Results from d20 Modern game

[BiggusGeekus]

We had our first d20 Modern game last Friday. We set it in an alternate Washington, DC. DC because we all live there, alternate because I don't want do deal with statements like: "The bad guy can't escape down U street because there's construction there".

Some notes:

* Deadly system. You really have to throw small things at the players. Even more so than in D&D.

* One of the players had a bit of a rough time getting used to the fact that he had an appartment. He's only played D&D and he's used to a game where you carry everything on you in a giant backpack.

* Things seem a little more "real". It's hard to explain. But there are things that come up when describing a scene that never come up while playing D&D.

 

[Piratecat]

* Things seem a little more "real". It's hard to explain. But there are things that come up when describing a scene that never come up while playing D&D.

Such as?

I'll side this to the right forum in the mean time.

 

[BiggusGeekus]

A d20 Modern game isn't 'General RPG Discussion'? I'm not complaining, just asking.

But to answer your question, the players seem more concerned with details. For instance in a D&D game, people don't typically care about things like getting horseshoes for their horses, even though that's a pretty important thing to do. But I had to go into great detail about the layout of a metro car, what stores were in a mini-mall, things that were in an office, and so on. Also, while in D&D you might say "we go to the next town", in d20 Modern I noticed that it was a big deal to travel even a few miles.

It certainly has a different feel.

 

[Piratecat]

A d20 Modern game isn't 'General RPG Discussion'? I'm not complaining, just asking.

Nope! Until we establish a separate d20 Modern forum, which might happen sooner rather than later, it's a d20 System Game.

Interesting point about detail. I noticed that in Spycraft, too.

 

[shadowlight]

A d20 Modern game isn't 'General RPG Discussion'?

I feel the same way. It's an RPG. This is General discussion about it...

 

[Crothian]

Why do you think the system was more deadly? Was it that guns all do good damage, the Massive Damage Rule, or something else?

 

[DanMcS]

Why do you think the system was more deadly? Was it that guns all do good damage, the Massive Damage Rule, or something else?

No clerics. Good damage on guns. For my game, those alone have been enough to mess up our party a couple of times- up until now, we haven't had enough hit points that the massive damage rule mattered

Oh yeah, and no armor. 1st level heroes are just much less combat capable in d20 modern than their 3e counterparts. Most have no armor proficiency, and you're perpetually broke, so you can't afford good armor anyway. Many start out with only simple weapon proficiency. But no armor is killer. Your AC ends up being 10+dexterity bonus most of the time. We ended up scrounging for leather jackets for the measily +1 defense.

I was going to go fast hero 1 at second level anyway from my original character concept, but the +3 class defense bonus pretty much makes it a must.

 

[takyris]

Yeah, the lack of armor makes things like Dodge start to actually look sorta valuable without even thinking of it as a Pre-Req feat. You're taking AC bonuses anywhere you can get them.

And Elusive Target can be a real lifesaver if you can get yourself into melee while being shot at.

This is definitely not the game to run a combat-heavy campaign -- at least, not without tricked-out, well-prepped characters whose players have a ton of strategic experience. Dumb people can die real, real fast.

-Tacky

 

[Crothian]

How many characters do you have in the game? My own game doesn't start till January, but we have 7 PCs. So far I'm having a hard time decided what would be a good challenge for such a large group.

 

[Mistwell]

Because of the threat of seriously deadly combat at low levels, I've already planned on having a Department 7 Rescue Squad waiting nearby for when PCs go down, with a powerful combat medic character able to repair most wounds and even bring back dead characters if he gets there in time. You can see the first of the posts on that D7RS here:

http://enworld.cyberstreet.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=33117&highlight=elliot+klien

I figure this is a good backup in case the challeneges the PCs face are more deadly than the GM anticipated.