D&D 5E Stargate RPG Announced from Wyvern Gaming

SkidAce · Jun 12, 2019

My normal game had a stargate vibe anyway. Since its going to be 5E based, I can easily pilfer stuff. Maybe its just a different sector of the cosmos.

Huzzah!

Mack Martin · Jun 12, 2019

Thundershot, I'm not at liberty to delve into what all we're using or when we're setting the adventure and core, but I feel confident that you'll be able to make the minor adjustments necessary to go off book with ease. A lot of Stargate, at least from a gameplay mechanics view, is pretty consistent over the entire property.

5ekyu · Jun 12, 2019

stadi said:
I also would have preferred Savage Worlds. My biggest problem with 5E is that you don't have a lot of skills and you cannot really actively level them. Skills are important in modern to sci-fi games for me. I am glad that they did not come up with their own system though or chose 2d20

This depends on how they choose to create their system and classes.

Esper Genesisxwrspped 5e and scifi together but also worked a form of magic/super- powers in so its transition was easier.

For stargate, I could see a lot more "skill tricks " and "feats " thematic to each "class/MOS" creating what one could see as "leveling skills" by expanding what you do with them, ways you can use them, etc.

It's all gonna come down to the execution and really all you inherit from 5e is the broader structure of race-class-backgtound and that seems solid most anywhere.

That said, I find the green Robin "damage saves" yo be much better fit for "modern heroic" than I do the HP model. So, I could have been happier- but let's see which way they seem to go in August.

I love Stargste and ran a stargate game for years... even had bought the AEG fiasco (gotta love a game where like the mechanics guy said how much he hated writing/designing for d20 as he was building the system and acknowledged he had seen only a few episodes when he worked on the combat and weapons.)

But, thematically, for an RPG, the Stargate Zat is gonna be an issue, no matter what. It has to be "leashed" by consensus.

5ekyu · Jun 12, 2019

Mack Martin said:
Salutations!

My name is Mack Martin (as you may have noticed) and I'm the lead designer for the Stargate RPG! I just thought I'd hop in and post a response about where we are at, and what you guys can expect from a system based on 5e!

While we're currently designing the system using "classes" they aren't designed in the same way as 5th edition classes. The current list I'm using includes: Diplomat, Medic, Soldier, Scout, Engineer, and Scientist. These are obviously up for change as we go further into testing, but that's what we’re operating with now. At this stage, it's more important to use those classes to get a variety of systems into place, the largest of which is the various gear and equipment that characters might take with them on a mission. Right now we’re focused on making sure the games scaling as PCs advance is a solid engine that everything can be built upon.

All of that to say, it's very early on. But I can tell you what we’re currently working with, but understand this is all subject to change when the design meets testing.

Currently, each class only covers five levels. Once you've finished the class you choose a new one. Some of these require a previous class, for instance, an Archeologist is one of the options a Scientist might choose to delve into when they hit level 6. Alternatively, they could start taking levels of Soldier. It's a blend of multi-classing and specialization in some ways. It gives players a lot more customization than a standard 1-20 leveling system.

That's the system we’re using currently to get all the other things a Stargate game needs into place. Once we've started testing, we’re also going to test a "classless" system, although that's the sort of thing we want to build once we’ve been able to test the core engine and shake out the bigger bugs.

I'll try to hop back onto the forum to answer questions over the next few days, so if you have a specific question, I'll try to answer! Just please understand that we’re still building our working test document, so things are very early and I just might not have all the answers yet! We’ve got plenty of work to do to bring Stargate to your tabletop!

Are you looking at a hit point driven combat, damage save, other?

How strong a role do you see meta-currency like hero points, luck points, plot points, momentum etc playing? Is that intended as core ftom ground up or other?

Fo not take either of these as favoring one or the other- just curious about some of the core pillars.

Aldo, just to be sure - will your core mechanics folks have seen more than a few episodes before designing the combat and weapons systems? (This one you **can** take as a preference or bias towards an answer of. "Yes".)

I believe iirc the best paraphrase the AEG guy gave was "we thought the energy staff should be better than the guns - cuz scifi."

https://youtu.be/NjlCVW_ouL8

Not that I hold a grudge or anything...

;-)

Mack Martin · Jun 12, 2019

Heya 5ekyu! Let's talk about those! I hope I don't give to big an explanation, but this is the exciting part of the process, getting it all solidified, so some of those are things we've been nailing down in the text recently!

