Everyday Heroes, The Rebirth Of d20 Modern: An Interview

d20 Modern is coming back under a new title with a new system. The first teaser information caused a nice bit of interest leading to this interview with Dave Scott of Evil Genius Productions. In this, he shares some more details for the upcoming Kickstarter and book.

EGG EMBRY (EGG): This is an exciting concept to bring back to tabletop and I’m eager to talk with you about it. What are you bringing to crowdfunding?
DAVE SCOTT (DAVE): We’re refreshing d20 Modern by updating it to the 5e system. We brought a few of the original team back to help us with this refresh.

EGG: What will the name of this project be?
DAVE: The project is called “Everyday Heroes™.” We picked that name because we wanted to distinguish it from the super hero genre. This game is about the John McClanes (Die Hard), the John Rambos (First Blood), even the Snake Plisskens (Escape from New York). It’s about the heroes that look like you and me, but are capable of extraordinary things.

EGG: Are you planning a core rulebook? What about a monster manual or a campaign setting?
DAVE: The initial release will include a core rulebook. We’re also planning a few expansions. One will be focused on weapons, another on master villains. We also want to do an expansion focused on our military – the real everyday heroes.

EGG: This project brings the modern world to 5e. What inspired that?
DAVE: I have always loved modern RPGs – Top Secret, Champions, James Bond, and Spycraft. These were the games I played when I was a kid. Some people wanted to play in a fantasy setting, but I always wanted to recreate my favorite action movies.

Dave Scott (left) and Jeff Grub (right)​

EGG: Who is working on this project?
DAVE: We’ve assembled an amazing team of designers, some well-known and some new to the industry. On the “well-known” side, we have Jeff Grubb. He was not only one of the original designers of the game, but also known for some of the most iconic games in the field. On the other side, we have Chris Ramsley. I fell in love with their work on Dungeon Master’s Guild where I discovered them. All Chris’ was rated 5 stars.

EGG: What makes this the right time to bring this classic to a new edition?
DAVE: Given that this is the 20th anniversary of d20 Modern, we felt like this was the right time to do this project. As I started to do my homework, I was blown away by how many people are still running the d20 Modern system – holding it together with gum and tape.

EGG: I’m glad you’re bring them a new version to play. There have been other modern 5e projects such as Ultramodern5 REDUX or the cyberpunk GeneFunk 2090. Not to denigrate those projects, but what separates your version from those?
DAVE: I would classify both of those games as being a future or science fiction setting. Everyday Heroes is rooted in today’s world. When we first launched the game, we promised each other that the most advanced technology in the game will be a smart phone. This game pays homage to all of the great action films of the 80s, 90s, 00’s, and today.

EGG: That’s a fair call out. You’re still in early days on this project, yes? What sort of stretch goals are you considering for this campaign?
DAVE: We’re planning to go above and beyond the typical stretch goals such as new classes or special edition covers. We’ll have those, but we have some exciting stretch goals in mind. I can’t announce anything yet, but stay tuned.

EGG: Beyond d20 Modern, what else are you working on?
DAVE: We see d20 Modern as a platform to launch several campaign settings. As far as we’re concerned, we consider the modern era as everything from the 1900’s to the near future. There is a lot of storytelling within that window.

EGG: Thanks for talking to me about this project. Where can fans learn more about your work?
DAVE: Please visit our website or check out our Kickstarter page.

Everyday Heroes: The Roleplaying Game from Evil Genius Productions
“Everyday Heroes is a tabletop roleplaying game for the modern world using officially licensed content from your favorite action films.”

Egg Embry participates in the OneBookShelf Affiliate Program, Noble Knight Games’ Affiliate Program, and is an Amazon Associate. These programs provide advertising fees by linking to DriveThruRPG, Noble Knight Games, and Amazon.

 

[Gammadoodler]

The title 'everyday heroes'.

Seriously? All this inference is based on the title?? Two words, one of which is "heroes".

I have no opinion on whether this thing will be good or not, but that is just plain silly.

 

[Jd Smith1]

Seriously? All this inference is based on the title?? Two words, one of which is "heroes".

I have no opinion on whether this thing will be good or not, but that is just plain silly.

If you see a book who title is 'vegan recipes' and the cover illustration is of a steak, you would suspect that the author is not going to deliver a quality product.

Its common sense. If the authors cannot get the cover and the title in sync, how much attention to detail and creative thinking went into the contents?

 

[Gammadoodler]

If you see a book who title is 'vegan recipes' and the cover illustration is of a steak, you would suspect that the author is not going to deliver a quality product.

