Modern GM Screen

[JoeGKushner]

The Modern GM Screen is a beautiful four panel screen that includes an adventure and initiative cards.

The screen itself is one of my favorites in terms of action and flow. It has ninjas, fantasy-modern characters like drow in sunglasses, and other goodies from spy genres. The interior collects vital information broken down as follows:

Skills: Includes Name, Ability, Untrained, and Action.
Purchase Dcs: Includes Item Cost, Purchase DC
Sample Opposed Checks: Includes task, skill and opposing skill.
Right Tool For the Job: Skill and Associated Item.
Actions in Combat: Includes Attack and Move Actions, as well as Attack of opportunity notes.
Condensed Grapple Rules:
Concealment with exmaple and miss chance.
Cover with degree, cover bonus and reflex saves.
Attack roll modifiers with circumstance and melee and missile modifiers.
Defense Modifiers
Size Modifiers
Size and Defense of Objects
Light Sources, inclduing item, light and duration.
Object hardness and hit points including break DC.
Driver Options
Vehicle Speeds and Modifiers
Collision Damage
Damage to Occupants
Vehicle Sizes
Collision Direction
Chase Scale Fire Arcs and Character Scale Fire Arcs

It's all laid out in an easy to use fashion. As far as a screen goes, it gets the job done.

It's the interior that I didn't like. Now perhaps White Wolf has spoiled me with their great books that help add to the setting but the adventure, Come for the Reaping, didn't do anything for me. The players have to go investigate one of their fellow agents and wind up fighting a bunch of zombies and their master in a corporate environment. It'd be okay but I got tired of reading, “The African-American guard's name is Malcolm Douglas. He's been disemboweled. The front of his uniform is a bloody mess.” Every zombie is like this. Why?

Get rid of the names and gory descriptions and background and this adventure would be about half the size. The maps are great and the general idea is good but I just don't see a lot of viability in players gunning down zombies, especially if you're playing a more realistic campaign as this one is tied into the Urbana Arcana setting.

The fact that there are pregenerated characters and initiative cards already filled out for said characters, also made me shrug my shoulders. More useful material for d20 Modern itself would've been preferable. How about maps? I can always use maps of modern settings and often use them for other games as well. How about Prestige Classes as the core book only has Advanced Ones?

For me, Come For the Reaping did nothing. If you're into All Flesh Must Be Eaten, then this is right up you're ally as you get to fight against the zombies and their master while searching for the agent.

For d20 Modern GMs though, the screen is worth the investment.

 

[Messageboard Golem]

The Game Master's job just got easier with the Modern GM Screen for the d20 System. Its four sturdy panels have beautiful full color art by James Ryman on one side and all the charts and tables you need to play the game on the other. In addition, you get "Come for the Reaping", a 32 page adventure from the Game Mechanics designed by d20 Modern author Rich Redman. A must for the Modern GM!

Behind high walls and guard posts, a converted sanatorium houses a secret research facility delving into "alternate technologies." Behind a respectable facade, agents of an ancient secret society work to decipher ancient texts they barely understand, hoping to glean a few arcane secrets from their vast collection of mystic tomes. A few nights ago, researchers with more ambition than skill tried summoning something from another reality. They got more than they bargained for....

Come for the Reaping is a challenging d20 System adventure of modern horror set in the Urban Arcana campaign setting, designed for four 1st-level heroes by d20 Modern Roleplaying Game designer Rich Redman. Heroes must infiltrate the mansion, overcome a small army of undead, rescue any survivors, and defeat a fiend before the facility's secret masters decide to "sanitize" the mansion. It's going to take brawn and brains for the heroes to survive in this zombie horror movie come to terrible, shambling life!

Come for the Reaping is complete with:

zombie stat blocks
a brand new fiend for modern d20 System campaigns
a new incantation
Initiative Cards
six pre-generated characters
maps of the converted mansion by Christopher West
tactical hints for GMs to give players who are new to modern role-playing games
suggestions for follow-up adventures.

