Mistwell
Crusty Old Meatwad (he/him)
As compiled by Mark "Mistwell" Cronan as of January 5, 2003. If I have missed anything that you know of, please post it in this thread.
D20 Modern FAQ Version 1.5
1. Contents
Contents 1
Brawl, Combat Martial Arts, Prone 2
Brass Knuckles 3
Shadow Slayer 4
Two Weapon Fighting 5
Skills and Occupations 6
The Perform Skill 7
Prestige Classes 8
Abilities at First Level 9
Armor Proficiency 10
Start/Complete Full-Round Action 11
Scopes 12
Beretta, Glock, and Machine Gun 13
Escape Artist 14
Ignore Hardness 15
Tear Gas Grenades 16
Pilot Skill 17
Tumble 18
Multiple Double Taps 19
Bat Moreau 20
Standing From Prone/Nip-up 21
Benelli 12-gauge Shotgun 22
Vehicle Feats 23
Agile Riposte 24
Shadow Enemy 25
Soldier/Martial Artist Stacking 26
Wealth Loopholes and Licensing 27
Improved Combat Throw 28
Defensive roll 29
Concentration skill 30
Shields 31
Drive Stunts 32
Mastercraft Items 33
New Occupations 34
Attacks of Opportunity with Ranged Weapons 35
Shotguns (And Ultramodern Firearms) 36
Converting D&D Weapons to d20 Modern 37
Knockout Punch 38
Cellular Interceptors 39
Smart Hero’s Linguist Talent 40
Climb Checks 41
Franks 42
Tanks and Vehicles 43
The Magic System (and Urban Arcana) 44
GM Screens, Character Generators and E-Tools 45
Ability Score Changes and Ability-based Talents & Feats 46
Autofire and Size of Target 47
Slayer’s Fast Healing Ability 48
WOTC Website Updates 49
Shurikens 50
WOTC Licensing & Trade Dress 51
Weapon Finesse & Unarmed Strike 52
Vehicles as Cover 53
Vehicle Feat Compatibility [+ Errata] 54
Urban Arcana Hints 55
Licensing for Items 56
Non-human PCs 57
Cover 58
WOTC Sales Figures for d20 Modern 59
Pimping as a profession 60
Ultramodern Firearms 61
Exploding Vehicles 62
Wealth Stacking 63
Two-weapon Fighting 64
More on CMA & Brawl 65
PCs Dying 66
Concussive Damage 67
Epic Level Characters 68
Adding a Hero Level to an Ordinary NPC 69
Damage from Autofire to a Vehicle 70
Wealth Rewards as Dollar Figures 71
Faith Talent 72
Healing 73
More on the Perform Skill 74
More on Wealth Loopholes 75
2. Brawl, Combat Martial Arts, Prone
Q: There are several feats like "Brawl" that raise the amount of non-lethal damage you do when you make an unarmed attack. My question is if these translate into lethal damage if I have the combat martial arts feat. In other words, if I have combat martial arts and brawl, do I deal 1D6 lethal or nonlethal, my choice. Or it that I can deal 1d4 lethal (combat martial arts) or 1d6 nonlethal (brawl)?
A: At any given time, you use one feat or the other. In other words:
If you want to deal nonlethal damage, and don't care if you're considered armed or unarmed, use the Brawl feat to deal 1d6 damage.
If you want to deal lethal damage, and/or you want to make an unarmed attack of opportunity (or not provoke an AoO when making your unarmed attack), use the Combat Martial Arts feat and deal only 1d4 damage.
Q: Also, the paragraph on "standing up" from prone on page 137 states that you provoke an attack of opportunity when you stand up from prone. The chart on page 135 says you don't. You didn't in the regular Dungeons in Dragons game. Is the
paragraph on 137 just a typo?
A: The table is incorrect. Standing up from prone provokes an attack of opportunity.
[By the way, the Daredevil's nip-up ability should say "as a free action that does not provoke an attack of opportunity."]
3. Brass Knuckles
Q: A few question about how brass knuckles operate. It states in their description that brass knuckles let you do lethal with an unarmed attack but that the attack is otherwise considered unarmed.
Also it states that if you have the brawl feat, that brass knuckles increase the base damage delt by +1 and turn the damage lethal.
SO...my two questions are this. Does the first part mean that even though people with brass knuckles can deal lethal, they still provoke attacks of opportunity when they attack.
A: Attacks made with brass knuckles provoke attacks of opportunity just like normal unarmed attacks. Also, you cannot make attacks of opportunity with brass knuckles (just as you cannot make AoO with normal unarmed attacks).
Q: With brawl and brass knuckles is the +1 on top of the additional damage from brawl or in stead of. In other words, with brawl and brass knuckles: do I deal 1d6+1 lethat damage or 1D3+1 lethal?
A: 1d3+1.
Q: Does improved brawl or combat martial arts have any effect on using brass knuckles. Does improved brawl increase brass knuckle damage at all.
A: No and no.
Q: Do brass knuckles do +1 damage when used by a person with combat martial arts or are brass knuckles essentially useless to someone with combat martial arts (because they can already do lethal)
A: They offer no advantage when used with the Combat Martial Arts feats.
4. Shadow Slayer
Q: Does the Slayer Weapon enhancement bonus work only against creatures of Shadow or does the weapon become for all intents and purposes a +X magic weapon?
A: The latter. A +1 slayer weapon is a +1 weapon for that Shadow Slayer. Hopefully, he'll use it to go kill evil shadow creatures--but the bonus is in effect no matter what he uses it against.
5. Two Weapon Fighting
Q: Wait a minute. Let me get this straight. By acquiring just one feat -- TWF feat -- I can use one weapon in my off hand at no penalty, even if I'm not fighting with two weapons (let's say hypothetically, I injured my primary hand)?
A: The d20 rules never specify which hand is your primary hand. (There's no place on the character sheet to specify whether your character is right-handed or left-handed, and most players probably never even give it a thought.) Furthermore, there are no rules for hit location, or for being specially incapacitated by damage. In short, the d20 system simply never deals with what happens if you use a single weapon in your non-primary hand. So that's not really an issue.
More importantly, we realized that the Ambidexterity feat really only served to make two-weapon fighting an ability that costs two feats instead of one. This seemed like a needless cost and a needless complication. So we got rid of it. The advantages of two-weapon fighting are still pretty marginal (in my mind, anyway); it's really more an issue of style than of substance. Most of the players who choose to fight with two weapons do so because it's pretty cool, not because they gain any real edge in combat. And that's as it should be--players get options that suit their tastes, while the game remains balanced and has the right feel.
The text and table on page 138 are correct. The text of the Two-Weapon Fighting feat (page 88) is incorrect; it should say: “Benefit: Your penalties for fighting with two weapons are lessened by 2 for the primary hand and 6 for the off hand.”
Q: I know you mentioned there are no rules in d20 Modern for specifying which is your off-hand, but as a rule of thumb, if you did have to use your off-hand instead of your primary hand to attack or perform some skill, would you have no penalty if
you had the TWF Feat, but at -4 if you didn't?
That is, if I ported this rule over to D&D, should I handle it as if the Feat covers the Ambidexterity and TWF Feats entirely?
A: Yes and yes.
6. Skills and Occupations
Q: The rules [for Occupations] say that you get [new Class skills] or [+1 bonus to class skills] at character creation?
A: This is the salient point. When you create a character, you choose that character's class at 1st level and the character's occupation. If a skill granted by that occupation is not a class skill for the character's 1st-level class, it becomes a permanent class skill. If it is a class skill for the character's 1st-level class, the character gets a +1 bonus on that skill.
Nothing that happens later in the character's career changes this.
Q: [With all this multi-classing & occupations, how can I tell when something is a class skill or a cross-class one?]
A: In d20 Modern (and D&D, and all other WotC d20 games), when you add a new level to your character, you buy skills according to that class. So when you add a level of Fast hero to your character, you purchase skills as a Fast hero. Fast hero class skills (and any permanent class skills you have from your starting occupation) cost a single point per rank; cross-class skills cost two points per rank. It doesn't matter what your previous classes are. Just because a skill was a class skill for you at some previous level does NOT make it a class skill for you forever. On the subject of starting occupation related skills, the skills associated with your starting occupation are always class skills for you, throughout your entire career. In addition, if an occupation skill is also a class skill for your starting class (the class you take at 1st level), you gain a +1 bonus to that skill.
7. The Perform Skill
Q: I'm sure this might have been covered previously, but as I read and reread that skill, I find myself saying, "okay!? So what is it supposed to do?" All it says is you make the audience go yay or nay! Nothing else? No get a wealth increase? No added bonus to Diplomacy or Gather Information or any Charisma based skills? What's the deal with it?
A: The standard uses of Perform have virtually no direct effect on game mechanics because, well, the standard forms of creative performance have little bearing on modern adventuring. So why is there a Perform skill? There are several answers: First, many players like the option of having some skills that reflect character concept as well as game advantages. This principle also applies to skills like Craft (visual art) and Knowledge (art). Second, there may be special mechanics for non-standard uses of the Perform skill in future products, either from us or from third-party publishers. (Think of the D&D bard class, or Lorne on Angel.) We wouldn't want to shut the door on that possibility by omitting any skill to cover creative performances. Third, as the example on page 45 (top of the right-hand column) shows, you can use Perform (or other skills that don't have direct game mechanics applications) to your advantage if you're creative about it. Perform does not affect Wealth, because a single performance isn't sufficient to really affect your Wealth bonus. If your character is a serious professional musician, however, who frequently performs for money, you might be able to talk your GM into letting you make a Perform check instead of a Profession check to increase your Wealth when you go up in level. . .
8. Prestige Classes
Q: I thought that I had read somewhere that prestige classes were also in d20 Modern. I believe this may have been in one of the preview sections on advanced classes where it explained that characters would go from the base classes to an advanced class and then to a prestige class.Am I wrong or did the d20 modern book just not include them?If the latter, will PrCs be included in other books?
A” Prestige classes are part of the d20 Modern system; however, none are included in the core book (which was published 64 pages over planned count, even after we cut a bunch of stuff we planned to include). You will see prestige classes in later products, starting with Urban Arcana.
9. Abilities at first level
Q: [Can I take two feats at first level, with one being the prerequisite for another?]
A: As a general rule in the d20 system, anything that has prerequisites can be taken simultaneously with the prerequisites. If you have two feat slots (at 1st level, or some other level when you get a bonus feat and level feat at the same time), for example, you can pick two feats for which one is a prereq of the other. Same is true for class talents. (The exception is if the thing itself grants the prerequisites--for example, if a prestige class has certain skill prereq, you can't take the class and then use the class's skill points to buy the necessary skills.)
10. Armor Proficiency
Q: [The Armor Proficiency (Light) feat doesn’t make sense to me.]
A: Sorry it's taken me a couple days to post an answer on this topic. When I had a look at the text in the book, I was rather surprised to read what it actually said. I don't know what bizarre text transposition occurred, but what is written there is needlessly confusing. Before answering, I wanted to check with the other designers and make sure that it's supposed to work the way I thought it's supposed to work. Here's the feat as it should appear:
Armor Proficiency (Light)
You are proficient with light armor (see Table 4-9: Armor).
Benefit: When you wear a type of armor with which you are proficient, you get to add the armor's equipment bonus to your Defense. Also, the armor check penalty applies only to Balance, Climb, Escape Artist, Hide, Jump, Move Silently, and
Tumble checks.
Normal: A character who wears armor with which she is not proficient adds only the armor's nonproficient equipment bonus to her Defense. Also, she suffers its armor check penalty on attack rolls and on all skill checks that involve moving.
11. Start/Complete Full-Round Action
Q: "Start/Complete Full Round Acton" is a move action. Does this mean I can attack and use a move action to start a full attack. For instance if my BAB was +6/+1. Could I attack at +6, then as a move action start a full round attack (attacking again at +6)then the next round finish my full attack attacking at +1, then attack again at +6 as my attack action for round 2? If this is not the case what are the specific restrictions on which full round actions I can take?
A: D'oh! Start/complete a full-round action should be an attack action! Yikes!
Furthermore, it should be clearer that when you split up a full-round action like this, it doesn't take effect until the completion round. Thus, if you used it to make a full attack, you wouldn't make any of the attacks until the second round.
Q: If, for my turn's action, I chose to take a Double Move Action, can I first move my Speed (30 ft.) then, for my second Move Action, take a 'Start/Compete Full-Round Action' move action, and start a Full Attack action?
A: First, Start/Complete Full-Round Action should be an attack action, not a move action. Second, the effect of the action always occurs in the second half. You don't break up the action over the two turns; you do the whole thing on the second turn. Third, Start/Complete only applies to actions that you conduct continuously over the length of a turn--like casting a full-round spell. Discrete activities, like making attacks, cannot be used with the Start/Complete.
12. Scopes
Q: I am wondering if the power of a scope could be increased? There are many, many accoutns of snipers with scoped gun making shots of over a mile: much more than 1.5x the normal decent ability of a rifle. I also wonder why scopes add no bonus to hit at certain ranges: I'm assuming this was just a balance issue, but I am curious, as scopes can greatly increase the ability to aim a gun.
A: The standard scope in the d20 Modern Roleplaying Game represents a typical 4x to 7x scope. There are more powerful scopes out there, but they should probably carry more severe penalties for use (such as requiring two or more attack actions to acquire the target, requiring a Concentration check to use, and/or the user being effectively blind to anything except the target).
[Note that the range increment for a standard scope is 1.5x standard, even though the scope is 4x to 7x. There's a lot that goes into range increments other than the quality of the sighting device. Higher-powered scopes might multiply the range
increment by 2 or even 2.5--but probably not more than that.]
[Note also that the benefit of the Far Shot feat stacks with the benefit of a scope. So even with a basic standard scope, a sniper could multiply the range increment by 2.25.]
As for bonuses, scopes already do that by increasing the range increment (and thus decreasing the range penalty). Imagine shooting a weapon with a range increment of 100 ft. at a target 550 ft. away. You suffer a -10 penalty on the attack. With a scope, your range increment becomes 150 ft., so you suffer only a -6 on the attack. That's like getting a +4 bonus compared to the weapon without a scope!
Q: Ohh kayy... So the Far Shot feat isn't like a normal multiple when combined with a scope? As in, multiples used for things like damage stack: x2 and x2 equals x3, not x4; but this doesn't, it's multiplied together? It was my understanding that a scope and Far Shot would offer only x2 to range increments (x1.5 or +50%, plus x1.5 (+50%)= x2 (+100%)).
A: You're absolutely correct; my mistake. Far Shot plus a standard scope = double the range increment.
13. Beretta, Glock, and Machine Gun
Q: What was the consideration in giving a Beretta 92FS a 33% longer range than a glock 17? The weapons' ballistic characteristics are not all that different. Certainly not different enough to warrant that kind of difference.
A: Range increments are always measured in 10-foot steps. Thus, though the real ballistic characteristics might have suggested range increments of, say, 33 feet for the Glock and 37 feet for the Beretta (not that big a difference), rounding the numbers to the nearest 10 feet gives us 30 ft. and 40 ft., respectively. That said, balance was also an issue. The Glock was given a +1 mastercraft bonus, due to its consistently excellent reputation for quality and accuracy. Even given that reputation, it's borderline that it deserves a +1 that other weapons don't get. We decided to err liberally in terms of the bonus; in exchange, we erred conservatively in its range increment. [When I say "erred," I don't mean that we made an error. The real-world data on firearms and other devices is often a little contradictory and somewhat subjective; when we interpret the many sources of data, we have to decide which end of the
spectrum we're going to base our game numbers on.]
Q: I have been looking everything over, and I cannot find a single reason why anyone in their right mind would employ a machinegun. You need an extra feat for it, in the case of the M60, employing the same caliber ammo as a G3 somehow gives you less damage, and, with the quick reload feat you can do everything with an automatic 7.62mm rifle that a machinegun can only better.
A: OK, here's the scoop.
For starters, there's a typo. The M-60 should deal 2d10 damage, not 2d8. Second, you don't actually need the Advanced Firearms feat to use an MG. When you use autofire, you target a 10' square with an effective Defense of 10. Without the feat, you take a -4 on the attack--making the roll, effectively, against a Defense of 14. That's still less than the Defense of many characters, so even an attacker without the feat can use autofire pretty effectively. [So why ever take the Advance Firearms feat? Well, getting rid of the -4 is a small reason, but the big reason is that it's a prereq for other important feats, like Burst Fire.] That leaves us with two advantages to using an M60 instead of a G3: longer range increment, and a large (possibly unlimited) ammo capacity. These factors may not be very important in most roleplaying game encounters, which occur quickly and at close range. That's fine. If your characters are finding that the G3 suits them better in most of their encounters, that's probably pretty
realistic.
14. Escape Artist
Q: I think I came across a typo in the book. The Escape Artist skill states that, when opposing someone's Dex check to tie you up, Your opponent gets a +10 modifier to their check. The table, however, indicates that they get a +20 modifier. The SRD says +20 in both cases. I'm guessing that, as the sources that say +20 outnumber those that say +10, the official ruling is +20. However, I just thought that you (Charles) should know about this typo for your errata book.
A: Yes, we discovered this a while back. In fact, we discovered it early enough to fix it in the SRD! (So, as you might gather, the SRD is correct: the bonus is +20.)
15. Ignore Hardness
Q: [I am finding some inconsistency with the ignore hardness values, are these correct? Should this be 2/3/4 or maybe 2/4/6?)?]
A: Typo. All the ignore hardness values should be 1 point higher than they are. It should be 2/4/6.
16. Tear Gas Grenades
Q: Looking through the explosives on pg 104-106, I notice that every other type of explosive lists a # per purchase. I assume that the tear gas grenades are 6 per like the other grenades, but I thought I'd point out that that information was omitted.
A: Yes, the line that states "The purchase DC given is for a box of six grenades." was inadvertently left out.
Q: Exactly what does tear gas do? The description in the book states that it forces all within its area of effect to make a Fort save (DC 25) or be blinded for 2d6 rounds. The SRD, however, states that it forces a Fort save (DC 15) to avoid being nauseated for 1d6 rounds. Now, obviously these two effects are pretty different; which one is correct?
A: The SRD. It's a DC 15 save to avoid being nauseated for 1d6 rounds. We discovered this error too late to make the change in the book (it was at the printer already), but we fixed it in the SRD.
17. Pilot Skill
Q: [I think there is a typo on the] top of page 70 [which currently says] "require the corresponding Aircraft Operation feat, or else you take a -4 penalty on the Drive checks." [It] Looks like a copy/paste from the Drive skill, but shouldn't the word "Drive" be changed to "Pilot"? Just to note that none of the noted errata are going to lessen my complete enjoyment of this rulebook. Thanks for the excellent product!
A: Thanks for the nice comments, and thanks for pointing out the typo! I've made a note of it.
18. Tumble
Q: In the Tumble Skill description the DC to tumble past Opponents is 20, the same as Tumbling Through Opponents. I assume this is a typo and not a change from the PBH's DC 15?
A: D'oh! Actually, both DCs are wrong. As in the PHB, it should be 15 to Tumble past, and 25 to Tumble through.
19. Multiple Double Taps
Q: If using two guns, can you Double Tap with both weapons in the same round?
A: Sure. And of you have multiple attacks (due to a high BAB), you can double-tap on each attack. The restrictions are that you suffer the -2 modifier on each attack (which can get pretty steep if you're stacking it on top of two-weapon fighting penalties) and that you have to have enough ammo in the weapon.
20. Bat Moreau
Q: Should the description on page 248 include an entry for Blindsight? The Light Sensitivy entry notes that they can rely on their blindsight ability, yet it's not actually noted...
A: Yes, the bat moreau entry should have a paragraph on its blindsight ability. Normally, we would include such a paragraph, but it was cut for space. (This particular chapter was over page count by 8 pages, and that's after we had decided to make the book 64 pages longer than originally planned.) We felt we could get away with the cut because the blindsight ability was already noted above (the last sentence in the first paragraph of the bat moreau entry), and because the blindsight ability is fully explained on page 226. (Normally we wouldn't force you to do that page turning to search it out, but as I said we were desperate to get everything to fit!)
21. Standing From Prone/Nip-up
Q: [There seems to be a conflict in the prone rules on page 135. Do you suffer an AOO when standing up from prone, unlike in D&D?]
A: Standing up from prone provokes an attack of opportunity. The table on page 135 is incorrect. [By the way, the Daredevil's nip-up ability should say "as a free action that does not provoke an attack of opportunity."]
22. Benelli 12-gauge Shotgun
Q: [I see mention of a Benelli 12-gaughe shotgun in the book but there are no stats for it.]
A: The Benelli was inadvertantly left off of Table 4-4. Its stats are:
Benelli 121 M1 (12-gauge shotgun)
Damage: 2d8
Critical: 20
Damage Type: Ballistic
Range Increment: 40 ft.
Rate of Fire: S
Magazine: 7 int.
Size: Large
Weight: 8 lb.
Purchase DC: 17
Restriction: Lic (+1)
23. Vehicle Feats
Q: [What types of Vehicles does each vehicle feat apply to, and what are the prerequisites for things like Vehicle Dodge?]
A: In general, if a feat doesn't specify a type of vehicle, it applies to all vehicles. For example, have a look at Force Stop: it specifies surface vehicles. That said, the prereq for Vehicle Dodge should be Drive 6 ranks or Pilot 6 ranks.
