Modern d20 is coming... have you been to the new site?

[Black Omega]

I'd hope so, they pretty much skipped it in the main book.

Is it just mostly stats or do they work in information on various firearms as well? It's been quite some time since anyone did a decent firearms guide for RPG's in general.

 

[Yuan-Ti]

I'd hope so, they pretty much skipped it in the main book.

Is it just mostly stats or do they work in information on various firearms as well? It's been quite some time since anyone did a decent firearms guide for RPG's in general.

I posted my response in this thread

http://test.cyberstreet.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=16145

 

[Tonguez]

1. Character creation system is innovative,but does look like a lot of work and yes reminescient of GURPS!

- Choose ability defined 'Character-type'
- Choose skill Kit/Occupation
- Choose Feats/Talent (feat-chain)

Personally I think they should have dropped classes entirely and gone for a straight classless system using Feats to build characters (eg give every player HP 4 and 10 feats with which to build a character. Use Toughness (HP +2) to improve HP and Training Feat (d4+int) for skill points. Make BAb, Def and Saves skills)

2. SPYCRAFT clones Which at least proves the effectiveness of Spycraft as a leader in the 'modern' genre

Action Points - action dice by any other name...
Dept 7 -a world spanning agency to which PCs are linked
Telepathic spies - eeeek!

PLEEEEASE - its been done!

and yes its going to capture the 'Cinematic action-adventure feel - so that blows the realism debate.

3. SPYCRAFT Guns I actually like that SPYCRAFTS guns are generic - the stats are sufficient to do the job required mechanically and really any flavour I can add myself.
Why anyone would want to have a choice of 15 .51mm rifles (for instance) is beyond me ...

4.

you could run campaigns based on anything from Buffy, X-Files and Kolchak, to Street Fighter, Final Fantasy or Grand Theft Auto 3.

With imagination you can do all of these with SPYCRAFT along with Gargoyles, Jackie Chan Adventures, Dark Angel and Resident Evil

 

[Psion]

Personally I think they should have dropped classes entirely and gone for a straight classless system using Feats to build characters (eg give every player HP 4 and 10 feats with which to build a character. Use Toughness (HP +2) to improve HP and Training Feat (d4+int) for skill points. Make BAb, Def and Saves skills)

Um, people who want to play GURPS are already playing GURPS, thankyouverymuch.

Action Points - action dice by any other name...

Are you sure about that? It doesn't tell us what they are. Good as guess as any, though.

 

[Jim DelRosso]

I believe the write-up for the Charismatic Hero mentions that spending an Action Point will be necessary for activating the Favor power. So they will probably serve a variety of functions -- though ones similar to the Action Dice from Spycraft will probably be in the mix.

 

[VorpalBunny]

I'd guess that action points would be similiar to Force points in the Star Wars Roleplaying Game and karma in Shadowrun. They'll be necessary to activate some skills (as in the Charismatic hero), and probably allow the player to add dice to a roll or prevent a fumble, etc...

 

[VoodooGroves]

In general...

I find I'm not a fan of "conglomerate" systems.

Now, I'm not a D20 hater - quite the contrary. However, each of the specific settings or flavors has enough different as to make it a different game. This is goodness.

If, on the other hand, D20 Modern comes out and encapsulates playing a bazillion of different campaigns and the like with no distinct flavor to them, what you end up with is simply a super-hero game.

Can you play Buffy? Is there only one slayer? Can everyone be as strong in some way as the chosen one? How about the X-Files - are the agents on that show really heroic classes with special abilities, or are they a mix of "Experts", "Aristocrats" and "Warriors"?

We'll have to see how it goes.

 

[Bran Blackbyrd]

2. SPYCRAFT clones Which at least proves the effectiveness of Spycraft as a leader in the 'modern' genre

Action Points - action dice by any other name...
Dept 7 -a world spanning agency to which PCs are linked
Telepathic spies - eeeek!

PLEEEEASE - its been done!

I hope you don't think that Spycraft came up with those concepts first...

With imagination you can do all of these with SPYCRAFT along with Gargoyles, Jackie Chan Adventures, Dark Angel and Resident Evil

Yeah, there's a lot of things one can do with imagination. I imagine that the people looking forward to D20 Modern don't want to spend their hard-earned money on something they have to fix, tweak, or add on to, when they can just get what they want.
What I want is D20 Modern. If I have less imagination because I'd rather wait for it than buy Spycraft and change everything I don't like about it (almost the whole thing), then so be it. That doesn't mean Spycraft isn't good, just that it doesn't suit my needs. There doesn't have to be a winner and a loser in the modern setting wars. Sheesh.
With a little imagination, I can change a bedpan into a cereal bowl, but I'm not about to rush out and do it.

 

[Yuan-Ti]

I hope you don't think that Spycraft came up with those concepts first...

No, but do we really need another d20 game with the exact same themes? No.

Yeah, there's a lot of things one can do with imagination. I imagine that the people looking forward to D20 Modern don't want to spend their hard-earned money on something they have to fix, tweak, or add on to, when they can just get what they want.

Which is why I started this thread in the first place... I like some of the things they are doing with d20 Modern but I am worried they are not going generic enough with it. I want realistic rules for the modern world -- they can have splatbooks for anything else they want to add. Otherwise, I have to--how did you put it?-- "to spend my hard-earned money on something I have to fix, tweak, or add on to" in order to get what I want. No, thanks, I can stick with Spycraft then.

Btw, I don't know why so many people hate on Spycraft so much. Someone posted something here a while back something about how they can't wait for d20 Modern so they can play the "official" version of a modern d20 RPG. I suppose that person only wears Bugle Boy jeans, too...

 

[Bran Blackbyrd]

No, but do we really need another d20 game with the exact same themes? No.

Perhaps not, but that was not my point. Tonguez said that the since there were parts of D20 Modern that were similar to Spycraft, that proved the effectiveness of Spycraft as a leader in the modern genre. That's pretty shoddy reasoning though, since those same features have been used in games before. So I guess that means that whatever the first game was to use those is the "leader"?
Nope, it just doesn't work that way.

As for your other concerns;
If you can "stick to spycraft", then why are you so worried about what WoTC does with D20 Modern? The only reason is that you want both. Otherwise, why get so bent out of shape? Well, if there is some repeated material between the the two that's only a problem for the people that double dipped. I didn't buy Spycraft, so it's not my problem.
I can't speak for anyone else, but I do not "hate" Spycraft. However, I don't like it enough to buy it. In another thread on this board I even told people they should check Spycraft out, since so many other people liked it, it's just not for me.

Bugle Boy Jeans? Try keeping your cheap shots to yourself and stick to mature discussion. It's really none of your business how someone else chooses what to buy. Want to hear some logic? Usually the official version is more compatible with the base setting! That's what we call a motivating factor. Unless you're a publisher, is it really any skin off your nose if someone sticks to official WoTC products? Man o' man...