A question of systems

[Heap Thaumaturgist]

I'm running up against a problem, so I'm going to throw this out to the boards.

I'm really interested in running a modern-era game, rather gritty, but not CoC levels of roll-for-insanity. It's a little bit horror, a little bit X-Files, a little bit Night of the Living Dead styles survival.

But what system to run?

I have Alternity, and I'd like to use it (since I bought it and have never run it) ... and I really like the health/damage/armor system in Alternity (personal test runs)

... but the problem is that the classes don't really appeal to me for this game ... they're too ... Sci Fi, really, and I'm looking for a little more Joe Average Running From The Undead.

The basic Hero classes from D20 Modern sound ... interesting ... and a little more adept at making the Less Sci-Fi Heroic sort of characters.

I also like the fact that D20 Modern is, well, D20 and I'm going to be playing with a really new group who will also want to run D&D ... running a D20 game would SERIOUSLY streamline teaching everybody the rules of the game.

It's the difference between trying to start this modern game in the next few weeks or waiting until ... gak ... November.

So I'm asking the board at random ... which would you do? Wait and see how D20 Modern will turn out, or try to mod Alternity's classes? I don't really think CoC or Spycraft have the flavor I'm looking for ... Modern would, Alternity can get there ... the other two ARE D20, but if I'm going to mod something up I want to work with Alternity, since I haven't actually USED it.

--HT

 

[Heretic Apostate]

Check out the Dark Matter setting within Alternity. It's modern-day, with weird stuff, evil aliens, men in black, et cetera.

 

[starwolf]

Heretic,
I think you missed the point of the post. I think Heap was looking for advice on what system to base the character mechanics on. My suggestion would be to find a back issue of the Dungeon with the ShadowChasers mini-game...from what I've seen discussed I believe the classes presented in Shadowchasers may offer the best starting point to build a non CoC/Spycraft type modern setting...and will porbably be easiest to revamp once Modern hits the street in November.

 

[Cedric]

This may sound a bit wacky, but try out ShadowRun. Just use the system, not the setting...and obviously set your own Tech Level...I think you'll find that it works out better then you may have thought.

Cedric

 

[nsruf]

... but the problem is that the classes don't really appeal to me for this game ... they're too ... Sci Fi, really, and I'm looking for a little more Joe Average Running From The Undead.

Sounds like you could do with CoC after all. Just dump the sanity mechanic and replace maythos monsters by whatever creatures fit your concept. What remains is a flexible modern day game where PCs are not as powerful as the heroic characters in D&D, but still can improve markedly over time. It is really simple to use, the only drawback being that there are no nifty class abilities as for the core classes in D&D.

 

[Tsyr]

I'd second Shadowrun, but you need to adapt the setting...

I think you might wanna give Spycraft a second look... or d20 CoC... both have good "base mechanics" to base a game like that off of.

 

[kengar]

Re: Re: A question of systems

Sounds like you could do with CoC after all. Just dump the sanity mechanic and replace maythos monsters by whatever creatures fit your concept. What remains is a flexible modern day game where PCs are not as powerful as the heroic characters in D&D, but still can improve markedly over time. It is really simple to use, the only drawback being that there are no nifty class abilities as for the core classes in D&D.

I'll second that vote. The Sanity/Cthulhu Mythos rules are pretty much optional. Just ignore those rules when they're mentioned. Also, for undead stuff, you can practically lift straight from the MM. 3 medium skeletons are a HECK of lot scarier to characters who aren't wearing chain shirts, carrying longswords and who only have 8-10hp each.

 

[Eternalknight]

I'll put in a vote for Shadow Chasers.

 

[The Cardinal]

GURPS Conspiracy X

--- I've run a Conspiracy X / All Flesh Must Be Eaten crossover using GURPS in 2001 (i.e. *before* GURPS Conspiracy X was published) & my players L*O*V*E*D it...


try to get:

GURPS Basic Set (or Lite)
GURPS Y2K (great info on all kind of modern-day survival scenarios)
GURPS Conspiracy X
GURPS Undead
Eden's AFMBE


more toys:
GURPS High-Tech
GURPS Modern Firearms

more ideas & monsters:
GURPS Horror 3e
GURPS Black Ops
GURPS Warehouse 23 (also more toys)

just more monsters:
GURPS Creatures of the Night
GURPS Monsters

 

[Umbran]

... but the problem is that the classes don't really appeal to me for this game ... they're too ... Sci Fi, really, and I'm looking for a little more Joe Average Running From The Undead.

I'd say go with Alternity. The only problem seems to be that you're thinking about Alternity "classes" to strictly.

Alternity's classes are called "careers" for a reson. Don't think of them as a "class". Think of them as a generalized statement about what the character does for a living. If you fight alot, you're a Combat Spec. If you deal with people or information a lot, you're a Diplomat. If you deal with technology or science, you're a tech op, if you live by wits, or don't fit into any of the above, you're probably a free agent.

The Dark Matter setting does a nice job of showing you how contemporay people might fit into these careers:

Combat Spec - Corporate security, martial artist, Militiaman, Police officer, Soldier, mercenary, street punk...

Diplomat - Antiquarian, Dilletante, beaurocratic hustler, Military officer, Occultist, Priest...

Free Agent - Con artist, Field agent (like Mulder and Scully), Journalist, Private Eye, Thief..

Tech Op - Doctor, Field guide, forensics expert, Hacker, scientist...

The Dark Matter Campaign setting is really good. It is, more than likely, exactly what you need. Get it. Have fun.