Its common sense. If the authors cannot get the cover and the title in sync, how much attention to detail and creative thinking went into the contents?

You're literally trying to judge the book by its cover...and doing so to the exclusion of any other information provided in the marketing materials by the authors/publisher.

I maintain that this is silly.

How many dungeons, dragons, players or handbooks are featured on the 5e PHB? On my version..zero..of any of the above..and yet somehow people seem to really like it..

Curious.

There should be some kind of saying about making judgements on superficial, scant information. Books and their covers could serve as the metaphor.. will have to think on it.

 

[Jd Smith1]

You're literally trying to judge the book by its cover...and doing so to the exclusion of any other information provided in the marketing materials by the authors/publisher.

I am pointing out the fact that the title and cover are are clearly at odds with one another.

As to the other information, it includes a reference to: It’s about the heroes that look like you and me

With cover art of orange-skinned mutants, among others.

Those are the facts. You can wriggle all you want, but that doesn't change the truth.

 

[sigfried]

The title 'everyday heroes'.

Hey Jd.

I'm one of the two lead designers on Everyday Heroes. I thought I'd share about the name. You are right that the name and the theme of the game are just a bit at odds with one another. The heroes are not meant to be mundane people, but somewhat larger-than-life characters from films and action stories. We just love the name "Everyday Heroes" because it sounds cool, and emphasizes that they are not people with superpowers, magical abilities, and so forth. You certainly can build a very average sort of hero if you like, but most folks are probably going to want to play someone exceptional in some way.

Another way the name can ring true is that game doesn't assume heroes are some kind of professional adventurers or part of a hero team or the like. They have jobs, some exciting, some mundane, and lives. But we presume that the stories people will tell involve some level of action, adventure, and drama and we wanted the game to support a kind of hard realism or a broad action archetype.

But when it comes to art, you have to make choices and you want to pick a theme. We went for a semi-comic book style, partly because that's what d20 modern did. Our art budget is not quite equal to Wizards of the Coast. It's the company's first product after all. But, we think the art is fun and full of character and love the work our artists have done for us. If it's not to your tastes, we understand and that's OK. Like what you like.

Evil Genius Games is a new company, so our budget is not enormous, but give us a little time and a little love and see what happens! Considering this company is brand new and the core team is mostly new names, I think we're doing amazing things. Hopefully, it won't be long before we can live up to your standards.

 

[Jd Smith1]

Hey Jd.

I'm one of the two lead designers on Everyday Heroes. I thought I'd share about the name. You are right that the name and the theme of the game are just a bit at odds with one another. The heroes are not meant to be mundane people, but somewhat larger-than-life characters from films and action stories. We just love the name "Everyday Heroes" because it sounds cool, and emphasizes that they are not people with superpowers, magical abilities, and so forth. You certainly can build a very average sort of hero if you like, but most folks are probably going to want to play someone exceptional in some way.

Another way the name can ring true is that game doesn't assume heroes are some kind of professional adventurers or part of a hero team or the like. They have jobs, some exciting, some mundane, and lives. But we presume that the stories people will tell involve some level of action, adventure, and drama and we wanted the game to support a kind of hard realism or a broad action archetype.

But when it comes to art, you have to make choices and you want to pick a theme. We went for a semi-comic book style, partly because that's what d20 modern did. Our art budget is not quite equal to Wizards of the Coast. It's the company's first product after all. But, we think the art is fun and full of character and love the work our artists have done for us. If it's not to your tastes, we understand and that's OK. Like what you like.

Evil Genius Games is a new company, so our budget is not enormous, but give us a little time and a little love and see what happens! Considering this company is brand new and the core team is mostly new names, I think we're doing amazing things. Hopefully, it won't be long before we can live up to your standards.

Sorry; if you can't resolve something so simple as your sales blurb and your actual core theme, your products just aren't cutting it. Especially since it is just a splatbook for other's work.

Good luck in future efforts.

 

[R_J_K75]

Especially since it is just a splatbook for other's work.

Since when is a 400+ page hardcover core rulebook a splatbook?

 

[Jd Smith1]

Since when is a 400+ page hardcover core rulebook a splatbook?

Its a 5e product. These guys are just working off someone else's system.

The number of pages is immaterial.

 

[R_J_K75]

Its a 5e product. These guys are just working off someone else's system.

Which is different from what how many other authors/companies are doing, such as Edge converting Midnight to 5E?

 

[Jd Smith1]

Which is different from what how many other authors/companies are doing, such as Edge converting Midnight to 5E?

Other than their poor quality of presentation, none. But since I didn't compare this product to an other company, that is not a relevant point.