24. Agile Riposte
Q: [In the Agile Riposte description, it says “with a melee weapon”. Can you use things like Combat Martial Arts with Agile Riposte, and do the attack of opportunity rules change for this?]
A: Agile Riposte should simply say ". . . you may make an attack of opportunity against that opponent." The words "with a melee weapon" are extraneous and shouldn't be there. The attack of opportunity granted by Agile Riposte is no different than any other attack of opportunity. All the normal rules and restrictions for AoOs apply. So, yes, someone with Combat Martial Arts or a natural attack can take advantage of Agile Riposte.
25. Shadow Enemy
Q: The description for the Shadow Slayer's 'Shadow Enemy' ability is confusing. At first it mentions a +2 bonus on certain skills checks, and on damage, then it goes on to say 'he gets a +1 bonus... immediately, and the bonus increases by +1 with each new level he attains'. Which is true?
A: It's +1. The +2 in the first paragraph is a typo.
Q: On a related note, does the +2 to damage now work on undead, unlike the ranger's similar ability?
A: The bonus applies to the shadow slayer's chosen type of favored enemy. If the shadow slayer chooses undead, it applies to undead.
26. Soldier/Martial Artist Stacking
Q: Combining the Martial Artist with the Soldier gives you Improved Combat Martial Arts, which increases unarmed threat range to 19-20, and the Soldier's Improved Critical, which bumps it up by one. This makes my threat range 18-20, correct?
A: If I understand your question correctly, you're asking if the 19-20 threat range from Improved Combat Martial Arts stacks with the increase in threat range from the soldier's Improved Critical class ability. (Assuming, of course, that unarmed strike is the weapon chosen by the soldier for his weapon specialization class ability.)
The answer is Yes. A 5th-level soldier who chose unarmed strike as his weapon specialization back at 2nd level has a threat range of 18-20 if he also has the Improved Combat Martial Arts feat.
Q: Later, add Advanced Martial artist, meaning that criticals are 18-20/x3. Then, add Knockout Punch and Improved Knockout Punch. Improved Knockout punch gives you a x3 critical. Does this mean that you use the d20-standard and
make that auto-critical x4 nonlethal when attacking a flat-footed opponent?
A: No. The benefits from the Combat Martial Arts feats do no stack with those of the Brawl feats.
27. Wealth Loopholes and Starting Wealth
Q: [I have a problem. Someone reduces their wealth mod to 0. Then, they roll a check to buy something with DC around 7 or 8. They immediately turn around and sell it, increasing their mod by 1. Then they can take 20 to buy something with purchase DC up to 21. [. . .] The only thing I can think of to counter this would be to limit the amount of game time available to make purchases by making events happen in-game to interrupt that.
A: I recommend strictly enforcing the rule under Shopping and Time, bolstering it with the following house rule: "When your Wealth bonus is +0, all objects, no matter how common, take a number of hours equal to their purchase DC to buy."
Also, I'd add the rule that selling objects also takes a number of hours equal to their normal (not sale value) purchase DC.
Then I'd get your adventure started, so that any player who wants to screw around with buying and selling starts missing out on the action.
Q: By keeping one wealthy party member, when anyone's wealth decreases, that wealthy character can help anyone else recover their wealth modifier to nearly the level of the wealthy character by this method: The poor character has some cheap token possession, and sells it to the wealthier for a vastly inflated price, but still beneath 15 and beneath the wealthier character's wealth bonus. Thus, the wealthier character loses nothing, and the poorer gains.
A: The rules for buying and selling don't change just because it occurs between characters. If a hero wants to sell something to his friend, the sale value is equal to the normal purchase DC for the item minus 3. The players can't simply decide to change that, no more than they can arbitrarily decide to change the DC of any other check.
A rich character can help his friends in a number of other, perfectly acceptable ways. He can buy things and give them to his friends (if his Wealth bonus is above +14, he can buy his friends an infinite supply of items with purchase DCs of 14 or less). He can make aid another checks, giving his friends +2 on their rolls. Those ways of helping out are fine.
Q: [Can’t] A lucky player can make money by doing the following:
- purchase something 12 or more greater than their wealth (with take 20), thereby reducing their weatlh by a dice roll (1d6+1 or 2d6+1 - note the item would have to be at least DC 15, since you can't take 20 if you have +0 wealth) - sell the same item and recover a dice roll of wealth (since the sale value would be at least 11 higher than their wealth, after deductions from buying it)? If the sale dice roll (1d6+1 or 2d6+1, or whatever) is higher than their buying roll, they will make money out of this.
A: Remember that when you sell something, its sale value is 3 points less than its normal purchase DC. That makes it tough (though not impossible) to use this method. And because the gains are (at best) the same as the losses, this is a very
risky and unreliable way to try to cheat the system. . .
28. Improved Combat Throw
Q: [The Improved Combat Throw feat indicates that it counts as an attack of opportunity.] Is this assuming that the character is "armed" (melee or unarmed with CMA) when using this feat, or is this a special circumstance where an unarmed character is allowed an attack of opportunity? If this is an assumption, how would this be best clarified? Would this AoO trip draw an attack of opportunity if the character is not "armed" (i.e., unarmed without CMA) and does not have the Improved Trip feat?
A: That last sentence should be "This counts as an attack of opportunity, which you can make even if you are unarmed."
29. Defensive roll
Q: Can [defensive roll] be used to avoid the effects of a failed Fort save check due to massive damage? Or would it only apply if the damage dealt was sufficient to drop the character to 0 or fewer HP by itself? Would it have any effect on a non-lethal massive damage failed check (i.e., could the character change the effect of the knockout to just being dazed)?
A: Defensive roll does not interact with hit point loss due to massive damage, any more than it interacts with hit point loss due to poison. It applies only to the actual hit point damage dealt by an attack. It does not interact with nonlethal damage.
Q: Not bringing massive damage into the question, can Defensive Roll be used when the character is flat-footed?
A: Yes it can. The only time it can't be used is when the character is immobilized.
30. Concentration Skill
Q: Can one make Concentration checks with non-skill actions to avoid an attack of opportunity? Obviously spell-casting is allowed to be done defensively, but what about other non-movement actions. Such as, picking up a weapon, drawing something from a backpack, drinking a potion and the big one, attacking an armed opponent while unarmed.
A: OK, in looking over the Concentration skill description, I can see how it might be a bit confusing. Here's an alternate version of the relevant text for the skill; hopefully it's a bit clearer:
Check: You make a Concentration check whenever you may potentially be distracted while engaged in some action that requires your full attention (such as making a Disable Device or Treat Injury check). Situations such as taking damage, working in a bouncing vehicle, or dealing with severe weather can require you to make a Concentration check.
If the Concentration check succeeds, you may continue with the action. If the Concentration check fails, the action automatically fails (with the appropriate ramifications, if any), and the action is wasted.
A successful Concentration check still doesn't allow you to take 10 when you are in a stressful situation; you must roll the check as normal.
Special: You can use Concentration to avoid attacks of opportunity when attempting a skill check that normally provokes attacks of opportunity. The DC to do so is 15.
If the Concentration check succeeds, you may attempt the action normally without incurring any attacks of opportunity. If the Concentration check fails, the related check automatically fails just as if your concentration had been disrupted by a distraction. You do not provoke attacks of opportunity, however.
This use of Concentration applies only to skill checks. It does not apply to other actions that normally provoke attacks of opportunity, such as movement or making unarmed attacks.
31. Shields
Q: While not normally a common piece of equipment for a modern day character, riot shields, capture shields, and various other shields still do find the occasional use, and I was wondering how they are meant to be handled. I noticed no 'shield proficiency' feat off-hand. Should I have one if shields are to play any role in the game, or do they fall under one of the existing armor proficiencies? Do they still provide an armor class/defense bonus, or are shields simply considered 'cover', like the D&D tower shields?
A: Shields work the same in d20 Modern as in D&D. A character proficient in medium or heavy armor is proficient with shields. You'll see a fair bit more on shields in Urban Arcana.
32. Drive stunts
Q: It says that the driver of a vehicle can do up to 2 stunts during movement, if no attack action is taken. However, in the description of 'dash' and 'hard brake'(or whatever it's called) it tells the total possible change in movement categories as if it were only possible to do that stunt once in a round. I would appreciate some clarification on this matter.
A: A vehicle cannot increase speed more than two speed categories per round, and cannot decrease speed more than three speed categories per round. Thus, you can only succeed in one dash or hard brake stunt per round. However, if you attempt a dash, and fail, you can use your second stunt to attempt it again.
33. Mastercraft Items
Q: Can you add a Mastercraft bonus to an item that has nothing to do with a die-roll? If so, can you do things with Mastercrafting like make ordinary objects smaller (and, for example, increase the Mastercraft bonus once for each size category smaller), and combining two objects together to disguise the purpose of the object (costing an additional Mastercraft bonus)? For example, you could use this ability to, say, add a hidden camera to sunglasses. So you reduce the size of a digital camera from tiny to Diminutive (a change of two size categories), and call that a +2 (I am making that rule of thumb up as an educated guess by the way). Then add in a disguise to the object, in this case sunglasses, and call that a +1 (again guessing). Total mastercraft adjustment is +3. Wealth Check DC is about a 20 (Craft Electronics, a digital camera is somewhere between a cell phone and a computer, closer to a computer I would think) plus 3 (mastercraft adjustment) for a total of 23. Craft check is going to be about a 28 (again somwhere between a cell phone and a computer, but closer to a computer), plus 3 (mastercraft adjustment) for a total of 31. XP cost will be 25 X Techie Level (which is no less than 10th level, to get the +3 adjustment) X 3 (the mastercraft adjustment). For all of these checks I would compare the item to other similar items, to make sure nothing is too out of whack.
A: Technically, you can't do this with mastercrafting, although I do like your ideas for house rules. I don't have any specific advice for you on this, but I have been mulling over a new advanced class based on gadget construction and improvisation--the field scientist and techie aren't very relevant to my post-apocalyptic campaign. If I get something written up, I'll post it. (It probably won't happen for a week or two, though, at least.)
Q: Well, since I haven't really found anything about anything, I feel I have to ask. This is at least partly about secret agents and the like, and well, say agent and I think most think of Bond. And that leads us to Q-branch. So, is there any plans for rules to modify vehicles? Souped-up engines, armor, and of course the .50-cals behind the headlights and the catapult passanger seat. I know that there might not be TONS of it in my campaign, but I also know at least one and possibly more of my playes will ask! *G*
A: No vehicle modification rules exist at this time. I'd love to see some, mainly because I think my players would like to make some modifications to their Humvee in our post-apocalyptic campaign. (A ram plate would be nice, considering how often the front end of their vehicle is used as a weapon--and how much time they spend on repairs afterward!) Maybe we'll put something together soon. . .
34. New Occupations
Q: I was wondering if there are any guidelines people can offer (and hopefully Charles Ryan) for creating new occupations. For example, none of the listed occupations have "concentration" as a skill. Is there some reason for this, or just happenstance? Is there a formula/rule-of-thumb for creating occupations that weighs the value of skills, feats, wealth, and reputation?
A: There's no design reason why Concentration isn't offered by any existing occupation; if you created an occupation that included Concentration that would be fine.
Balancing occupations is complex. In general, the factors include:
* Age prerequisite.
* Number of permanent skills/skill bonuses (generally 1 or 2).
* Number of skill choices (generally 5 - 10).
* Number of bonus feats (generally 0 or 1).
* Number of feat choices (generally 1 - 4).
* Reputation bonus (generally 0 to +1).
* Wealth bonus (generally +1 to +6).
The number of class skills, bonus feats, and the Wealth bonus are the main factors; they shouldn't all be high. The number of class choices, feat choices, and Reputation are lesser balancing factors, along with age prerequisites.
35. Attacks of Opportunity with Ranged Weapons
Q: 1) If a character in a threatened area provokes an attack of opportunity from an opponent with a pistol or rifle, the opponent can make an attack of opportunity with their pistol grip or rifle butt. 2) Also, attacks of opportunity cannot be made by using a ranged attack, but can be made by using the melee aspect of an otherwise ranged weapon (e.g., stab with a throwing knife, whip with a pistol grip).
A: Both of these are correct. Now, here's one point you might consider: If a melee attack form does not appear on the melee weapons list, it probably counts as an improvised weapon. For example, whacking someone with your crossbow is probably an improvised weapon attack. In such cases, the attacker suffers a -4 penalty (see Improvised Weapons on page 109).
Q: During a full-attack option, can a character switch freely between the ranged and melee aspects of pistols and rifles? For example, could a character with a rifle and 3 attacks due to high BAB, shoot at one target, strike a melee opponent with their rifle butt, and then shoot another target? If they alternate between modes in one full-attack action, do they suffer an attack penalty to either set of attacks (or both)?
A: The attacker can switch between modes freely. The attacker provokes attacks of opportunity any time she makes a ranged attack within a threatened square.
36. Shotguns (And Ultramodern Firearms)
Q: I know this has been dredged up by others for so long but I wanted Mr. Ryan's opinion on this. How come in d20 Modern there's no rules about shotgun spread. The closest I found was the damage thinning at ranges. Even indoors at twenty feet you can peg people standing six feet apart.
A: Despite the misperception common in most roleplaying systems, shotguns do not spread that widely. (The spread at moderate ranges is about enough to cover a dinner plate--NOT enough to hit several people.)
That said, I've provided some slightly different rules in Ultramodern Firearms (out in about a month from Green Ronin Publishing!): The -2 penalty per range increment applies to damage, rather than attack rolls. This means that shotguns are a little more likely to hit at long ranges (due to their spread), but that their damage falls off with range (due to the fact that few projectiles might hit, and that shot loses its velocity faster than ballistic rounds do). [It will have the] same theoretical maximum as any other non-thrown ranged weapon: 10 range increments. However, in practice the maximum is lower: a 2d8 shotgun losing -2 damage every range increment has a functional maximum range of 8 range increments. (If you roll 16 damage, after 8 range increments that damage is reduced to 0). On average, the damage is reduced to 0 after 4 to 5 range increments. See how cleverly that works out! [Also] Ultramodern Firearms has rules for different forms of shotgun ammo (and ammo for other firearm types as well, of course), and for different types of choke.
Q: Are we to assume that the basic damage penalty rule (no matter how many penalties you have, you can never deal fewer than 1 point of damage on a successful attack) does not apply to shotguns in this case? Or would it be penalized damage up to 8 range increments, and then 1 point for the last two?
A: D'oh! You're right. A shotgun would deal 1 point of damage all the way out to 10 range increments. That's what I get for crowing about my own cleverness. . . !
37. Converting D&D Weapons to d20 Modern
Q: Any suggestions on guidelines for converting 3rd edition weapons to archaic weapons in d20 Modern? Can they just be plopped in as is, or is there damage modification that must be done in order to make them comparable to d20 Modern weapons? Also, what would a good guideline be for finding Wealth DCs for converted weapons?
A: In general, weapons from D&D are fairly plop-and-play. If you use them as-is, you probably won't have any serious problems with your game. If you want to be exacting, you can apply the following conversions:
Range Increment: Decrease the range increment to about 1/3 of the D&D increment.
Crits: Change all crit damage to x2.
Purchase DC: Use your best guess at the price, and refer to Table 7-1. If you have no idea on the price, as a rule of thumb you can go with 1 gp = $10. (Thus a weapon that costs 7 gp would cost $70, or purchase DC 8.) If the weapon is generally easy to obtain in the modern world (like nunchaku), you might drop the purchase DC by 1; if it's exotic or rare increase the DC by 2 or so.
38. Knockout Punch
Q: [Regarding Knockout Punch I have heard people say] "if you can stun someone during a fight, then KO punch will pretty much finish him off". I am a little confused, because I do not think that is how the rules work, for three reasons: - when you equal or exceed someone's Con with non-lethal damage, they make a DC 15 save. If they succeed, they are DAZED, not stunned (and if they fail they fall unconscious)…KO Punch only applies when the opponent is FLAT-FOOTED, not dazed or stunned [and] … dazed, flat-footed and stunned are all separate conditions and (while similar in some respects) are not equivalent…So it seems to me that KO Punch (and Imp KO Punch) will only ever work during the first round of a fight, if you can catch someone flatfooted. Am I missing something here?
A: [F]lat-footed is not the same thing as denied Dex bonus. Flat-footed only occurs at the beginning of combat, when a character has not yet acted. I can't think of any situation in which a character already in combat becomes flat-footed. (There may be such situations, but if so they're rare; I can't think of any at the moment.) Yes, Knockout Punch could easily be named Sucker Punch. (In fact, I remember that we considered that name when we were designing the feats; I don't recall exactly why we decided against it.) It really is useful mainly in surprise situations.
Q: Since a character is Flat-Footed until they've acted, if such a character were Dazed before their first action, would this mean that the character is Flat-Footed for an extra round since being Dazed means not being able to act?
A: You betcha. If a brawler can keep a target dazed (by forcing massive damage saves, even if the target succeeds in the saves), the target remains flat-footed (and thus susceptible to Knockout Punch).
39. Cellular Interceptors
Q: In the description of the Computer Use skill, it says using a Cellular Interceptor to intercept a call from a number you know drops the DC by 10 to DC 25. In the description of the Cellular Interceptor item it says the DC drops to 10.
A: It drops by 10 (to 25).
40. Smart Hero’s Linguist Talent
Q: In the description of Smart hero's Linguist talent, it says to understand a new language the Smart hero can make an Intelligence check with a bonus of his Smart hero level + his intelligence bonus. I'm guessing this is a mistake... that you add your Int bonus twice... Then it says for a written language, the bonus applies to a Decipher Script check instead. Instead of the Intelligence check? And this still has the Int x2 problem...
A: You are correct. The words "+ the hero's Intelligence modifier" are redundant and should be omitted. The Smart hero may add his Smart hero levels to an Int check to understand a language he hears, or to a Decipher Script check to understand a language he reads.
41. Climb Checks
Q: This isn't a mistake, but something that was probably overlooked. A smooth, flat, vertical surface has no climb DC, meaning it can't be climbed. Bracing against two opposite walls grants a -10 DC modifier. So, climbing two opposite, smooth, vertical walls is still impossible?
A: Interesting observation. I'd probably assign a "theoretical" DC of, say, 30, to perfectly smooth vertical walls, as a basis for checks modified by conditions (such as bracing against opposite walls) that make it possible.
42. Franks
Q: Hey, this is primarily a question for Rich Redman: For franks, how many starting feats should they recieve? As it stands, I've been thinking that they (being basically human) would get two feats at first level, if they do not have any special qualities, (such as darkvision) and one if they do have special qualities (with the special qualities taking the place of the second feat) What's the official word on this?
A: Sorry, I've been in deadline heck and Charles had to bring this to my attention via e-mail. My answer is that franks get 1 starting feat, just like nonhuman races in D&D.
43. Tanks and Vehicles
Q: A 9mm round that scores critical and does over 20 would damage a tank equipped with several inches of military grade armour.....I DON'T THINK SO!!!
A: Do you think that dealing 1 or 2 points of damage to a tank necessitates penetrating its main armor? Tanks, like anything else, have vulnerabilities--optics, running gear, external portions of the weaponry, etc. Tanks can be (and often are) disabled without any penetration of the main armor. You don't have to take my word for it. Just remember that Rich Redman, one of the other designers, was quite satisfied with the armored vehicle rules--and he served as an M1A1 tank platoon leader in the gulf war. Or, better yet, try playing the game! My bet is that you'll find the outcome of any battle involving a tank entirely satisfying.
Q: Why can't vehicles suffer critical hits?
A: Vehicles are objects. Critical hits apply only to creatures.
Q: Why have you made them [vehicles] objects though? Seems to take the fun out of vehicle combat.
A: Have you played any vehicle combat yet? It's been plenty of fun in my games! Some food for thought:
1. The rules give you some options for disabling vehicles other than simply reducing them to 0 hp. Shooting out the tires or windshield is more interesting in the game (and realistic) than trying for a critical hit.
2. If you're imagining critical hits as huge fiery explosions like in the movies, remember that what comes around goes around. If you can blast your opponents in a gigantic explosion, they can do the same to you. One of the challenges in designing the vehicle combat system was preventing cars from becoming whole-party coffins. We don't wan't anyone's campaign being brought to a screeching and untimely halt because a lucky roll by a bad guy resulted in the fiery death of the entire party!
3. Sure, you may think that cars have a "discernable anatomy," and you may think you know what that anatomy is. But what about a UFO? A mini-submarine? Those cool little carlike things in Minority Report? Where do you draw the line between objects (even vehicles) that have discernable anatomies and those that don't?
4. Vehicles may be immune to crits (and hence coups de gras), but they can still be quickly dispatched. That's what Disable Device is for.
5. Some people have complained that we didn't stat armored vehicles tough enough. Part of that is because they are immune to crits. Allow crits against vehicles, and you may end up with some squirrely results when playing with armored vehicles.
All of these issues (except perhaps #2) are solvable if you really feel crits against objects will make your game better. And you're always welcome--encouraged, even--the modify the game as you see fit. But my guess is that if you give it a try as written, you'll be happy with the results.
Q: How much cover bonus does a tank benefit from a hull-down position?
A: As with all cover situations, that's for your GM to adjudicate. (I'd probably give a tank 3/4 cover against attacks from the front for being hull down.)
