Afrodyte said:
If you don't mind my asking, which ideas are you using for your game?
Well. I will streamline a lot, while trying to stick to what most people are used to with d20:
1) Skills: I keep the d20 Modern / d20 Future skills (and the normal method of skill-points per level).
- Maybe classes get more skill points, to compensate for the near disappearance of the plethora of feats that add bonuses to skills.
- no synergy bonuses, as they add tedious work to compute. Just a line about the GM entitling a bonus to a skill check on the fly, if the character has 5 or more ranks in a skill that could seem related, as appropriate to the circumstances. Example: a character piloting in an asteroid field could get a +2 synergy bonus to his Pilot check for having more than 5 ranks in Spot, that the GM consider that it helps him see where to go.
- I will simplify / shorten the descriptions, leaving more to GM's adjudication on the fly. But if GMs and players need more rules, they just need to get a look at the SRD. In any case, I will give more DC tables. Lets take the Pilot skill for example. Normally you need a plethora of feats to use Pilot skills with different vehicles, and do special maneuver, otherwise suffer a -4 penalty, etc. How boring! I will give a list of DC to maneuver which kind of vehicles in which circumstances. No feat necessary, only a high ranks to do dangerous things or pilot complex vehicles. Now a feat giving a Pilot bonus for being used to a certain vehicle after having become familar with it (a roleplaying event!) could be possible. However, no dozens of feat about piloting. Just one feat for being familar with a specific vehicle, and also Skill Focus to get a bonus to the Pilot skill. That's all!
2) Feats: Feats are
optional abilities one could get during the course of his adventures. This is a roleplaying event, not an automatic gain for gaining a level.
- No class does get feats anymore. A character has the potential to learn a feat every three levels: a 10th level character could have no feat, then get the opportunity (roleplaying event during an adventure) to learn two feats; and still have the potential for a third feat maybe during a later adventure.
- Very few feats (probably no more than 40), and no more feat chains. Feats like "Double Tap" and the like are not available to whomever want them; either it becomes a class feature of some class (Gun-buny), or is available to a few warrior classes only.
3) Weapons and Armor Proficiency: It doesn't change much, but for simplicity of character design, each class has a list of weapons available, rather than another plethora of feats such as "simple weapons", "archaic weapons", "personal firearms", "exotic weapons", "advanced firearms", etc. Either the weapon you want (such a a plasma rifle) is on the list or not. If not, you could get a simple feat called "Additional Weapon Proficiency", that grants you proficiency in any weapon of your choice not included in your class list.
4) Combat: Simplified. For one thing no more attacks of opportunity, no need for battlemats.
- Concerning AoOs there just exists a feat called "Attack of Opportunity": it grants one free attack against an opponent in melee combat who run away, attacks unarmed, or decide to do something else than attack and defend. If you don't have this feat, you don't get AoOs.
- Only one action per round. No tedious stuff like "partial actions" and what not. The one action per round is either: Full attack; Full movement; Movement + 1 attack; Special combat maneuver; Use an item; Use a class ability; etc. As such, no need to make boring calculation as whether you have a partial action, but with your move action that blah blah blah... how boring!!! In my sytem look at the list of things you can do in a round. Simple.
- Combat maneuvers: streamlining many things that one could do: feint, disarm, etc. most of the time a simple bonus or penalty to an attack roll.
5) Classes: Profession like classes (Engineer, Mercenary, Medic, etc.) as in D&D, rather than customizable classes as in d20 Modern. You get a simple set of class abilities, no plethora of talents, no feat. However, almost 20 core classes to have varied choices. All abilities from d20 Modern / d20 Future however (I got 160, in only keeping the best!). Multiclassing: no favored classes, no XP penalty (except maybe for getting a 3rd and 4th class, etc.).
6) Magic & Psionic: In sci-fi setting they are not likely to appear often. I allow them for occasional appearances. As such, magic is handled as in Grim Tales (everyone with at least one rank in Spellcraft could potentially cast a spell, but at great cost in temporary constitution damage; some feats enable to be a better caster, but it's still dangerous). Psionics is a simplified version of Psychic's Handbook by Green Ronin, brought down to a few skills like healing or remote-viewing (no teleportation and like stuff).
7) Other: I do like Action points, Defense bonus, Reputation, and Massive Damage Threshold so I keep them.
Well, it summarizes well what I am currently doing (albeit very slowly).
