EN World Presents the Year's Best D20!

[Mark]

Okay, some I've already mentioned but I'm keeping a running list and adding some (seconding) that I have now had the chance to see.

Blue Devil Games - Poisoncraft: The Dark Art

Mongoose Publishing - OGL Horror
-Statting out organizations as characters

Mongoose Publishing - Quintessential Aristocrat
-Expansion of Aristocrat class

The Game Mechanics - Thieves Quarter

Upper Krust's system for determining CR and ECL

Wizards of the Coast - Unearthed Arcana
-Backgrounds system
-Contacts system
-Honor system
-Reputation system

 

[philreed]

I do intend to utilize the OGC in the Variant Rules Pack 01 for some of my own future projects, as a basis for my own redeveloped OGC or transparently so in it's current form but with expansion or additions.

Is there a reason you didn't do that instead of just releasing a collection? I've packaged and released OGC in the past but I always do work to add to the material -- even the Mecha SRD Extreme includes an appendix of new material (that I also released for free). I'm not sure I understand the fun in scanning text and releasing it without trying to make it include some creative input of my own.

I see OGC as a tool to inspiring my own work. When I find some OGC that I like, I find it's a lot more fun to twist it, add to it, or adapt it to suit my needs.

 

[Psion]

Why chaositech? What's the quality that sets it apart from the other releases of 2004?

I've got to say it's more the flavor of the Chaositech than the rules. The rules have some problems, and don't do a whole lot innovative. (Edit: The do do some thing people may have wanted, but use existing systems like "mutant" templates. So if that's worthy of a nomination, there you go.)


The Universe - are you specifically looking for variant rules, or do you want bits like creatures, templates, classes, and the like?

Some possible inclusions:

If you include specific examples, not just variant systems, there is a lot of fresh creature fare in Denizens of Avadnu and Advanced Bestiary (I was particularly intrigued by the Four Horsemen template, among others)

Ronin Art's Visions 2 has some nifty rules for handling ghostly manifestations.

Unearthed Arcana has had a few entries mentioned. My favorite bits from it are action points (a bit different than Eberron and D20 Modern) and LA reduction. Racial level are also sort of neat, but I'm not personally using them right now.

Though it was originally in a book more than a year old, Hyperconscious' mindscapes combat system is an excellent system for handling psioic combat and making psionics more distinct from magic. It also has some excellent and flavorful character choices for psions.

Hamunaptra, in addition to being an excellent flavor supplement, has a nice non-magic spin on the ranger, and a less pathetically weak spin on the sorcerer.

Mongoose's Book of the Planes has some nifty mechanics for planes too, including nicely encapsulated organizations with feats and brief classes, as well as a neat system for describing portals and planes (though I must admit I like those in Portals & Planes a bit better).

Malhavoc's Book of Iron Might has a nifty maneuver system that has lots of swashbucklery potential and some interesting feat variants. Ironborn are nifty too, but I don't know if I'd have them make the cut for a "best" collection.

Is Mongoose's Book of Dragons less than a year old? (It seems not).




Several other things I like have already been mentioned (elements of magic, etc.)

 

[WizarDru]

One I forgot, but I think deserves mention, is from WotC: Unearthed Arcana. Some of the best d20 material of the year comes from that book, IMHO. I enjoyed the Book of Iron Might, but I still need to read it some more. I think it's one of the best written d20 books of the year, certainly (any book that highlights potential abuses of it's system preemptively and offers solutions wins marks with me).

 

[Mark]

Moved discussion with Phil (I hope you don't mind) -

http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=112139