D&D 5E Modern and Sci fi for D&D 5th edition

[Tony Vargas]

I have backed many a kick starter for these type of things and thought would post them all here

One thing that has always worked in D&D is hps, it captures the plot armor of protagonists in action genres while retaining a sense - I guess, a "managed tension" sort - of danger on the players' side. 5e manages hps between combats via HD, but is dependent on just magic-wound-vanishing healing to enable the dynamic w/in a combat.

So I'd be curious to hear how each non-magic-enabled game on your list delivers that dynamic?

 

[dwayne]

My opinion is WotC has got plans about a d20 Modern 2.0. but it needs a lot of work for playtesint to find the right balance of power with the firearms and high-tech. How to explain it better? Usually with gunpowder the PCs can use guns but nobody has thought about when PCs are from a lower technologic level. Do you remember the Jakandor mini-setting? Now let's imagine being invaded by steampunk mechas. Neither Conan nor Tarzan can face Flash Gordon or Buck Rogers with a ray gun. Somebody will want to play superheroes, but the last D&D edition isn't ready for an event as skrull secret invasion, or an survival horror game when PCs are ordinary civilians and they face superheroes turned monsters (DC Darkest Night, Marvel Zombies, DCeseaded, Leaving Megalopolis, Super Zombies).

I call it "Cobretti effect" when PCs without enough weapons can't face enemies. In Sylvester Stallone's movie "Cobra" Bridgitte Nielsen's character couldn't face night stalker and she had to hide and run away like in a survival horror, but in the final fight Cobretti with enough ammo could be a true one-man-army to kill all the members of the New Dawn Cult, like in a classic shooter arcade.

Have you played Fortnite: Save the world? Do guess what happen when you have spent all the ammo and you have to face horde of husks hand-to-hand, without a ninja class with the right combo. Or you play with the ninja and a right combo and when you want to save ammo for the next missions you are attacked by husks with ranged attack.

You can play Street Fighters d20 or Overwatch d20 but both groups of characters can't be in the same game. Martial artist can't survive omnic crisis with only their fists. You can create a d20 version of the characters from Mortal Kombat, but these can't face demons from "Doom Eternal" without heavy weapons.

How is the XP reward when you can kill an elephant (or a dinosaur) with only a shot, or to drive a truck or an armored vehicle to run over a horde of zombies?

Ok first this is a balance issue and really most the time i balance on the fly in a game as that is the DM's job, if they have the abilities to face massive amounts of things and walk over them then the xp would be far less. Now if down to no ammo and fighting for their lives the xp would be higher, also a good gm knows that putting a person with kung fu skills vs say Superman type alien without a way to even the fight is well just over kill. Everything has an Achilles heel of a sort. Like maybe the alien energy weapons can be disrupted by generating a countered pulse of negative ions or something. So the groups teck may build a temp defense vs the attacks to reducing damage or just disruption the weapons energy so as to force them into hand to hand of with he is better skilled and they are tough but pretty much giving him a better chance to over come. All it takes is some creative thinking and a DM who can work the problem to do it, many DM's now days fall a bit short in this areas.

 

[dwayne]

One thing that has always worked in D&D is hps, it captures the plot armor of protagonists in action genres while retaining a sense - I guess, a "managed tension" sort - of danger on the players' side. 5e manages hps between combats via HD, but is dependent on just magic-wound-vanishing healing to enable the dynamic w/in a combat.

So I'd be curious to hear how each non-magic-enabled game on your list delivers that dynamic?

In a sci fi setting this can be countered by science and medical drugs/nanites/ Tech and such. In the modern world also medicine has brought people back after death before and have done many wonders as well do to medical knowledge and science skills. It would be as simple as a skill check and tempered with time as it would take time to heal. This means in a modern and maybe a few sci fi the best thing is not to be hit or have armor that can reduce said damage and hits. This makes the game in a different direction and makes it more one of skill and planning and use of your brains than just blindly rushing in and killing the monster. Still in some ways that can still be a part of a modern or sci fi game as well but not as big a part as in the fantasy ones.

 

[dwayne]

In a sci fi setting this can be countered by science and medical drugs/nanites/ Tech and such. In the modern world also medicine has brought people back after death before and have done many wonders as well do to medical knowledge and science skills. It would be as simple as a skill check and tempered with time as it would take time to heal. This means in a modern and maybe a few sci fi the best thing is not to be hit or have armor that can reduce said damage and hits. This makes the game in a different direction and makes it more one of skill and planning and use of your brains than just blindly rushing in and killing the monster. Still in some ways that can still be a part of a modern or sci fi game as well but not as big a part as in the fantasy ones.

Also in the ultramodern 5 there are optional rules for a more grit version of the hp damage system which i find much more fun and builds more tension in the game as such

 

[Nebulous]

Spaceships & Starwyrms: A 5e Sci-Fi Game you could do that just change up the cosmedic parts or use the old look of the spell jammer with the rules in this

yeah I thought that one looked really really interesting

 

[saber999]

Amazing Adventures 5E came out recently, and seems to do a decent job providing a contemporary rule set, while still have some flexibility. Needs some more modern touches, especially to the spell lists. But I like it.

And they have toned down the weapons damages a bit, more akin to their melee weapon counterparts.

 

[CleverNickName]

We're really enjoying Esper Genesis, which is basically 5th Edition D&D reskinned for futuristic sci-fi. That said, I'm definitely going to check some of these out...especially Spaceships & Starwyrms. I never could get past the disconnect of Spelljammer's absurd tech (giant space hampsters? psychic squids from outer space?), and this looks like it might be a good way to address those hangups of mine.

 

[jayoungr]

SW5E is a fan-made conversion of Star Wars to 5E rules:

Star Wars 5e

sw5e.com

Also, here's a link to Amazing Adventures, which was mentioned a couple of posts back:

Troll Lord Games

www.trolllord.com

 

[Voadam]

Neither Conan nor Tarzan can face Flash Gordon or Buck Rogers with a ray gun.

You might want to re-read Red Nails for how Conan does against someone who can shoot rays.

 

[Voadam]

I never could get past the disconnect of Spelljammer's absurd tech (giant space hampsters? psychic squids from outer space?)

Illithids being from space (like a lot of Lovecraftian horrors) caused thematic problems for you? That seemed one of the more natural elements to me.