Posted in this forum as it seemed like the best way to be sure GOO had a chance to read&reply.
I am very saddened to be writing this.
Given the extraordinarily high quality of Guardian of Order/BESM products up until now, I had very high hopes for Silver Age Sentinels D20. The Tri-Stat/D10 version of SAS is easily neck-and-neck with Champions, the undisputed king of superhero RPGing, and is a singularly beautiful book, to boot. Thus, I was very much looking forward to the D20 version.
Please note, this isn't a review of D20 SAS as a game unto itself; it's a review of D20 SAS as a *D20* game.
I don't know how else to say this: SAS D20 is two years too late. Two years ago, when you could print toilet paper with the D20 logo on it and sell out, this game would be a hit. Now, the market is a lot more mature (read 'glutted') and the fanbase demands high quality. When only one company can produce a book about, oh, let's pick dwarves, players bought it they played dwarves. When a half-dozen companies make such books, the best win out, and the rest fill bargain bins for decades to come. Two years ago, a half-assed conversion of an existing rules set to a sort-of D20 version would sell well enough; today, I fear, it's going to flop badly, and we'll have another entry in the "D20 is Dead, Because My Poorly-Done Implementation Didn't Sell" competition. That this is coming from a company I regularly praise and consider one of the best gaming companies out there is exceptionally disappointing. I'll keep buying all their other products, but I'll be very cautious about those which bear the D20 logo.
Quite simply, this is not so much a D20 version of the game as it is set of conversion guidelines disguised as a complete game. While over-slavish devotion to the D20 'core' rules at the expense of genre compatibility is a flaw some companies suffer from, here, the reverse is the case -- only enough of the D20 system was allowed to leak in to justify putting the logo on the cover. Frankly, a 30 page PDF online, or the equivalent in the back to the tri-stat SAS book (OGLed, not D20 STLed, ala Godlike) would have been superior.
Specifics:
A minor point: The chart on page 23 is wrong, listing 'human average' for abilities as 8-9, with 10-11 as being 'above average'.
Classes: Classes in superhero games are tricky. While heroes fall into a number of classic archetypes (Brick, Blaster, Speedster, etc), most have oddities and powers which fall outside the norm. SAS provides a number of classes -- Acrobat, Skulker, Costumed Fighter, and others, with class progression charts, but, rahter confusingly, doesn't define them -- at least not in the classes section! Much later in the rules, there is a VERY brief summary of these 'classes' -- a paragraph each -- except, well, not really. It's just the standard SAS discussion of classic hero archetypes. "Costumed Wizard" is just called "Wizard" in the description (the class name was done to avoid confusion with the 'Wizard' character class from core D20), and there's several 'classes' mentioned --Elemental and Metamorph -- which do not exist in the class rules. Can *I* figure out what's going on? Sure. How about someone who is newer to superhero gaming? Maybe, maybe not. IAE, it reeks of unprofessionalism and a slap-dash job. If you're going to reuse your 'superhero archetypes' chapter as a makeshift 'classes' chapter, at the least, make sure there's a 1-to-1 correspondence and that the names match up!
Skills and Feats: Here's where it really gets troubling. First off, THERE ARE NO FEATS. That's right, none. Bye-bye, any ability to balance other D20 characters. Hello, major conversion headaches for monsters and other critters. Why no Feats? According to the author, D20 SAS has other combat rules which make Feats unnecessary. Because, after all, there are no non-combat Feats, right? And it's not like Feats are one of the core D20 mechanics for proividing k00l p0w3rz as well as helping define a character's focus within the class structure. And, of course, the superhero genre, filled with unique and special uses for powers, has no need of Feats!
Why are there no Feats? Because there are no feat-equivalents in Tri-Stat, and, thus, converting characters would be made too difficult. Tri-Stat doesn't NEED feats, it's a perfectly balanced and fun system without them -- but the're a key component of D20.
Skills: The system ignores the core D20 skills entirely, and just replicates the SAS skill list. Animal Training -- not Handle Animal. Lots of specialized knowledge skills, not Knowledge(Subject). Open Lock and Disable Device are subsumed into a generic 'burglary' skill. Etc. Why is this bad? Because while it makes converting SAS Tristat characters easy, it makes converting 'Core' D20 characters nearly impossible without a lot of effort. While new genres demand new skills -- look at the skill lists for Sidewinder or Spycraft or Dragonstar -- skills which are identical should remain identical, and the 'breadth' of skills should be kept the same. Again, the focus is on minimizing differences between SAS D20 and SAS Tri-Stat characters. The question is -- why? Presumably, the target audience here is D20 gamers who want to mix SAS with the other D20 material out there. This game won't draw people into Tri-State gaming; the original SAS is good enough that it can do that all by its lonesome. What were they thinking?
