Dream Pod Nine Worlds for d20

Jürgen Hubert · Dec 14, 2004

Since Dream Pod 9 overhauled their Game System (Silhouette), they have relaunched all their major game lines - Heavy Gear (an amazingly detailed far-future setting revolving around battlesuit warfare), Jovian Chronicles (science fiction/space opera setting set in the solar system), Gear Krieg (pulp WWII - with walking tanks), Tribe 8 (mature post-apocalyptic fantasy), and a new release, Core Command (over-the-top far-future space opera).

These settings have a fairly dedicated and long-running fanbase because of their usually high quality and high level of detail (esp. Heavy Gear and Jovian Chronicles). But since they relaunched their lines, they have dual-statted their books - now they also include d20 stats.

Now I was wondering... Has this dual-statting actually attracted new customers? Is anyone here playing the d20 version of these settings?

Has anyone here actually heard of these settings, or Dream Pod 9, before?

Just wondering...

Turjan · Dec 14, 2004

Jürgen Hubert said:
Now I was wondering... Has this dual-statting actually attracted new customers? Is anyone here playing the d20 version of these settings?

Has anyone here actually heard of these settings, or Dream Pod 9, before?

Well, no, I did not buy any of these settings. I was thinking of having a closer look at Tribe 8, because it seems to be an interesting postapocalyptic fantasy setting. Sometimes, it's the little things that are holding me back. Just look at the names of the fatimas:

Baba Yaga the Crone, Eva the Mother, Joan the Warrior, Magdalen the Lover...

Okay, actually this type of naming might be okay for a postapocalyptic setting, because not everything from before has vanished, but I cannot really get the associations out of my mind

.

Just to give an answer

!

Desdichado · Dec 14, 2004

Heard of all of them, do not own them, did not realize they were dual-statted!

I'm not really in the market for new games of that nature, but I'm certainly more interested than I would have been if they include d20 stats. If nothing else, they can now be integrated into other d20 games, which is where they're much more likely to see use by me anyway.

Captain Tagon · Dec 14, 2004

Well, I have the Silhouette CORE book and the Jovian Chronicles book for a while now, but haven't really had a chance to sit down and look through them in detail yet mainly cause I can't find anyone willing to play. I do want to get some of the Heavy Gear books though, because that setting just seems awesome to me.

Cergorach · Dec 14, 2004

I really liked the dp9 stuff before it went dual stated, and now that it's dual stated it has more appeal from a usage point of view. Not that i expect to play it, but if i was (and i would probably dm it), i am very happy that i can just use rules i already know and so do my players. My group has alreay trouble getting together (time to play rpgs is scarce for my friends), spending additional time learning new rules and fumbling with them is not high on their priority list.

Two problems:
1.) It's not really easily available around here, so impulse buys are out and as i don't expect to really play this anytime soon, planned buys are often out of the question. RPGnow was a good alternative (talk about instant gratification), but the quality of the pdfs is horrible (all scanned images with text underneath), so i only bought a few. If they where in their original electronic format i would probably buy more (if not all eventually).
2.) I really loved the feel of Heavy Gear first edition, i have a bunch of books i got for 'cheap' from a sale, and a bunch of RAFM heavy gears. The second edition (from what i've seen) made a lesser 'impact' on me. The Third edition i haven't really looked at yest, but the consolidation of one universel rpg rule book for all the settings was a great idea (i have that from RPGnow).

So did the dual statting attract a new customer? Partly, i actually bought a couple of dp9 books (in pdf) in a long time.

Jürgen Hubert · Dec 14, 2004

Turjan said:
Well, no, I did not buy any of these settings. I was thinking of having a closer look at Tribe 8, because it seems to be an interesting postapocalyptic fantasy setting. Sometimes, it's the little things that are holding me back. Just look at the names of the fatimas:

Baba Yaga the Crone, Eva the Mother, Joan the Warrior, Magdalen the Lover...

Okay, actually this type of naming might be okay for a postapocalyptic setting, because not everything from before has vanished, but I cannot really get the associations out of my mind .

Just to give an answer !

Seriously, take a look at it - the fatimas are really, really twisted, and the mythology of the game is so original that you will soon stop worrying about historical associations...

Jürgen Hubert · Dec 14, 2004

Captain Tagon said:
Well, I have the Silhouette CORE book and the Jovian Chronicles book for a while now, but haven't really had a chance to sit down and look through them in detail yet mainly cause I can't find anyone willing to play. I do want to get some of the Heavy Gear books though, because that setting just seems awesome to me.

It is - and so is Jovian Chronicles. Both are some of the best designed and detailed settings ever. Both have highly believable societies and nations, and plenty of opportunity for fantastic story. In fact, Heavy Gear has the best use of a meterplot that I have ever seen. First it starts out with a Cold War on a desert planet, which gradually turns into a hot war, which then apruptly ends as an old enemy rears his head - and the whole planet then forms a tenous alliance to fight an interstellar war!

With plenty of intrigue, daring commando raids, exploration of the unknwon, villainy and heroism...

P.S. You do know that you are dead, don't you?

Jürgen Hubert · Dec 14, 2004

Joshua Dyal said:
I'm not really in the market for new games of that nature, but I'm certainly more interested than I would have been if they include d20 stats. If nothing else, they can now be integrated into other d20 games, which is where they're much more likely to see use by me anyway.

What kind of campaigns do you usually run where this stuff might be useful?

Both Heavy Gear and Jovian Chronicles (the dual-stat settings I own) have huge amounts of futuristic equipment - oh, and some mechs. The stuff in Core Command is beyond futuristic...

Jovian Chronicles might be useful for the detailed description of the solar system, while Heavy Gear works well for science fiction games with independed colony worlds - most of the worlds in the setting had little contact with each other for centuries.

Tribe 8 has a new form of magic ("Synthesis"), and Gear Krieg will be useful for "pulp" adventures set on our world in the early 20th century.

Does this help you?

Desdichado · Dec 14, 2004

My current game is a sword & sorcery / horror setting with a fair amount of Iron Kingdoms style steamtech available. Some of that material could be useful, especially the Gear Krieg.

Of course, in six months, I could be running something completely different, though. I do a fair amount of game and even genre hopping.