Q: What kind of equipment bonus does the M1's Fire Control System give to gunner's attack rolls, when tank is moving?
A: We don't specify. However, it's probably not unreasonable to allow the fire control system to negate some of the penalties for a moving vehicle, up to, say, 2 points of penalty.
Q: Is insurance for my rainwater tank included in my Wealth level?
A: Yep. (And I managed to keep a straight face . . .)
44. The Magic System (and Urban Arcana)
Q: OK, the magic user advanced class gets as his 10th level class feature the ability to prepare a "maximised" version of a spell. So what ones can he do? Let's just have a little look at the spell list for a moment. His max spell level is 5, so he can only maximise 1st and 2nd level spells. That gives him, lets see, magic missile and sleep? No 2nd level spells that could be affected, can't affect 3rd level spells. What is the plan here? Why are they given such a functionally useless ability as their 10th level class ability? Empower would have been a much more reasonable choice, surely - at least you could perpare a couple of empowered 3rd level spells. Being able to sleep 2x 4HD creatures when you are 15th level doesn't seem particularly useful, and 25 points of magic missile damage is a bit ho-hum. What am I missing here?
A: The magic system in the d20 Modern core book is the bare-bones center of what we'd like it to become. There will be additional spells, as well as the ability to increase caster level above 10th, in Urban Arcana and other products. It's an unfortunate side effect of having to cram an entire game into 384 pages that some class abilities will not be as flexible as we ultimately envision them. Hope that sheds some light on it!
45. GM Screens, Character Generators and E-Tools
Any rumors of a GM screen coming out before I start photocopying charts and glueing them to cardboard? How bout Character Generator software?
A: We won't be releasing a GM screen between now and August 2003. Beyond that, I can't comment on future releases.
Q: Well, this has been touched upon before, just a bit, bout I thought I'd get right out and ask. So: Is there any chance of a D20 E-tools patch? I know I use it for D&D, and would prolly have a LOT of use for a D20 patch as well.
A: Sorry, I have no information on E-Tools at this time.
46. Ability Score Changes and Ability-based Talents & Feats
Q: The Dedicated's Cool Under Pressure Talent says you choose a number of skills equal to 3 + your wisdom modifier. Lets say when I get this talent my wisdom modifier is +3 giving me 6 skills I can always take 10 on. If my wisdom modifier later increases to +4 do I get to choose another skill to be cool under pressure with...or does it always remain the same number of skills as 3 + your wisdom modifier when you received the talent.
A: If you gain a permanent Wisdom increase, your new Wisdom bonus applies to the cool under pressure ability--so yes, if your bonus goes from +3 to +4, you get to pick another skill on which you can take 10. If you Wisdom bonus goes up due to a temporary increase (from the enhance ability spell, for example), you do not get to pick additional skills for the cool under pressure ability.
Q: So, would this also apply to the Spell Mastery Feat? i.e. When I get it I have an Int bonus of +3 and so get 3 spells that I can prepare with out my book. Later my bonus goes up (permanently) to + 4. Do I now get to have annother spell I can prep without my book?
A: Yes.
47. Autofire and Size of Target
Q: If an object or creature takes up more than one space, does it take more damage than the normal +2d*? For instance, if two thugs are standing behind a car, and I autofire with two squares on the car, and the other two on the orcs, does the car take 4d* twice, or just once? If only once, what would the point be of concentrating all your fire on the car?
A: Autofire is an area effect. Everything within the area takes the prescribed damage (unless it saves), regardless of the creature or object's size. It helps if you remember that autofire works exactly the same way as grenades and fireballs. If you cast a fireball at a Gargantuan dragon, the dragon takes 10d6 damage--not 10d6 per five-foot square it occupies. Same for autofire. Burst fire, on the other hand, is a ranged attack, made like any other ranged attack. The target's size modifier is built into its Defense, so it's easier to hit larger creatures.
48. Slayer’s Fast Healing Ability
Q: I'm a little dubious about the [Slayer’s] Fast Healing ability. The main reason for this is that I do not know how Fast Healing works in conjunction with falling into negative hit points. The three possibilities, as I see it, are thus:
1. Slayer heals X hit points per round. Once he/she falls into negative hit points, Fast Healing is ineffective.
2. Slayer heals X hit points per round. Once he/she falls into negative hit points, Fast Healing is inneffective until he/she stabilizes.
3. Slayer heals X hit points per round, even while in negative hit points.
A: Option 3 is correct. Fast healing works so long as the character is alive (above -10 hp); being at negative hp does not otherwise affect the use of the ability. You're correct that this is a very powerful ability. It's also obtained at a high character level, and at a point in a character's career where the difference between 0 hp and -10 hp is pretty slim.
49. WOTC Website Updates
Q: I was just hoping someone could tell me if the d20 Modern site will feature an adventure soon. The web-enhancement was great but I am anxious to see how some of the pros envision a d20 modern mission. That would be fantastic! I don't know if this was asked or not and I couldn't find any mention anywhere I looked, so sorry if it has been brought up already.
A: When and where you'll see a web adventure is a question only the WotC web team can answer. I'm pretty sure they've got some in the works, though, because they recently had me write one, and I'm aware of at least one other writer asked to write one. So you should see something, but I don't know when. Perhaps someone on the web team can step in here to answer (if you're reading this)? [Editor’s Note: There is one out now, written by Steve Winter called Le Chien de l’Onyx.]
Q: Is there going to be any more web support for d20 Modern? It's been a month now with no updates to the site.
A: [Taken up by Rich Redman] A couple of notes for all you fans (including you, Ranger_Reg): 1) There is no Wizards web team. This site is maintained and paid for by Hasbro. The people doing it sit in the Wizards' offices, but they work directly for Hasbro. 2) Hasbro budgets for this website, for good or ill, take your pick. 3) IMO, Julia Martin is doing a brilliant job of working with these circumstances. She really knows how to maximize time and money. 4) The lay-offs in September threw everybody for a loop. 5) I have a contract with Julia to produce d20 Modern columns for this site on a monthly basis, first one going up in January. I turned in the first three before the d20 Modern chat, so it's going to be April before luris_blear gets a column on building fiends (but I haven't forgotten my promise to do it). I'll listen to any requests for columns, my e-mail is available through my screen name. 6) The great Steven "Stan!" Brown has a contract to produce d20 Modern adventures for this website, I believe on a monthly basis. You want support material? You got it! Starting next month [January 2003].
50. Shurikens
Q: [The d20 Modern version of the Shuriken seems to work differently than I am used to. How does it work?]
A: OK, here's the scoop on shuriken. Forget what you know about D&D shuriken; in d20 Modern they work differently. You can only throw one at a time, and you do get to add your Strength bonus to damage. And, as the rules state, you can draw them as a free action. What does that mean? Dealing only 1 point of damage is pretty weak, but 1 + Str bonus can be OK if you have a decent Strength. Drawing as a free action can be a real bonus. And as Zelgadas points out, the shuriken can be a useful delivery system for special attacks, such as poison.
51. WOTC Licensing & Trade Dress
Q: Would referencing a Mage class ability such as Arcane Spells and Armor or Arcane skills pose a problem? (i.e. under a new "Wizard" advanced class that has Arcane skills.. instead of reproducing the Arcane Skills section from the SRD..just have a "refer to d20 Modern Core rulebook Chapter 9: Campaign Models, Arcane Skills listed under Mage")
A: [Charles Ryan passes to Andy Smith to answer] I am fairly sure this is acceptable, however I'm still trying to get someone to stay out of a meeting long enough for me to double check.
Q: Since the Mage, Acolyte, Telepath, and Battlemind names are clearly Headers..would it pose a problem if someone were to reference these classes by the header..(more towards Mage and Acolyte since they are common terms that have been around for a very long time..) (i.e. Publisher X wants to have Mages in their campaign setting...so they write up their own Mage description and instead of putting any OGC or class information under it they just say "refer to d20 Modern Core Rulebook Chapter 9: Campaign Models under Mage for class information")
A: [Charles Ryan passes to Andy Smith to answer] Barring some unfortunate miscommunication between me and the powers that be, this is fine. By all means, tell people they need to pick up a copy of the book. Also the Mage and Acolyte will enter into the MSRD around the release of Urban Arcana.
52. Weapon Finesse & Unarmed Strike
Q: Weapon Finese: Unarmed Strike: You can do that.. right?
A: Under Unarmed Attacks (page 135), it says "Unarmed strikes count as light melee weapons (for purposes of two-weapon attack penalties and so on)." Use of the Weapon Finesse feat falls under the "and so on" part. In other words, yes, you can choose unarmed strike as you Weapon Finesse "weapon."
53. Vehicles as Cover
Q: I was wondering about a cars hardness and shooting through the car. Seeing as a car has a hardness of 5 and every gun does atleast 2d6. If you shoot at a door of a car forever. The car will not become disabled, so where does the extra damage go?? I was watching a tv show and a bank robbery in LA where the robbers had automatic rifles(ak47 or something) They were pumping round after round into a car where a few people hiding behind. every one of those people got hit. Why not in D20. Could it be like the glass where if you try to shoot somebody with glass between you and them you see first if you hit the glass and the glass has like a hardness of 2 and 1hp and then you see if you hit the person and add the leftover damage? Is that Valid? or what else would be good. I know that the door would provide concealment and the doors hardness and hp for cover but would it be possible to hit somebody ducking in a car??
A: [From Rich Redman] Here's how it works: Sam hides behind a car. Yuriko shoots at him. GM rules that Sam has 9/10 cover, since it's possible to actually see some part of him depending on the angle of the shot. He gets a +10 cover bonus to Defense, and a +4 bonus to any Reflex save (taking half damage if he fails his save and no damage if he succeeds). The Reflex save is important for situations where a bank-robbing whack job fires his AK 47 on full auto at cops and bystanders hiding behind cars (see the Autofire rules under Special Attacks in Chapter Five: Combat). Depending on where Sam hides and whether or not he's shooting back, he may have less cover. If it's important to know what happens to the car, you use the "Striking the Cover Instead of a Missed Target" rules in Chapter Five: Combat. In d20, you shoot at your target. Any intervening object gives cover or concealment, but you still shoot at the target.
[From Charles Ryan] Rich is correct. (For those of you who don't know him, Rich was another of the designers for d20 Modern. Thanks for giving me a hand here, Rich!) It's true that in real life, sometimes attacks penetrate cover and hit people on the other side. We don't really model that in the d20 system--just like we don't model the fact that an attack can go right through the target and hit a second person. You might want a house rule of some sort; something similar to the rules for shooting through windows. Perhaps a car door has hardness 5 and, say, 3 hit points. If you hit the target's Defense but miss because of the cover bonus, any excess damage is taken by the target. That would probably work reasonably well, though I'm betting that the benefit to your game experience wouldn't be worth the extra complication and the slowing down of play. YMMV, of course.
54. Vehicle Feat Compatibility [+ Errata]
Q: Is it safe to assume -- within reason -- that most of the vehicle-related feats work for both surface and aircraft vehicles? For example, can one use Vehicle Dodge and Drive-By Attack feat using a biplane equipped with a synchronized machine gun? [Note: Zelgadas comment: One thing to note, however, is that Vehicle Dodge requires 6 ranks of the Drive skill, but no ranks of Pilot. This would imply, to me, that it applies only to surface vehicles]
A: In general, if a feat doesn't specify a type of vehicle, it applies to all vehicles. For example, have a look at Force Stop: it specifies surface vehicles. That said, Zelgadas makes a very good point. The prereq for Vehicle Dodge should be Drive 6 ranks or Pilot 6 ranks.
55. Urban Arcana Hints
Q: Now that Urban Arcane is on the release schedule, what can you tell us about it?
A: You'll start seeing some preview articles on the web site in the coming months, much like those you saw for d20 Modern before its release. Beyond that, I'm sworn to secrecy. . .
Q: [Regarding the] Man Portable XM214, Anyone think up the stats for this yet? For those who don't know, its the gatling gun/backpack model like that used in Predator and "not used" by special forces
A: [Posted by unknown WOTC employee, maybe, perhaps] Trolls with mini-guns--now you're thinking! I probably shouldn't be leaking this, but you might just see stats for the XM-214 in Urban Arcana. You didn't hear that from me, of course.
Q: [Will there be rules for skateboarding?]
A: You'll see rules for bikes, skateboards, and inline skates in Urban Arcana!
Q: I'm beginning to wonder what Urban Arcana is really going to be about. I was expecting something similar to "Magic In The Shadows", and instead it sounds more like the "Shadowrun Companion" (to use a RPG analogy). I'm not complaining (more D20 Modern stuff is always good), but the focus of this book seems to be somewhat unclear. Isn't it meant to extend the UA campaign setting? How are skateboards and miniguns doing this?
A: In general, Urban Arcana is focused on topics that relate to the setting as described in the d20 Modern rulebook: a relatively high-fantasy modern setting, with lots of magic and monsters. Another aspect of Urban Arcana is that it's a little over the top--so we're including rules for a few over-the-top non-magical topics, like adventurers on skateboards shooting XM-214 miniguns. (You'll also see things that aren't really magical, but are really useful in a supernatural setting--like super soakers loaded with holy water. . . .) That said, there are also a number of things that we would have loved to fit into the main book, but couldn't because of space, that we're adding to Urban Arcana. I don't think you'll find lack of focus to be too much of a problem, although I do think the book will have lots of interesting stuff, even for gamers who aren't playing an Urban Arcana campaign. In a sense, you could think of the Urban Arcana book as a general companion to d20 Modern, but written with the expectation that you're playing in the Urban Arcana setting (unlike the main book, which tries not to make any assumptions about your campaign setting).
56. Licensing
Q: Does one license purchase cover all items of that restriction level, or is a separate license needed for each item?
A: A single license covers every item on a given table that has a restriction level equal to or lower than the level of the license.
For example, if you purchase a Beretta 92F (Licensed restriction level) and an appropriate license, that license covers any additional items from Table 4-4 that also have the Licensed restriction level. If you later wanted to purchase an AKM (Restricted restriction level), you would have to also purchase the higher-level license for it. You could then purchase any other item from Table 4-4 of Restricted or lower level without needing another license. One exception to this rule: Table 4-10: General Equipment. Every item on this table is licensed separately, except items that are grouped together. For example, a black box requires a separate license from demolitions kit. However, a single license covers both pistol and rifle suppressors, since they're grouped together under "suppressors." [One final note: The lock release gun and lockpick set were supposed to be grouped together under "Lockpicks"; they are both covered by the same license.]
57. Non-human PCs
Q: Can anyone tell me how to adapt non-human characters(both standard and monsters) to a PC-format.
A: The rules for creating a non-human character are basically the same as those for adding a character class to a creature (see page 230). To sum up: 1) The character gets one fewer skill point per level. (This is reflected on table 8-20.) Since you normally get 4 times as many skills at 1st level, the character gets 4 fewer skill points at 1st level. 2) The character gets only one feat at 1st level, instead of 2. 3) The character does not get a starting occupation. 4) Use the racial ability modifiers for the race from the D&D Player's Handbook (if you have it and the race is covered there). Otherwise, here's a trick for determining the ability modifiers from the d20 Modern stats: If the given ability is an odd number, subtract 11 from it. If the ability is an even number, subtract 10. The result is racial modifier for that ability score. For example, a goblin has Str 8 and Dex 13. Subtracting 10 (because 8 is an even number) from 8 gives us -2. Subtracting 11 (because 13 is odd) from 13 gives us +2. So the racial mods for a goblin's Str and Dex are -2 and +2, respectively. This is a rule of thumb and won't always work perfectly. These rules apply primarily to creatures that normally only have one Hit Die. For higher Hit Die creatures, you'll have to fudge it or wait for Urban Arcana. [Also] Moreaus have their own rules. They're essentially the same as those above, except that moreaus do get starting occupations, and the ability score modifiers are given in the descriptions.
58. Cover
Q: [Assume the following senario] Let's say that your PCs and some [Werewolf] bad guys are shooting at each other. [The Werewolves have no cover, but the four PCs do have cover as follows.] Al is standing around the corner, looking around to fire off shots as he can. Bev is kneeling around the same corner, leaning out to fire off shots in tandem with Al. Carl is standing behind [some 3-foot high] crates. Dana is kneeling behind the same crates, looking out to pop shots at the werewolves as they start to close on her and Carl. [Anything wrong with this senario so far?]
A: [Yes] If A is standing at a corner (occupying the square behind the corner), B can't also be there (occupying the same square), regardless of whether she's standing or kneeling. The two characters can't take up the same space. (You could house rule this one if you really want it to be possible for two people to shoot around the same corner (or from behind the same car door, or whatever); perhaps each person suffers a -4 penalty on attacks, or a -2 on attacks and -2 on Defense, because they're in each others' way.)
Q: [In the above scenario] Do any of the werewolves have cover relative to any of the PCs, based on what I said?
A: The answer is no. If they were using melee weapons, it'd be a different story, but the fact that they're using ranged weapons makes it like arrowslits -- the werewolves don't get any cover.
Q: [In the above scenario] What bonuses to Defense would each person have?
A: I would probably give everyone half cover. (More than half of their bodies are covered, but probably half or so of their vital areas are exposed. (This is the same reason a 3-foot wall only gives you one-quarter cover--see page 144 for more.)) [As for D] [y]ou can give her the normal cover plus the kneeling bonus, or the better cover--whichever is higher. In this case, obviously, the result is the same. But if she started at half-cover, and kneeling improved her cover to three-quarters, I'd give her the benefit of +7 (three-quarters) rather than +6 (one-half cover plus kneeling). (Note that kneeling doesn't always increase your cover; if you started and half-cover and kneeling didn't actually increase it to three-quarters, the bonus should only increase to +6. As with all cover situations, it's up to the GM to visualize the situation and decide how much cover the character has.)
Q: [In the above scenario] [j]ust to make sure of the mechanics, how would you as a GM deal with a player who said, "I want to snap off a shot at the werewolf and then duck down behind the crate completely"?
A: I'd say "yes, and I want a pony." Seriously, the characters' normal efforts to avoid being hit are already built into their Defense. If the character wants to take extra steps (perhaps that's what's happening here), she can fight defensively, using the normal rules for that (-4 on attack, +2 to Defense)--see the top of page 137. Hope that helps. Glad to hear that the players are making some smart tactical decisions in their gunplay!
59. WOTC Sales Figures for d20 Modern
Q: Even though it is early days I would say that d20 Modern is doing far better than Alternity did, this is just an observation, I have no facts to back this up. Also my gut feel is that it is doing better than Star Wars. Just wondering how things are looking from WotC's perspective, are sales expectations being met or hopefully exceeded? And to the main crux of this post, if d20 Modern exceeds sales expectations will more support be given to it from WotC, say in the form of it's own magazine or an increased product schedule? I [love] this game, best rpg I have played in the 20 years of my gaming life, and I need to have more offical support for it.
A: My understanding is that the game is doing quite well. I don't know exactly what "quite well" means (and, honestly, if I was privy to that information I probably wouldn't be allowed to share it here on the net). But as I understand it we're all very pleased with its success so far. That said, don't expect any significant changes to our release schedule any time soon. Even if the success of the game warrants radical changes, we'd probably give the game several months to ensure that the success is long-term and not a short-term fluke. And even then, since it takes a year or longer to get a product from schedule to market, you wouldn't see a surge of additional releases for quite some time. (What you will see, however, is a surge of products from third-party publishers. If d20 Modern prospers, small publishers will jump on the bandwagon with products that they can get to market much faster.) Our existing schedule calls for substantial support for d20 Modern for the foreseeable future, and with the success of the game so far that should continue to be the case!
60. Pimping as a profession
Q: Weird question, but nonetheless... One of the charactors in my campaign wants to play a pimp. There are a few questions I need to ask about that: 1) What should be the check to see if he "recruits" a woman; 2) How many women should he be able to have at a time; 3) How would this affect his Wealth bonus.
A: To determine how much Wealth the character gains through pimping, use the same rules every character uses to gain Wealth: Profession checks at level advancement. See Regaining Wealth, on page 92. No additional rules are necessary; the character's income is not subject to special rules just because it's an unusual job. As for determining job-related specifics, I'd handle this no differently than I'd handle any other profession. If the character was the manager at a McDonalds, and for some reason he needed to know how many employees worked for him, as GM I'd make an educated guess and perhaps roll a die to add a bit of randomness to my guess. Same thing for the pimp--should it ever matter exactly how many "employees" he has (and I doubt that it ever really would, just like it probably wouldn't really for the McDonald's manager), I'd pick a reasonable answer, roll a die, and give the player a result. Playing a pimp could be an interesting, amusing (or thought-provoking) roleplaying opportunity. But there's no more reason to play out the specifics of the job than there is for any other character.
61. Ultramodern Firearms
Q: I have one question regarding the Suppressive Fire feat. I have been looking for ranged AoO since the first edition of Star Wars D20 and this is the first time I have a rule in print, thank you. However, I am a little fuzzy on the range requirement. The feat says that you threaten a target or an area, autofire, "...that is at least 30 feet away..." So, I can threaten someone 300 yards out but I can't threaten someone 15 feet away? Is this correct?
