Hi - New to Enworld

[Golandrinel]

Hi all, just thought I would introduce myself. I notice a few familiar names here already, hey Diaglo, so I know I'm in good company already.

I'm a gamer faced with entering my 30's and am a little out of touch with current gaming. I moderate at the Drunken Dwarf Inn board (see sig) and run a game there too. I'm a staunch 2e AD&D supporter but have just brought myself the 3e Core Rule books and am faced with .... D20. My favourite setting is the stark Darksun world and I'm looking forward to seeing a revised edition .. I hope.

What I need is for someone to do a quick "Well Gol, D20 is...." intro for me .... please ... pretty please...

 

[Sagan Darkside]

Salutations,

Welcome.

"Well Gol, D20 is...."

a toolbox for running a rpg. Most people use it for d&d, but there are historical, superhero, and spy rpg's using the d20 toolset as well.

SD

 

[Apok]

Welcome to the 'boards!

Well, the rumours about a new Dark Sun setting have been flying around for the last week or so but nothing has been confirmed (or denied) by WotC, so it looks like we're playing the waiting game on that issue. I certainly hope they decide to convert it, though; I'm a huge fan of the setting. Go Kreen!

Now, as to your question, "what is d20," it's sort of a simple yet complicated matter. At it's core, d20 is nothing more than a ruleset like GURPS, Tri-Stat, or Fuzion. The basic idea is that to resolve any kind of action (skill, attack roll, saving throw, whatever) you roll a d20, add all relevant modifiers, and hope to equal or beat the given Difficulty Class (DC) of that action. The DC is basically your target number, so if I told you to roll a Climb check DC 15, you would roll a d20, add your skill & ability mods and hope that you got at least a 15 or better. In the d20 system, higher is always better.

Also, any game made using the d20 system that isn't completely OGL (like Mutants & Masterminds) will have things similiar to D&D; classes, races or some other non-profession delineation, Hit Points (sometimes Vitality & Wound points), AC in some form, Levels, and Feats. Combat is run pretty much the same in all d20 games as well, though there can be some minor differences.

Hmmm... okay, that's basically d20 in a (very brief) nutshell. Now, if your original intent was to find out more about D&D 3rd Edition... well, that's a little more complicated but still very doable. I'm sure someone will beat me to the punch on that one, though.

 

[Golandrinel]

Sagan / Apok, thanks very much, amd well met.

I'm already ploughing my way through the 3e D&D phb and it all looks pretty straightforwards so far ... time will tell.

I have heard negatives and positives about 3e .. and d20. Too much flexibility dropping down on both sides of the arguement.

 

[Sagan Darkside]

I have heard negatives and positives about 3e .. and d20. Too much flexibility dropping down on both sides of the arguement.

You will find a lot of whining about everything.

The thing to keep in mind with 3e/d20 is the dm has the ultimate say. There are a lot of supplements out there- which provide a lot of options.

It is important for the dm to make it clear that only the ones he feels comfortable with will be used in the campeign.

With that understanding as the foundation- the flexibility issue should not be a concern.

SD

 

[Psionicist]

Hi there!

I'm Psionicist and I'm a computer geek. Feel free to ask computer and software questions in the... Computers & Software forum (!), and I'm sure me or anyone else can answer your questions.

Ohh, and beware of Crothian. He is a little odd.

 

[Golandrinel]

Psionicist, hi, I'm a programmer by trade, VB, Oracle, Ofice, a liitle of HTML etc etc.... might pop over and take a look at that section myself soon...

Crothian?

 

[KnowTheToe]

Welcome to the boards and D20. As mentioned above, you can make this game as simpple or complicated as you want. I hope you enjoy.

M@

 

[Apok]

I'm already ploughing my way through the 3e D&D phb and it all looks pretty straightforwards so far ...

I see you haven't made it to the Combat section yet.

There are plenty of confusing issues in 3e, especially in combat (Grappling, AoO's, Ready Actions, etc) but these are the kinds of things WotC hopes to clean up & clarify in the Revised 3e PHB.

Yes, there are positive and negative aspects in D&D3e, but that's true of any system. It all depends on where your preferances lie. From my perspective, you couldn't pay me enough money to go back to playing 2e, but there are people who prefer the older editions and still play them. Nothing wrong with it. I'm pretty much a "live & let live" kinda guy when it comes to choosing your pet system.

Heh, I like the "too much flexability" argument. Personally, I like flexible systems, although I can understand why some people might not since it can potentially make introducing new players a challenge. I remember the first time I tired to create a character using HERO 5th ed. Boy, that was an experience!

 

[Angelsboi]

Hey there!

Im Angelsboi aka Angel and im ENWorld's homosexual mascot. Im the Iconic Gay (although being THE iconic gay is a lot of responsibility).

Im your direct source of anything Buffy, Angel and Final Fantasy =)

And i know Diaglo personally.