2005 WotC d20 Modern product: d20 Apocalypse

[Owen K.C. Stephens]

There, now I've said too much.

Like Darrin, I can't say a whole lot until the book is out. Not all of that is NDA restriction, either. Until the book actually hits the shelves, we can't be sure exactly what's in it. Things get modified, things get cut. I'd hate to promise something specific only to find it's been edited, cleaned up, or replaced with something better from one of the other authors.

I think it's safe to say that Eric, Darrin and I were well aware of the other d20 post-holocaust books out there. I have a lot of these books sitting on my shelves, though I carefully didn't crack any non-WotC books open while writing my part of this one. Darwin's World, Gamma World (3rd ed, Alternity and d20), Omega World, Engle, Redline, and Hell on Earth d20 are all part of my gaming library.

Heck, I worked on the d20 Gamma World line (just one book, but I'm proud of my work in it). In many ways the plethora of other options was both a help and a hindrance. We had to make sure all the basic building blocks for a post-holocaust game we included in this book, since we couldn't assume the customer buying it has any other such product. We did of course assume a buyer had d20 Modern, and I believe d20 Future as well. That said, we definitely wanted to add material that would be useful to someone who had a lot of material already.

I'm not going to comment about my own work on the book, because I'm obviously biased. But I found Eric and Darrin's work to be excellent, and enjoyed working with them. There are a number of challenges any time three people write a book, especially when I'm thousands of miles away from the others, but I believe the final product is going to be a fine addition to the line.

Owen K.C. Stephens
d20 Triggerman

 

[MrFilthyIke]

Like Darrin, I can't say a whole lot until the book is out.

Owen K.C. Stephens
d20 Triggerman

Thanks for the input Owen. I've really enjoyed the d20 Modern line, and can't wait for this book to arrive.

 

[Angel Tarragon]

I am highly anticipating the release of this book.

 

[buzz]

So we're just going to have two Modern books next year as opposed to one to three supplements each month for D&D? Typical of WOTC, this sucks big time.

Considering that I was under the impression that d20Past might be the last d20M product ever, I'm pretty happy to see that WotC are committing themselves to a couple of 96pp supplements a year. In a way, they seem to learning a lesson from all the cool d20M-based mini-games in Poly, and putting out short, cost-effective toolkits. d20M works great for this.

Never compare anything to D&D. D&D operates on a scale beyond all other RPGs, even RPGs produced by WotC.

 

[buzz]

I hope they don't, Omega World was too 'Toon-ish, as I've stated in other posts. Nothing against Mr Tweet, that's just not what I'd like to see in d20 Apocalypse. Give me something more Mad Max-ish, or maybe similar to The End since most d20 is compatible.

Put aside the 'toon-ish worries, my friend. The real point is that OW was, design-wise, utterly brilliant, even if the fluffier aspects were more humorous than you like.

Anyway, I'm certain that d20A will be sober enough for you, if it's anything like previous d20M product.

 

[francisca]

I'm not sure people have read the whole blurb. It's a 96 page book people, with THREE campaign models. If you're all about hardcore post-apocolyptic gaming, this probably ain't gonna satisfy you.

Oh, I dunno about that. 1E Gamma World did it in just 48 pages. I'd rather have 96 good pages, than a big hardback, half of it filler.

 

[Bagpuss]

Sourgrapes? I'm sorry that would be completly unprofessional on my part.

But then you're not a professional; at least not in the game design business.

 

[jaerdaph]

I think the monitors called for this to stop - twice now, in fact.

 

[jaerdaph]

In the d20 future chat that occured tonight Chris Perkins mentioned that the format from now on will be the 96 page softcovers. They decided to do it that way because if they did a large hardcover they could only do 2 a year. With these smaller books they can cover more specific topics and more often. Approx 4 d20 modern books are planned for 05.

That's a really good sign for continued d20 Modern support from WotC.

 

[BrooklynKnight]

That's a really good sign for continued d20 Modern support from WotC.

Yep.