Combat: SAS D20 uses a mechanism whereby each character has combat skills which add to attack or defense "in place of feats". Except, of course, that they're not in place of feats - except maybe things like Weapon Focus or Dodge. Improved Critical? Weapon Finesse? Cleave? Precise Shot? None of these can be modelled with the combat skills. Never mind things like Attacks of Opportunity, Flanking, or any other concepts which tend to be part of the D20 rules. Dropping a few of these things -- AOO, for example, can be confusing, and of less importance in modern games -- is fine, but, basically, the entire combat system is totally changed. Even the basic D20 to beat AC roll is different. First, AC is randomized, and, second, there is an additional 'defense roll' after you've been hit to see if you've REALLY been hit.But Dex isalready figured into Armor Class, so... Critical hits are always on a 20, and always double damage, and no second roll is required -- meaning a low level character crits as often as a skilled one.
Random bit: The table of object armor (not hardness) differs from the default ratings given in the DMG and the SRD.
Movement: Never mind the D20 movement rules; all movement rules are expressed in SAS Tri-Stat terms, with a small box explaining how to convert from D20 speeds if (disdainful sniff) you want to.
OGL Compliance: Frankly, I think GOO dances REAL close to the 'create a character' limits of the STL, but that's between them and WOTCs lawyers.They aren't, IMO, the only ones who play REAL fast and loose with the rules there. However, I'm more concerned about Open Gaming Content. The OGC is easily identified -- it's everything in Helvetica. Except that vast swathes of rule-based text, such as the weapon and vehicle mods, contain NO OGC, not even a one sentence 'game mechanics' summary.
There's more, but those are the highlights.
Want a great superhero RPG? Buy Siliver Age Sentinals, Tri-Stat edition. Want a great D20 superhero RPG? Right now, my money is on 4 Color To Fantasy, esp. if they are timely with the powerbook. Deeds Not Words also seems good. I look forward to Mutants&Masterminds, as well. But SAS D20 looks like an attempt to slap-dash a D20 conversion into the rules in a quickie attempt to exploit the logo -- in a time wen the logo is less and less valuable in and of itself, and the Great Shakeout is beginning. The worst consequece of this will be D20 fans judging all GOO games by this standard, and missing out on some of the best games currently made, which would be a pity, both for the fans and for GOO.
I am very saddened to be writing this.
Given the extraordinarily high quality of Guardian of Order/BESM products up until now, I had very high hopes for Silver Age Sentinels D20. The Tri-Stat/D10 version of SAS is easily neck-and-neck with Champions, the undisputed king of superhero RPGing, and is a singularly beautiful book, to boot. Thus, I was very much looking forward to the D20 version.
Please note, this isn't a review of D20 SAS as a game unto itself; it's a review of D20 SAS as a *D20* game.
I don't know how else to say this: SAS D20 is two years too late. Two years ago, when you could print toilet paper with the D20 logo on it and sell out, this game would be a hit. Now, the market is a lot more mature (read 'glutted') and the fanbase demands high quality. When only one company can produce a book about, oh, let's pick dwarves, players bought it they played dwarves. When a half-dozen companies make such books, the best win out, and the rest fill bargain bins for decades to come. Two years ago, a half-assed conversion of an existing rules set to a sort-of D20 version would sell well enough; today, I fear, it's going to flop badly, and we'll have another entry in the "D20 is Dead, Because My Poorly-Done Implementation Didn't Sell" competition. That this is coming from a company I regularly praise and consider one of the best gaming companies out there is exceptionally disappointing. I'll keep buying all their other products, but I'll be very cautious about those which bear the D20 logo.
Quite simply, this is not so much a D20 version of the game as it is set of conversion guidelines disguised as a complete game. While over-slavish devotion to the D20 'core' rules at the expense of genre compatibility is a flaw some companies suffer from, here, the reverse is the case -- only enough of the D20 system was allowed to leak in to justify putting the logo on the cover. Frankly, a 30 page PDF online, or the equivalent in the back to the tri-stat SAS book (OGLed, not D20 STLed, ala Godlike) would have been superior.
Specifics:
A minor point: The chart on page 23 is wrong, listing 'human average' for abilities as 8-9, with 10-11 as being 'above average'.
