d20 Past is a 96 page softcover supplement for d20 Modern by WotC, designed with the term 'toolkit' in mind. Written by James Wyatt and Gwendolyn F.M. Kestrel, this supplement was made to support eras not covered by the typical d20 Modern rules.
Starting in the age of adventure with pirates and privateers, this product also covers the late 19th century Shadow Stalkers (before they become Shadow Chasers), and ends with Pulp Heroes in 1930's. While it doesn't cover every era available in 'history,' WotC selected 3 interesting and unique time periods that most gamers should be interested in playing. Each campaign setting also includes an adventure to give GM's a leg up in starting a campaign within that setting.
Chapter 1 begins the book by asking 'How real is your past?' This section for GMs helps give a starting campaign some direction by posing suggestions for running a historical game between actual history or campaigns that change what we know as history. Also included in this chapter are expanded rules on movement in the past era on trains, zeppelins, and other tech prevalent at that time.
Chapter 2 is the characters chapter, detailing changes to current occupations and presenting new occupations as well. Changes to feats and skills are also presented, such as the lack of Computer Use in many past settings.
Chapter 3 begins the campaign settings with Age of Adventure which includes everything from pirates to Musketeers, as well as Shamans and Sorcerers. A number of new advanced classes are presented (Musketeer, Shaman, Sorcerer), as well as allies and foes of the characters. Three, yes 3, adventures for this setting are included! This setting as provided is very FX heavy.
Chapter 4 introduces Shadow Stalkers which is very similar to CoC and other late 19th century horror settings. Advanced classes include Frontier Marshall, Mesmerist, and Spiritualist. There are 2 adventures for this setting; one set in the Wild West, another an Egyptian ruins exploration. This setting as provided is very FX heavy.
Chapter 5 introduces Pulp Heroes of Dungeon Magazine fame. A more d20 Modern based approach to a mini game favorite, Pulp Heroes describes life in the 1930s chasing gangsters and stopping Nazi scientists from helping the 3rd Reich take over the world. Included in this setting's advanced class additions are: Flying Ace, Gangster, and Scientist. Rules for scientists and inventions are also presented. 2 adventures for this setting are provided for use, the first examining illegal drug trade in Hong Kong (drugs which create moreaus!), the second adventure pits the PCs against a Nazi exploration party trying to find the legendary Fountain of Youth. This setting is the least FX heavy of the settings provided in d20 Past.
What I liked:
7 adventures included with the book! Those alone would have cost the $20 of this book, but they are provided along with all the other rules.
Pirates, Privateers, and Musketeers! There are rules on ship to ship combat, including boarding another ship. The swashbuckler class from Urban Arcana makes a great addition to the Musketeer class presented here.
Pulp Heroes was definately my favorite part of the book, and the reason I purchased it in the first place. Bits of it are the same as the Dungeon mini game, but having it in a book with the other settings makes the setting available to everyone and not just Dungeon readers.
What I didn't like:
This book as presented is FX heavy. It's easy to remove, however, and should not cause you not to buy this book. Musketeers hunting sorcerers...I don't think so. I much rather my Musketeers swinging from chandeliers, hunting down enemies of the crown to save the Queen; but that's just my humble opinion.
Due to the number of adventures (which I liked) the pagecount of the rest of the material had to be shortened to fit everything in 96 pages. I would have loved more information, but I can see why it didn't fit in the small book.
Softcover books just aren't my thing. My copy was beat up from being on the shelf and is fraying a it on the spine corners. It's not quite as bad as my 2E class handbooks, but they haven't seen the near decade of use those books have. I doubt this book will last 10 years either.
Conclusion:
This book got an average rating because it left me wanting more. I wasn't quite as inspired to immediately run a campaign like I was with d20 Apocalypse, probably because the campaing settings are fairly short (and shorter if you choose to take out the FX sections like I would be). If this wasn't 'd20 Past Arcana' it would have definately had the room to do great things, and could have earned a much higher rating. Hopefully WotC will see the criticism this book has received and look into another historical sourcebook with a few more settings: The U.S. Revolutionary war would be a great addition, as would the U.S. Civil War.
In conclusion, read the book a little at the store before you buy it so you don't waste money on something that won't interest you. It's not as bad as the bashing it gets on many messageboards, but it's definately not exceptional.
