d20 Future preview is up!

[Knight Otu]

The Menace Manual fraal didn't have such bad stats but they're still not balanced - how do you expect to throw around +4 bonuses to all mental stats and keep the level adjustment at +0?

I certainly agree on that. I just wasn't quite sure what you meant with "usable".

 

[reanjr]

It would be a crime if they don't credit the Alternity writers for authoring this book. There's nothing new here...

 

[reanjr]

Three things:

1) What is Star Frontiers?

2) Powered armor is a minimum of 16 feet tall? I think I'll use the Star Wars rules for powered armor instead.

3) We're in PL 5, not PL 6 yet. PL 6 is near-future stuff I think maybe he wasn't too familiar with ALTERNITY.

Actually, when Alternity came out we were considered to be in the cusp of moving into PL6, and I'd say in the past half-decade we probably HAVE moved into that era. We are just in the very early stages. For instance, we will probably have laser rifles within 20 years. Alternity (and d20 future) puts that as PL7. Fusion (PL6)? We can do that, too, if not to the efficiency presented in the book.

That's why the PL system is broken. It should have a tech tree type system, where different technologies advance separately and are dependent upon one another. I created such a system for my d20 Future campaign I'm running now. It's got seperate advancement for things like nanotech, nuclear power, AI, computers in general, gravity manipulation, etc. Allows different cultures to be very distinct technologically, like the fraal and humans are presented. Humans had gravity technology, while fraal had advanced fusion. When they began to collaborate, they came up with the stardrive.

 

[reanjr]

Star Frontiers was an SFRPG released by TSR back in '82. Some people are very nostalgic about it.
http://www.xmission.com/~layne/Star.html


I got the impression he was saying were in the early part of PL6. Are the d20F adn Alternity definitions identical?

Everything they've presented so far indicates that D20 Future should be called D20 Alternity. It's a rules update only, there's no real difference in ideas, focus, or content.

 

[reanjr]

Sorry, but it's not meant to be. Dark*Matter is Modern (not future) and is approximated by the Shadow Chasers setting.

Are you on crack!?! Shadow Chasers isn't Dark*Matter in the least. <end rant>

Didn't they do a Dark*Matter d20 update in Dragon or Dungeon or something?

There's net projects that do a real good job of this as well. And if anyone HASN'T read Dark*Matter (and is a GM, players are excluded), they should immediately go get it from RPGNow ($4.95 download). It is the finest, most well polished and useful book Wizards/TSR has ever conceived. I am not joking and I am not fanboying. I don't think there's a single page of that book that gives less than 10 adventure hooks. As a GM, it's hard to contain one's excitement at the adventure ideas and possibilities swimming in the book.

Production value blows Eberron away in terms of art quality and design. It is absolutely chock-full of info. This was before prestige classes and feats took 50% of every book Wizards published. This is all useful material to EVERY campaign set in the setting. This book is astounding.

As a clarification of an earlier statment: If you are a player, do NOT read this book. Don't even glance at it. Spend $4.95 and give it to your GM. You and the rest of your game group will be happy because of it.

 

[Henry]

Are you on crack!?! Shadow Chasers isn't Dark*Matter in the least.

Nobody's on crack, at least for the time being. I'll agree that Shadow Chasers was a far cry from Dark*Matter though. Excellent setting.

Actually, when Alternity came out we were considered to be in the cusp of moving into PL6, and I'd say in the past half-decade we probably HAVE moved into that era. We are just in the very early stages. For instance, we will probably have laser rifles within 20 years. Alternity (and d20 future) puts that as PL7. Fusion (PL6)? We can do that, too, if not to the efficiency presented in the book.

Unless you have a source or two to back up laser rifles and fusion (of any sort), I'm not too sure of having either of those inside of 20 years - energy storage would have to become radically more portable than it is now for a portable effective damaging laser weapon (I know about the blinding units right now, but when I think "Laser Rifle" I think GUN using lasers), and the fusion is still elusive.

However, if Metal Storm technology proves reliable over the next ten years, we could very well have those charged pistols from Alternity within the next 20...

 

[reanjr]

Unless you have a source or two to back up laser rifles and fusion (of any sort), I'm not too sure of having either of those inside of 20 years - energy storage would have to become radically more portable than it is now for a portable effective damaging laser weapon (I know about the blinding units right now, but when I think "Laser Rifle" I think GUN using lasers), and the fusion is still elusive.

Laser Rifle (began research in 1999, at the time it was expected in 20 years):
http://www.defensereview.com/352003/TIS1.pdf

I'm afraid I can't find a dated reference for fusion, but it all depends on who you're talking to. It's been touted as the energy source of the future for 50 years now, and serious progress has been made, especially with magnetically containing the reaction.

 

[reanjr]

energy storage would have to become radically more portable than it is now for a portable effective damaging laser weapon

Oh, real quick as I'm not sure the power source is in that spec document (when I originally read about it, I read an article as well). The power source is a small radioactive decay reactor, using polonium of some kind as fuel. the main problem right now with the design, in fact, is simply that there's not a steady and cheap supply of polonium available (it's a byproduct of nuclear power plants I believe). That's currently (last I heard) where the focus of the project was.

The thing will provide enough power for like 3 weeks or something, I think. If I am understanding things correctly, the power output should be continuous, so you would be able to fire as many times as you wanted in those 3 weeks before the radioactive decay was complete.

Other specs include the range and recoil. Range should be a bit shorter than that of an M16A2 (current standard issue), but it's instantaneous (well, really fast), and not affected by wind at long distances, so it could actually be alot more accurate at long ranges than the M16A2.

It is estimated to cause 90lb. FORWARD recoil due to gases being released. They (last time I heard) were trying designs with added back weight or something to offset this, as it is extremely high.

 

[Plane Sailing]

However, if Metal Storm technology

Now there is a frightening technology...

http://www.metalstorm.com/04_electronic_prototype.html

 

[JPL]

It would be a crime if they don't credit the Alternity writers for authoring this book. There's nothing new here...

There will definitely be elements from Star Frontiers and Alternity, and from Mecha Crusade and Genetech, and I'm sure that the designers of those works will be credited appropriately.

"Nothing new here" is premature [since you haven't seen the book yet].

I suspect it's also inaccurate. For example...have the bioroids appeared elsewhere already?

If you're correct, though, I'm sure Moradin will do the right thing and tear up his check.