Classes: Classes in superhero games are tricky. While heroes fall into a number of classic archetypes (Brick, Blaster, Speedster, etc), most have oddities and powers which fall outside the norm. SAS provides a number of classes -- Acrobat, Skulker, Costumed Fighter, and others, with class progression charts, but, rahter confusingly, doesn't define them -- at least not in the classes section! Much later in the rules, there is a VERY brief summary of these 'classes' -- a paragraph each -- except, well, not really. It's just the standard SAS discussion of classic hero archetypes. "Costumed Wizard" is just called "Wizard" in the description (the class name was done to avoid confusion with the 'Wizard' character class from core D20), and there's several 'classes' mentioned --Elemental and Metamorph -- which do not exist in the class rules. Can *I* figure out what's going on? Sure. How about someone who is newer to superhero gaming? Maybe, maybe not. IAE, it reeks of unprofessionalism and a slap-dash job. If you're going to reuse your 'superhero archetypes' chapter as a makeshift 'classes' chapter, at the least, make sure there's a 1-to-1 correspondence and that the names match up!
Skills and Feats: Here's where it really gets troubling. First off, THERE ARE NO FEATS. That's right, none. Bye-bye, any ability to balance other D20 characters. Hello, major conversion headaches for monsters and other critters. Why no Feats? According to the author, D20 SAS has other combat rules which make Feats unnecessary. Because, after all, there are no non-combat Feats, right? And it's not like Feats are one of the core D20 mechanics for proividing k00l p0w3rz as well as helping define a character's focus within the class structure. And, of course, the superhero genre, filled with unique and special uses for powers, has no need of Feats!
Why are there no Feats? Because there are no feat-equivalents in Tri-Stat, and, thus, converting characters would be made too difficult. Tri-Stat doesn't NEED feats, it's a perfectly balanced and fun system without them -- but the're a key component of D20.
Skills: The system ignores the core D20 skills entirely, and just replicates the SAS skill list. Animal Training -- not Handle Animal. Lots of specialized knowledge skills, not Knowledge(Subject). Open Lock and Disable Device are subsumed into a generic 'burglary' skill. Etc. Why is this bad? Because while it makes converting SAS Tristat characters easy, it makes converting 'Core' D20 characters nearly impossible without a lot of effort. While new genres demand new skills -- look at the skill lists for Sidewinder or Spycraft or Dragonstar -- skills which are identical should remain identical, and the 'breadth' of skills should be kept the same. Again, the focus is on minimizing differences between SAS D20 and SAS Tri-Stat characters. The question is -- why? Presumably, the target audience here is D20 gamers who want to mix SAS with the other D20 material out there. This game won't draw people into Tri-State gaming; the original SAS is good enough that it can do that all by its lonesome. What were they thinking?
Combat: SAS D20 uses a mechanism whereby each character has combat skills which add to attack or defense "in place of feats". Except, of course, that they're not in place of feats - except maybe things like Weapon Focus or Dodge. Improved Critical? Weapon Finesse? Cleave? Precise Shot? None of these can be modelled with the combat skills. Never mind things like Attacks of Opportunity, Flanking, or any other concepts which tend to be part of the D20 rules. Dropping a few of these things -- AOO, for example, can be confusing, and of less importance in modern games -- is fine, but, basically, the entire combat system is totally changed. Even the basic D20 to beat AC roll is different. First, AC is randomized, and, second, there is an additional 'defense roll' after you've been hit to see if you've REALLY been hit.But Dex isalready figured into Armor Class, so... Critical hits are always on a 20, and always double damage, and no second roll is required -- meaning a low level character crits as often as a skilled one.
Random bit: The table of object armor (not hardness) differs from the default ratings given in the DMG and the SRD.
Movement: Never mind the D20 movement rules; all movement rules are expressed in SAS Tri-Stat terms, with a small box explaining how to convert from D20 speeds if (disdainful sniff) you want to.
OGL Compliance: Frankly, I think GOO dances REAL close to the 'create a character' limits of the STL, but that's between them and WOTCs lawyers.They aren't, IMO, the only ones who play REAL fast and loose with the rules there. However, I'm more concerned about Open Gaming Content. The OGC is easily identified -- it's everything in Helvetica. Except that vast swathes of rule-based text, such as the weapon and vehicle mods, contain NO OGC, not even a one sentence 'game mechanics' summary.
There's more, but those are the highlights.
Want a great superhero RPG? Buy Siliver Age Sentinals, Tri-Stat edition. Want a great D20 superhero RPG? Right now, my money is on 4 Color To Fantasy, esp. if they are timely with the powerbook. Deeds Not Words also seems good. I look forward to Mutants&Masterminds, as well. But SAS D20 looks like an attempt to slap-dash a D20 conversion into the rules in a quickie attempt to exploit the logo -- in a time wen the logo is less and less valuable in and of itself, and the Great Shakeout is beginning. The worst consequece of this will be D20 fans judging all GOO games by this standard, and missing out on some of the best games currently made, which would be a pity, both for the fans and for GOO.
