Integrating Spycraft into D&D

[wolfpunk]

Has anyone incorporated action dice, initiative and defense bonus, or inspiration and education checks from spycraft into d&d games? I am considering doing it but am not sure if it is more trouble then it is worth. Anyone have any thoughts?

 

[Crothian]

I've done defense bonus. It was based off of Star Wars. It was a short lived game where the PCs played Gladiators. They only had piecemail armor, and very few pieces at that. There was no magical items that the PCs could get, so it was a really different type of game. However the use of the defensive bonus worked out just fine.

I have allowed characters to make knowledge checks based off their background. That helps define characters and I'm also willing to help expand on that.

Would you give defense bonuses and Iniative bonuses to all the monsters? I think that's the biggest problem I can foresee.

 

[wolfpunk]

In regards to monsters. I was thinking of doing it like this. If the monster has class levels the bonus is according to the class. If the monster has no class levels but just hit dice, they gain a progress according to hit dice. It would be a bit of a generalization, but I think it would work out ok.

 

[Crothian]

Would all monsters get the same defense chart or would it depend on the monster type? And would it stack with Natural Armor?

For instance I would think that Dragons would get the best defense bonus availible. So, at 20HD, they would get a +16 bonus. If it does not stack with Natural Armor, then no dragon would ever get this bonus as their natural armor is always better (at least at 20 HD, but I imagine it holds true for the rest). But if it does stack it would takea 20HD Green Dragon (AC 27, CR 12) the AC becomes 43. Suddenly that CR of 12 seems really, really low.

 

[Davelozzi]

Here's what Kevin Wilson (one of the Spycraft designers) had to say about using action dice in D&D in another thread on these boards:

By the way, I noticed your D&D action dice conversion, and I thought I'd make a few TOTALLY UNOFFICIAL suggestions...

In addition to what you have already...

Barbarian - Allow healing use of dice during combat while raging.
Bard - Double dice for bardic lore or bardic music rolls.
Cleric - Double dice for turning checks or adding to domain spell-related rolls.
Druid - Can heal animal companion with dice, double dice to attack rolls while wild-shaped.
Fighter - Double dice on Fort saves and damage rolls.
Monk - Double dice when adding to unarmed attack rolls or when rolling to add to defense.
Paladin - Double dice when laying on hands or to smite evil attack rolls.
Ranger - Double dice on favored-enemy-related rolls or wilderness lore checks for tracking.
Rogue - Double dice on Ref saves and sneak attack-based attack rolls.
Sorcerer - Double dice on spell-related damage rolls.
Wizard - Double dice on spell checks or spell-related attack rolls.

Take or leave em, as you see fit, and remember, I was never here...you didn't see anything...

-PS (plug) I did a d20 product for Eden studios called Wonders Out of Time that I'm really pleased with too...

__________________
-Kevin Wilson

Here is the link to that thread: http://test.cyberstreet.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=8134&perpage=20&pagenumber=3

 

[wolfpunk]

As to the armor rating, a dragon would become very powerful, but I don't have a problem with that actually, perhaps the people in b.a.d.d. would even applaud the idea. Regardless, it works both ways, a character class with the best defense bonus is also going to be a lot harder to hit, so I would think that it would kind of neutralize itself out.

I was trying to decide whether or not to let it stack with armor. I had a thought that that maximum armor bonus a character could have and still gain the full use of their defense bonus would be equal to their strength + dexterity modifier. So by that I mean if a character had 18 strength and 18 dexterity, they could wear any combination of armor that was up to +8 to AC, that being non-magical, magical bonuses to armor would not affect the total. If a character were to wear armor that granted a bonus of +9 or greater they would lose their defense bonus, because the armor impedes their ability to move freely while in combat.

As to action dice I was pondering a few ideas about advancement of dice. I was thinking sorcerers, barbarians, and monks, who all basically use their iunner self as the focus for their abilities would get the best action dice progression, I realize in spycraft it is by level, but I was thinking of doing it by class. Druids, rangers, paladins, and bards would have the second best progression, and classes that are based fundamentally on training, meaning fighters, rogues, wizards and clerics would have the poorest progression.

Just a few more thoughts.