A: Yes, it is correct as written that the feat can only be used against targets at least 30 feet away. The concept here is that you continue to shoot at the targeted area even when it isn't your turn. (That's why using the feat costs you five bullets in addition to any used in the original attack and any AoO you make.) It didn't seem reasonable to be able to do this at targets within just a few feet--in general, suppressive fire is really only effective at longer than point-blank range. So, why 30 feet? Basically, because 30 feet is the d20 system's definition of point-blank. If I had my absolute druthers, I'd probably set the distance at around 20 feet--but since 30 feet is a standard increment used for many game effects, I decided to keep this feat in sync with the rest of the game. You're free to change it if you prefer (as always!), but I doubt that the added complication will really change your game experience enough to be worth it.
Q: I have a couple questions about the Pancor Jackhammer. From what I gather, the Jackhammer uses up it's entire clip on one autofire. Is this correct? Is a 5 round autofire and a 3 round burst an acceptable alternative? The thing is that I want to use one as my main weapon because, well you just can't a beat an automatic shotgun, but my smaller back up SMG is just better considering the Jackhammer's lack of ammo and range. Is there some tactical advantage that would make it more effective?
A: It is correct. Probably one of the reasons automatic shotguns haven't really caught on in real life.
Q: [D]o you have any quick rules for Flechette rounds?
A: Sorry, don't have any at this time. Off hand, I'd probably treat them as armor-piercing rounds.
Q: haven't found any rules on how much a clip weighs, or how much a box of ammo weighs? Is there a standard rule of thumb for this? Like a rifle clip weighs as much as a pistol clip because pistol rounds are heavier and a 100 round belt weighs x times a clip?
A: don't think that either the core book or Ultramodern Firearms include ammo weights. Here are some rough guidelines for you. Because there are dozens of types of ammo, I've broken it down by the base damage the weapon normally deals (for our purposes, the ammo type doesn't affect weight). Shotgun shells are a little heavier; use the weight value for one damage step higher. (For example, a 12-ga shotgun deals 2d8 damage, but the ammo has the weight of 2d10 damage.) 10-round magazine: 2d4 0.5, 2d6 0.5, 2d8 0.5, 2d10 0.5, 2d12 1. 20-round magazine:
2d4 0.5, 2d6 0.5, 2d8 0.5, 2d10 1, 2d12 2. 30-round magazine: 2d4 0.5, 2d6 0.5, 2d8 0.5, 2d10 1, 2d12 3. 100-round belt: 2d8 2, 2d10 3, 2d12 10.
62. Exploding Vehicles
Q: [The rules state that] f the attack that disables a vehicle deals damage equal to half its full normal hit points or more, the vehicle explodes after 1d6 rounds. This explosion deals 10d6 points of damage to everyone within the vehicle (Reflex save, DC 20, for half damage), and half that much to everyone and everything within 30 feet of the explosion (Reflex save, DC 15, for half damage). What type of damage is this? Fire? Concussive? Combination of the two? None of the above?
A: Fire.
63. Wealth Stacking
Q: Ok if you buy something 15 or higher wealth you lose 1 point. If you buy something 1 to 10 points higher than your wealth you lose 1 point plus 1 more point if that number is 15 or higher. Now if you buy something 11 to 15 points higher than your wealth you lose 1d6 points, plus 1 for it being over 15. But do you still lose another 1 because it is also 1 to 10 points higher than your wealth. If you buy some 16 more points higher than your wealth you lose 2d6 plus 1 for it being over 15. But do you also lose 1 more point for it being 1 to points higher and 1d6 more points because it is 11 to 15 more points higher. I hope this is clear but if not I'll do a example: Character wealth 9. Buys something wealth 10 cost 1 wealth point. Buys something wealth 15 cost 2 wealth points. Buys something wealth 20 cost 1d6+1 or 1d6+2. Buys something wealth 25 cost 2d6+1 or 3d6+2. I think the answer would be that the wealth cost only stacks with with the 15 or higher?
A: The only element that stacks is the additional penalty for the item being DC 15 or higher. For example, say you purchase something with a purchase DC 17 points higher than your Wealth. (Perhaps you have Wealth 10 and are taking 20 to buy a car with a DC of 27.) Your Wealth loss is 2d6+1 points. The table isn't as clear as it could be, but if you read it carefully this makes sense. The item is "16 or more points higher" than your Wealth level. It isn't "16 or more points higher" and "11-15 points higher"; therefore, the -2d6 penalty doesn't stack with the -1d6 penalty.
Q: The table on page 91 on the Modern handbook gives the Purchase DC versus the amount your Wealth modifier changes. My question is: do all of those stack? For instance, if the Purchase DC of what I'm buying is 15 or more over my Wealth modifier, my Wealth modifier goes down by 1d6+1, right? 16 or more, 2d6+1? Or 3d6+1?
A: 2d6+1. The only element that stacks is the +1 for purchases over DC 15.
Q: What if I'm selling something that is WAY over my Wealth modifier. Allow an example (this is from my mafia campaign, dealing with the dealing of drugs, so if you're offended by that kind of thing, don't read further): Kaen, a 5th-level Smart/5th-level Charismatic hero, has a Wealth modifier of +10. He spends quite a bit of time (takes 20) to locate and purchase one thousand grams of ketamine from a black market dealer to sell on the street. The block has a Purchase DC of 29 ($30,000), which is 19 higher than his Wealth modifier, and therefore lowers his Wealth by 2d6+1 points. He rolls a 7, therefore loses 8 points of Wealth, for a new Wealth modifier of +2. He then takes the time to convert the 1,000 grams of ketamine into quarters (5,000 quarters x $25 = $125,000). After distributing the drugs through his dealers, he compares the sale DC and his Wealth modifier. The Purchase DC of $125,000 is DC 34, which is 32 higher than his Wealth modifier. Per the current rules, Kaen would roll 2d6+1 to determine the Wealth increase, but how could I (truly) lose buying power after quadrupling my money? Perhaps an ad hoc modifier of X amount on the 2d6+1 roll? Or should I double it to 4d6+2, since 32 is twice 16? Yes, that could result in Kaen having a new Wealth modifier of +28, if I really roll good, or do something like this: For every 4 points difference over a difference of 20, I could add a +1 to the 2d6+1 roll? A +2, maybe?
A: What you're describing is a character whose job is drug dealing. The Wealth system's rules for buying and selling aren't really geared for characters who are engaged in commerce to make a living. There are, however, perfectly good rules for determining how much your character earns from his day job--they're under Regaining Wealth on page 92. These rules apply whether your character is a lawyer, a McDonalds manager, or a drug dealer (or, as someone mentioned in an earlier post, a pimp). I don't recommend using the system of buying a selling goods to determine your character's Wealth level. Instead, use the regular rules for Wealth gain. If your characters go on crime-related adventures (and earn Wealth rewards for doing so; see page 204), that's great. But their "everyday" income, even from crime, should probably be covered by the normal Wealth gain rules.
64. Two-weapon Fighting
Q: Can a character make their off-hand unarmed attacks with something other than their hand while using a two-handed weapon as their primary weapon (e.g., great sword, rifle)? The text for unarmed attacks indicates that they can be made as kicks or headbutts; Living Weapon includes elbows and knees as well.
A: I don't see why not. If you have a great sword in hand, and want to take the TWF penalties to also throw a kick in with your great sword attack, you certainly can.
Q: If the character is using a two-handed melee weapon as their primary attack and a non-hand unarmed attack (kicks, etc.) as their off-hand attack, what would be the damage bonus for high STR?
A: The two-handed weapon gets 1.5 x Str; the unarmed strike gets half Str. Standard rules apply; they don't change just because the off-"hand" is a kick.
Q: An interesting question about two-handed and off-hand attacks with a negative STR modifier: does the two-handed weapon use a straight 1.0xSTR penalty or is it 0.5xSTR penalty?
A: If your Strength modifier is negative, you always add 1 x the modifier to damage, regardless of whether the attack is one-handed, two-handed, with a light weapon, with an off-hand, etc. The Strength mod multiplier for off-hand or two-handed weapons only applies if your modifier is a bonus.
Q: Can AoOs be made with either set of attacks in a two-weapon combination? If the character is making ranged weapon attacks with their primary hand, they should be able to either use their off-hand melee attack or the melee aspect of the ranged weapon in their primary hand (pistol whip, rifle butt) for the AoOs.
A: I'm not quite sure what you're asking here. If you get an attack of opportunity, you can make it with any melee weapon you have in hand. That includes a rifle butt (even if you were using the rifle as a ranged weapon on your turn) or an unarmed strike (if you have Combat Martial Arts). You can't make an AoO with a ranged weapon.
Q: Does the use of a two-weapon attack need to be declared at the beginning of attacks by a character?
A: Absolutely, since the penalties apply to your first attack as well as the additional attack.
Q: If a character initiates a two-weapon attack (normally a full attack), and makes their first primary weapon attack, can they then break off the attack and take a move action, or are they stuck with the full attack action?
A: You can take a move action. After all, you've already paid a penalty in taking the TWF penalty on the first attack, and you haven't done anything that takes more than a standard action. (You've only made one attack.)
Q: If a character is using a two-weapon attack, with a ranged weapon for one set and a melee weapon/CMA unarmed attack for the other, do their ranged attacks still provoke AoOs, or does their melee weapon/CMA attack indicate that they are still on the defensive? Would the same thing also apply to non-CMA unarmed attacks mixed with a melee weapon? If the character's ranged weapon is alternating between melee and ranged attacks (rifle shot, rifle butt, rifle shot), would it also apply?
A: Anything that normally provokes an attack of opportunity does so even when you are two-weapon fighting. The fact that you are fighting with two weapons does not negate attacks of opportunity you might provoke. So, for example, if you attack with a knife in one hand and an unarmed strike (and you don't have Combat Martial Arts), the unarmed strike provokes an AoO just like normal. Likewise with ranged attacks. (Note, however, that you can't get the benefit of the Two-Weapon Fighting feat when mixing ranged and melee weapons; if you mix them you are stuck with the normal penalties.)
65. More on CMA & Brawl
Q: Can a character alternate between CMA-lethal and Brawl-nonlethal unarmed attacks in a single full attack?
A: Absolutely. Why not?
66. PCs Dying
Q: Now I was wondering what if your pc gets killed what are you to do? it is not like D&D where you can just go to your local temple and pay for raise dead spell because magic is not as common here. i guess that you could spend some time and look for a person who has the spell (if you are even allowing them) but they would have to be at least 9th level.
A: In d20 Modern, dead is usually dead. Just one of the differences between a modern setting and a high fantasy setting.
67. Concussive Damage
Q: D20 Modern states that concussive damage is a type of energy damage. Objects are affected by energy damage in different ways, depending upon the type of energy. For example, sonic and acid deal full damage to objects, fire deals half, and cold deals one quarter. How does concussive damage affect objects? Full? Half? Other?
A: Concussive attacks deal normal damage to most objects. (In general, concussive behaves identical to sonic damage.)
68. Epic Level Characters
Q: What I want to know is what rulest should be used for post-20th level characters in d20Mod? The system in the core rulebook seems somewhat arbitrary, and they don't explain what happens when a character reaches 20th level. What happens? Do they fade away like Obi-Wan after Darth Vader cut him to pieces, or do they get sentenced to a life of eternal staticness? Are there rules for "epic" d20M characters anywhere, or are we supposed to port over the Epic Level Handbook rules, or use the rules in the FRCS? I have both, so I don't mind using either, but I was wondering. Please enlighten me, oh great one.
A: We don't have any rules for characters above 20th level yet. We may publish some in the future. In the mean time, you're probably not going to go too far wrong if you simply keep advancing them as normal. If you borrowed a few elements from the Epic Level Handbook, they'd probably work just fine too. Sorry I can't provide any more difinitive answers at this time!
69. Adding a Hero Level to an Ordinary NPC
Q: How do you handle an ordinary NPC when you want to add a hero level or more? Do you just change the ordinary levels to hero or do you add a hero level?
A: The character levels up just like normal, with all the benefits a hero character gains at the new level (but no retroactive benefits applied to earlier levels). For example, take a 3rd-level Strong ordinary who's adding a level of Strong hero. The character already has +3 BAB, +2 Defense, etc. He has the standard array of ability scores, and a given number of hit points. He has no class abilities (talents or bonus feats), and no action points. When he adds the level of Strong hero, his BAB, Defense, saves, etc. go up just like any other Strong character advancing from 3rd to 4th level. He gains 1d8 + Con hit points, and 3 + Int skill points, just as he has every other time he went up in level. But in addition, he gains 7 action points and a bonus feat (the standard class feature at 4th level). He is now a 4th-level Strong hero, but you'll have to make a note somewhere that he's short 2 talents and a bonus feat due to the fact that he was an ordinary for his first three levels.
70. Damage from Autofire to a Vehicle
Q: If somebody autofires onto an object that has more than one swuare in the area, does it take damage more than once? Does each square count as an individual creature/object for damage purposes? So, would autofiring a wall do damage to a car that fills up its area four times?
A: Autofire affects each target in the area of effect once, no matter how large that target is. It works just like a grenade or a fireball spell. A given creature or target only takes the damage once, regardless of how much of the area of effect it occupies.
71. Wealth Rewards as Dollar Figures
Q: I'm running a real-world (no FX or GeneTech) campaign with a mafioso theme, where the players will be playing mafia family members fighting against corporatized, corrupt law enforcement. However, it occurred to me that the Wealth system, while effective and well-conceived, doesn't seem to cover something I need to cover. For example, the mafioso characters bust up a rival family's drug deal. There's $100,000 in cash in a couple of a briefcases. The characters take it (obviously), but how would that effect their Wealth rating? Do I instead assign the briefcase a 'modifier value', like "there's +10 Wealth in that briefcase" and split it up between the four players? Or can I do the following, which a friend and I brainstormed earlier: The $100,000 goes into a Pocket Wealth modifier, which can be used to lower Purchase DCs of items they want/need. For example, hypothetically, I turn the $100,000 into a 20 Wealth points. Each player gets 5, with which they can lower the DC of something/things they want. Like they want to buy a gun with a DC of 17, so instead they use 3 of the points to lower the DC to 14, so it takes the pressure off their personal Wealth modifier. Does this make sense? Will it horribly unbalance the Wealth system? Does it even work?
A: I recommend approaching this from another angle. Rather than deciding in advance that the briefcase contains X much money, and then trying to convert that into Wealth, start instead by determining an appropriate Wealth reward for the encounter (or adventure), and then convert that into dollars. (Remember, it's the Wealth reward that matters--the dollar amount is really just flavor.) In this case, if you're planning this briefcase to be the reward for an EL 5 encounter, Table 7-3 (page 204) recommends a Wealth bonus of +8. As GM, you could then arbitrarily decide to describe the briefcase as containing, perhaps, somewhere around $20,000 (or whatever). The important thing isn't really the amount of cash--it's the bonus to Wealth.
72. Faith Talent
Q: Just a quick query about the Faith talent which is available to dedicated heroes. Does it mean that when you expend an action point you can add your Wis bonus *to* the action point die (getting, say 1d6+2 as your bonus), OR does it mean that you can add your Wis bonus *instead of* rolling the die when you expend an action point? I'm guessing that it is the first, but I'd appreciate a quick clarification.
A: When a Dedicated hero with the Faith talent spends an action point to increase a roll, she adds 1d6 + her Wis modifier (rather than just 1d6) to the roll.
73. Healing
Q: [In general, how does healing differ between D&D and d20 Modern?]
A: In general: Yes, there are differences in the way healing works between d20 Modern and D&D (in fact, there are differences in almost every subsystem). The reasons for these differences are generally A) we felt that some systems should just work differently in a modern setting, and B) it's been 3 years since the design of D&D was wrapped up, and in the intervening years we've simply thought of better ways to handle some things. In the case of healing, there's also C) magical healing, considered a standard part of D&D, is rarer (sometimes nonexistant) in d20 Modern, so we needed to pay more attention to the skill's capabilities, and strengthen it to keep the game playable (without eclipsing the value of magical healing when and where it does exist in the game).
Q: [How do natural healing and long term care combine?]
A: OK, here's an clarification of how natural healing and long term care work in d20 Modern: If you get a good night's sleep (8 hours), you gain back 1 hp per level. (We changed this from D&D's full day of light activity because A) we didn't want characters without magical healing to have to quit the adventure in order to heal, and B) most players ignore the D&D rule anyway, and simply regain 1 hp/level/day no matter what their characters do.) If you go with full bed rest, you gain back 2 hp/level/day. If you benefit from long term care--which requires full bed rest--you gain back 3 hp/level/day.
Q: [Is it necessary to use tool kits to heal people?]
A: Now, equipment (a first aid, medical, or surgery kit) is required for most Treat Injury checks. As with all checks that require tools, you can attempt it without the tool, but you suffer a -4 penalty. Except where noted, the tools are not interchangeable. (You can't use a surgery kit if a medical kit is required.)
74. More on the Perform Skill
Q: The warning on the perform skill (and for that matter on Craft and Knowledge) says not to arbitrarily make up new categories, but to try and fit things into a broad interpretation of existing categories. How strict is this limitation meant to be? Does it mean you shouldn't make up any new categories, or only make up new categories when the proposed category just doesn't seem to fit in with any others, or something else? Let me offer an example. Assume you wanted a PC with DJing abilities. Is it warranted to have a separate Perform: DJing skill, or should it be "forced" in to another category like Perform: Acting.
A: When designing new adventures, you should probably be pretty strict. When launching a campaign, you can be somewhat looser--but not too loose. Here's why:
Let's say you have a character who wants to be a performer--someone who's good at many types of performance. (Perhaps he's basing his character on someone like Harry Connick, Jr.--a person who sings, plays a couple of different types of instruments, and even acts. He isn't great at everything, but he's great at some things and at least competent at some others.) With the existing list, the player has eight skills to spread his skill points around. If you increase that without increasing the number of skill points characters get, you restrict the player to a smaller slice of the skill pie, as it were. The more skills you add to the game, the narrower the focus of individual characters. That may be OK in your game (especially if you only increase the list by 1 or 2 skills), but be aware that it does narrow your characters.
That's why you shouldn't be too loose with this when launching your campaign. Here's why you shouldn't introduce new skills into adventures: Players choose their skills from the list in the book. There's virtually no chance that you (as GM) will think up a new skill, and the players will happen to have also thought up (and taken) exactly the same skill when they were making their characters. If you encourage the players to think up new skills, chances are they'll spend valuable skill points on skills that won't match up with what you call for in your adventures. Likewise, if you introduce new skills in your adventures, there's no chance that players will have ranks in those skills. If the skill matters to the adventure, the heroes will be unprepared. If it doesn't, why bother to define the new skill? I hope that clarifies the rationale a bit. As always, you're welcome to change the game as you see fit!
75. More on Wealth Loopholes
Q: Here's what my characters have figured out they can do: Character has a wealth of 8. He buys something with a purchase DC of 28 by taking twenty. He then buys tons of other stuff, dropping his wealth to 1. He then sells the thing with a purchase DC of 18, bringing his wealth back up to, on average, and 8. I know about the time limit that you can impose via the taking twenty, but what if I want to run a campaign with lots of downtime between adventures?
A: I guess I'm confused about how this is too abusive. Or rather, I'm confused about how this abusive use of the rules gained anything significant for the player's trouble. The guy has a Wealth bonus of +8. He buys something with a purchase DC of 28, taking 20. He loses 2d6+1, dropping his Wealth to, lets say, 4. (On average, it would drop him to 0, but let's say he got lucky.) He then takes 10 to buy a handfull of things with purchase DCs in the low teens. His Wealth drops to 0, he sells the expensive thing (sale value 25) for a Wealth gain of 2d6+1, raising his Wealth bonus (on an average roll) to +8. So, by virtue of spending a week of game time doing nothing but buying and selling, and by getting a lucky roll on his Wealth loss, the guy ended up with three or four extra possessions valued at DC 11 to 14. If he hadn't gotten lucky, it wouldn't have worked. And if he'd gotten unlucky on the Wealth gain for selling the big item, he'd end up with the same net loss of Wealth that he'd have suffered if he'd played by the rules. So what am I missing? How is the player using this to grow fabulously wealthy? What is he getting out of the system that makes it worth all the trouble?
Q: Charles, you gave me a nice set of rules for starting wealth bonus for characters above level one in an earlier post. It looks good, but now that I've tried it, I realized that the numbers it gives are very high. My PCs started with wealth bonuses from 20 to 26. When I'd tried simply calculating a wealth bonus from scratch (Taking starting, 1st level wealth rules, then adding a few levels of profession rolling and flat bonuses to it) I only got 17, and that doesn't account for anything they spent along the way. Now, I see a few possibilities: 1. Rewards. I'd sort of assumed that monetary rewards were somewhat rare here, but seeing these numbers made me question that. Should most adventures involve the players receiving money at some point? Obviously this is GM discretion, but I'm just wondering if that's what the standard expectation is. 2. I may simply be using your system wrong. They get a flat 7 for 4th level, then another 7 if they maxed out profession. Also, another 2 for being PCs. That's already 16, and they still get to roll, and add occupation bonus. If that's wrong, please tell me. 3. Or there could have been a mistake in the system. It might just have been presented wrong, or unclearly.
A: Looks like your problem lies somewhere between #1 and #2. It is expected that characters will receive monetary rewards for some encounters; that expectation is built into Table 7-2. That said, in point #2 you list the factors that go into their total, including a die roll. The die roll is incorrect; the heroes' 4th-level starting Wealth should be 7 (from Table 7-2) + 7 (if they maxed out Profession) + 2 (for being PCs) + occupation bonus.
