JohnSnow
Hero
Does anyone other than me still have their "Alternity" books sitting around? I think today, Alternity is best remembered for its "Dark*Matter" setting, rather than the system itself. But one of the things that struck me recently is that Alternity clearly heavily influenced the design of Dungeons & Dragons 3e, and some of its key concepts have gone on to be brought back in other, more modern RPGs. Unlike 3e (released in 2000), Alternity was still badged as a TSR game. It came out in 1998, and its chief designers were Bill Slaviscek (late of WEG Star Wars) and Richard Baker. Dark*Matter, for the record, came out in 1999 and carried a WotC badge.
For those who don't remember, Alternity used a Control (d20) + Situation Die (variable) mechanic. You attempted to role under a target number (based on an ability score, a skill, or some other number). Checks could produce results of Ordinary, Good, or Amazing. Even damage followed this metric, with the results equating to stun (O), wound (G), or mortal (A).
Overall, it was a pretty neat system, and I always liked it, especially because it gave regular use to ALL the dice in a way that D&D never has. The one thing that always felt kinda clunky to me was the "roll under" mechanic, but I've generally chalked that up to its appearance in a world where descending armor class was "good."
The system got a little finicky at the edges, but I always felt that a second edition of it might have been an amazing game. Alas, it was not to be. I had glimmers during the D&D-Next playtest that the step die might replace static bonuses, but unfortunately that mechanic didn't survive play-testing. Which is a bit of a pity, as my players kinda dug it.
Anyone else have thoughts? Who remembers Alternity?
For those who don't remember, Alternity used a Control (d20) + Situation Die (variable) mechanic. You attempted to role under a target number (based on an ability score, a skill, or some other number). Checks could produce results of Ordinary, Good, or Amazing. Even damage followed this metric, with the results equating to stun (O), wound (G), or mortal (A).
Overall, it was a pretty neat system, and I always liked it, especially because it gave regular use to ALL the dice in a way that D&D never has. The one thing that always felt kinda clunky to me was the "roll under" mechanic, but I've generally chalked that up to its appearance in a world where descending armor class was "good."
The system got a little finicky at the edges, but I always felt that a second edition of it might have been an amazing game. Alas, it was not to be. I had glimmers during the D&D-Next playtest that the step die might replace static bonuses, but unfortunately that mechanic didn't survive play-testing. Which is a bit of a pity, as my players kinda dug it.
Anyone else have thoughts? Who remembers Alternity?
