D&D 3.x D20 Modern: Edition Experience - Did/Do You Play d20 Modern? How Was/Is it?

[atanakar]

Between D&D 3.0 (2000) and 3.5 (2003) WotC published a game called d20 Modern (2002) wanting to capitalize on the design of the d20 (OGL) system and also offer a system that supported other genres and tropes than D&D. You could characterize it as pulp action hero role-playing. It had quite an impressive run with no less than 11 books released to support it. The last scheduled book (working title) Supers was never published.

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d20 Modern Roleplaying Game	Bill Slavicsek, Jeff Grubb and Rich Redman	ISBN 0-7869-2836-0	1 November 2002
Urban Arcana	Bill Slavicsek, Jeff Grubb, Eric Cagle and Dave Noonan	ISBN 0-7869-2659-7	1 May 2003
d20 Menace Manual	JD Wiker, Eric Cagle and Matthew Sernett	ISBN 0-7869-2899-9	1 September 2003
d20 Weapons Locker	Keith J. Potter	ISBN 0-7869-3132-9	1 February 2004
d20 Future	Christopher Perkins, Rodney M. Thompson and JD Wiker	ISBN 0-7869-3423-9	1 August 2004
d20 Past	James Wyatt	ISBN 0-7869-3656-8	1 March 2005
d20 Apocalypse	Eric Cagle, Darrin Drader, Charles Ryan, Owen K.C. Stephens	ISBN 0-7869-3273-2	1 June 2005
d20 Cyberscape	Owen K.C. Stephens	ISBN 0-7869-3695-9	1 September 2005
d20 Future Tech	Rodney Thompson and JD Wiker	ISBN 0-7869-3949-4	1 February 2006
d20 Critical Locations	Eric Cagle, Owen K.C. Stephens and Christopher West	ISBN 0-7869-3914-1	1 May 2006
d20 Dark•Matter

 

[collin]

It was okay. If you liked the d20 3.x system, it was pretty good. But the failings of the system were not surprisingly carried over to this spin-off, i.e., too clunky and rule-heavy to have an enjoyable time at the table without having to look up rules every time there was an encounter.

 

[Reynard]

I thought d20 Modern did a pretty good job of translating the system, although not as good a job as Alternity had. I actually bought it on Fantasy grounds not too long ago while looking for options for an X-Files inspired urban fantasy game. I ended up using Savage Worlds for that game, which was the wrong choice, so I may make it back to d20M for it some day. d20 Modern worked pretty well for urban fantasy and post apocalyptic adventure IIRC.

 

[atanakar]

I thought d20 Modern did a pretty good job of translating the system, although not as good a job as Alternity had. I actually bought it on Fantasy grounds not too long ago while looking for options for an X-Files inspired urban fantasy game. I ended up using Savage Worlds for that game, which was the wrong choice, so I may make it back to d20M for it some day. d20 Modern worked pretty well for urban fantasy and post apocalyptic adventure IIRC.

You may want to look into Modern AGE by Green Ronin (+the Companion book). It would be a perfect fit. It has magic and powers baked into the basic book. It is a toolbox system. You pick and chose the parts that fit with your campaign concept. It has replaced d20 Modern in my heart.

 

[Reynard]

You may want to look into Modern AGE by Green Ronin (+the Companion book). It would be a perfect fit. It has magic and powers baked into the basic book. It is a toolbox system. You pick and chose the parts that fit with your campaign concept. It has replaced d20 Modern in my heart.

The AGE system does not really do much for me. There are a lot of different system out there that all do essentially what AGE does, and as far as I can tell from reading Fantasy AGE the only thing it really does differently is its stunt system.

 

[atanakar]

I really liked d20 Modern and GMed a three year campaign with it. I preferred it to D&D 3.5. In fact, I stopped playing D&D in favour of d20 Modern. I only had two players but they were able to run two characters each. A main character and a secondary (hired hand) character.