D20 Modern FAQ Version 1.5
1. Contents
Contents 1
Brawl, Combat Martial Arts, Prone 2
Brass Knuckles 3
Shadow Slayer 4
Two Weapon Fighting 5
Skills and Occupations 6
The Perform Skill 7
Prestige Classes 8
Abilities at First Level 9
Armor Proficiency 10
Start/Complete Full-Round Action 11
Scopes 12
Beretta, Glock, and Machine Gun 13
Escape Artist 14
Ignore Hardness 15
Tear Gas Grenades 16
Pilot Skill 17
Tumble 18
Multiple Double Taps 19
Bat Moreau 20
Standing From Prone/Nip-up 21
Benelli 12-gauge Shotgun 22
Vehicle Feats 23
Agile Riposte 24
Shadow Enemy 25
Soldier/Martial Artist Stacking 26
Wealth Loopholes and Licensing 27
Improved Combat Throw 28
Defensive roll 29
Concentration skill 30
Shields 31
Drive Stunts 32
Mastercraft Items 33
New Occupations 34
Attacks of Opportunity with Ranged Weapons 35
Shotguns (And Ultramodern Firearms) 36
Converting D&D Weapons to d20 Modern 37
Knockout Punch 38
Cellular Interceptors 39
Smart Hero’s Linguist Talent 40
Climb Checks 41
Franks 42
Tanks and Vehicles 43
The Magic System (and Urban Arcana) 44
GM Screens, Character Generators and E-Tools 45
Ability Score Changes and Ability-based Talents & Feats 46
Autofire and Size of Target 47
Slayer’s Fast Healing Ability 48
WOTC Website Updates 49
Shurikens 50
WOTC Licensing & Trade Dress 51
Weapon Finesse & Unarmed Strike 52
Vehicles as Cover 53
Vehicle Feat Compatibility [+ Errata] 54
Urban Arcana Hints 55
Licensing for Items 56
Non-human PCs 57
Cover 58
WOTC Sales Figures for d20 Modern 59
Pimping as a profession 60
Ultramodern Firearms 61
Exploding Vehicles 62
Wealth Stacking 63
Two-weapon Fighting 64
More on CMA & Brawl 65
PCs Dying 66
Concussive Damage 67
Epic Level Characters 68
Adding a Hero Level to an Ordinary NPC 69
Damage from Autofire to a Vehicle 70
Wealth Rewards as Dollar Figures 71
Faith Talent 72
Healing 73
More on the Perform Skill 74
More on Wealth Loopholes 75
2. Brawl, Combat Martial Arts, Prone
Q: There are several feats like "Brawl" that raise the amount of non-lethal damage you do when you make an unarmed attack. My question is if these translate into lethal damage if I have the combat martial arts feat. In other words, if I have combat martial arts and brawl, do I deal 1D6 lethal or nonlethal, my choice. Or it that I can deal 1d4 lethal (combat martial arts) or 1d6 nonlethal (brawl)?
A: At any given time, you use one feat or the other. In other words:
If you want to deal nonlethal damage, and don't care if you're considered armed or unarmed, use the Brawl feat to deal 1d6 damage.
If you want to deal lethal damage, and/or you want to make an unarmed attack of opportunity (or not provoke an AoO when making your unarmed attack), use the Combat Martial Arts feat and deal only 1d4 damage.
Q: Also, the paragraph on "standing up" from prone on page 137 states that you provoke an attack of opportunity when you stand up from prone. The chart on page 135 says you don't. You didn't in the regular Dungeons in Dragons game. Is the
paragraph on 137 just a typo?
A: The table is incorrect. Standing up from prone provokes an attack of opportunity.
[By the way, the Daredevil's nip-up ability should say "as a free action that does not provoke an attack of opportunity."]
3. Brass Knuckles
Q: A few question about how brass knuckles operate. It states in their description that brass knuckles let you do lethal with an unarmed attack but that the attack is otherwise considered unarmed.
Also it states that if you have the brawl feat, that brass knuckles increase the base damage delt by +1 and turn the damage lethal.
SO...my two questions are this. Does the first part mean that even though people with brass knuckles can deal lethal, they still provoke attacks of opportunity when they attack.
A: Attacks made with brass knuckles provoke attacks of opportunity just like normal unarmed attacks. Also, you cannot make attacks of opportunity with brass knuckles (just as you cannot make AoO with normal unarmed attacks).
Q: With brawl and brass knuckles is the +1 on top of the additional damage from brawl or in stead of. In other words, with brawl and brass knuckles: do I deal 1d6+1 lethat damage or 1D3+1 lethal?
A: 1d3+1.
Q: Does improved brawl or combat martial arts have any effect on using brass knuckles. Does improved brawl increase brass knuckle damage at all.
A: No and no.
Q: Do brass knuckles do +1 damage when used by a person with combat martial arts or are brass knuckles essentially useless to someone with combat martial arts (because they can already do lethal)
A: They offer no advantage when used with the Combat Martial Arts feats.
4. Shadow Slayer
Q: Does the Slayer Weapon enhancement bonus work only against creatures of Shadow or does the weapon become for all intents and purposes a +X magic weapon?
A: The latter. A +1 slayer weapon is a +1 weapon for that Shadow Slayer. Hopefully, he'll use it to go kill evil shadow creatures--but the bonus is in effect no matter what he uses it against.
5. Two Weapon Fighting
Q: Wait a minute. Let me get this straight. By acquiring just one feat -- TWF feat -- I can use one weapon in my off hand at no penalty, even if I'm not fighting with two weapons (let's say hypothetically, I injured my primary hand)?
A: The d20 rules never specify which hand is your primary hand. (There's no place on the character sheet to specify whether your character is right-handed or left-handed, and most players probably never even give it a thought.) Furthermore, there are no rules for hit location, or for being specially incapacitated by damage. In short, the d20 system simply never deals with what happens if you use a single weapon in your non-primary hand. So that's not really an issue.
More importantly, we realized that the Ambidexterity feat really only served to make two-weapon fighting an ability that costs two feats instead of one. This seemed like a needless cost and a needless complication. So we got rid of it. The advantages of two-weapon fighting are still pretty marginal (in my mind, anyway); it's really more an issue of style than of substance. Most of the players who choose to fight with two weapons do so because it's pretty cool, not because they gain any real edge in combat. And that's as it should be--players get options that suit their tastes, while the game remains balanced and has the right feel.
The text and table on page 138 are correct. The text of the Two-Weapon Fighting feat (page 88) is incorrect; it should say: “Benefit: Your penalties for fighting with two weapons are lessened by 2 for the primary hand and 6 for the off hand.”
Q: I know you mentioned there are no rules in d20 Modern for specifying which is your off-hand, but as a rule of thumb, if you did have to use your off-hand instead of your primary hand to attack or perform some skill, would you have no penalty if
you had the TWF Feat, but at -4 if you didn't?
That is, if I ported this rule over to D&D, should I handle it as if the Feat covers the Ambidexterity and TWF Feats entirely?
A: Yes and yes.
6. Skills and Occupations
Q: The rules [for Occupations] say that you get [new Class skills] or [+1 bonus to class skills] at character creation?
A: This is the salient point. When you create a character, you choose that character's class at 1st level and the character's occupation. If a skill granted by that occupation is not a class skill for the character's 1st-level class, it becomes a permanent class skill. If it is a class skill for the character's 1st-level class, the character gets a +1 bonus on that skill.
Nothing that happens later in the character's career changes this.
Q: [With all this multi-classing & occupations, how can I tell when something is a class skill or a cross-class one?]
A: In d20 Modern (and D&D, and all other WotC d20 games), when you add a new level to your character, you buy skills according to that class. So when you add a level of Fast hero to your character, you purchase skills as a Fast hero. Fast hero class skills (and any permanent class skills you have from your starting occupation) cost a single point per rank; cross-class skills cost two points per rank. It doesn't matter what your previous classes are. Just because a skill was a class skill for you at some previous level does NOT make it a class skill for you forever. On the subject of starting occupation related skills, the skills associated with your starting occupation are always class skills for you, throughout your entire career. In addition, if an occupation skill is also a class skill for your starting class (the class you take at 1st level), you gain a +1 bonus to that skill.
7. The Perform Skill
Q: I'm sure this might have been covered previously, but as I read and reread that skill, I find myself saying, "okay!? So what is it supposed to do?" All it says is you make the audience go yay or nay! Nothing else? No get a wealth increase? No added bonus to Diplomacy or Gather Information or any Charisma based skills? What's the deal with it?
A: The standard uses of Perform have virtually no direct effect on game mechanics because, well, the standard forms of creative performance have little bearing on modern adventuring. So why is there a Perform skill? There are several answers: First, many players like the option of having some skills that reflect character concept as well as game advantages. This principle also applies to skills like Craft (visual art) and Knowledge (art). Second, there may be special mechanics for non-standard uses of the Perform skill in future products, either from us or from third-party publishers. (Think of the D&D bard class, or Lorne on Angel.) We wouldn't want to shut the door on that possibility by omitting any skill to cover creative performances. Third, as the example on page 45 (top of the right-hand column) shows, you can use Perform (or other skills that don't have direct game mechanics applications) to your advantage if you're creative about it. Perform does not affect Wealth, because a single performance isn't sufficient to really affect your Wealth bonus. If your character is a serious professional musician, however, who frequently performs for money, you might be able to talk your GM into letting you make a Perform check instead of a Profession check to increase your Wealth when you go up in level. . .
8. Prestige Classes
Q: I thought that I had read somewhere that prestige classes were also in d20 Modern. I believe this may have been in one of the preview sections on advanced classes where it explained that characters would go from the base classes to an advanced class and then to a prestige class.Am I wrong or did the d20 modern book just not include them?If the latter, will PrCs be included in other books?
A” Prestige classes are part of the d20 Modern system; however, none are included in the core book (which was published 64 pages over planned count, even after we cut a bunch of stuff we planned to include). You will see prestige classes in later products, starting with Urban Arcana.
9. Abilities at first level
Q: [Can I take two feats at first level, with one being the prerequisite for another?]
A: As a general rule in the d20 system, anything that has prerequisites can be taken simultaneously with the prerequisites. If you have two feat slots (at 1st level, or some other level when you get a bonus feat and level feat at the same time), for example, you can pick two feats for which one is a prereq of the other. Same is true for class talents. (The exception is if the thing itself grants the prerequisites--for example, if a prestige class has certain skill prereq, you can't take the class and then use the class's skill points to buy the necessary skills.)
10. Armor Proficiency
Q: [The Armor Proficiency (Light) feat doesn’t make sense to me.]
A: Sorry it's taken me a couple days to post an answer on this topic. When I had a look at the text in the book, I was rather surprised to read what it actually said. I don't know what bizarre text transposition occurred, but what is written there is needlessly confusing. Before answering, I wanted to check with the other designers and make sure that it's supposed to work the way I thought it's supposed to work. Here's the feat as it should appear:
Armor Proficiency (Light)
You are proficient with light armor (see Table 4-9: Armor).
Benefit: When you wear a type of armor with which you are proficient, you get to add the armor's equipment bonus to your Defense. Also, the armor check penalty applies only to Balance, Climb, Escape Artist, Hide, Jump, Move Silently, and
Tumble checks.
Normal: A character who wears armor with which she is not proficient adds only the armor's nonproficient equipment bonus to her Defense. Also, she suffers its armor check penalty on attack rolls and on all skill checks that involve moving.
11. Start/Complete Full-Round Action
Q: "Start/Complete Full Round Acton" is a move action. Does this mean I can attack and use a move action to start a full attack. For instance if my BAB was +6/+1. Could I attack at +6, then as a move action start a full round attack (attacking again at +6)then the next round finish my full attack attacking at +1, then attack again at +6 as my attack action for round 2? If this is not the case what are the specific restrictions on which full round actions I can take?
A: D'oh! Start/complete a full-round action should be an attack action! Yikes!
Furthermore, it should be clearer that when you split up a full-round action like this, it doesn't take effect until the completion round. Thus, if you used it to make a full attack, you wouldn't make any of the attacks until the second round.
Q: If, for my turn's action, I chose to take a Double Move Action, can I first move my Speed (30 ft.) then, for my second Move Action, take a 'Start/Compete Full-Round Action' move action, and start a Full Attack action?
A: First, Start/Complete Full-Round Action should be an attack action, not a move action. Second, the effect of the action always occurs in the second half. You don't break up the action over the two turns; you do the whole thing on the second turn. Third, Start/Complete only applies to actions that you conduct continuously over the length of a turn--like casting a full-round spell. Discrete activities, like making attacks, cannot be used with the Start/Complete.
12. Scopes
Q: I am wondering if the power of a scope could be increased? There are many, many accoutns of snipers with scoped gun making shots of over a mile: much more than 1.5x the normal decent ability of a rifle. I also wonder why scopes add no bonus to hit at certain ranges: I'm assuming this was just a balance issue, but I am curious, as scopes can greatly increase the ability to aim a gun.
A: The standard scope in the d20 Modern Roleplaying Game represents a typical 4x to 7x scope. There are more powerful scopes out there, but they should probably carry more severe penalties for use (such as requiring two or more attack actions to acquire the target, requiring a Concentration check to use, and/or the user being effectively blind to anything except the target).
[Note that the range increment for a standard scope is 1.5x standard, even though the scope is 4x to 7x. There's a lot that goes into range increments other than the quality of the sighting device. Higher-powered scopes might multiply the range
increment by 2 or even 2.5--but probably not more than that.]
[Note also that the benefit of the Far Shot feat stacks with the benefit of a scope. So even with a basic standard scope, a sniper could multiply the range increment by 2.25.]
As for bonuses, scopes already do that by increasing the range increment (and thus decreasing the range penalty). Imagine shooting a weapon with a range increment of 100 ft. at a target 550 ft. away. You suffer a -10 penalty on the attack. With a scope, your range increment becomes 150 ft., so you suffer only a -6 on the attack. That's like getting a +4 bonus compared to the weapon without a scope!
Q: Ohh kayy... So the Far Shot feat isn't like a normal multiple when combined with a scope? As in, multiples used for things like damage stack: x2 and x2 equals x3, not x4; but this doesn't, it's multiplied together? It was my understanding that a scope and Far Shot would offer only x2 to range increments (x1.5 or +50%, plus x1.5 (+50%)= x2 (+100%)).
A: You're absolutely correct; my mistake. Far Shot plus a standard scope = double the range increment.
13. Beretta, Glock, and Machine Gun
Q: What was the consideration in giving a Beretta 92FS a 33% longer range than a glock 17? The weapons' ballistic characteristics are not all that different. Certainly not different enough to warrant that kind of difference.
A: Range increments are always measured in 10-foot steps. Thus, though the real ballistic characteristics might have suggested range increments of, say, 33 feet for the Glock and 37 feet for the Beretta (not that big a difference), rounding the numbers to the nearest 10 feet gives us 30 ft. and 40 ft., respectively. That said, balance was also an issue. The Glock was given a +1 mastercraft bonus, due to its consistently excellent reputation for quality and accuracy. Even given that reputation, it's borderline that it deserves a +1 that other weapons don't get. We decided to err liberally in terms of the bonus; in exchange, we erred conservatively in its range increment. [When I say "erred," I don't mean that we made an error. The real-world data on firearms and other devices is often a little contradictory and somewhat subjective; when we interpret the many sources of data, we have to decide which end of the
spectrum we're going to base our game numbers on.]
Q: I have been looking everything over, and I cannot find a single reason why anyone in their right mind would employ a machinegun. You need an extra feat for it, in the case of the M60, employing the same caliber ammo as a G3 somehow gives you less damage, and, with the quick reload feat you can do everything with an automatic 7.62mm rifle that a machinegun can only better.
A: OK, here's the scoop.
For starters, there's a typo. The M-60 should deal 2d10 damage, not 2d8. Second, you don't actually need the Advanced Firearms feat to use an MG. When you use autofire, you target a 10' square with an effective Defense of 10. Without the feat, you take a -4 on the attack--making the roll, effectively, against a Defense of 14. That's still less than the Defense of many characters, so even an attacker without the feat can use autofire pretty effectively. [So why ever take the Advance Firearms feat? Well, getting rid of the -4 is a small reason, but the big reason is that it's a prereq for other important feats, like Burst Fire.] That leaves us with two advantages to using an M60 instead of a G3: longer range increment, and a large (possibly unlimited) ammo capacity. These factors may not be very important in most roleplaying game encounters, which occur quickly and at close range. That's fine. If your characters are finding that the G3 suits them better in most of their encounters, that's probably pretty
realistic.
14. Escape Artist
Q: I think I came across a typo in the book. The Escape Artist skill states that, when opposing someone's Dex check to tie you up, Your opponent gets a +10 modifier to their check. The table, however, indicates that they get a +20 modifier. The SRD says +20 in both cases. I'm guessing that, as the sources that say +20 outnumber those that say +10, the official ruling is +20. However, I just thought that you (Charles) should know about this typo for your errata book.
A: Yes, we discovered this a while back. In fact, we discovered it early enough to fix it in the SRD! (So, as you might gather, the SRD is correct: the bonus is +20.)
15. Ignore Hardness
Q: [I am finding some inconsistency with the ignore hardness values, are these correct? Should this be 2/3/4 or maybe 2/4/6?)?]
A: Typo. All the ignore hardness values should be 1 point higher than they are. It should be 2/4/6.
16. Tear Gas Grenades
Q: Looking through the explosives on pg 104-106, I notice that every other type of explosive lists a # per purchase. I assume that the tear gas grenades are 6 per like the other grenades, but I thought I'd point out that that information was omitted.
A: Yes, the line that states "The purchase DC given is for a box of six grenades." was inadvertently left out.
Q: Exactly what does tear gas do? The description in the book states that it forces all within its area of effect to make a Fort save (DC 25) or be blinded for 2d6 rounds. The SRD, however, states that it forces a Fort save (DC 15) to avoid being nauseated for 1d6 rounds. Now, obviously these two effects are pretty different; which one is correct?
A: The SRD. It's a DC 15 save to avoid being nauseated for 1d6 rounds. We discovered this error too late to make the change in the book (it was at the printer already), but we fixed it in the SRD.
17. Pilot Skill
Q: [I think there is a typo on the] top of page 70 [which currently says] "require the corresponding Aircraft Operation feat, or else you take a -4 penalty on the Drive checks." [It] Looks like a copy/paste from the Drive skill, but shouldn't the word "Drive" be changed to "Pilot"? Just to note that none of the noted errata are going to lessen my complete enjoyment of this rulebook. Thanks for the excellent product!
A: Thanks for the nice comments, and thanks for pointing out the typo! I've made a note of it.
18. Tumble
Q: In the Tumble Skill description the DC to tumble past Opponents is 20, the same as Tumbling Through Opponents. I assume this is a typo and not a change from the PBH's DC 15?
A: D'oh! Actually, both DCs are wrong. As in the PHB, it should be 15 to Tumble past, and 25 to Tumble through.
19. Multiple Double Taps
Q: If using two guns, can you Double Tap with both weapons in the same round?
A: Sure. And of you have multiple attacks (due to a high BAB), you can double-tap on each attack. The restrictions are that you suffer the -2 modifier on each attack (which can get pretty steep if you're stacking it on top of two-weapon fighting penalties) and that you have to have enough ammo in the weapon.
20. Bat Moreau
Q: Should the description on page 248 include an entry for Blindsight? The Light Sensitivy entry notes that they can rely on their blindsight ability, yet it's not actually noted...
A: Yes, the bat moreau entry should have a paragraph on its blindsight ability. Normally, we would include such a paragraph, but it was cut for space. (This particular chapter was over page count by 8 pages, and that's after we had decided to make the book 64 pages longer than originally planned.) We felt we could get away with the cut because the blindsight ability was already noted above (the last sentence in the first paragraph of the bat moreau entry), and because the blindsight ability is fully explained on page 226. (Normally we wouldn't force you to do that page turning to search it out, but as I said we were desperate to get everything to fit!)
21. Standing From Prone/Nip-up
Q: [There seems to be a conflict in the prone rules on page 135. Do you suffer an AOO when standing up from prone, unlike in D&D?]
A: Standing up from prone provokes an attack of opportunity. The table on page 135 is incorrect. [By the way, the Daredevil's nip-up ability should say "as a free action that does not provoke an attack of opportunity."]
22. Benelli 12-gauge Shotgun
Q: [I see mention of a Benelli 12-gaughe shotgun in the book but there are no stats for it.]
A: The Benelli was inadvertantly left off of Table 4-4. Its stats are:
Benelli 121 M1 (12-gauge shotgun)
Damage: 2d8
Critical: 20
Damage Type: Ballistic
Range Increment: 40 ft.
Rate of Fire: S
Magazine: 7 int.
Size: Large
Weight: 8 lb.
Purchase DC: 17
Restriction: Lic (+1)
23. Vehicle Feats
Q: [What types of Vehicles does each vehicle feat apply to, and what are the prerequisites for things like Vehicle Dodge?]
A: In general, if a feat doesn't specify a type of vehicle, it applies to all vehicles. For example, have a look at Force Stop: it specifies surface vehicles. That said, the prereq for Vehicle Dodge should be Drive 6 ranks or Pilot 6 ranks.
