d20 Modern Warm Start

[wedgeski]

Hi folks,

I'm considering starting a new campaign using d20 Modern as my first venture into roleplaying in a modern era. I haven't decided on the exact style or nature of the campaign as yet, but in thinking about it I realised that I have no real idea about what makes a good d20 Modern adventure. Nor do I know which elements of the rules are used most in a session to give it that modern 'feel' (though I can guess, obv.)

So, question: if you could recommed one d20 Modern module (free or otherwise) that best exemplifies the system, and/or that you had most fun with, what would it be?

Thanks!

 

[wedgeski]

Crikey!

Where is the support for d20 Modern? I hadn't bothered looking until now. We have a bunch of Arcana supplements (I will be running a mundane or 99% mundane campaign, so nothing for me there), some martial arts doo-dads (not interested in that as such), a bunch of new classes (core only please), and... that's it. Where are the adventures?

Has Modern not 'caught on', or does the like of d20 Future and Spycraft suck up all of the interest?

I'm really quite surprised.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

On the WotC site you can find some free adventures for nearly all levels:
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=d20modern
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=d20modern/oaa/full

We played a few of them (most notably the adventures from Stan!). They seem to be fine, but I can`t tell you which exactly or how easy they were to use, since I am not the GM of those games.
(We adapted most adventures for our D20 Modern Shadowrun conversion)

Since the adventures are free, I suggest reading some of them through and check if they make sense and seem fun.

Mustrum Ridcully

 

[Henry]

Where is the support for d20 Modern? I hadn't bothered looking until now. We have a bunch of Arcana supplements (I will be running a mundane or 99% mundane campaign, so nothing for me there), some martial arts doo-dads (not interested in that as such), a bunch of new classes (core only please), and... that's it. Where are the adventures?

Has Modern not 'caught on', or does the like of d20 Future and Spycraft suck up all of the interest?

I'm really quite surprised.

Have you checked www.rpgnow.com ? There's a good bit of PDF support there, including a download with 11 adventures in one package (don't own it, but I've heard it's pretty good). A lot of Modern support is in the smaller publishing community, rather than with WotC.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

I suggest Adelie 14 (although it's set in Antarctica - not really warm) as a good adventure, but it's not a good starting adventure.

I guess the problem is that low-level characters would rather let the cops handle things. As GM, you have to prevent this - either the players have criminal records (and are dealing with something serious that forces a personal intervention) or maybe you're running in the New Haven setting where the cops are total pushovers, or something to that effect.

 

[wedgeski]

On the WotC site you can find some free adventures for nearly all levels:
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=d20modern
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=d20modern/oaa/full

Great - thanks! For some reason it didn't even occur to me to check the Wizards archives. Dur.

 

[wedgeski]

Have you checked www.rpgnow.com ? There's a good bit of PDF support there, including a download with 11 adventures in one package (don't own it, but I've heard it's pretty good). A lot of Modern support is in the smaller publishing community, rather than with WotC.

It was my first port of call but nothing stood out as being what I was looking for in the brief time I had. I'll check more carefully tonight... thanks for the info.

 

[Stormborn]

I ran several of the low level adventures from WoC with my group and I enjoyed them. However, they mostly have some kind of supernatural element in them. You may want to look at the "Team Bravo" adventures, one of which has already been mentioned. If you are going to come up with your own stuff, I suggest a Dirty Dozen/Ocean's 11 type game if you want to avoid all the supernatural stuff. Big Boss needs X, he has his Agent Y assmeble a team of experts to get it. It follows easilly from there. The first arc may be a bit formulaic, but it will give you and the players a chance to get a feel for things, and you can open it up from there.

I think it helps to have the PCs involved with some kind of organization, legal or not, so they don't keep pulling the "I call the cops" bit. It also helps give a reason for all the cool gear they will want. I would also start at 3rd or 4th level, so they can have an Advanced class or be well established in a particualr role.

Modern is going to mean a lot more skill use and role play than some will be used to. You may want to discuss that with your players. You can ask them what kind of books/movies/tv shows set in modern times that they like. That will give you an idea of the elements they may be looking for. You can also read some of the story hours, that will help a lot.

 

[Faerl'Elghinn]

I haven't yet tried d20 Modern, but I'm beginning to get interested in checking it out. I read through some of the OGL stuff, and it looks like it's presented fairly well. Personally, I feel that prepublished adventures would be important for getting a feel for this type of game, as it would obviously involve alot of NPCs.

That said, quite a few different types of campaigns strike me as being quite intriguing:

1. An oddity-hunting game similar to the television shows The X-Files or Freakylinks.
2. A gang-war campaign.
3. A military campaign involving covert operations and such.
4. A monster-hunter campaign similar to the movie Underworld.
5. A deep cover police campaign, possibly with some party members on the other side of the fence.

 

[Ranger REG]

Personally, I feel that prepublished adventures would be important for getting a feel for this type of game, as it would obviously involve alot of NPCs.

That said, quite a few different types of campaigns strike me as being quite intriguing:

Prepublished third-party adventures -- at least the print versions -- are not selling as well as when 3e came out. As you have pointed out, you could have many different types of modern genre campaigns. Trying to sell one type to a smaller audience may give publishers a substantial loss of revenue.