P20 Modern Roleplaying Game - only 25 days left!

[Erekose]

As this hasn't been flagged for a while I just thought I'd mention the Pathfinder version of the D20 Modern RPG by Super Genius Games. Only $7,855 have been pledged out of a requested $70,000!!!

Please see hear if you are interested:

P20 Modern Project

 

[jreyst]

My completely uninformed, off-the-cuff suspicion is that $70,000 is just an insane number. That was never going to happen. If it does I'll be very pleasantly surprised but people pledging 70k always seemed extremely unlikely to me.

 

[Terramotus]

I heard about this when it was announced, and when I went to look into it again I realized the pledge drive was already up. I just pledged $50. As someone who's loved d20 Modern, and my wife is just starting a campaign now, I can't wait for it.

However, I am curious, how was the $70,000 figure reached? And what happens if the pledges don't hit that goal?

 

[megablake]

That's cool and all, but $70,000 when most of the work as already been done? I'm curious what other game-start ups have cost.

 

[Terramotus]

That's cool and all, but $70,000 when most of the work as already been done? I'm curious what other game-start ups have cost.

Most of the work has already been done?

 

[Vigilance]

Most of the work has already been done?

I think he's assuming that the game will be highly compatible with d20M, as Pathfinder was with 3.5.

In which case, they would certainly have a huge head start in the form of the MSRD.

However, that hasn't been my impression, it sounds like they're reinventing the wheel, which is where I lose interest I think.

 

[Terramotus]

I think he's assuming that the game will be highly compatible with d20M, as Pathfinder was with 3.5.

In which case, they would certainly have a huge head start in the form of the MSRD.

However, that hasn't been my impression, it sounds like they're reinventing the wheel, which is where I lose interest I think.

I'd actually welcome reinventing the classes a bit. I've played d20 modern extensively, I've played your Modern20, and I've dabbled in Spycraft and Star Wars Saga.

I like a lot of what you've done with Modern20, but I've met with some pushback from the players on the hit location system (we've moved to only checking on potential injuries), and the skill ranks granting abilities (they say it reduces the importants of stats, and would prefer the benefits to be feat-driven). So it's not our perfect game (though we're still running it, house-ruled.

The problem with existing d20 Modern is this: the class system is open ended. The classes in the book, like 3E, are not intended to represent every possible archetype. The assumption is that a character will take an Advanced Class to specialize, but the number of Advanced Classes out there is rather small. I suspect that they intended on elaborating further on the system, but the success was lacking.

There are, of course, other sources of Advanced Classes, such as the Game Mechanics books, but the system has a sort of dissonance. On one hand the stat-based classes imply the ability to construct any archetype you want through combinations of classes, but then the Advanced Classes represent a different and better way to portray most archetypes, so there's no need to dabble in half tough/half dedicated, for example. The only place that would come in is at high levels, but those are unlikely to be reached.

Also, many of the Advanced Classes in the Game Mechanics books seem to have a slightly different design philosophy (they're less broad in the archetype they cover), and there are some rules issues you've got to be aware of when incorporating them into your game.

SAGA, on the other hand, is a beautiful system, and I'd like to see a class system similar to it. Perhaps 6 classes with extensive talent trees that contain the major abilities of the current advanced classes. That would, I think, be a much more elegant system.

From what I've seen it also appears to be the route P20 Modern is going, which interests me greatly.

 

[jaerdaph]

I was under the impression that nothing was started or set in stone with this project (short of the existing modern SRD) yet and that after the money was raised, then they would take input from patrons on what direction the project would go. Their plans are too up in the air for me, so I decided not to pledge. It also sounds like too many people want Spycraft/Fantasycraft or Star Wars Saga rather than something more true to d20 Modern, and that's just not something I'd be interested in.

 

[Aus_Snow]

I will admit, I was surprised - no, amazed, actually! - that e20 received its minimum quota of pledginess.

But then, that was a. . . slightly less ambitious figure, shall we say.

I'm less likely to be shocked if this one does get off the ground though, given that fairly recent experience.

As for the rules, I'm of the opinion that d20 Modern needs a more extreme makeover than 3e does/did. Possibly, that means that I am mad, or at least part of a peculiar minority. Oh well.

So, assuming it goes ahead, I would be interested to see how a totally reimagined, redesigned modern d20 system might look. Interesting times. . .

 

[Terramotus]

Sooo... What happens now that P20 Modern didn't make its goal? Does the project still go forward with a different source of funding? Is it dead completely?

I looked for some source of information on the SuperGenius Games site, but couldn't find any sort of statement.