D&D 5E Fifth Age: A hard science fiction 5e conversion

[Capn Charlie]

If you used Word, go to reference and set that for each thing you want on the Contents Page and the Table of Contents will build itself and if you add stuff, page counts will update when you update the Table of Content.

Is something not registering correctly for the table of contents? It seems on sync in my document.

 

[David Norris-King]

Ok. Does seem strange to include combat knives at the same level as swords though.

 

[Capn Charlie]

Ok. Does seem strange to include combat knives at the same level as swords though.

Imagine it as some sort of high tech future knife. Seriously. It could be a power knife with air jets for extra thrusting power, something made with an advanced alloy, etc. Remember, if we posit material science that can allow for space ships and stations, a knife that punches through steel plate like butter isn't a very big leap. There are also some particularly nasty modern designs of knives with three twisting edges that could do some real damage...

I get it, it seems weird. A lot of my initial concept had the combat knife at a d8 for balance reasons, but it grew from there. It could probably go to a d6 and make more sense, a die upgrade over a medieval dagger. I'll stew on it, but it might just go to d6. I had one character with a combat knife made out of a crazy alien metal that would sit around and whittle steel with it. It was really cool in my mind's eye. Too much at d8? Perhaps.

 

[David Norris-King]

That's basically why I was thinking one handed swords at d10 and spears at d8, that knife. It's only on average a point more and I think it's the only two weapons I upped. It still balances out far weaker than even a pistol and it allows things to be pretty much unchanged d8 finesse daggers matched it and also took up the old rapier slot.

Also with the primitive rifle, I was basically imagining trade guns, the kind of weapons you trade to the locals to make them feel like you aren't screwing them. That's why I had it in the crossbow slot.

I'm honestly still hesitant of the pneumatic sledge. The power axe or whatever you end up calling it doesn't bother me too much, basically just the skin, but the sheer damage output on the sledge... especially in the hands of an oathsworn... well you remember how you didn't want to overshadow the other weapons?

Plus two handed weapons in enclosed spaces, where you'd be more likely to use them in a sci-fi setting? Incredibly unwieldy. Even if you don't have to swing it, it's a difficult propostion. For the power axe, I could see the stats being used as a vibro-blade or mono-molecular weapon, but I can't imagine the sledge seeing use.

I think it'd still be a good idea to put archaic weapons into the book. It's an ease of use thing. I'd rather have to play off as few things as possible.

 

[Mortilupo]

The trick is not to reinvent the wheel. You have a whole book (phb) full of archaic weapons.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using EN World mobile app

 

[Vexcord]

Understandable. I am in the process of writing a better explanation and write up for this exact problem.

Okay, the number one document to use is the latest version of the core document "Fifth Age 0.6" at this time. This contains classes, races, feats, equipment, and a variety of game systems. (Such as investment, downtime, and simplified spaceship rules). Additionally, there is a character sheet here that is a bit more relevant to fifth age, but a modified regular 5e sheet will do fine in a pinch. I have been told my sheet is very plain and basic, a fair critique, but it has all the right slots and lays out the info fairly well.

To actually run the game, use the core 5e books, or SRD, and assume that you are using that ruleset, except where overwritten by Fifth Age. So from the phb, for instance, you are really only using the combat rules, ability check resolutions, death and dying, environment, and so forth. This is the "engine" of the game.

For combat encounters you have the "Hazard Handbook" which details a variety of possible enemy combatants for the players to go up against. You can supplement this with stat blocks from the SRD, monster manual and even volo's or the kobold press bestiary, to populate the world with savage and bizarre aliens. A lot of monster manual critters make great alien menaces when you "re-skin" them with new descriptions.

The third book, Spaceships, is a much rougher work in process than anything you've seen. I haven't actively done development on that system in nearly a year. It is on my to-do list, but it is not a major priority, since most people didn't really want it. The skeleton is there if you want to play with it, as well as an excel sheet that helps build spaceships, and a "ship sheet" that might be useful in part even with the vastly simplified ship rules in the core document.

Now, you can use XP for character advancement, but I recommend using milestones or fiat leveling, to maintain narrative flow and encourage problem solving and not murder-hoboing.

Notes:
Use most PHB skills, supplement them with ones from the core document
Do not use PHB Feats, they are way too strong for this system (where you get +2 ability score AND a feat, not either/or)
Use PHB stats for archaic weapon equivalents if it comes up, just easier that way.