24. Agile Riposte
Q: [In the Agile Riposte description, it says “with a melee weapon”. Can you use things like Combat Martial Arts with Agile Riposte, and do the attack of opportunity rules change for this?]
A: Agile Riposte should simply say ". . . you may make an attack of opportunity against that opponent." The words "with a melee weapon" are extraneous and shouldn't be there. The attack of opportunity granted by Agile Riposte is no different than any other attack of opportunity. All the normal rules and restrictions for AoOs apply. So, yes, someone with Combat Martial Arts or a natural attack can take advantage of Agile Riposte.
25. Shadow Enemy
Q: The description for the Shadow Slayer's 'Shadow Enemy' ability is confusing. At first it mentions a +2 bonus on certain skills checks, and on damage, then it goes on to say 'he gets a +1 bonus... immediately, and the bonus increases by +1 with each new level he attains'. Which is true?
A: It's +1. The +2 in the first paragraph is a typo.
Q: On a related note, does the +2 to damage now work on undead, unlike the ranger's similar ability?
A: The bonus applies to the shadow slayer's chosen type of favored enemy. If the shadow slayer chooses undead, it applies to undead.
26. Soldier/Martial Artist Stacking
Q: Combining the Martial Artist with the Soldier gives you Improved Combat Martial Arts, which increases unarmed threat range to 19-20, and the Soldier's Improved Critical, which bumps it up by one. This makes my threat range 18-20, correct?
A: If I understand your question correctly, you're asking if the 19-20 threat range from Improved Combat Martial Arts stacks with the increase in threat range from the soldier's Improved Critical class ability. (Assuming, of course, that unarmed strike is the weapon chosen by the soldier for his weapon specialization class ability.)
The answer is Yes. A 5th-level soldier who chose unarmed strike as his weapon specialization back at 2nd level has a threat range of 18-20 if he also has the Improved Combat Martial Arts feat.
Q: Later, add Advanced Martial artist, meaning that criticals are 18-20/x3. Then, add Knockout Punch and Improved Knockout Punch. Improved Knockout punch gives you a x3 critical. Does this mean that you use the d20-standard and
make that auto-critical x4 nonlethal when attacking a flat-footed opponent?
A: No. The benefits from the Combat Martial Arts feats do no stack with those of the Brawl feats.
27. Wealth Loopholes and Starting Wealth
Q: [I have a problem. Someone reduces their wealth mod to 0. Then, they roll a check to buy something with DC around 7 or 8. They immediately turn around and sell it, increasing their mod by 1. Then they can take 20 to buy something with purchase DC up to 21. [. . .] The only thing I can think of to counter this would be to limit the amount of game time available to make purchases by making events happen in-game to interrupt that.
A: I recommend strictly enforcing the rule under Shopping and Time, bolstering it with the following house rule: "When your Wealth bonus is +0, all objects, no matter how common, take a number of hours equal to their purchase DC to buy."
Also, I'd add the rule that selling objects also takes a number of hours equal to their normal (not sale value) purchase DC.
Then I'd get your adventure started, so that any player who wants to screw around with buying and selling starts missing out on the action.
Q: By keeping one wealthy party member, when anyone's wealth decreases, that wealthy character can help anyone else recover their wealth modifier to nearly the level of the wealthy character by this method: The poor character has some cheap token possession, and sells it to the wealthier for a vastly inflated price, but still beneath 15 and beneath the wealthier character's wealth bonus. Thus, the wealthier character loses nothing, and the poorer gains.
A: The rules for buying and selling don't change just because it occurs between characters. If a hero wants to sell something to his friend, the sale value is equal to the normal purchase DC for the item minus 3. The players can't simply decide to change that, no more than they can arbitrarily decide to change the DC of any other check.
A rich character can help his friends in a number of other, perfectly acceptable ways. He can buy things and give them to his friends (if his Wealth bonus is above +14, he can buy his friends an infinite supply of items with purchase DCs of 14 or less). He can make aid another checks, giving his friends +2 on their rolls. Those ways of helping out are fine.
Q: [Can’t] A lucky player can make money by doing the following:
- purchase something 12 or more greater than their wealth (with take 20), thereby reducing their weatlh by a dice roll (1d6+1 or 2d6+1 - note the item would have to be at least DC 15, since you can't take 20 if you have +0 wealth) - sell the same item and recover a dice roll of wealth (since the sale value would be at least 11 higher than their wealth, after deductions from buying it)? If the sale dice roll (1d6+1 or 2d6+1, or whatever) is higher than their buying roll, they will make money out of this.
A: Remember that when you sell something, its sale value is 3 points less than its normal purchase DC. That makes it tough (though not impossible) to use this method. And because the gains are (at best) the same as the losses, this is a very
risky and unreliable way to try to cheat the system. . .
28. Improved Combat Throw
Q: [The Improved Combat Throw feat indicates that it counts as an attack of opportunity.] Is this assuming that the character is "armed" (melee or unarmed with CMA) when using this feat, or is this a special circumstance where an unarmed character is allowed an attack of opportunity? If this is an assumption, how would this be best clarified? Would this AoO trip draw an attack of opportunity if the character is not "armed" (i.e., unarmed without CMA) and does not have the Improved Trip feat?
A: That last sentence should be "This counts as an attack of opportunity, which you can make even if you are unarmed."
29. Defensive roll
Q: Can [defensive roll] be used to avoid the effects of a failed Fort save check due to massive damage? Or would it only apply if the damage dealt was sufficient to drop the character to 0 or fewer HP by itself? Would it have any effect on a non-lethal massive damage failed check (i.e., could the character change the effect of the knockout to just being dazed)?
A: Defensive roll does not interact with hit point loss due to massive damage, any more than it interacts with hit point loss due to poison. It applies only to the actual hit point damage dealt by an attack. It does not interact with nonlethal damage.
Q: Not bringing massive damage into the question, can Defensive Roll be used when the character is flat-footed?
A: Yes it can. The only time it can't be used is when the character is immobilized.
30. Concentration Skill
Q: Can one make Concentration checks with non-skill actions to avoid an attack of opportunity? Obviously spell-casting is allowed to be done defensively, but what about other non-movement actions. Such as, picking up a weapon, drawing something from a backpack, drinking a potion and the big one, attacking an armed opponent while unarmed.
A: OK, in looking over the Concentration skill description, I can see how it might be a bit confusing. Here's an alternate version of the relevant text for the skill; hopefully it's a bit clearer:
Check: You make a Concentration check whenever you may potentially be distracted while engaged in some action that requires your full attention (such as making a Disable Device or Treat Injury check). Situations such as taking damage, working in a bouncing vehicle, or dealing with severe weather can require you to make a Concentration check.
If the Concentration check succeeds, you may continue with the action. If the Concentration check fails, the action automatically fails (with the appropriate ramifications, if any), and the action is wasted.
A successful Concentration check still doesn't allow you to take 10 when you are in a stressful situation; you must roll the check as normal.
Special: You can use Concentration to avoid attacks of opportunity when attempting a skill check that normally provokes attacks of opportunity. The DC to do so is 15.
If the Concentration check succeeds, you may attempt the action normally without incurring any attacks of opportunity. If the Concentration check fails, the related check automatically fails just as if your concentration had been disrupted by a distraction. You do not provoke attacks of opportunity, however.
This use of Concentration applies only to skill checks. It does not apply to other actions that normally provoke attacks of opportunity, such as movement or making unarmed attacks.
31. Shields
Q: While not normally a common piece of equipment for a modern day character, riot shields, capture shields, and various other shields still do find the occasional use, and I was wondering how they are meant to be handled. I noticed no 'shield proficiency' feat off-hand. Should I have one if shields are to play any role in the game, or do they fall under one of the existing armor proficiencies? Do they still provide an armor class/defense bonus, or are shields simply considered 'cover', like the D&D tower shields?
A: Shields work the same in d20 Modern as in D&D. A character proficient in medium or heavy armor is proficient with shields. You'll see a fair bit more on shields in Urban Arcana.
32. Drive stunts
Q: It says that the driver of a vehicle can do up to 2 stunts during movement, if no attack action is taken. However, in the description of 'dash' and 'hard brake'(or whatever it's called) it tells the total possible change in movement categories as if it were only possible to do that stunt once in a round. I would appreciate some clarification on this matter.
A: A vehicle cannot increase speed more than two speed categories per round, and cannot decrease speed more than three speed categories per round. Thus, you can only succeed in one dash or hard brake stunt per round. However, if you attempt a dash, and fail, you can use your second stunt to attempt it again.
33. Mastercraft Items
Q: Can you add a Mastercraft bonus to an item that has nothing to do with a die-roll? If so, can you do things with Mastercrafting like make ordinary objects smaller (and, for example, increase the Mastercraft bonus once for each size category smaller), and combining two objects together to disguise the purpose of the object (costing an additional Mastercraft bonus)? For example, you could use this ability to, say, add a hidden camera to sunglasses. So you reduce the size of a digital camera from tiny to Diminutive (a change of two size categories), and call that a +2 (I am making that rule of thumb up as an educated guess by the way). Then add in a disguise to the object, in this case sunglasses, and call that a +1 (again guessing). Total mastercraft adjustment is +3. Wealth Check DC is about a 20 (Craft Electronics, a digital camera is somewhere between a cell phone and a computer, closer to a computer I would think) plus 3 (mastercraft adjustment) for a total of 23. Craft check is going to be about a 28 (again somwhere between a cell phone and a computer, but closer to a computer), plus 3 (mastercraft adjustment) for a total of 31. XP cost will be 25 X Techie Level (which is no less than 10th level, to get the +3 adjustment) X 3 (the mastercraft adjustment). For all of these checks I would compare the item to other similar items, to make sure nothing is too out of whack.
A: Technically, you can't do this with mastercrafting, although I do like your ideas for house rules. I don't have any specific advice for you on this, but I have been mulling over a new advanced class based on gadget construction and improvisation--the field scientist and techie aren't very relevant to my post-apocalyptic campaign. If I get something written up, I'll post it. (It probably won't happen for a week or two, though, at least.)
Q: Well, since I haven't really found anything about anything, I feel I have to ask. This is at least partly about secret agents and the like, and well, say agent and I think most think of Bond. And that leads us to Q-branch. So, is there any plans for rules to modify vehicles? Souped-up engines, armor, and of course the .50-cals behind the headlights and the catapult passanger seat. I know that there might not be TONS of it in my campaign, but I also know at least one and possibly more of my playes will ask! *G*
A: No vehicle modification rules exist at this time. I'd love to see some, mainly because I think my players would like to make some modifications to their Humvee in our post-apocalyptic campaign. (A ram plate would be nice, considering how often the front end of their vehicle is used as a weapon--and how much time they spend on repairs afterward!) Maybe we'll put something together soon. . .
34. New Occupations
Q: I was wondering if there are any guidelines people can offer (and hopefully Charles Ryan) for creating new occupations. For example, none of the listed occupations have "concentration" as a skill. Is there some reason for this, or just happenstance? Is there a formula/rule-of-thumb for creating occupations that weighs the value of skills, feats, wealth, and reputation?
A: There's no design reason why Concentration isn't offered by any existing occupation; if you created an occupation that included Concentration that would be fine.
Balancing occupations is complex. In general, the factors include:
* Age prerequisite.
* Number of permanent skills/skill bonuses (generally 1 or 2).
* Number of skill choices (generally 5 - 10).
* Number of bonus feats (generally 0 or 1).
* Number of feat choices (generally 1 - 4).
* Reputation bonus (generally 0 to +1).
* Wealth bonus (generally +1 to +6).
The number of class skills, bonus feats, and the Wealth bonus are the main factors; they shouldn't all be high. The number of class choices, feat choices, and Reputation are lesser balancing factors, along with age prerequisites.
35. Attacks of Opportunity with Ranged Weapons
Q: 1) If a character in a threatened area provokes an attack of opportunity from an opponent with a pistol or rifle, the opponent can make an attack of opportunity with their pistol grip or rifle butt. 2) Also, attacks of opportunity cannot be made by using a ranged attack, but can be made by using the melee aspect of an otherwise ranged weapon (e.g., stab with a throwing knife, whip with a pistol grip).
A: Both of these are correct. Now, here's one point you might consider: If a melee attack form does not appear on the melee weapons list, it probably counts as an improvised weapon. For example, whacking someone with your crossbow is probably an improvised weapon attack. In such cases, the attacker suffers a -4 penalty (see Improvised Weapons on page 109).
Q: During a full-attack option, can a character switch freely between the ranged and melee aspects of pistols and rifles? For example, could a character with a rifle and 3 attacks due to high BAB, shoot at one target, strike a melee opponent with their rifle butt, and then shoot another target? If they alternate between modes in one full-attack action, do they suffer an attack penalty to either set of attacks (or both)?
A: The attacker can switch between modes freely. The attacker provokes attacks of opportunity any time she makes a ranged attack within a threatened square.
36. Shotguns (And Ultramodern Firearms)
Q: I know this has been dredged up by others for so long but I wanted Mr. Ryan's opinion on this. How come in d20 Modern there's no rules about shotgun spread. The closest I found was the damage thinning at ranges. Even indoors at twenty feet you can peg people standing six feet apart.
A: Despite the misperception common in most roleplaying systems, shotguns do not spread that widely. (The spread at moderate ranges is about enough to cover a dinner plate--NOT enough to hit several people.)
That said, I've provided some slightly different rules in Ultramodern Firearms (out in about a month from Green Ronin Publishing!): The -2 penalty per range increment applies to damage, rather than attack rolls. This means that shotguns are a little more likely to hit at long ranges (due to their spread), but that their damage falls off with range (due to the fact that few projectiles might hit, and that shot loses its velocity faster than ballistic rounds do). [It will have the] same theoretical maximum as any other non-thrown ranged weapon: 10 range increments. However, in practice the maximum is lower: a 2d8 shotgun losing -2 damage every range increment has a functional maximum range of 8 range increments. (If you roll 16 damage, after 8 range increments that damage is reduced to 0). On average, the damage is reduced to 0 after 4 to 5 range increments. See how cleverly that works out! [Also] Ultramodern Firearms has rules for different forms of shotgun ammo (and ammo for other firearm types as well, of course), and for different types of choke.
Q: Are we to assume that the basic damage penalty rule (no matter how many penalties you have, you can never deal fewer than 1 point of damage on a successful attack) does not apply to shotguns in this case? Or would it be penalized damage up to 8 range increments, and then 1 point for the last two?
A: D'oh! You're right. A shotgun would deal 1 point of damage all the way out to 10 range increments. That's what I get for crowing about my own cleverness. . . !
37. Converting D&D Weapons to d20 Modern
Q: Any suggestions on guidelines for converting 3rd edition weapons to archaic weapons in d20 Modern? Can they just be plopped in as is, or is there damage modification that must be done in order to make them comparable to d20 Modern weapons? Also, what would a good guideline be for finding Wealth DCs for converted weapons?
A: In general, weapons from D&D are fairly plop-and-play. If you use them as-is, you probably won't have any serious problems with your game. If you want to be exacting, you can apply the following conversions:
Range Increment: Decrease the range increment to about 1/3 of the D&D increment.
Crits: Change all crit damage to x2.
Purchase DC: Use your best guess at the price, and refer to Table 7-1. If you have no idea on the price, as a rule of thumb you can go with 1 gp = $10. (Thus a weapon that costs 7 gp would cost $70, or purchase DC 8.) If the weapon is generally easy to obtain in the modern world (like nunchaku), you might drop the purchase DC by 1; if it's exotic or rare increase the DC by 2 or so.
38. Knockout Punch
Q: [Regarding Knockout Punch I have heard people say] "if you can stun someone during a fight, then KO punch will pretty much finish him off". I am a little confused, because I do not think that is how the rules work, for three reasons: - when you equal or exceed someone's Con with non-lethal damage, they make a DC 15 save. If they succeed, they are DAZED, not stunned (and if they fail they fall unconscious)…KO Punch only applies when the opponent is FLAT-FOOTED, not dazed or stunned [and] … dazed, flat-footed and stunned are all separate conditions and (while similar in some respects) are not equivalent…So it seems to me that KO Punch (and Imp KO Punch) will only ever work during the first round of a fight, if you can catch someone flatfooted. Am I missing something here?
A: [F]lat-footed is not the same thing as denied Dex bonus. Flat-footed only occurs at the beginning of combat, when a character has not yet acted. I can't think of any situation in which a character already in combat becomes flat-footed. (There may be such situations, but if so they're rare; I can't think of any at the moment.) Yes, Knockout Punch could easily be named Sucker Punch. (In fact, I remember that we considered that name when we were designing the feats; I don't recall exactly why we decided against it.) It really is useful mainly in surprise situations.
Q: Since a character is Flat-Footed until they've acted, if such a character were Dazed before their first action, would this mean that the character is Flat-Footed for an extra round since being Dazed means not being able to act?
A: You betcha. If a brawler can keep a target dazed (by forcing massive damage saves, even if the target succeeds in the saves), the target remains flat-footed (and thus susceptible to Knockout Punch).
39. Cellular Interceptors
Q: In the description of the Computer Use skill, it says using a Cellular Interceptor to intercept a call from a number you know drops the DC by 10 to DC 25. In the description of the Cellular Interceptor item it says the DC drops to 10.
A: It drops by 10 (to 25).
40. Smart Hero’s Linguist Talent
Q: In the description of Smart hero's Linguist talent, it says to understand a new language the Smart hero can make an Intelligence check with a bonus of his Smart hero level + his intelligence bonus. I'm guessing this is a mistake... that you add your Int bonus twice... Then it says for a written language, the bonus applies to a Decipher Script check instead. Instead of the Intelligence check? And this still has the Int x2 problem...
A: You are correct. The words "+ the hero's Intelligence modifier" are redundant and should be omitted. The Smart hero may add his Smart hero levels to an Int check to understand a language he hears, or to a Decipher Script check to understand a language he reads.
41. Climb Checks
Q: This isn't a mistake, but something that was probably overlooked. A smooth, flat, vertical surface has no climb DC, meaning it can't be climbed. Bracing against two opposite walls grants a -10 DC modifier. So, climbing two opposite, smooth, vertical walls is still impossible?
A: Interesting observation. I'd probably assign a "theoretical" DC of, say, 30, to perfectly smooth vertical walls, as a basis for checks modified by conditions (such as bracing against opposite walls) that make it possible.
42. Franks
Q: Hey, this is primarily a question for Rich Redman: For franks, how many starting feats should they recieve? As it stands, I've been thinking that they (being basically human) would get two feats at first level, if they do not have any special qualities, (such as darkvision) and one if they do have special qualities (with the special qualities taking the place of the second feat) What's the official word on this?
A: Sorry, I've been in deadline heck and Charles had to bring this to my attention via e-mail. My answer is that franks get 1 starting feat, just like nonhuman races in D&D.
43. Tanks and Vehicles
Q: A 9mm round that scores critical and does over 20 would damage a tank equipped with several inches of military grade armour.....I DON'T THINK SO!!!
A: Do you think that dealing 1 or 2 points of damage to a tank necessitates penetrating its main armor? Tanks, like anything else, have vulnerabilities--optics, running gear, external portions of the weaponry, etc. Tanks can be (and often are) disabled without any penetration of the main armor. You don't have to take my word for it. Just remember that Rich Redman, one of the other designers, was quite satisfied with the armored vehicle rules--and he served as an M1A1 tank platoon leader in the gulf war. Or, better yet, try playing the game! My bet is that you'll find the outcome of any battle involving a tank entirely satisfying.
Q: Why can't vehicles suffer critical hits?
A: Vehicles are objects. Critical hits apply only to creatures.
Q: Why have you made them [vehicles] objects though? Seems to take the fun out of vehicle combat.
A: Have you played any vehicle combat yet? It's been plenty of fun in my games! Some food for thought:
1. The rules give you some options for disabling vehicles other than simply reducing them to 0 hp. Shooting out the tires or windshield is more interesting in the game (and realistic) than trying for a critical hit.
2. If you're imagining critical hits as huge fiery explosions like in the movies, remember that what comes around goes around. If you can blast your opponents in a gigantic explosion, they can do the same to you. One of the challenges in designing the vehicle combat system was preventing cars from becoming whole-party coffins. We don't wan't anyone's campaign being brought to a screeching and untimely halt because a lucky roll by a bad guy resulted in the fiery death of the entire party!
3. Sure, you may think that cars have a "discernable anatomy," and you may think you know what that anatomy is. But what about a UFO? A mini-submarine? Those cool little carlike things in Minority Report? Where do you draw the line between objects (even vehicles) that have discernable anatomies and those that don't?
4. Vehicles may be immune to crits (and hence coups de gras), but they can still be quickly dispatched. That's what Disable Device is for.
5. Some people have complained that we didn't stat armored vehicles tough enough. Part of that is because they are immune to crits. Allow crits against vehicles, and you may end up with some squirrely results when playing with armored vehicles.
All of these issues (except perhaps #2) are solvable if you really feel crits against objects will make your game better. And you're always welcome--encouraged, even--the modify the game as you see fit. But my guess is that if you give it a try as written, you'll be happy with the results.
Q: How much cover bonus does a tank benefit from a hull-down position?
A: As with all cover situations, that's for your GM to adjudicate. (I'd probably give a tank 3/4 cover against attacks from the front for being hull down.)
Q: What kind of equipment bonus does the M1's Fire Control System give to gunner's attack rolls, when tank is moving?
