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Message: <blockquote data-quote="RyanD" data-source="post: 2405099" data-attributes="member: 3312">[rsd - edited to add "ability scores" to my list of modules]Power inflation is not a feature of D20.  It is a feature of D&D.  It would be very easy to make a D20 game where high level characters are not demigods.I veiw D20 as a modular RPG system.  These are the key modules:1)  The core mechanic (d20 + modifiers vs. target numbers) for task resolution2)  Six ability scores (STR, DEX, CON, WIS, INT, CHA; different names ok but undesirable)3)  States & Conditions4)  Skills5)  Feats6)  The game components (races, classes, spells, monsters, magic items, etc.)I've ordered those in decreasing importance (from the perspective of the network externality).  By the time you get to #5 and #6, I feel you can make extremely radical changes without introducing much in the way of inefficiencies.A lot of people think that they need to start with D&D as the baseline, and then change D&D to whatever game they're targeting.  I think that's the wrong approach.  I think the best approach is to start at #1 and build up, making design choices at each step to reach a desired outcome.  The result may appear to be highly divergent from D&D, but as long as it mechanically works the same way, and uses consistent definitions, the ability of a player to use the game based on prior knowledge will be quite high.That's why I structured the original SRD the way I did and did not use the outline of the D&D core books.If you want a low powered game with fragile PCs, D20 will accomodate you just fine.  On the other hand, if you want a game where each different kind of task requires a different approach to its resolution mechanics, D20 is not your ideal platform.D20 does not support linear character advancement well.  Its minimum scale is 5% increments.  If you want a game where little bits of the character are constantly changing in very minor, gradual ways over time, D20 is not a good fit.D20 is not a good system for people who need to memorize all the rules.  D20 assumes that you're using a rulebook as a part of game play, and thus a higher level of complexity is involved vs. what would be acceptable if the players were expected to have memorized everything.D20 is not a good fit for large discrepencies in size & power.  (i.e., mortals vs. gods, marines vs. battleships, bugs vs. people)D20 is not a good fit for characters that change radically between (or in the middle of) game sessions (because of the amount of bookkeeping required).D20 is not a good game for GMs who want to surprise players or use "hidden knowledge" of the mechanics as a storytelling feature.But D20 is a good game for all kinds of genres that involve groups of people who band together and face challenges in return for increased power.</blockquote>

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