For those DMing d20 Modern: How different do your players act than in "normal" D&D?

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

SeveredHead: If somebody starts shooting at you, yeah, it is not the time to talk. On the other hand, I've had good luck with cover. Firing back at somebody who's behind cover seems to be, long-run, safer than charging in. Of course, this assumes equal levels, and a fast guy with a good Dex can close the distance pretty quickly and move fast enough to make it hard for somebody to reliably hit him. Really, unless I'm a dedicated martial artist, I'd rather be sneaking around a building to shoot that shooter than running up to pound him. YMMV, of course. If you don't mind me asking, have you been using strict d20M rules? Massive damage, impossibility of Treat Injury checks unless you've got a medkit, which you have to get out as a move-equivalent action, all that good stuff?

BiggusGeekus: Oh, yeah, the guy with 40 vials of stuff, completely within his weight limit, who cannot tell you how he's carrying it. Love that.

Well, I'm a Strong 1/Fast 3/Martial Artist 2 with Dex 16 and speed 40 ft., plus a decent (not great) Defense value. So yeah, I am a dedicated martial artist with no proficiency with guns and no desire to buy one.

(It's really hard to cross nation boundaries with guns and armor, after all.)

The rules are pretty strict (my GM wouldn't let me take Weapon Finesse as a 1st-level Fast, so I had to take a level of Strong). The last time someone got knocked out and we had a healer present we each had a lower-level clone of ourselves fighting, so getting to the wounded without drawing AoOs wasn't too difficult. Plus, with 9 rounds to get to them (and it's really easy to stabilize at only -1 hp) nobody ended up actually dying.

Now, one of these days we're going to get hit by something really tough that's going to knock someone from 3 hp to -6 hp or something like that... but it hasn't happened yet.

 

[Pielorinho]

The key to GMing is knowing when to pick your battles about being a control freak.

Can't argue with that! And since I'm way too much of a wuss to run a game at a gaming store, where any hoi polloi can show up to ruin things, I take back any criticism about that guy. What you do in your home game with players you've chosen is gonna be way different from what you do at a store.

Daniel

 

[VirgilCaine]

(What would a SWAT team member think of a civilian carrying more armament than one of their vans?)

In general, as long as the weapons are unloaded and in locked hard cases in the trunk of a car, it's perfectly legal.

Luckily though, their funds should start to run short soon... *cackle*

Yeah, good lawyers are expensive and the ATF loves explosives cases I bet.

 

[ledded]

1) More skill usage. You cant just abduct or beat the crap out of everyone you meet for info, and you always have several options for finding information (research, gather info, intimidate, etc). Better NPC interactions overall.

2) Cover. We quickly learned the value of cover. Very quickly.

3) Games are more investigative, and the combats tend to stay tense even at higher levels because the mooks can burst with a SMG or a sniper on the roof can still end your day.

4) Related to 1) and 3), consequences. Everything we do can have a very quick-to-catch-up-with-you consequence. Even the ultra-chaotic type players know to watch the really crazy stuff, or have some way to deal with it when it comes back to haunt them.

5) Guns, explosives, and cars with which to run things over. 'Nuff said

 

[Asmor]

This is exactly what I saw in all but one isloated case.

The lone exception invoved a guy who had only played traditional D&D. He abused the d20 Modern wealth system a bit and bought 20 vials of acid and 20 malatov cocktails.

I'm starting a D20 modern campaign. One of my characters took the "Get anything your wealth rating or below first" to heart and got pretty much everything. I think I even saw the kitchen sink on his list somewhere. And of course, he got 2 vials of acid and 10 molotov cocktails. Ironically, he's the only player of the three I didn't tell your anecdote too.

I also had to spend several minutes explaining to that same player that one doesn't buy improvised weapons... But they were in the middle of the equipment section in one of those tables just like all the other stuff. lol.

 

[mmadsen]

I was doing a 1920's d20 horror game. When things got wierd at the airport (after a great, tense scene where the gangster fought with his FBI minder within the landing airplane) said gangster tried to go on a murder spree.

This reminds me how difficult it can be to run an accurate game in another era (especially if you have to make anything up on the fly).

The FBI wasn't the FBI until 1935. It was the Bureau of Investigation. And Bureau agents only investigated federal crimes.

Also, in the 1920s, airplanes took off and landed from open fields; "modern" airports came near the end of the decade -- as did passenger airlines. From Airline History

On 15 May 1918 a regular US Air Mail Service was started with single-engine biplanes when the United States Postal Service received a grant to start the experimental services. These fledgling flights covered the USA from East to West coasts and like all pioneers there was a high price paid in bad weather accidents. This service formed the basis for the US airline industry that was to follow and so it has an important place in US airline history. (See also US Airline History page.)

In 1927 these US Mail routes went to the private sector and the first serious US trans-continental airlines were formed including Boeing Air Transport, National Air Transport, United Air Lines, American Airways and TWA. TWA served the New York to Los Angeles corridor and United flew New York to San Francisco.

In that era, a Boeing B.80 carried 12 passengers.

 

[slingbld]

Later, I learned that he loved to play "Chaotic Neut" in D&D.

I HATE people like that!

Nearly every character I've EVER made has been C.N. Chaotic Nuetral does NOT mean evil!

It means if anything, selfish, self serving and unpredictable. It means you will work together with a group for survival!!

Now, it also means you WILL look to get even if, IF someone realy pisses you off Example: I killed a Palladin in one game because his holy-er than thou attitude got the group in trouble more than once. I slit his throat in his sleep, he insisted on sleeping away from the group, next to the horses. I also stole some items of value from several packs, the party did not know I had a Heward's Handy Haversack at the time. I saw it as an alibi. The players knew exactly what I did but non of the characters could act upon it. This is the most "evil" act I ever did playing a CN character & it took 4 near TPK's caused by our pally friendfor me to do this.

ok, getting off my soapbox now.......

 

[Lalato]

They are working for the Hoffmann Institute now (yeah I'm doing a Dark Matter esque game)...

Slingbld~

I would love to see your notes on that... I'm about to start a Spycraft/Dark Matter game.
--sam

 

[Nareau]

I think a lot of the differences between D&D and D20 Modern come from technological, cultural, and legal differences between the medieval fantasy and modern settings.
For one, incarceration is much easier in modern times than it is in fantasy worlds. Teleportation, mind-control, and illusions are pretty hard to come by in our world, but they're low-level spells in D&D. It's a lot harder to contain criminals when they can use magic to bypass walls and guards. When it becomes possible to send the Big Bad to prison forever, you no longer feel such a need to kill him.
Also, the Western/American modern legal system tends to err on the side of caution when it comes to punishment. In the old days (heck, even in the old west), you'd be a hero if you shot a bank robber. Nowadays, you'll probably go to prison (or be executed) yourself. Having those consequences looming overhead probably sways a lot of players from being overly trigger-happy.

Just my $.02

Spider

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

Well, I like how players don't have to scrounge around for items or cash. One of the things I hated about DnD, Diablo, Angband, etc is that you're so dependent on items.

I mean, it's great that you get loot, but your character should be more important than the loot.

It's great how skills-based characters don't suck anymore... you can do so much with skills like Computer Use, for instance.