Come for the Reaping is a 31-page PDF for players and GMs, plus the included front cover page. For more information, please visit The Game Mechanics website. There, you can also find Customizing the Reaping, a free publication that provides setting options for a modern campaign, from alternatives for Urban Arcana to several optional settings.

 

[jaerdaph]

Another point about the screen - I noticed that some of the tables don't take into account the errata for d20 Modern that's been collected so far. For example, Stand up from prone, sitting or kneeling should provoke an Attack of Opportunity (should say Yes not No), and Start/Complete full-round action is still listed as a move action and should be listed as an attack action instead.

It's not a major point or drawback, however, as there is no official errata yet, but the clarifications come from the various authors' comments on the WotC d20 Modern boards and in their d20 Modern Web extras and enhancements. Their comments aren't exactly OGC from the Modern SRD either

 

[GameWyrd]

Let’s look at this GM screen. $20 is too much for a three paged screen, with misaligned tables and an adventure based around an ill cow.

That’s some other GM screen though, one I reviewed just a few weeks ago. I’m not going to link to that review, that would be rubbing salt into the wounds.

The Modern GM Screen is an entirely different animal. For a start, it’s only $14.95. For a second, it has a four paged screen. For a third it comes with an adventure with scary zombies.

What a comparison. I haven’t even mentioned that the Modern GM Screen carries the Green Ronin logo. It’s rare to see such a difference between so similar products. I suppose I should point out that the $20 screen wasn’t d20..

It’s not all peaches and cream though. I really don’t like the illustration on the front. It’s too easy to recognise video game characters, movie heroes, TV show heroines and I really don’t want that. It reminds me of school days – school! We really don’t want d20 modern players basing their character off an already cliched TV character. I’d ban my players from doing so. No, you can’t play Lara Croft, no you can’t play Commando and you must do something original. On the other hand, I’ll go for the macho women with big guns without too much quibbling.

There are two columns of tables on the first of the four pages, on the GM’s side. The first lists d20 modern skills, the ability associated with them, whether they can be used untrained and their action cost. The second column begins with Purchase DCs – ie, how hard it is to buy items of a certain cost, then moves on to sample opposed DC checks and finally some suggested items for skills – climbing gear for climbing. Hmm. Okay. A little obscure those last two.

The second screen is a single column of two tables and lots of logos. Sit back and admire the Green Ronin logo, the The Game Mechanics, the Modern GM Screen an the d20 logo. Lovely. The first table lists possible action in combat, you know; charging, crawling, coup de grace and climbing. (Don’t forget the climbing gear!). The second table is the condensed grapple rules! Wow. Condensed grapple rules. Just what every GM needs... oh, I suppose they’ll be handy if you’re playing a cop game and end up wrestling lots of criminals into handcuffs.

The third page is chock full of tables. From the top; concealment rules, cover (because they’re different in d20), attack role modifiers, defensive modifiers, size modifiers, size and defence of objects, light sources, object hardness and hit points. That’s quite a lot but to the GM’s screen credit it’s all nicely spaced out, easy to find and presented.

The last page, the one on the extreme right, is perhaps the most useful. We’ve a short list of driver options, vehicle speeds and modifiers, collision damage, damage to occupants, vehicle sizes and collision direction. So why is this more useful than the other tables? I don’t know these rules off by heart. I barely need to check the rest. There are four diagrams on this page too; the chase scale fire arcs. They’re a bit repetitive but once again they’re the sort of thing a GM doesn’t want to pause an important scene to check and unlike damage rules they are the sort of rule that might cause a stoppage.

Just when I was beginning to think that no one would support the boringly bland Urban Arcana setting from Wizards of the Coast, the coverless adventure that comes with the screen assumes the players are working for Department-7. It offers help if you really want to avoid this option though. I don’t blame you. It’s a dungeon crawl. Go kill the zombies. At least, it would be a dungeon crawl in a fantasy setting. In d20 modern where no one believes in zombies and you can’t tell anyone what you’re up to, the adventure at least has that spin to it, something to think about between rolling dice.