If you have any further questions or concerns, just let me know, feedback about what is not clear is very important as it helps me refine the books, and if nobody complains, I don't know what the problems are that need fixing, so if you see anything, let me know.

AH ok cool that helps, thanks. ill be sure to let you know if i have any other Questions.

 

[Vexcord]

Oh also, instead of dropping the ship system all together, what you could do is make it an optional addition (Cus Imho there are not enough Homebrew SciFi D&D Games that include them....that i know of)

 

[doctorbadwolf]

This is pretty cool! I'll probably adapt some of it if my group decides to do a future/space campaign rather than an urban fantasy campaign next. Unless we decide to use the new Alternity rules, if enough of the rule set is out. We really like Alternity.

About martial arts and primitive weapons in space.

One of the reasons MMA is so strongly a "ground and pound" game is that you can't try to break people's joints in an MMA match. (Call it a no rules fight all ya want, it's a fighting sport match. Period.) I always come back to anecdotes, when it comes to role playing games, not norms, because even in a fairly gritty RPG, IMO, PCs should be able to do semi-reliably what real humans only do in extraordinary circumstances.

The relevant example? The three times I've seen "traditional" martial arts the norm of "grappling and larger size wins fights". The best example involves my friend who is female, 5'6", and used to compete in Kung Fu tournaments, and a 6'?" Douchebag who trained at my buddy's MMA focused gym. I don't want to post a text wall, so I'll skip to the end. She bruises from his grip, but she broke his left wrist and pinky finger, right knee, cracked at least 3 of his ribs, and gave him concussion from kicking him into a stone facade wall.

Not a normal circumstance, but certainly within the bounds of a fairly normal person. I mean, it's not like she was on supplements or anything, and he was tryin, she was just better, and more competent to break parts of a person.

So, imo, it makes sense to consider using mechanics to make martial arts a high risk/high reward proposition.

In my system, a few factors make melee combat viable.

*speed+close proximity makes it really hard, irl, to shoot someone. More than one special forces train extensively to avoid being disarmed and to shoot people effectively at very close range for this reason, while others train extiensively to be viscioualy Lethal when disarmed. So, shooting a charging enemy is hard. As is shooting he guy punching your buddy, without hitting your buddy.

*you can specialize in disarming and disabling, rather than just damage

*it is higher risk than shooting from cover. Absolutely. It can also end a fight more quickly, sometimes less lethally, and often accomplish other important goals that are time sensitive, where being bogged down with a shootout would be a bad call. Also, futuristic armor and medical science makes it less likely that you will actually die. Be injured and need to convalesce, sure, but death rates are lower.

*hobbyists and people in high security settlements, and in space environments where ballistic weapons are dangerous for everyone, have developed "primitive" weapons into very high tech versions. Telescoping batons, bladed weapons, combat gloves, etc, and lightweight armored space suits are much safer for fighting on a ship or station. Either the interior walls are hard enough to stop bullets, in which case they will ricochet, or they aren't, in which case...ya know...you're on a bloody space vessel.

So, no sane person specializes in bows but not in guns, for instance, but high tech bows can fold into a package the size of an 80's brick phone, and unfold into a "shortbow" sized bow that functions more or less like a compound bow. Arrows, meanwhile, can telescope into the size of a comically purportioned sporting dart, and telescope out quickly enough that it can be done as part of the action used to draw and shoot.

imo, people would absolutely do that. Like, 100% guarantee.

Anyway, just some thoughts on punching and stabbing in space.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Imagine it as some sort of high tech future knife. Seriously. It could be a power knife with air jets for extra thrusting power, something made with an advanced alloy, etc. Remember, if we posit material science that can allow for space ships and stations, a knife that punches through steel plate like butter isn't a very big leap. There are also some particularly nasty modern designs of knives with three twisting edges that could do some real damage...

I get it, it seems weird. A lot of my initial concept had the combat knife at a d8 for balance reasons, but it grew from there. It could probably go to a d6 and make more sense, a die upgrade over a medieval dagger. I'll stew on it, but it might just go to d6. I had one character with a combat knife made out of a crazy alien metal that would sit around and whittle steel with it. It was really cool in my mind's eye. Too much at d8? Perhaps.

Punching through stuff is just a matter of hardness and sharpness. Something as sharp as obsidian, but with the tensile strength and hardness of steel, would wreck a lot of materials we don't think of as easily cut.

 

[David Norris-King]

Yeah, I tend to overthink weapons a lot. Everything else I pretty much love.

I definitely want to see more space ship stuff though and I've always love planet generation systems.