D20 Sci-Fi

[trancejeremy]

At first I really didn't like d20 Future.

But after a while it grew on me. I think one of its design plusses is one of the philosophies of D&D ... fast, casual gaming.

You can put together a game very quickly with the rules in the book. They're not PERFECT, but they're functional ...

That's not really true, though. The starships portion of d20 Future is pretty much completely broken.

There's no FTL travel in the book (other than Stargates), which pretty much eliminate a whole lot of SF.

There's no starship design. You have to use the samples in the book and then modify them. Apparently the designers used a book from Alternity to make them, and converted to d20 Future, but this caused some problems - for instance, certain ships have the same exact price. Frigate and Destroyer, IIRC. So why would anyone buy a Frigate, if you could get a much bigger (and better) ship for the same price?

And the wealth system in d20 Modern pretty much elminates the possiblity of a free trader style campaign (which is pretty common) or modifying ships (since there is no point in outfitting a ship with anything but the best, as any sort of modding simply adds a +1 to the price of the ship, good or bad)

Beyond starships, there's really nothing about planetary design.

d20 Future is okay for near future, but it doesn't work for much beyond that.

 

[Roudi]

There's no FTL travel in the book (other than Stargates), which pretty much eliminate a whole lot of SF.

That's wrong, actually. FTL rules are covered in the "Traveller Science" chapter, where FTL speeds are given for each of the engine types in the Starships chapter. Popular forms of FTL travel like Hyperspace and Slipstream are missing, but they aren't hard to create on your own.

Also, the Wealth system only eliminates "free trade" gaming if you let it eliminate that element. Trading parts, ships, etc. for other goods or services is entirely within the GM's realm to adjudicate. Remember: the GM administers the rules, and not the other way around.

The d20 Future Starships system isn't perfect. But it does make an adequate starting point. If you aren't afraid to get your elbows greasy cooking up new game mechanics, then the d20 Future Starships system might suit you. If you are looking for something complete, look elsewhere.

 

[C. Baize]

I dig D20 Future.

Is it absolutely NECESSARY? No.
But neither is any other gaming supplement.

 

[Kanegrundar]

RPGObjects has a Starship Construction rulebook out at RPGNow.com. I hear that it's pretty good and works hand-in-hand with D20 Future.

Kane

 

[C. Baize]

Also, the Wealth system only eliminates "free trade" gaming if you let it eliminate that element. Trading parts, ships, etc. for other goods or services is entirely within the GM's realm to adjudicate. Remember: the GM administers the rules, and not the other way around.

Yup. For example... you can simply transfer all wealth DCs to cash (with the handy dandy chart included in the book), and then run a pure cash system.
Easy breezy.

 

[Justin D. Jacobson]

Or you could use the clever Barter skill and accompanying ruleset in Dawning Star, which incorporates the Wealth system.

 

[jeff37923]

Or you could just buy T20 and have all the rules that are missing from d20 Future in one volume. I sound like an advertisement, but really, d20 Traveller is one-stop shopping for d20 Sci-Fi rules that work.

 

[AmorphousBlob]

I've tried Star Wars, don't care for the feel, and feel some of the classes have some fairly odd flaws. I haven't played it extensively though.

Well, Star Wars is really more fantasy than sci-fi, so if you're really looking for a hardcore sci-fi game, Star Wars is the wrong direction.

 

[Wycen]

Dawning Star looks interesting.

How important is d20 Future in running the game?

I already have d20 Modern, but I don't particularly want to buy d20 Future as well.

(Unless anyone thinks its such a great book I really ought to buy it even if I don't go for Dawning Star.)

As someone else stated, you don't really need d20 Future for Dawning Star. Some items find their way in, such as scout armor specifically, but the only thing you'd really miss would be starships, but that isn't a big part of Dawning Star at this point. Helios Rising and Silver Eclipse will provide more reason for starships.

But the thing is, you can get the rules for d20 Future for free at the Wizards of the Coast website: http://www.wizards.com/d20/files/msrd/Future.zip

 

[HeapThaumaturgist]

That's not really true, though. The starships portion of d20 Future is pretty much completely broken.

...

Well I think you missed my point. It's THERE. It's EASY. It may not be what you would personally like for a campaign, but it'd work for a bunch of guys who decided they wanted to play, oh, "Firefly" one weekend with almost no pre-planning or prep.

It's there, the rules are very similar to rules people with d20M already know, it's basically just "Really Big Creatures With Really Big Guns". Same with the Mecha rules. Just like playing 20th level Giants, really.

But that's the beauty of it. Hell if I'd use any of it for a CAMPAIGN ... but for gaming? I think there's alot of value in that. There's alot of stuff right there in that one book that can just be pulled out and used ... "Man, we should do Dark Angel the RPG!" Done. "We should do Mecha!" Got it. "Firefly!" Got it.

It's not pretty, but it works. And if you're only going to play any certain game a few times, then why would you spend lots of money on the "perfect books" or alot of time making the "perfect system"?

--fje