The Modern GM Screen does what’s required of it. It’s an effective barrier between players and GM! Doh. It’s not horribly expensive if you rule out taping cardboard sheets together as being too tacky. The rules are a good mix; I’m sure the standard mechanics will appeal to one set of players and the more obscure driving rules will appeal to another.

* This Modern GM Screen review was first published at GameWyrd.

 

[Simon Collins]

This is not a playtest review.
This review contains major spoilers.

The Modern GM Screen contains both a GM Screen for d20 Modern and an adventure for 1st-level characters from d20 Modern author Rich Redman. It is published by Green Ronin.

The Modern GM Screen is a four-panel screen with a 32-page adventure supplement costing $14.95. Space usage in the adventure supplement is average, with a slightly larger than normal font, standard margin size, no space between paragraphs, and a couple of small chunks of white space. The adventure supplement only has a couple of illustrations in, which are of average quality. Several maps are given, which are keyed, have scale and a compass direction, and are presented clearly and attractively. The artwork across the four panels on the back of the GM screen is in full colour by James Ryman. It's action-packed and full of interest and atmosphere, though I felt that the characters were a bit blocky and ill proportioned. Writing style is concise and formal. Editing is good.

The GM Screen:
Panel 1 - Skills, Purchase DCs, sample opposed checks, and correct equipment required for various skills
Panel 2 - Combat actions by type and with note of any AoO, condensed grapple rules
Panel 3 - Concealment, cover, attack roll modifiers, defense modifiers, size modifiers, size and defence of objects, light sources (distance and duration), object hardness and hit points
Panel 4 - Driver options (what a vehicle driver can do in a single round), vehicle speeds and modifiers, collision damage (to the vehicle and occupants), collision direction, and chase and character scale fire arcs.

The Adventure:
The adventure assumes the heroes work for Department-7, though there are hooks for other scenarios (such as a Charlie's Angels type hook). The plot involves the PCs in investigating the disappearance of one of Department-7's undercover agents in an old mansion in the Santa Monica Mountains, whilst she was investigating a company involved in arcane research. The adventure details the five floors of the mansion and the zombies that now populate the premises. There is a new incantation, a summoning spell that conjures a fiend, called Circle of Cenechim. Stats for the zombies and other NPCs are given in full at the back of the adventure booklet. There is also a time-limit on the party's actions whereby the arcane research company sends in a team of their own to destroy all evidence and stats are given for this 'cleaning crew' too. Mini character sheets are given for six pre-generated PCs, initiative cards for the NPCs (plus some blank ones), a player's map of the area surrounding the mansion, and a single full-page blank character sheet.

The High Points:
Here and there throughout the adventure are sidebars with advice to the GM for dealing with certain issues and help in modifying the adventure. These include information on modifying the adventure for stronger and weaker parties, hacking into the IT systems of the arcane research company, and modifications to the attacks of the zombies to give them a more movie-style 'grapple and bite' attack instead of their slam attack. It's a fairly simple adventure, which is appropriate to those new to roleplaying or d20 Modern. The screen is well produced.

The Low Points:
Due to the simplicity of the adventure and the workmanlike writing style, this is probably not going to appeal to more experienced and sophisticated GMs and players. The schlock-horror-movie style has been done before and done better than this. The adventure would have benefited from being more event-driven rather than location driven, and with some atmospheric read-aloud boxes to bring some suspense to the proceedings for those GMs new to roleplaying or d20 Modern, as the product seems intended for this audience.

Conclusion:
The schlock-horror/Cthulhuesque adventure is fine as an introductory adventure for those new to roleplaying or the genre, but lacks style and originality for more experienced and sophisticated players and GMs. It gives good advice and detail throughout and could make for a fun once-off adventure for GMs with a love of the modern horror genre who can add a bit of creepiness and suspense to the proceedings. The GM screen is more than adequate, though I found the art style to be a bit disproportionate and blocky.

 

[Psion]

Modern GM Screen

The Modern GM screen is, as the name implies, a reference screen and player-ignorance facilitation device in the classic tradition for the D20 Modern RPG, and includes a reprint of The Game Mechanics' online adventure Come for the Reaping. The material is produced by the Game Mechanics (with Rich Redman attributed as the author of the adventure) and published under the Green Ronin banner.