A: We don't specify. However, it's probably not unreasonable to allow the fire control system to negate some of the penalties for a moving vehicle, up to, say, 2 points of penalty.
Q: Is insurance for my rainwater tank included in my Wealth level?
A: Yep. (And I managed to keep a straight face . . .)
44. The Magic System (and Urban Arcana)
Q: OK, the magic user advanced class gets as his 10th level class feature the ability to prepare a "maximised" version of a spell. So what ones can he do? Let's just have a little look at the spell list for a moment. His max spell level is 5, so he can only maximise 1st and 2nd level spells. That gives him, lets see, magic missile and sleep? No 2nd level spells that could be affected, can't affect 3rd level spells. What is the plan here? Why are they given such a functionally useless ability as their 10th level class ability? Empower would have been a much more reasonable choice, surely - at least you could perpare a couple of empowered 3rd level spells. Being able to sleep 2x 4HD creatures when you are 15th level doesn't seem particularly useful, and 25 points of magic missile damage is a bit ho-hum. What am I missing here?
A: The magic system in the d20 Modern core book is the bare-bones center of what we'd like it to become. There will be additional spells, as well as the ability to increase caster level above 10th, in Urban Arcana and other products. It's an unfortunate side effect of having to cram an entire game into 384 pages that some class abilities will not be as flexible as we ultimately envision them. Hope that sheds some light on it!
45. GM Screens, Character Generators and E-Tools
Any rumors of a GM screen coming out before I start photocopying charts and glueing them to cardboard? How bout Character Generator software?
A: We won't be releasing a GM screen between now and August 2003. Beyond that, I can't comment on future releases.
Q: Well, this has been touched upon before, just a bit, bout I thought I'd get right out and ask. So: Is there any chance of a D20 E-tools patch? I know I use it for D&D, and would prolly have a LOT of use for a D20 patch as well.
A: Sorry, I have no information on E-Tools at this time.
46. Ability Score Changes and Ability-based Talents & Feats
Q: The Dedicated's Cool Under Pressure Talent says you choose a number of skills equal to 3 + your wisdom modifier. Lets say when I get this talent my wisdom modifier is +3 giving me 6 skills I can always take 10 on. If my wisdom modifier later increases to +4 do I get to choose another skill to be cool under pressure with...or does it always remain the same number of skills as 3 + your wisdom modifier when you received the talent.
A: If you gain a permanent Wisdom increase, your new Wisdom bonus applies to the cool under pressure ability--so yes, if your bonus goes from +3 to +4, you get to pick another skill on which you can take 10. If you Wisdom bonus goes up due to a temporary increase (from the enhance ability spell, for example), you do not get to pick additional skills for the cool under pressure ability.
Q: So, would this also apply to the Spell Mastery Feat? i.e. When I get it I have an Int bonus of +3 and so get 3 spells that I can prepare with out my book. Later my bonus goes up (permanently) to + 4. Do I now get to have annother spell I can prep without my book?
A: Yes.
47. Autofire and Size of Target
Q: If an object or creature takes up more than one space, does it take more damage than the normal +2d*? For instance, if two thugs are standing behind a car, and I autofire with two squares on the car, and the other two on the orcs, does the car take 4d* twice, or just once? If only once, what would the point be of concentrating all your fire on the car?
A: Autofire is an area effect. Everything within the area takes the prescribed damage (unless it saves), regardless of the creature or object's size. It helps if you remember that autofire works exactly the same way as grenades and fireballs. If you cast a fireball at a Gargantuan dragon, the dragon takes 10d6 damage--not 10d6 per five-foot square it occupies. Same for autofire. Burst fire, on the other hand, is a ranged attack, made like any other ranged attack. The target's size modifier is built into its Defense, so it's easier to hit larger creatures.
48. Slayer’s Fast Healing Ability
Q: I'm a little dubious about the [Slayer’s] Fast Healing ability. The main reason for this is that I do not know how Fast Healing works in conjunction with falling into negative hit points. The three possibilities, as I see it, are thus:
1. Slayer heals X hit points per round. Once he/she falls into negative hit points, Fast Healing is ineffective.
2. Slayer heals X hit points per round. Once he/she falls into negative hit points, Fast Healing is inneffective until he/she stabilizes.
3. Slayer heals X hit points per round, even while in negative hit points.
A: Option 3 is correct. Fast healing works so long as the character is alive (above -10 hp); being at negative hp does not otherwise affect the use of the ability. You're correct that this is a very powerful ability. It's also obtained at a high character level, and at a point in a character's career where the difference between 0 hp and -10 hp is pretty slim.
49. WOTC Website Updates
Q: I was just hoping someone could tell me if the d20 Modern site will feature an adventure soon. The web-enhancement was great but I am anxious to see how some of the pros envision a d20 modern mission. That would be fantastic! I don't know if this was asked or not and I couldn't find any mention anywhere I looked, so sorry if it has been brought up already.
A: When and where you'll see a web adventure is a question only the WotC web team can answer. I'm pretty sure they've got some in the works, though, because they recently had me write one, and I'm aware of at least one other writer asked to write one. So you should see something, but I don't know when. Perhaps someone on the web team can step in here to answer (if you're reading this)? [Editor’s Note: There is one out now, written by Steve Winter called Le Chien de l’Onyx.]
Q: Is there going to be any more web support for d20 Modern? It's been a month now with no updates to the site.
A: [Taken up by Rich Redman] A couple of notes for all you fans (including you, Ranger_Reg): 1) There is no Wizards web team. This site is maintained and paid for by Hasbro. The people doing it sit in the Wizards' offices, but they work directly for Hasbro. 2) Hasbro budgets for this website, for good or ill, take your pick. 3) IMO, Julia Martin is doing a brilliant job of working with these circumstances. She really knows how to maximize time and money. 4) The lay-offs in September threw everybody for a loop. 5) I have a contract with Julia to produce d20 Modern columns for this site on a monthly basis, first one going up in January. I turned in the first three before the d20 Modern chat, so it's going to be April before luris_blear gets a column on building fiends (but I haven't forgotten my promise to do it). I'll listen to any requests for columns, my e-mail is available through my screen name. 6) The great Steven "Stan!" Brown has a contract to produce d20 Modern adventures for this website, I believe on a monthly basis. You want support material? You got it! Starting next month [January 2003].
50. Shurikens
Q: [The d20 Modern version of the Shuriken seems to work differently than I am used to. How does it work?]
A: OK, here's the scoop on shuriken. Forget what you know about D&D shuriken; in d20 Modern they work differently. You can only throw one at a time, and you do get to add your Strength bonus to damage. And, as the rules state, you can draw them as a free action. What does that mean? Dealing only 1 point of damage is pretty weak, but 1 + Str bonus can be OK if you have a decent Strength. Drawing as a free action can be a real bonus. And as Zelgadas points out, the shuriken can be a useful delivery system for special attacks, such as poison.
51. WOTC Licensing & Trade Dress
Q: Would referencing a Mage class ability such as Arcane Spells and Armor or Arcane skills pose a problem? (i.e. under a new "Wizard" advanced class that has Arcane skills.. instead of reproducing the Arcane Skills section from the SRD..just have a "refer to d20 Modern Core rulebook Chapter 9: Campaign Models, Arcane Skills listed under Mage")
A: [Charles Ryan passes to Andy Smith to answer] I am fairly sure this is acceptable, however I'm still trying to get someone to stay out of a meeting long enough for me to double check.
Q: Since the Mage, Acolyte, Telepath, and Battlemind names are clearly Headers..would it pose a problem if someone were to reference these classes by the header..(more towards Mage and Acolyte since they are common terms that have been around for a very long time..) (i.e. Publisher X wants to have Mages in their campaign setting...so they write up their own Mage description and instead of putting any OGC or class information under it they just say "refer to d20 Modern Core Rulebook Chapter 9: Campaign Models under Mage for class information")
A: [Charles Ryan passes to Andy Smith to answer] Barring some unfortunate miscommunication between me and the powers that be, this is fine. By all means, tell people they need to pick up a copy of the book. Also the Mage and Acolyte will enter into the MSRD around the release of Urban Arcana.
52. Weapon Finesse & Unarmed Strike
Q: Weapon Finese: Unarmed Strike: You can do that.. right?
A: Under Unarmed Attacks (page 135), it says "Unarmed strikes count as light melee weapons (for purposes of two-weapon attack penalties and so on)." Use of the Weapon Finesse feat falls under the "and so on" part. In other words, yes, you can choose unarmed strike as you Weapon Finesse "weapon."
53. Vehicles as Cover
Q: I was wondering about a cars hardness and shooting through the car. Seeing as a car has a hardness of 5 and every gun does atleast 2d6. If you shoot at a door of a car forever. The car will not become disabled, so where does the extra damage go?? I was watching a tv show and a bank robbery in LA where the robbers had automatic rifles(ak47 or something) They were pumping round after round into a car where a few people hiding behind. every one of those people got hit. Why not in D20. Could it be like the glass where if you try to shoot somebody with glass between you and them you see first if you hit the glass and the glass has like a hardness of 2 and 1hp and then you see if you hit the person and add the leftover damage? Is that Valid? or what else would be good. I know that the door would provide concealment and the doors hardness and hp for cover but would it be possible to hit somebody ducking in a car??
A: [From Rich Redman] Here's how it works: Sam hides behind a car. Yuriko shoots at him. GM rules that Sam has 9/10 cover, since it's possible to actually see some part of him depending on the angle of the shot. He gets a +10 cover bonus to Defense, and a +4 bonus to any Reflex save (taking half damage if he fails his save and no damage if he succeeds). The Reflex save is important for situations where a bank-robbing whack job fires his AK 47 on full auto at cops and bystanders hiding behind cars (see the Autofire rules under Special Attacks in Chapter Five: Combat). Depending on where Sam hides and whether or not he's shooting back, he may have less cover. If it's important to know what happens to the car, you use the "Striking the Cover Instead of a Missed Target" rules in Chapter Five: Combat. In d20, you shoot at your target. Any intervening object gives cover or concealment, but you still shoot at the target.
[From Charles Ryan] Rich is correct. (For those of you who don't know him, Rich was another of the designers for d20 Modern. Thanks for giving me a hand here, Rich!) It's true that in real life, sometimes attacks penetrate cover and hit people on the other side. We don't really model that in the d20 system--just like we don't model the fact that an attack can go right through the target and hit a second person. You might want a house rule of some sort; something similar to the rules for shooting through windows. Perhaps a car door has hardness 5 and, say, 3 hit points. If you hit the target's Defense but miss because of the cover bonus, any excess damage is taken by the target. That would probably work reasonably well, though I'm betting that the benefit to your game experience wouldn't be worth the extra complication and the slowing down of play. YMMV, of course.
54. Vehicle Feat Compatibility [+ Errata]
Q: Is it safe to assume -- within reason -- that most of the vehicle-related feats work for both surface and aircraft vehicles? For example, can one use Vehicle Dodge and Drive-By Attack feat using a biplane equipped with a synchronized machine gun? [Note: Zelgadas comment: One thing to note, however, is that Vehicle Dodge requires 6 ranks of the Drive skill, but no ranks of Pilot. This would imply, to me, that it applies only to surface vehicles]
A: In general, if a feat doesn't specify a type of vehicle, it applies to all vehicles. For example, have a look at Force Stop: it specifies surface vehicles. That said, Zelgadas makes a very good point. The prereq for Vehicle Dodge should be Drive 6 ranks or Pilot 6 ranks.
55. Urban Arcana Hints
Q: Now that Urban Arcane is on the release schedule, what can you tell us about it?
A: You'll start seeing some preview articles on the web site in the coming months, much like those you saw for d20 Modern before its release. Beyond that, I'm sworn to secrecy. . .
Q: [Regarding the] Man Portable XM214, Anyone think up the stats for this yet? For those who don't know, its the gatling gun/backpack model like that used in Predator and "not used" by special forces
A: [Posted by unknown WOTC employee, maybe, perhaps] Trolls with mini-guns--now you're thinking! I probably shouldn't be leaking this, but you might just see stats for the XM-214 in Urban Arcana. You didn't hear that from me, of course.
Q: [Will there be rules for skateboarding?]
A: You'll see rules for bikes, skateboards, and inline skates in Urban Arcana!
Q: I'm beginning to wonder what Urban Arcana is really going to be about. I was expecting something similar to "Magic In The Shadows", and instead it sounds more like the "Shadowrun Companion" (to use a RPG analogy). I'm not complaining (more D20 Modern stuff is always good), but the focus of this book seems to be somewhat unclear. Isn't it meant to extend the UA campaign setting? How are skateboards and miniguns doing this?
A: In general, Urban Arcana is focused on topics that relate to the setting as described in the d20 Modern rulebook: a relatively high-fantasy modern setting, with lots of magic and monsters. Another aspect of Urban Arcana is that it's a little over the top--so we're including rules for a few over-the-top non-magical topics, like adventurers on skateboards shooting XM-214 miniguns. (You'll also see things that aren't really magical, but are really useful in a supernatural setting--like super soakers loaded with holy water. . . .) That said, there are also a number of things that we would have loved to fit into the main book, but couldn't because of space, that we're adding to Urban Arcana. I don't think you'll find lack of focus to be too much of a problem, although I do think the book will have lots of interesting stuff, even for gamers who aren't playing an Urban Arcana campaign. In a sense, you could think of the Urban Arcana book as a general companion to d20 Modern, but written with the expectation that you're playing in the Urban Arcana setting (unlike the main book, which tries not to make any assumptions about your campaign setting).
56. Licensing
Q: Does one license purchase cover all items of that restriction level, or is a separate license needed for each item?
A: A single license covers every item on a given table that has a restriction level equal to or lower than the level of the license.
For example, if you purchase a Beretta 92F (Licensed restriction level) and an appropriate license, that license covers any additional items from Table 4-4 that also have the Licensed restriction level. If you later wanted to purchase an AKM (Restricted restriction level), you would have to also purchase the higher-level license for it. You could then purchase any other item from Table 4-4 of Restricted or lower level without needing another license. One exception to this rule: Table 4-10: General Equipment. Every item on this table is licensed separately, except items that are grouped together. For example, a black box requires a separate license from demolitions kit. However, a single license covers both pistol and rifle suppressors, since they're grouped together under "suppressors." [One final note: The lock release gun and lockpick set were supposed to be grouped together under "Lockpicks"; they are both covered by the same license.]
57. Non-human PCs
Q: Can anyone tell me how to adapt non-human characters(both standard and monsters) to a PC-format.
A: The rules for creating a non-human character are basically the same as those for adding a character class to a creature (see page 230). To sum up: 1) The character gets one fewer skill point per level. (This is reflected on table 8-20.) Since you normally get 4 times as many skills at 1st level, the character gets 4 fewer skill points at 1st level. 2) The character gets only one feat at 1st level, instead of 2. 3) The character does not get a starting occupation. 4) Use the racial ability modifiers for the race from the D&D Player's Handbook (if you have it and the race is covered there). Otherwise, here's a trick for determining the ability modifiers from the d20 Modern stats: If the given ability is an odd number, subtract 11 from it. If the ability is an even number, subtract 10. The result is racial modifier for that ability score. For example, a goblin has Str 8 and Dex 13. Subtracting 10 (because 8 is an even number) from 8 gives us -2. Subtracting 11 (because 13 is odd) from 13 gives us +2. So the racial mods for a goblin's Str and Dex are -2 and +2, respectively. This is a rule of thumb and won't always work perfectly. These rules apply primarily to creatures that normally only have one Hit Die. For higher Hit Die creatures, you'll have to fudge it or wait for Urban Arcana. [Also] Moreaus have their own rules. They're essentially the same as those above, except that moreaus do get starting occupations, and the ability score modifiers are given in the descriptions.
58. Cover
Q: [Assume the following senario] Let's say that your PCs and some [Werewolf] bad guys are shooting at each other. [The Werewolves have no cover, but the four PCs do have cover as follows.] Al is standing around the corner, looking around to fire off shots as he can. Bev is kneeling around the same corner, leaning out to fire off shots in tandem with Al. Carl is standing behind [some 3-foot high] crates. Dana is kneeling behind the same crates, looking out to pop shots at the werewolves as they start to close on her and Carl. [Anything wrong with this senario so far?]
A: [Yes] If A is standing at a corner (occupying the square behind the corner), B can't also be there (occupying the same square), regardless of whether she's standing or kneeling. The two characters can't take up the same space. (You could house rule this one if you really want it to be possible for two people to shoot around the same corner (or from behind the same car door, or whatever); perhaps each person suffers a -4 penalty on attacks, or a -2 on attacks and -2 on Defense, because they're in each others' way.)
Q: [In the above scenario] Do any of the werewolves have cover relative to any of the PCs, based on what I said?
A: The answer is no. If they were using melee weapons, it'd be a different story, but the fact that they're using ranged weapons makes it like arrowslits -- the werewolves don't get any cover.
Q: [In the above scenario] What bonuses to Defense would each person have?
A: I would probably give everyone half cover. (More than half of their bodies are covered, but probably half or so of their vital areas are exposed. (This is the same reason a 3-foot wall only gives you one-quarter cover--see page 144 for more.)) [As for D] [y]ou can give her the normal cover plus the kneeling bonus, or the better cover--whichever is higher. In this case, obviously, the result is the same. But if she started at half-cover, and kneeling improved her cover to three-quarters, I'd give her the benefit of +7 (three-quarters) rather than +6 (one-half cover plus kneeling). (Note that kneeling doesn't always increase your cover; if you started and half-cover and kneeling didn't actually increase it to three-quarters, the bonus should only increase to +6. As with all cover situations, it's up to the GM to visualize the situation and decide how much cover the character has.)
Q: [In the above scenario] [j]ust to make sure of the mechanics, how would you as a GM deal with a player who said, "I want to snap off a shot at the werewolf and then duck down behind the crate completely"?
A: I'd say "yes, and I want a pony." Seriously, the characters' normal efforts to avoid being hit are already built into their Defense. If the character wants to take extra steps (perhaps that's what's happening here), she can fight defensively, using the normal rules for that (-4 on attack, +2 to Defense)--see the top of page 137. Hope that helps. Glad to hear that the players are making some smart tactical decisions in their gunplay!
59. WOTC Sales Figures for d20 Modern
Q: Even though it is early days I would say that d20 Modern is doing far better than Alternity did, this is just an observation, I have no facts to back this up. Also my gut feel is that it is doing better than Star Wars. Just wondering how things are looking from WotC's perspective, are sales expectations being met or hopefully exceeded? And to the main crux of this post, if d20 Modern exceeds sales expectations will more support be given to it from WotC, say in the form of it's own magazine or an increased product schedule? I [love] this game, best rpg I have played in the 20 years of my gaming life, and I need to have more offical support for it.
A: My understanding is that the game is doing quite well. I don't know exactly what "quite well" means (and, honestly, if I was privy to that information I probably wouldn't be allowed to share it here on the net). But as I understand it we're all very pleased with its success so far. That said, don't expect any significant changes to our release schedule any time soon. Even if the success of the game warrants radical changes, we'd probably give the game several months to ensure that the success is long-term and not a short-term fluke. And even then, since it takes a year or longer to get a product from schedule to market, you wouldn't see a surge of additional releases for quite some time. (What you will see, however, is a surge of products from third-party publishers. If d20 Modern prospers, small publishers will jump on the bandwagon with products that they can get to market much faster.) Our existing schedule calls for substantial support for d20 Modern for the foreseeable future, and with the success of the game so far that should continue to be the case!
60. Pimping as a profession
Q: Weird question, but nonetheless... One of the charactors in my campaign wants to play a pimp. There are a few questions I need to ask about that: 1) What should be the check to see if he "recruits" a woman; 2) How many women should he be able to have at a time; 3) How would this affect his Wealth bonus.
A: To determine how much Wealth the character gains through pimping, use the same rules every character uses to gain Wealth: Profession checks at level advancement. See Regaining Wealth, on page 92. No additional rules are necessary; the character's income is not subject to special rules just because it's an unusual job. As for determining job-related specifics, I'd handle this no differently than I'd handle any other profession. If the character was the manager at a McDonalds, and for some reason he needed to know how many employees worked for him, as GM I'd make an educated guess and perhaps roll a die to add a bit of randomness to my guess. Same thing for the pimp--should it ever matter exactly how many "employees" he has (and I doubt that it ever really would, just like it probably wouldn't really for the McDonald's manager), I'd pick a reasonable answer, roll a die, and give the player a result. Playing a pimp could be an interesting, amusing (or thought-provoking) roleplaying opportunity. But there's no more reason to play out the specifics of the job than there is for any other character.
61. Ultramodern Firearms
Q: I have one question regarding the Suppressive Fire feat. I have been looking for ranged AoO since the first edition of Star Wars D20 and this is the first time I have a rule in print, thank you. However, I am a little fuzzy on the range requirement. The feat says that you threaten a target or an area, autofire, "...that is at least 30 feet away..." So, I can threaten someone 300 yards out but I can't threaten someone 15 feet away? Is this correct?