Currently I'm using hit point driven combat. With that comes 2 trigger levels derived from a television show aesthetic. Anything below full HP is "Scuffed." You're character isn't bleeding but there's been a few close hits, maybe a landed punch or two. They've got some hair out place, maybe a bruise. Wounded is below half HP. That's where you might actually see some blood (at least more than a lip or nose). We do like damage saves, and you're right in that they work well thematically for a setting like Stargate so don't rule them out just yet, but the current build isn't using them.

We currently don't have any real meta-currency in the build. Some classes get a pool they can use for various things, like the Scientist's breakthrough points, but nothing like Fate or Hero points.

So yes, I'm re-watching SG-1 again right now, at a rate of about 3 episodes a day. So is the rest of the team. It's on in the background while I do things like write the weapons systems. I'd seen SG-1 on television but hadn't re-watched it since Universe ended. So I'm giving it another viewing to make sure it's very fresh in my mind while designing.

Equipment in Stargate obviously works different than in 5e, after all there are no +3 swords to be found. Weapons like the Ma'Tok are pretty potent as a baseline, certainly outclassing a typical firearm. However, keeping your P90 relevant is also on the table, with things like crazy tech ammo made by the team's Engineer.

I hope I didn't ramble too much!

5ekyu · Jun 12, 2019

Mack Martin said:
Heya 5ekyu! Let's talk about those! I hope I don't give to big an explanation, but this is the exciting part of the process, getting it all solidified, so some of those are things we've been nailing down in the text recently!

Currently I'm using hit point driven combat. With that comes 2 trigger levels derived from a television show aesthetic. Anything below full HP is "Scuffed." You're character isn't bleeding but there's been a few close hits, maybe a landed punch or two. They've got some hair out place, maybe a bruise. Wounded is below half HP. That's where you might actually see some blood (at least more than a lip or nose). We do like damage saves, and you're right in that they work well thematically for a setting like Stargate so don't rule them out just yet, but the current build isn't using them.

We currently don't have any real meta-currency in the build. Some classes get a pool they can use for various things, like the Scientist's breakthrough points, but nothing like Fate or Hero points.

So yes, I'm re-watching SG-1 again right now, at a rate of about 3 episodes a day. So is the rest of the team. It's on in the background while I do things like write the weapons systems. I'd seen SG-1 on television but hadn't re-watched it since Universe ended. So I'm giving it another viewing to make sure it's very fresh in my mind while designing.

Equipment in Stargate obviously works different than in 5e, after all there are no +3 swords to be found. Weapons like the Ma'Tok are pretty potent as a baseline, certainly outclassing a typical firearm. However, keeping your P90 relevant is also on the table, with things like crazy tech ammo made by the team's Engineer.

I hope I didn't ramble too much!

Nope - not too rambly. Great answers.

Thanks.

Mistwell · Jun 12, 2019

This is sounding good!

Greg K · Jun 12, 2019

Initially, I was happy to see Stargate get another rpg until I saw it was using 5e. Honestly, I have never seen a D&D style class/level based rpg with hit die/hp per level and D&D style Armor as AC do a media license well and the way skills are gained/improved just makes it worse.

The only way I see a doing a good job being done is to strip 5e down to the chasis and rebuild it like Steve Kenson did with Mutants and Masterminds. This means ditching the class/level based system with level based bonuses and abilities, ditching hit dice and hp/level , how armor works, and how skills are gained/improved.

Greg K · Jun 12, 2019

Eilathen said:
I really hoped someone would pick this license up again. But D&D 5e for SG?! Really disappointed!
Too bad, the franchise has such potential. But levels and classes just do not fit, imo. Seeing what a big "success" the first d20 version was didn't sink in, apparently.

Agreed. The books were well researched, but, even with the changes the designers made in terms of system, the D&D's that remained just did not work.

Greg K · Jun 12, 2019

Dire Bare said:
I disagree that D&D 5E is a bad fit. The main reason is accessibility, more folks are likely to try and play the game if they already know the rules. But, the main characters of the movie and TV show can definitely be seen as archetypes or classes.

Jack - Soldier
Teal'c - Warrior
Daniel & Samantha - Scientist
.

Accessibility as a measure of success is great if one only cares on a monetary level (and, possibly, only initially as that). Without major changes to 5e, it will still fail to truly capture the characters and the series for the same that the the AEG's version which was the many of the D&Disms in the mechanics that remained despite the changes in the AEG version. Many of those same D&Dism that remiained still exist in 5e