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<blockquote data-quote="arscott" data-source="post: 3337419" data-attributes="member: 17969">Ask yourself this:•What are you good at?If you know d20 backwards and forwards, then it's a good Idea to make it a d20 product.&nbsp; Maybe it would be better suited for an entirely new system, from a theoretical standpoint, but don't forget that this is something that you are making, so the design choices should play to your strengths.•How do characters advance?In d20, characters primarily advance by improving their competence in things they already do.&nbsp; The 1st level fighter hits things, and the 20th level fighter hits things better.&nbsp; If you want characters to primarily advance by becoming competent at an increasing number of things, by gaining luck, reputation, or some other trait not directly related to their competence, or to not advance in a meaningful way, then d20 is probably not the way to go.•How much do you want random chance to affect success?Because it's based on the d20, you have the same chance of getting an extreme result as you do of getting an average result.&nbsp; But if you were to use, say, a 3d6 mechanic, then extreme rolls would come up much less often, reducing the importance of the die roll in relation to the character's skill.• What range of character ability do you want?In the d20 system, a 1st level character almost never poses a threat to a 10th level character.&nbsp; If you want low-level characters to be able to menace high-level characters, then avoid d20.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="arscott, post: 3337419, member: 17969"] Ask yourself this: •What are you good at? If you know d20 backwards and forwards, then it's a good Idea to make it a d20 product. Maybe it would be better suited for an entirely new system, from a theoretical standpoint, but don't forget that this is something that [I]you[/I] are making, so the design choices should play to [I]your[/I] strengths. •How do characters advance? In d20, characters primarily advance by improving their competence in things they already do. The 1st level fighter hits things, and the 20th level fighter hits things better. If you want characters to primarily advance by becoming competent at an increasing number of things, by gaining luck, reputation, or some other trait not directly related to their competence, or to not advance in a meaningful way, then d20 is probably not the way to go. •How much do you want random chance to affect success? Because it's based on the d20, you have the same chance of getting an extreme result as you do of getting an average result. But if you were to use, say, a 3d6 mechanic, then extreme rolls would come up much less often, reducing the importance of the die roll in relation to the character's skill. • What range of character ability do you want? In the d20 system, a 1st level character almost never poses a threat to a 10th level character. If you want low-level characters to be able to menace high-level characters, then avoid d20. [/QUOTE]

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