A: Yes, it is correct as written that the feat can only be used against targets at least 30 feet away. The concept here is that you continue to shoot at the targeted area even when it isn't your turn. (That's why using the feat costs you five bullets in addition to any used in the original attack and any AoO you make.) It didn't seem reasonable to be able to do this at targets within just a few feet--in general, suppressive fire is really only effective at longer than point-blank range. So, why 30 feet? Basically, because 30 feet is the d20 system's definition of point-blank. If I had my absolute druthers, I'd probably set the distance at around 20 feet--but since 30 feet is a standard increment used for many game effects, I decided to keep this feat in sync with the rest of the game. You're free to change it if you prefer (as always!), but I doubt that the added complication will really change your game experience enough to be worth it.
Q: I have a couple questions about the Pancor Jackhammer. From what I gather, the Jackhammer uses up it's entire clip on one autofire. Is this correct? Is a 5 round autofire and a 3 round burst an acceptable alternative? The thing is that I want to use one as my main weapon because, well you just can't a beat an automatic shotgun, but my smaller back up SMG is just better considering the Jackhammer's lack of ammo and range. Is there some tactical advantage that would make it more effective?
A: It is correct. Probably one of the reasons automatic shotguns haven't really caught on in real life.
Q: [D]o you have any quick rules for Flechette rounds?
A: Sorry, don't have any at this time. Off hand, I'd probably treat them as armor-piercing rounds.
Q: haven't found any rules on how much a clip weighs, or how much a box of ammo weighs? Is there a standard rule of thumb for this? Like a rifle clip weighs as much as a pistol clip because pistol rounds are heavier and a 100 round belt weighs x times a clip?
A: don't think that either the core book or Ultramodern Firearms include ammo weights. Here are some rough guidelines for you. Because there are dozens of types of ammo, I've broken it down by the base damage the weapon normally deals (for our purposes, the ammo type doesn't affect weight). Shotgun shells are a little heavier; use the weight value for one damage step higher. (For example, a 12-ga shotgun deals 2d8 damage, but the ammo has the weight of 2d10 damage.) 10-round magazine: 2d4 0.5, 2d6 0.5, 2d8 0.5, 2d10 0.5, 2d12 1. 20-round magazine:
2d4 0.5, 2d6 0.5, 2d8 0.5, 2d10 1, 2d12 2. 30-round magazine: 2d4 0.5, 2d6 0.5, 2d8 0.5, 2d10 1, 2d12 3. 100-round belt: 2d8 2, 2d10 3, 2d12 10.
62. Exploding Vehicles
Q: [The rules state that] f the attack that disables a vehicle deals damage equal to half its full normal hit points or more, the vehicle explodes after 1d6 rounds. This explosion deals 10d6 points of damage to everyone within the vehicle (Reflex save, DC 20, for half damage), and half that much to everyone and everything within 30 feet of the explosion (Reflex save, DC 15, for half damage). What type of damage is this? Fire? Concussive? Combination of the two? None of the above?
A: Fire.
63. Wealth Stacking
Q: Ok if you buy something 15 or higher wealth you lose 1 point. If you buy something 1 to 10 points higher than your wealth you lose 1 point plus 1 more point if that number is 15 or higher. Now if you buy something 11 to 15 points higher than your wealth you lose 1d6 points, plus 1 for it being over 15. But do you still lose another 1 because it is also 1 to 10 points higher than your wealth. If you buy some 16 more points higher than your wealth you lose 2d6 plus 1 for it being over 15. But do you also lose 1 more point for it being 1 to points higher and 1d6 more points because it is 11 to 15 more points higher. I hope this is clear but if not I'll do a example: Character wealth 9. Buys something wealth 10 cost 1 wealth point. Buys something wealth 15 cost 2 wealth points. Buys something wealth 20 cost 1d6+1 or 1d6+2. Buys something wealth 25 cost 2d6+1 or 3d6+2. I think the answer would be that the wealth cost only stacks with with the 15 or higher?
A: The only element that stacks is the additional penalty for the item being DC 15 or higher. For example, say you purchase something with a purchase DC 17 points higher than your Wealth. (Perhaps you have Wealth 10 and are taking 20 to buy a car with a DC of 27.) Your Wealth loss is 2d6+1 points. The table isn't as clear as it could be, but if you read it carefully this makes sense. The item is "16 or more points higher" than your Wealth level. It isn't "16 or more points higher" and "11-15 points higher"; therefore, the -2d6 penalty doesn't stack with the -1d6 penalty.
Q: The table on page 91 on the Modern handbook gives the Purchase DC versus the amount your Wealth modifier changes. My question is: do all of those stack? For instance, if the Purchase DC of what I'm buying is 15 or more over my Wealth modifier, my Wealth modifier goes down by 1d6+1, right? 16 or more, 2d6+1? Or 3d6+1?
A: 2d6+1. The only element that stacks is the +1 for purchases over DC 15.
Q: What if I'm selling something that is WAY over my Wealth modifier. Allow an example (this is from my mafia campaign, dealing with the dealing of drugs, so if you're offended by that kind of thing, don't read further): Kaen, a 5th-level Smart/5th-level Charismatic hero, has a Wealth modifier of +10. He spends quite a bit of time (takes 20) to locate and purchase one thousand grams of ketamine from a black market dealer to sell on the street. The block has a Purchase DC of 29 ($30,000), which is 19 higher than his Wealth modifier, and therefore lowers his Wealth by 2d6+1 points. He rolls a 7, therefore loses 8 points of Wealth, for a new Wealth modifier of +2. He then takes the time to convert the 1,000 grams of ketamine into quarters (5,000 quarters x $25 = $125,000). After distributing the drugs through his dealers, he compares the sale DC and his Wealth modifier. The Purchase DC of $125,000 is DC 34, which is 32 higher than his Wealth modifier. Per the current rules, Kaen would roll 2d6+1 to determine the Wealth increase, but how could I (truly) lose buying power after quadrupling my money? Perhaps an ad hoc modifier of X amount on the 2d6+1 roll? Or should I double it to 4d6+2, since 32 is twice 16? Yes, that could result in Kaen having a new Wealth modifier of +28, if I really roll good, or do something like this: For every 4 points difference over a difference of 20, I could add a +1 to the 2d6+1 roll? A +2, maybe?
A: What you're describing is a character whose job is drug dealing. The Wealth system's rules for buying and selling aren't really geared for characters who are engaged in commerce to make a living. There are, however, perfectly good rules for determining how much your character earns from his day job--they're under Regaining Wealth on page 92. These rules apply whether your character is a lawyer, a McDonalds manager, or a drug dealer (or, as someone mentioned in an earlier post, a pimp). I don't recommend using the system of buying a selling goods to determine your character's Wealth level. Instead, use the regular rules for Wealth gain. If your characters go on crime-related adventures (and earn Wealth rewards for doing so; see page 204), that's great. But their "everyday" income, even from crime, should probably be covered by the normal Wealth gain rules.
64. Two-weapon Fighting
Q: Can a character make their off-hand unarmed attacks with something other than their hand while using a two-handed weapon as their primary weapon (e.g., great sword, rifle)? The text for unarmed attacks indicates that they can be made as kicks or headbutts; Living Weapon includes elbows and knees as well.
A: I don't see why not. If you have a great sword in hand, and want to take the TWF penalties to also throw a kick in with your great sword attack, you certainly can.
Q: If the character is using a two-handed melee weapon as their primary attack and a non-hand unarmed attack (kicks, etc.) as their off-hand attack, what would be the damage bonus for high STR?
A: The two-handed weapon gets 1.5 x Str; the unarmed strike gets half Str. Standard rules apply; they don't change just because the off-"hand" is a kick.
Q: An interesting question about two-handed and off-hand attacks with a negative STR modifier: does the two-handed weapon use a straight 1.0xSTR penalty or is it 0.5xSTR penalty?
A: If your Strength modifier is negative, you always add 1 x the modifier to damage, regardless of whether the attack is one-handed, two-handed, with a light weapon, with an off-hand, etc. The Strength mod multiplier for off-hand or two-handed weapons only applies if your modifier is a bonus.
Q: Can AoOs be made with either set of attacks in a two-weapon combination? If the character is making ranged weapon attacks with their primary hand, they should be able to either use their off-hand melee attack or the melee aspect of the ranged weapon in their primary hand (pistol whip, rifle butt) for the AoOs.
A: I'm not quite sure what you're asking here. If you get an attack of opportunity, you can make it with any melee weapon you have in hand. That includes a rifle butt (even if you were using the rifle as a ranged weapon on your turn) or an unarmed strike (if you have Combat Martial Arts). You can't make an AoO with a ranged weapon.
Q: Does the use of a two-weapon attack need to be declared at the beginning of attacks by a character?
A: Absolutely, since the penalties apply to your first attack as well as the additional attack.
Q: If a character initiates a two-weapon attack (normally a full attack), and makes their first primary weapon attack, can they then break off the attack and take a move action, or are they stuck with the full attack action?
A: You can take a move action. After all, you've already paid a penalty in taking the TWF penalty on the first attack, and you haven't done anything that takes more than a standard action. (You've only made one attack.)
Q: If a character is using a two-weapon attack, with a ranged weapon for one set and a melee weapon/CMA unarmed attack for the other, do their ranged attacks still provoke AoOs, or does their melee weapon/CMA attack indicate that they are still on the defensive? Would the same thing also apply to non-CMA unarmed attacks mixed with a melee weapon? If the character's ranged weapon is alternating between melee and ranged attacks (rifle shot, rifle butt, rifle shot), would it also apply?
A: Anything that normally provokes an attack of opportunity does so even when you are two-weapon fighting. The fact that you are fighting with two weapons does not negate attacks of opportunity you might provoke. So, for example, if you attack with a knife in one hand and an unarmed strike (and you don't have Combat Martial Arts), the unarmed strike provokes an AoO just like normal. Likewise with ranged attacks. (Note, however, that you can't get the benefit of the Two-Weapon Fighting feat when mixing ranged and melee weapons; if you mix them you are stuck with the normal penalties.)
65. More on CMA & Brawl
Q: Can a character alternate between CMA-lethal and Brawl-nonlethal unarmed attacks in a single full attack?
A: Absolutely. Why not?
66. PCs Dying
Q: Now I was wondering what if your pc gets killed what are you to do? it is not like D&D where you can just go to your local temple and pay for raise dead spell because magic is not as common here. i guess that you could spend some time and look for a person who has the spell (if you are even allowing them) but they would have to be at least 9th level.
A: In d20 Modern, dead is usually dead. Just one of the differences between a modern setting and a high fantasy setting.
67. Concussive Damage
Q: D20 Modern states that concussive damage is a type of energy damage. Objects are affected by energy damage in different ways, depending upon the type of energy. For example, sonic and acid deal full damage to objects, fire deals half, and cold deals one quarter. How does concussive damage affect objects? Full? Half? Other?
A: Concussive attacks deal normal damage to most objects. (In general, concussive behaves identical to sonic damage.)
68. Epic Level Characters
Q: What I want to know is what rulest should be used for post-20th level characters in d20Mod? The system in the core rulebook seems somewhat arbitrary, and they don't explain what happens when a character reaches 20th level. What happens? Do they fade away like Obi-Wan after Darth Vader cut him to pieces, or do they get sentenced to a life of eternal staticness? Are there rules for "epic" d20M characters anywhere, or are we supposed to port over the Epic Level Handbook rules, or use the rules in the FRCS? I have both, so I don't mind using either, but I was wondering. Please enlighten me, oh great one.
A: We don't have any rules for characters above 20th level yet. We may publish some in the future. In the mean time, you're probably not going to go too far wrong if you simply keep advancing them as normal. If you borrowed a few elements from the Epic Level Handbook, they'd probably work just fine too. Sorry I can't provide any more difinitive answers at this time!
69. Adding a Hero Level to an Ordinary NPC
Q: How do you handle an ordinary NPC when you want to add a hero level or more? Do you just change the ordinary levels to hero or do you add a hero level?
A: The character levels up just like normal, with all the benefits a hero character gains at the new level (but no retroactive benefits applied to earlier levels). For example, take a 3rd-level Strong ordinary who's adding a level of Strong hero. The character already has +3 BAB, +2 Defense, etc. He has the standard array of ability scores, and a given number of hit points. He has no class abilities (talents or bonus feats), and no action points. When he adds the level of Strong hero, his BAB, Defense, saves, etc. go up just like any other Strong character advancing from 3rd to 4th level. He gains 1d8 + Con hit points, and 3 + Int skill points, just as he has every other time he went up in level. But in addition, he gains 7 action points and a bonus feat (the standard class feature at 4th level). He is now a 4th-level Strong hero, but you'll have to make a note somewhere that he's short 2 talents and a bonus feat due to the fact that he was an ordinary for his first three levels.
70. Damage from Autofire to a Vehicle
Q: If somebody autofires onto an object that has more than one swuare in the area, does it take damage more than once? Does each square count as an individual creature/object for damage purposes? So, would autofiring a wall do damage to a car that fills up its area four times?
A: Autofire affects each target in the area of effect once, no matter how large that target is. It works just like a grenade or a fireball spell. A given creature or target only takes the damage once, regardless of how much of the area of effect it occupies.
71. Wealth Rewards as Dollar Figures
Q: I'm running a real-world (no FX or GeneTech) campaign with a mafioso theme, where the players will be playing mafia family members fighting against corporatized, corrupt law enforcement. However, it occurred to me that the Wealth system, while effective and well-conceived, doesn't seem to cover something I need to cover. For example, the mafioso characters bust up a rival family's drug deal. There's $100,000 in cash in a couple of a briefcases. The characters take it (obviously), but how would that effect their Wealth rating? Do I instead assign the briefcase a 'modifier value', like "there's +10 Wealth in that briefcase" and split it up between the four players? Or can I do the following, which a friend and I brainstormed earlier: The $100,000 goes into a Pocket Wealth modifier, which can be used to lower Purchase DCs of items they want/need. For example, hypothetically, I turn the $100,000 into a 20 Wealth points. Each player gets 5, with which they can lower the DC of something/things they want. Like they want to buy a gun with a DC of 17, so instead they use 3 of the points to lower the DC to 14, so it takes the pressure off their personal Wealth modifier. Does this make sense? Will it horribly unbalance the Wealth system? Does it even work?
A: I recommend approaching this from another angle. Rather than deciding in advance that the briefcase contains X much money, and then trying to convert that into Wealth, start instead by determining an appropriate Wealth reward for the encounter (or adventure), and then convert that into dollars. (Remember, it's the Wealth reward that matters--the dollar amount is really just flavor.) In this case, if you're planning this briefcase to be the reward for an EL 5 encounter, Table 7-3 (page 204) recommends a Wealth bonus of +8. As GM, you could then arbitrarily decide to describe the briefcase as containing, perhaps, somewhere around $20,000 (or whatever). The important thing isn't really the amount of cash--it's the bonus to Wealth.
72. Faith Talent
Q: Just a quick query about the Faith talent which is available to dedicated heroes. Does it mean that when you expend an action point you can add your Wis bonus *to* the action point die (getting, say 1d6+2 as your bonus), OR does it mean that you can add your Wis bonus *instead of* rolling the die when you expend an action point? I'm guessing that it is the first, but I'd appreciate a quick clarification.
A: When a Dedicated hero with the Faith talent spends an action point to increase a roll, she adds 1d6 + her Wis modifier (rather than just 1d6) to the roll.
73. Healing
Q: [In general, how does healing differ between D&D and d20 Modern?]
A: In general: Yes, there are differences in the way healing works between d20 Modern and D&D (in fact, there are differences in almost every subsystem). The reasons for these differences are generally A) we felt that some systems should just work differently in a modern setting, and B) it's been 3 years since the design of D&D was wrapped up, and in the intervening years we've simply thought of better ways to handle some things. In the case of healing, there's also C) magical healing, considered a standard part of D&D, is rarer (sometimes nonexistant) in d20 Modern, so we needed to pay more attention to the skill's capabilities, and strengthen it to keep the game playable (without eclipsing the value of magical healing when and where it does exist in the game).
Q: [How do natural healing and long term care combine?]
A: OK, here's an clarification of how natural healing and long term care work in d20 Modern: If you get a good night's sleep (8 hours), you gain back 1 hp per level. (We changed this from D&D's full day of light activity because A) we didn't want characters without magical healing to have to quit the adventure in order to heal, and B) most players ignore the D&D rule anyway, and simply regain 1 hp/level/day no matter what their characters do.) If you go with full bed rest, you gain back 2 hp/level/day. If you benefit from long term care--which requires full bed rest--you gain back 3 hp/level/day.
Q: [Is it necessary to use tool kits to heal people?]
A: Now, equipment (a first aid, medical, or surgery kit) is required for most Treat Injury checks. As with all checks that require tools, you can attempt it without the tool, but you suffer a -4 penalty. Except where noted, the tools are not interchangeable. (You can't use a surgery kit if a medical kit is required.)
74. More on the Perform Skill
Q: The warning on the perform skill (and for that matter on Craft and Knowledge) says not to arbitrarily make up new categories, but to try and fit things into a broad interpretation of existing categories. How strict is this limitation meant to be? Does it mean you shouldn't make up any new categories, or only make up new categories when the proposed category just doesn't seem to fit in with any others, or something else? Let me offer an example. Assume you wanted a PC with DJing abilities. Is it warranted to have a separate Perform: DJing skill, or should it be "forced" in to another category like Perform: Acting.
A: When designing new adventures, you should probably be pretty strict. When launching a campaign, you can be somewhat looser--but not too loose. Here's why:
Let's say you have a character who wants to be a performer--someone who's good at many types of performance. (Perhaps he's basing his character on someone like Harry Connick, Jr.--a person who sings, plays a couple of different types of instruments, and even acts. He isn't great at everything, but he's great at some things and at least competent at some others.) With the existing list, the player has eight skills to spread his skill points around. If you increase that without increasing the number of skill points characters get, you restrict the player to a smaller slice of the skill pie, as it were. The more skills you add to the game, the narrower the focus of individual characters. That may be OK in your game (especially if you only increase the list by 1 or 2 skills), but be aware that it does narrow your characters.
That's why you shouldn't be too loose with this when launching your campaign. Here's why you shouldn't introduce new skills into adventures: Players choose their skills from the list in the book. There's virtually no chance that you (as GM) will think up a new skill, and the players will happen to have also thought up (and taken) exactly the same skill when they were making their characters. If you encourage the players to think up new skills, chances are they'll spend valuable skill points on skills that won't match up with what you call for in your adventures. Likewise, if you introduce new skills in your adventures, there's no chance that players will have ranks in those skills. If the skill matters to the adventure, the heroes will be unprepared. If it doesn't, why bother to define the new skill? I hope that clarifies the rationale a bit. As always, you're welcome to change the game as you see fit!
75. More on Wealth Loopholes
Q: Here's what my characters have figured out they can do: Character has a wealth of 8. He buys something with a purchase DC of 28 by taking twenty. He then buys tons of other stuff, dropping his wealth to 1. He then sells the thing with a purchase DC of 18, bringing his wealth back up to, on average, and 8. I know about the time limit that you can impose via the taking twenty, but what if I want to run a campaign with lots of downtime between adventures?
A: I guess I'm confused about how this is too abusive. Or rather, I'm confused about how this abusive use of the rules gained anything significant for the player's trouble. The guy has a Wealth bonus of +8. He buys something with a purchase DC of 28, taking 20. He loses 2d6+1, dropping his Wealth to, lets say, 4. (On average, it would drop him to 0, but let's say he got lucky.) He then takes 10 to buy a handfull of things with purchase DCs in the low teens. His Wealth drops to 0, he sells the expensive thing (sale value 25) for a Wealth gain of 2d6+1, raising his Wealth bonus (on an average roll) to +8. So, by virtue of spending a week of game time doing nothing but buying and selling, and by getting a lucky roll on his Wealth loss, the guy ended up with three or four extra possessions valued at DC 11 to 14. If he hadn't gotten lucky, it wouldn't have worked. And if he'd gotten unlucky on the Wealth gain for selling the big item, he'd end up with the same net loss of Wealth that he'd have suffered if he'd played by the rules. So what am I missing? How is the player using this to grow fabulously wealthy? What is he getting out of the system that makes it worth all the trouble?
Q: Charles, you gave me a nice set of rules for starting wealth bonus for characters above level one in an earlier post. It looks good, but now that I've tried it, I realized that the numbers it gives are very high. My PCs started with wealth bonuses from 20 to 26. When I'd tried simply calculating a wealth bonus from scratch (Taking starting, 1st level wealth rules, then adding a few levels of profession rolling and flat bonuses to it) I only got 17, and that doesn't account for anything they spent along the way. Now, I see a few possibilities: 1. Rewards. I'd sort of assumed that monetary rewards were somewhat rare here, but seeing these numbers made me question that. Should most adventures involve the players receiving money at some point? Obviously this is GM discretion, but I'm just wondering if that's what the standard expectation is. 2. I may simply be using your system wrong. They get a flat 7 for 4th level, then another 7 if they maxed out profession. Also, another 2 for being PCs. That's already 16, and they still get to roll, and add occupation bonus. If that's wrong, please tell me. 3. Or there could have been a mistake in the system. It might just have been presented wrong, or unclearly.
A: Looks like your problem lies somewhere between #1 and #2. It is expected that characters will receive monetary rewards for some encounters; that expectation is built into Table 7-2. That said, in point #2 you list the factors that go into their total, including a die roll. The die roll is incorrect; the heroes' 4th-level starting Wealth should be 7 (from Table 7-2) + 7 (if they maxed out Profession) + 2 (for being PCs) + occupation bonus.
