Alternity clone?

[johnnype]

The fastplay rules are available for free here:

Alternity Recommended Downloads

I think you can get the core rulebooks for a few bucks on eBay (at least you used to be able to).

I remember the StarCraft supplement was released and WotC was so embarrassed by it they didn't even have it for sale at GenCon even though it was released that same weekend. I remember asking a couple of the developers and they were dismissive of the product. I was shocked.

 

[Mark]

Mark I saw your post in another thread about your scoring the Starcraft box set; nice haul. I agree about it's use as a one shot or short campaign set. The Gamma World book would do the same. I was just hoping that if someone had done a clone they would also have toyed with tightening the system a bit. Maybe streamline the skills or something. I did aquire the PDF of the fast play rules from somewhere which does provide enough to allow for a short session as well.

I see. I loved Gamma World back in the day (and Metamorphosis Alpha, too).

The fastplay rules are available for free here:

Alternity Recommended Downloads

Nice resource!

I remember the StarCraft supplement was released and WotC was so embarrassed by it they didn't even have it for sale at GenCon even though it was released that same weekend. I remember asking a couple of the developers and they were dismissive of the product. I was shocked.

Is this the general feeling about it in most quarters or were they hit by some tough reviews? I think at least the dice were worth more than I paid, though.

 

[CarlZog]

Dang, I was hoping someone might surprise me with good news. Oh well, thanks for the response.

Just because nobody is currently publishing a "clone" of the Alternity system is no reason for disappointment.

If you like Alternity, play Alternity. If your concern is a lack of material/support for the out-of-print game, check out Alternity Sci-Fi & Fantasy Generic RPG where there is a huge bank of really great material, a lot of it professionally produced.

Carl

 

[arscott]

I remember the StarCraft supplement was released and WotC was so embarrassed by it they didn't even have it for sale at GenCon even though it was released that same weekend. I remember asking a couple of the developers and they were dismissive of the product. I was shocked.

The StarCraft boxed set was flawed in a couple of major ways:

First, it had all the flaws common to modern basic game/starter set products (No character generation rules, mediocre introductory adventures, limited foe selection, etc.). That might have been okay if WotC had released followup books that could support a sustained campaign, but that never happened.

Worse, though, it was pretty clear that the folks making the game weren't familiar with the StarCraft setting. The boxed set resembled the computer game about as much as the Will Smith "I Robot" movie resembled Asimov's stories. In a particularly telling example, the Human/Protoss party was expected to bluff its way past a group of hydralisks.

 

[Hawke]

Alternity was doing fine until TSR collapsed. It died for the same reason Birthright did, timing.

Seems reasonable to me. I'm somewhat ignorant, and my original post wasn't clear about that fact... it was just an assumption.

I think they've done a much better job with 4E marketing than anything I've ever seen rpg wise... if they can take that same success and translate it into a sci-fi or modern setting I'll be happy.

 

[Angellis_ater]

The question to me is - what makes Alternity such a stand out? Was it the mechanical system? Was it the setting?

 

[Silversun]

I think they've done a much better job with 4E marketing than anything I've ever seen rpg wise... if they can take that same success and translate it into a sci-fi or modern setting I'll be happy.

Word. I much look forward to the prospect of D20 Modern 2.0.

 

[Darrin Drader]

Alternity was doing fine until TSR collapsed. It died for the same reason Birthright did, timing.

Alternity didn't actually get released until after WotC acquired TSR. The Alternity PHB has Wizards listed as its corporate headquarters, so it was not in fact doing anything other than waiting to be published before the collapse of TSR. Wizards would have never launched the brand at all if they didn't intend to stand behind it, and that's exactly what they did for the next three years. Ultimately it died for the same reason any other RPG dies - sales were not up to expectations and they saw the D20 system as their best way forward.

It's also worth mentioning that the IP wasn't entirely dumped. Many of the races and equipment appear in the various D20 Modern books, and there is a nice little writeup of the setting in D20 Future that introduces the concepts behind the setting but really fails to do it justice.

 

[Silversun]

Alternity didn't actually get released until after WotC acquired TSR. The Alternity PHB has Wizards listed as its corporate headquarters, so it was not in fact doing anything other than waiting to be published before the collapse of TSR. Wizards would have never launched the brand at all if they didn't intend to stand behind it, and that's exactly what they did for the next three years. Ultimately it died for the same reason any other RPG dies - sales were not up to expectations and they saw the D20 system as their best way forward.

IIRC, Wizards started production on 3E almost immediately after acquiring TSR. It really makes me wonder how far they really wanted to push Alternity. I think they could have still stood behind it, but jettisoned it due to not wanting one of their rpg systems to compete with another in house different ruleset system.

To have the D20 system to stand behind this was a minimal worry and Alternity got upgraded to the D20 system. I just don't understand why some companies don't like having diferrent rulesets under the same roof.

 

[Darrin Drader]

IIRC, Wizards started production on 3E almost immediately after acquiring TSR. It really makes me wonder how far they really wanted to push Alternity. I think they could have still stood behind it, but jettisoned it due to not wanting one of their rpg systems to compete with another in house different ruleset system.

I wasn't there when this decision making was going on, but I'm of the assumption that they didn't go into 3E with the intention to kill Alternity. More than likely they took the wait and see approach with the system when they started working on 3E so that they could see if Alternity was going to have the kind of legs they expected.

Personally, I thought it was a great system and I was preparing to run an Alternity Babylon 5 game when they pulled the plug. At that point I really liked what I was seeing from the D20 system so I decided to wait for it and do my B5 campaign later. As it turns out, Mongoose ended up doing a great job with the B5 license, though I have to admit that I still haven't run a B5 game in any system.

To have the D20 system to stand behind this was a minimal worry and Alternity got upgraded to the D20 system. I just don't understand why some companies don't like having diferrentrulesets under the same roof.

I don't think its as much not wanting to have multiple rulesets out there as much as it was that Alternity just wasn't performing the way they wanted it to so they decided to go with D20 Modern/Future instead.