2 trends i like a lot

[alsih2o]

i would just like to comment on two trends i see in d20 that please me greatly and improve my game.

1. templates- wow! this makes it possible to throw together baddies and hero's like i have wanted to for a long time. i just got the mm2 and just heard about the template supplement. templates allow a flexibility for the dm AND free up loads of time byy making things simpler.
i could easily see the game evolving to a series of templates. an alignment template, a creature template with a class template and add experience


2 the "prose system" from creative mountain games. i also just got "whispering woodwind" and it has a system where each n.p.c. has his priorities laid out. politics, religion, self, economics, and others. these are each ranked 1-10 in improtance and then 3 descriptive terms are added to flesh out the character.
in my mind this is worth looking into as a viable alternative to the alignment system. there is a quote included that states "once you have the hat and the shoes for a character, the rest falls into place" heh heh. i love that one.

 

[Mathew_Freeman]

Big fan of templates here too!

It always seemed wrong that in 2e all Vampires were the same. Now in 3e, being a vampire is merely a part of character...and they can get nastier and naster...same with many other races as well as templates. Plus it leads to fun along the lines of "Whut? The Giant's got huge scaly wings and its breathing fire on us?"

Hee hee hee hee...

Plus one day I shall introduce a Paragon Half-Fiend Vampire Kobold on them, that looks entirely normal by candlelight...(he shall be called Meepo, of course)

 

[smetzger]

2 the "prose system" from creative mountain games. i also just got "whispering woodwind" and it has a system where each n.p.c. has his priorities laid out. politics, religion, self, economics, and others. these are each ranked 1-10 in improtance and then 3 descriptive terms are added to flesh out the character.

This sounds interesting, could you eleaborate?

 

[alsih2o]

Re: Re: 2 trends i like a lot

This sounds interesting, could you eleaborate?

sure...i don't think mark would mind me quoting a little from the material, so...
(minor spoilers!!!!)-

one npc is
politics-6
religion-2
others-3
self-8
economics-5

his 3 descriptors are 1-delusional, 2-megalomaniacal and 3-suspicious.

so here we have a pretty big guy, more capable than than the party in many ways who i don't think is gonna be invited over for tea anytime soon.
what makes him this way is explained in the text, but what i like about the system is its definiteness. no gueesing, he will almost always put himself before anything else. with this quick glance system i feel it is easier to steal the "crunchies" from the book if i all of the sudden need an npc for some other part of the game.

all the n.p.c.'s are statted out fully in a standard statblock, but also have this info available next to a graphic of them making it easy to remember what is up with them or steal them at a glance.

 

[d20Dwarf]

Big fan of templates here too!

Plus one day I shall introduce a Paragon Half-Fiend Vampire Kobold on them, that looks entirely normal by candlelight...(he shall be called Meepo, of course)

If you want a paragon kobold already fleshed out, see my Behind the Curtain column this week.

I love templates too, and the Monster's Handbook shows it. There are templates in there for all types of creatures. Look for a full chapter preview on our Website in the next few weeks.

 

[RangerWickett]

Seeing as I'm a poor college student, I don't buy many D&D books. *sniff* Which CM book are you talking about?

By the way, Mark, if you're seeing this, I'll gladly do some sort of pdf exchange, if you want anything from Nat20.

 

[alsih2o]

Seeing as I'm a poor college student, I don't buy many D&D books. *sniff* Which CM book are you talking about?
.

"whispering woodwind" i got it and "focus jalston" for $10! special deal at his site