D&D 5E Fifth Age: A hard science fiction 5e conversion

[David Norris-King]

I always figured the level 10 cap was because you aren't playing as fantasy heroes in a world of magic, where you could potentially take on gods late game.

A level 10 in a sci fi setting is an elite operative. Anymore powerful and you leave regular joes in the dirt, so much so that it breaks immersion.

 

[Capn Charlie]

David is correct on the level cap. The last ten levels are rarely used in play anyhow, and the HP numbers just start getting silly after a point. With a 10 cap players can feel powerful but still mortal. Level 10 is about as powerful as I would want characters to be.

Sent from my MT2L03 using EN World mobile app

 

[David Norris-King]

One question I do have Capn is how lethal is this setting? Because with the damage die on all those weapons it looks absolutely brutal.

Also, if archaic weapons are regular DnD fair, how do they match up against modern weaponry, even in the hands of an expert, like the savage?

 

[Capn Charlie]

One question I do have Capn is how lethal is this setting? Because with the damage die on all those weapons it looks absolutely brutal.

Also, if archaic weapons are regular DnD fair, how do they match up against modern weaponry, even in the hands of an expert, like the savage?

I ain't gonna lie, it's pretty brutal. The foolish and the unlucky can get blown away. Due to the base 5 death system, it isn't unheard of for the last character or two to be the only survivors and get everyone patched up and limp back to safety together. Futuristic medicine helps explain some of this, and make short/long rests feel alright.

As for archaic weapons, well, they are just that. A blaster pistol does more damage than a longsword. That's just the way it is. But both can still kill someone. This makes playing an effective savage challenging. Note however that the Primitive background does a lot to offset the lack of damage by granting advantage on most if not all attacks. Hunters get an extra die of combat damage at 4th level, and Warriors and Oathsworn are useful in other ways (control and defense, accordingly) but your soldier with an assault rifle will still deal more damage consistently. To an extent this is functioning as intended.

Something to keep in mind is that ACs are fairly low in this system, and proficiency is good, but not absolutely vital. A Gatling laser is a gatling laser, after all. Much less a chainsword.

Some of the lowest level entries in the Hazard Handbook, Security Rookies and Officers have fairly modest attacks, 2d4 and 2d6+1 respectively. Both of these might drop a first level PC in just one or two shots. However, the same can be said of an orc with a greataxe, 1d12+3.

I try to focus on milestone leveling and not tracking xp, so my players tend to focus more on problem solving and less on the murder hobo lifestyle, so whenever they get a chance to avoid a fight they usually take it.

 

[Vexcord]

Im sorry if this sounds stupid but, im having a hard time Setting up a game.
I've downloaded all of the files but im not sure which ones i should use; Furthermore I've got all the 5th ed rule-books on hand but im not sure what parts i should be using with fifth age.

 

[Capn Charlie]

Im sorry if this sounds stupid but, im having a hard time Setting up a game.
I've downloaded all of the files but im not sure which ones i should use; Furthermore I've got all the 5th ed rule-books on hand but im not sure what parts i should be using with fifth age.

Understandable. I am in the process of writing a better explanation and write up for this exact problem.

Okay, the number one document to use is the latest version of the core document "Fifth Age 0.6" at this time. This contains classes, races, feats, equipment, and a variety of game systems. (Such as investment, downtime, and simplified spaceship rules). Additionally, there is a character sheet here that is a bit more relevant to fifth age, but a modified regular 5e sheet will do fine in a pinch. I have been told my sheet is very plain and basic, a fair critique, but it has all the right slots and lays out the info fairly well.

To actually run the game, use the core 5e books, or SRD, and assume that you are using that ruleset, except where overwritten by Fifth Age. So from the phb, for instance, you are really only using the combat rules, ability check resolutions, death and dying, environment, and so forth. This is the "engine" of the game.

For combat encounters you have the "Hazard Handbook" which details a variety of possible enemy combatants for the players to go up against. You can supplement this with stat blocks from the SRD, monster manual and even volo's or the kobold press bestiary, to populate the world with savage and bizarre aliens. A lot of monster manual critters make great alien menaces when you "re-skin" them with new descriptions.

The third book, Spaceships, is a much rougher work in process than anything you've seen. I haven't actively done development on that system in nearly a year. It is on my to-do list, but it is not a major priority, since most people didn't really want it. The skeleton is there if you want to play with it, as well as an excel sheet that helps build spaceships, and a "ship sheet" that might be useful in part even with the vastly simplified ship rules in the core document.

Now, you can use XP for character advancement, but I recommend using milestones or fiat leveling, to maintain narrative flow and encourage problem solving and not murder-hoboing.

Notes:
Use most PHB skills, supplement them with ones from the core document
Do not use PHB Feats, they are way too strong for this system (where you get +2 ability score AND a feat, not either/or)
Use PHB stats for archaic weapon equivalents if it comes up, just easier that way.

If you have any further questions or concerns, just let me know, feedback about what is not clear is very important as it helps me refine the books, and if nobody complains, I don't know what the problems are that need fixing, so if you see anything, let me know.

 

[David Norris-King]

I'm glad you confirmed what I'd thought and I agree with a lot of what you've said. Swords are super lethal of course, but then again, we're dealing with direct energy weapons on a scale unseen before.

One thing I'm also wondering: does a savage with a military background break anything? Because it's a reasonable possibility. A native brought into a militia and given military weapon training could end up being incredibly dangerous.