The screen itself is a four section screen; the adventure, blank character sheets and cards, and legal info comes in a coverless 32-page booklet shrinkwrapped with the screen. The package comes at a price of $14.95 US.

The Screen

The screen, as mentioned, has four letter-sized sections on reasonably thick cardstock. (Note that I said "reasonably thick", not "insanely thick" like screens that were made 20 years ago that some people seem to insist various companies continue to make at exorbitant cost.)

The "player side" of the screen is all art, a single large illustration by James Ryman. The art depicts a number of modern characters you might find in a d20 Modern characters engaged in a titanic battle with buildings and military vehicles in the background. Characters include macho tank topped paramilitary types, a man in black with an exotic pistol, a demon or ogre looking being, some ninja, a pimp, a drow with sunglasses, a black-costumed sniper, and a pair of knife wielding goths.

The inside of the screen is all game text and diagrams (no OGL, as they stuffed that in the module booklet.) The content of the interior includes:

- A list of skills with key ability score, untrained status, and the number of actions it takes.
- Purchase DCs by dollar value.
- Sample opposed checks.
- "The right tool for the job" (required item for a variety of skills)
- Combat actions and whether they allow an attack of opportunity, listed by type of action it takes.
- Condensed grapple rules.
- Cover and concealment tables.
- Typical attack roll modifiers.
- Typical defense modifiers.
- Size modifiers. It doesn't say what the modifiers are for. In fact, these are the size modifiers for defense, which are different for the size modifiers for hiding and grappling, which you are more likely to need while in the middle of a game, as defense modifiers are usually pre-tabulated into defense.
- Size and defense of sample objects.
- Light sources.
- Sample object hardness and HP.
- Driver options in vehicle combat.
- Vehicle speeds and associated modifiers.
- Collision damage (multiple tables)
- Vehicle sizes (could have been combined with the earlier size defense modifier table).
- Chase firing arcs.

Other than analyzing the tables for issues (as I have done above), I usually try to consider what tables (if any) that were left out that could have been used on the table. The only ones that occur to me are the already mentioned size modifiers, the requisition modifiers, and possibly some of the skill DC tables. The tables had enough white space it seems that they could have been more condensed and included more material.

The Adventure

I think most people are out for the GM screen, but it is worth saying a few words about the adventure. Notice: Some spoilers follow.

Come for the Reaping is a horror-themed adventure written for 4-6 1st level d20 modern characters.

The booklet is printed with somewhat large type, using a sans serif body text font (usually a poor choice for anything you might be reading extensively.)

The interior is sparsely illustrated, but the cartography of the mansion in which the adventure occurs is very nicely mapped, with cartography by Christopher west.

The adventure is actually a fairly simple concept. The action occurs in an old mansion occupied by a research facility. Researchers have summoned a fiend called a reaper that ended up breaking loose and slaying the researchers. It just so happens reapers have the ability to raise dead and even control some of them.

The plot hooks are pretty sketchy and leave a lot to the GM's imagination, but the long of the short of the adventure is that they must go to the mansion, confront the zombies, and find out that the reaper is animating and controlling them.

It is mentioned in this book that the PCs may be overborne by the zombie encounters and suggests that PCs use obstacles to facilitate gunfire. This suggests that the adventure was written with armed PCs in mind, something that would have been nice to spell up front.

Despite the simplicity of the adventure itself, there is a lot of detail on the mansion, so this is definitely the sort of map and key you use with different adventures.

The booklet also includes character sheets and character cards (for the GM's purposes to track initiative and other factors), with blank copies (suitable for photocpying) and copies for pregenerated PCs.

Conclusion

The screen is decent. I could see a few tables they could have afforded to add (and room to do it), but most important tables are available. Four panels is more than sufficient for most purposes.

The adventure itself seems a little basic However, the map and map details are nicely done and the mansion should make a nice generic backdrop in and of itself.

Overall Grade: B

-Alan D. Kohler