It started as a contemporary weird science campaign but the PCs soon discovered they were mutants with latent powers. They were recruited by a secret organization called The Veil. They had to combat aberrations and destructive mutants.

Later they discovered a race of aliens who lived far underground - the Kinori - that caused a genetic apocalypse on Earth by spreading a deadly virus. They wanted to claim the surface. Soon they controlled the Southern hemisphere and humans controlled the Northern hemisphere. Players were involved into many guerrilla skirmishes on the border of the conflict.

Finally, the galactic hegemony intervened in the conflict on Earth. Acting as a sort of UN. A treaty was signed between the two races. After that characters became involved in space missions for the intergalactic branch of The Veil. They were instrumental in stopping the invasion of a race called the Technophage.

Start small then go BIG or go home !

 

[atanakar]

The AGE system does not really do much for me. There are a lot of different system out there that all do essentially what AGE does, and as far as I can tell from reading Fantasy AGE the only thing it really does differently is its stunt system.

The difference with Modern AGE is that it's not class based like Fantasy AGE. The stunt system is the main feature that we like.

 

[Nagol]

d20 Modern suffers from a poorly thought through wealth/income system. The split class system of 'Basic' classes and 'Advanced' classes works about as well as a class system can.

All in all, it is workable with some areas that need patching. I didn't find it particularly inspired or inspiring. I used and continue to use other systems for gaming in a modern world.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

I bought the two books what were translated to Spanish, and I also d20 Menace, d20 Cyberscape and d20 Past. I couldn't bought d20 Future. I was interested in d20 Spectaculars, about superheroes, and even I saw the cover.

My opinion about d20 and modern technology is the power balance may be broken easily. I can explain it with a couple of examples. In Sylvester Stallone's "Cobra" the girl, played by Bridggite Nielsen, had to hide and run away like in a survival horror because she couldn't face the night slasher, the main antagonist, but in the end of the movie the main character with enough weapons and ammo could kill all the cult of the new dawn, like a one-man-army shooter videogame. In the first movie "Alien: the Eight Passenger" only one xenomorph was enough to kill almost all Nostromo crew, but in the sequel with the remote-control sentinel tower machine-guns they could kill dozens, maybe hundreds, from other room.

We need a right way to know the true value of the Challenging Rating or XPs when an nPC can use technology. Let's imagine the first encounter is a wild mutant (using the stats of a level 1 goblin) with only a spear. Easy to be killed. The next time other mutant with the same stats, but a sniper from the top of a tree. This time the XPs reward should be like surviving a trap. The next time is a mutant using a exosuit, like the ones from the videogame "Call of Duty: Advanced Warframe". Harder, of course. Later, the boss is the mutant but wearing a powered armour like the ones from Fallout videogames. And the final boss is the mutant with the same stats, but piloting a mecha like the B.R.U.T.E from Fornite: Battle Royal or the videogames Titanfall.

WotC has got plans about a new d20 Modern, or a sourcebook about modern technology for D&D. Why? To sell, for example a Fortnite: Save the World d20, or a Overwatch d20, and maybe some day a d20 superheroes.

A d20 modern is possible, but totally compatible with the classic D&D isn't so easy. You can create a d20 Mortal Kombat, but these can't fight against the monsters from d20 Doom Eternal. You can create a d20 Street Fighters but theses can't face d20 Resident Evil.

A d20 with the ultimate rules for superheroes would be a true gold mine, a hook for new fandom but this needs a lot of time, and conflict about gameplay vs coherence, like the videogames where Batgirl can defeat Supergirl or Gwenpool win in a fight against Hulk or Thor.

 

[CleverNickName]

I played it a couple of times over the summer of 2008, and I remember having a good time with it. I tried to re-skin "The Isle of Dread" to the modern setting, with the party being shipwrecked on an uncharted island somewhere in the South Pacific. It felt a lot like the TV series "Lost," mashed up with "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "King Kong."

Four stars, would recommend.