Deekin said:
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=d20modern/article/20060606a
d20 Dark•Matter Table of Contents
The "new" occupations are pointless. psychic is in the SRD under Urban Arcana, Merc falls under military and paranormalist would fall under investivgative
Four nonhuman species options (fraal, moreau, sand slave, sasquatch)
Fraal are in D20 Future, Moreau in the core book, Sand slave in the menace manual and Sasquatch=Weren is in future. Interestingly, they droped Kinori.
More than 15 feat descriptions <- Hope they aren't reprints
# Two 10-level advanced classes (field antiquarian, field guide) <-reprints
# Three 5-level prestige classes (alchemist, diabolist, visionary)<-reprints
# More than 20 new spells <- Bet they are all ported from DND
# More than 20 new psionic powers <-Bet they come from XPH
# New ammunition, grenades, exotic drugs, and paranormal combat gear <-reprints
Ok...how about showing all of the ToC rather than just the stuff you want to complain about?
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d20 Dark•Matter Table of Contents
Introduction
The Introduction tells you what you need to play d20 DARK•MATTER and lists the ten things players and GMs need to know about the setting.
Chapter 1: The Hoffmann Institute
The heroes of d20 Dark•Matter are field agents of the Hoffmann Institute, a secret organization dedicated to investigating paranormal phenomenon. This chapter discusses the organization and its agenda in detail. Much of the material in this chapter is picked up from the original DARK•MATTER Campaign Setting, reorganized into GM and player sections, and revised (where needed) to make it conform to the d20 Modern rules.
Chapter 2: Heroic Options
This chapter presents new options for d20 DARK•MATTER characters, including new starting occupations, feats, advanced classes, prestige classes, FX abilities, equipment, and nonhuman species choices. Some of the material in this chapter first appeared in Andy Collins’ “Shades of Grey” article. The rest is inspired by material that appeared in the original DARK•MATTER Campaign Setting.
Here’s a short summary of the chapter’s contents:
Three new starting occupations (mercenary, paranormalist, psychic)
Four nonhuman species options (fraal, moreau, sand slave, sasquatch)
More than 15 feat descriptions
Two 10-level advanced classes (field antiquarian, field guide)
Three 5-level prestige classes (alchemist, diabolist, visionary)
More than 20 new spells
More than 20 new psionic powers
New ammunition, grenades, exotic drugs, and paranormal combat gear
Chapter 3: The True History
This chapter explores Earth’s greatest mysteries as they play out over time, from the appearance of the first alien visitors and the fall of Atlantis to the New World Order and secret wars of the 21st century. Most of the material in this chapter comes from the original DARK•MATTER Campaign Setting, although the timeline has been extended to include events of the past six years.
Chapter 4: The Illuminati
This chapter sheds light on the secret societies of the world. Much of the information in the chapter comes directly from the original DARK•MATTER Campaign Setting. “Conspiracy Hunter’s Guide” sidebars specifically aimed at the players have been interwoven throughout the chapter as well.
Chapter 5: Places of Power
This chapter describes places known for their paranormal activity, giving GMs scores of adventure ideas around which to base adventures. It’s a distilled version of a similar chapter that appeared in the original DARK•MATTER Campaign Setting.
Chapter 6: Running the Game
This chapter combines new material with advice and adventure hooks plucked from the original DARK•MATTER Campaign Setting and the “Shades of Grey” mini-campaign published in Dungeon magazine. It’s aimed squarely at GMs.
Chapter 7: Exit 23
“Exit 23” originally appeared in the DARK•MATTER Campaign Setting as an introductory adventure designed for use with pregenerated characters. It has been revised to conform to the d20 Modern rules and recast so that players use their own characters instead of pregenerated ones. The adventure not only presents an ideal introduction to the world of d20 DARK•MATTER but also introduces the means by which the heroes can meet and join the Hoffmann Institute.
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They are keeping Exit 23 as the sample adventure...not all that hot for me since I've ran it both in Alternity and in D20 modern. However, for people new to the setting, it's a great opening adventure.
I like that they are adding in the Shades of Grey material from Dungeon, since I never picked up that issue.
All in all, I'm just happy to get Dark Matter material again. Here's hoping that it will catch on enough for WotC to support it further. Plus the reprinted material doesn't bother or surprise me. After all, many people have been successfully playing Dark Matter-like campaigns with just the material out there right now. Sure it would be nice if it as all new material, but that's not how WotC does things usually, so it should com as a surprise.
![:]](http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/devious.png "Devious :]")
