DarkºMatter from d20 Modern

[Desdichado]

DarkºMatter from d20 Modern

OK, I've got the DarkºMatter ESD, which has all the campaign setting fluff stuff I need. I'm wondering how folks would react to (I'm also hoping to trial this with the "Exit 23" DarkºMatter adventure at the Chicago ENWorld gameday) using d20 Modern without F/X, and then graft on d20 Call of Cthulhu Sanity, psyhic powers and spells.

Would DarkºMatter fans chime in and let me know if you think this would have a similar feel? Is this an adequate conversion of the setting into d20, or would you do more? If so, what would you do?

 

[firstborne]

This would work, mechanically, but I'm not sure if sanity is the way to go. While it is rumored that DarkºMatter grew out of a Call of Cthulhu campaign, nowhere in the setting material does it say that humans are driven insane by odd things. It's more "high strangeness" than "you see cthulhu, you go nuts."

That said, Call of Cthulhu spells cause ability damage, so you shouldn't have to worry about players casting spells willy-nilly. As for the psychic powers, I can't remember whether they cause ability damage, but they do require a serious investment of feats as well as a few skill points, to be worth a damn.

Of course, you could always scrounge up some old Alternity books, and play it that way...

 

[HeapThaumaturgist]

Hrm. The D20Modern campaign I want to run, that's how I'm going to work magic and psychic powers, myself.

If you can think of it, post how it went. I"m interested in it. I may or may-not be playtesting pretty much the same thing (rules-wise, but homebrew setting material) in upcoming weeks.

The game group around here is big on D&D, but I'm currently IN one campaign and running unconnected adventures for a Hack-n-Slash level-up fest the local game club holds on saturdays.

I want to run a campaign, but I'm thinking D&D 2-3 times a week would burn me out, so I'm hoping to con a few people into D20M.

--fje

 

[Desdichado]

Yeah, I'll try and post a summary of how it goes, but the gameday isn't for another month.

In terms of Sanity being a core issue with Cthulhu but not necessarily DarkºMatter, I think that's a more flexible tool than you give it credit for. If you make PCs make Sanity rolls three or four times a session because of some weird-@$$ stuff they're seeing, than it plays much more like CoC (but with more cinematic characters.) However, if you really tone down the occurance of Sanity rules, and instead use them mostly for spells and psychic powers, and only the truly disturbing things, then it adds a lot of flavor without becoming CoC flavor.

Of course, that's the theory, anyway. Real life is untested.

 

[Orius]

I never really got into Alternity or Dark Matter, but from what I know about it, it was inspired by the X-Files and similar stuff. So you got a lot of conspiracies, aliens secretly trying to take over the world and just a lot of wierd stuff. I think it would make for an interesting d20 Modern campaign. As for sanity checks and stuff, I'm not really familiar with CoC, but I suppose using them in a limited fashion probably would be alright. Drak Matter is really more about conspiracies and the paranoral rather than ancient cosmic gods and secrets man wasn't meant to know.

 

[Desdichado]

That doesn't mean that the Sanity rules couldn't have a very good place in DarkºMatter though. DarkºMatter is like X-Files in many ways, but it's very broad. It includes every conspiracy theory, aliens theory, new age occult theory, Bigfoot theory, etc. you can imagine and makes it all available.

 

[Ranger REG]

Didn't JD Wiker offer a web enhancement on how to convert Dark*Matter creatures into d20 Modern?

Also, I believe some of the creatures from D*M have made its way into the Menace Manual (JD Wiker co-wrotes) such as the Fraal (aka the Grays, Roswell's aliens).

www.Wizards.com/d20Modern

 

[Desdichado]

Yeah, Menace Manual has a lot of DarkºMatter references, including the Hoffman Institute, which was a dead giveaway.

Still, I don't think the "pseudo-D&D Urban Arcana" magic and psionics rules make for a very good DarkºMatter campaign. If you find that article on conversion, be sure and link it. In the meantime, I'm going to go search for it.

EDIT: Nevermind, I found it. All that does, though, is tell you how to convert stats from Alternity into d20 Modern, which isn't really very useful.

 

[ledded]

We have a home-brewed psychic powers/magic type system in our d20 modern game, and it plays a little like CoC sometimes.

We use the WP/VP system, and spells either cost VP, WP, or ability damage; the more powerful the spell the more damage, etc. Feats give access to 3 schools of magic as class skills, so there are no 'spellcasting classes'. You make skill rolls to try and cast spells.

The interesting thing is, we never know what a spell does or cost until we learn it, and it takes a while to master one; most everything is a mystery to us until we research enough or have it thrown at us.

While there are no specific 'sanity rules' (yet...), most of the players fear our GM enough to have already started taking steps to help them maintain sanity (one guy goes out to the country, does some fishing and whatnot, works on his farm, etc). The never knowing what is going to happen is a lot of fun. Plus, since there are no published spell lists, we never know what spells we are going to come across until we learn a new one. It's fun.

I think some form of sanity rules are fun to give magic that feeling of being more rare and scary, unlike D&D where it (at least to me) feels like going to the hardware store. Let us know what you come up with, I'm interested to see.

 

[Ranger REG]

Yeah, Menace Manual has a lot of DarkºMatter references, including the Hoffman Institute, which was a dead giveaway.

Still, I don't think the "pseudo-D&D Urban Arcana" magic and psionics rules make for a very good DarkºMatter campaign.

Well, granted I have not gotten into Alternity/Dark*Matter but I'm sure one can make due with the existing FX in d20 Modern.

If you find that article on conversion, be sure and link it. In the meantime, I'm going to go search for it.

Which is why I posted the link above as a starting point.

EDIT: Nevermind, I found it. All that does, though, is tell you how to convert stats from Alternity into d20 Modern, which isn't really very useful.

Well, then I suggest you ask JD Wiker (author of many Dark*Matter products) on his messageboard for new rules on using D*M with d20 Modern.