Also, I'd leave the Power Axe and Sledge off the list, or reskin them a bit. They feel a little less hard(er) sci-fi than most of the other weapon. The axe might work as a plasma torch? Plus, as a case in point, can you imagine a savage with a power sledge? It'd be ridiculous? It'd be 8d6 damage with some of the abilities.

 

[David Norris-King]

I reckon you should also stat some Archaic weapons, just so players have some options without having to dig through other books. If you want to leave the combat knife where it is maybe this might work:

Archaic Weapons:
Archaic dagger: d8, finesse----------- like a rapier
Throwing Spear: d8, thrown 20/60
One handed melee weapon (swords, cleavers, etc): d10------------ a little more than usual, but slightly more than the combat knife makes sense
Two Handed melee weapon (longswords, axes, etc) : 2d6,two handed
Two Handed melee weapon with reach (heavy spears, etc): d10, heavy

Bows: d8
Crossbows/Primitive rifles: d10, loading

I don't know what range you'd give the last two, since a lot of your guns are shorter range, but anyway.

 

[Mortilupo]

If you used Word, go to reference and set that for each thing you want on the Contents Page and the Table of Contents will build itself and if you add stuff, page counts will update when you update the Table of Content.

 

[Capn Charlie]

I'm glad you confirmed what I'd thought and I agree with a lot of what you've said. Swords are super lethal of course, but then again, we're dealing with direct energy weapons on a scale unseen before.

One thing I'm also wondering: does a savage with a military background break anything? Because it's a reasonable possibility. A native brought into a militia and given military weapon training could end up being incredibly dangerous.

Also, I'd leave the Power Axe and Sledge off the list, or reskin them a bit. They feel a little less hard(er) sci-fi than most of the other weapon. The axe might work as a plasma torch? Plus, as a case in point, can you imagine a savage with a power sledge? It'd be ridiculous? It'd be 8d6 damage with some of the abilities.

Oh definitely, Savage/Military is a great combo. I am thinking Sepoy troops. Imagine having a bunch of savage aliens swear fealty to the Fargone Trading Corporation, get drilled in gauss rifles, then be thrown against the defenders of other primitive worlds, all the while gladly risking their lives for a chance at the plunder that we might consider shiny trash. Love it.

As for power weapons, they make more sense than you might think. Pneumatic weapons make a lot of sense in zero g environments, tight quarters on ships and stations (dangerous projectiles penetrating bulkheads...) and the enemy here is the lack of a gravitic center of reference. In freefall a melee weapon would only deposit half of its kinetic energy to the target and recoil half of it into the attacker, if you punched someone in freefall you would both bounce away from each other. Power weapons use compressed air to empower their strikes, making them a little more like rocket powered weapons than anything, putting more kinetic energy into the target than is recoiled by the user. Moreover, they can be used for limited maneuvering or even configured to release a massive jet of air on impact, acting like a pneumatic jackhammer when you connect. Silly, perhaps, but I think someone would buy it, so I think someone would build it, especially given the relatively low tech level required compared to other weapons.

I reckon you should also stat some Archaic weapons, just so players have some options without having to dig through other books. If you want to leave the combat knife where it is maybe this might work:

Archaic Weapons:
Archaic dagger: d8, finesse----------- like a rapier
Throwing Spear: d8, thrown 20/60
One handed melee weapon (swords, cleavers, etc): d10------------ a little more than usual, but slightly more than the combat knife makes sense
Two Handed melee weapon (longswords, axes, etc) : 2d6,two handed
Two Handed melee weapon with reach (heavy spears, etc): d10, heavy

Bows: d8
Crossbows/Primitive rifles: d10, loading

I don't know what range you'd give the last two, since a lot of your guns are shorter range, but anyway.

I tried to stick with ranges that mattered and not go all silly, also lasers are hard in atmospheric environments, so I think you could just go with range straight out of the phb and it wouldn't matter, maybe use shortbow and light crossbow statblocks for archaic bow and crossbow.

As for other weapons, go with it straight as it lies. Dagger 1d4, short sword (long knife) 1d6 (both light) swords at 1d8, two handed swords at 2d6, reach spears at 1d10 two handed, spears 1d6 thrown or melee with a shield.

With the other large weapon dice it is easy to feel like you want to scale archaic weapons to match, but that just makes modern weaponry less impressive. Remember that the party is usually the few alien invaders in most scenarios, so just throw more hordes of (relatively) poorly equipped natives at them rather than buffing the weapons they carry.

For PCs choosing archaic weapons this can be a little disheartening, so consider some special story award weapons. In my game I had a savage daht build a two handed sword out of this crazy alien metal and it did 2d8 and not 2d6.

For primitive firearms, don't be shy. The joules delivered in a shot out of a laser or blaster rifle is on par with that from a high caliber rifle, just use those stat blocks. 2d6 pistols, 3d8 heavy rifles, heck even give them burstfire if you want. The only thing that makes lasers and gauss rifles better than these weapons (subjectively) is their better performance in varying G and atmospheric environments (try shooting a cartridge in hard vacuum) and fantastic marketing by LaserCo (SUpplying the finest in beam laser weaponry for over two centuries, for when you want to deal with problems at the speed of light).

A savage character might even be allowed to call his flintlock or muzzle loader archaic for the primitive background bonus, but any more advanced and you're just using too modern of guns to call it. (No way I'd let a guy with ww2 weaponry call it primitive and archaic).