of character conditions (stunned, dazed, shaken, etc). This is very important to me in speeding up the flow of play. C&C seems to do this very well.
•Simple Creature Mechanics: C&C seems to do this well enough. Just some basic stats are all I really need. True20 fails, in that all creatures use all the the same stats as players, ending up in too much time spent on scenario creation or conversion.
•Portabilty From Other d20 Systems. C&C seem to do pretty well with this (mainly by making its internal system so dead simple). True20 fails, mainly because of the whole "damage save" mechanic.
My main goal for a simplified d20 system is to create a fast and light game engine that maintains compatibility with existing D&D materials. This would allow for a more streamlined play experience while being able to minimize prep time (both through simpler mechanics and access to pre-generated materials).
C&C succeeds on a number of levels with this. You can take pretty much any existing D&D scenario and play it using the C&C rules with a minimum of effort. This is my ideal.
Unfortunately C&C is saddled with a number of systems that I find fairly unpalatable and most of it is due to C&C's unflagging nostalgia factor. First off, I want a skill system; the SIEGE engine is not for me. Secondly I want much more generic and flexible character classes. And while I am not a fan of the Vancian magic system, I am willing to maintain it for compatibility purposes.
True20 is pretty much the perfect game system for me. It hits almost every note just right. Unfortunately, for this specific purpose, I want easy compatibility with existing d20 material, and mainly because of the Damage Save mechanic, True20 complete falls down.
So I ask if anyone knows of anything that comes close to this. I really don't want to have to write a game system from scratch, and it seems that there should be a market for this kind of thing. Anyone know of an existing system that I might have missed that comes close to meeting these requirements?
