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Message: <blockquote data-quote="whisper_jeff" data-source="post: 308341" data-attributes="member: 6370">It's Silver Age Sentinels, not D&DOk, I can address most of your points by simply stating that SAS d20 was never intended to be D&D in tights. If someone wants a D&D superhero game, buy the Epic Level Handbook - that's what it is - a superhero-ed version of D&D. We designed a superhero game using the d20 mechanic (which is roll one d20, add modifiers and attempt to achieve a value equal to or greater than a target number known as a DC). Spell-like abilities and feats and the rest are not the core of d20 - they are expressions of it.-----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'.-----     Again, not D&D. This is Silver Age Sentinels. For an average _human_, the average _is_ about 9. In SAS. Admittedly, for an average character, it is higher but for the average person on the street, that is accurate.-----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.-----     First, yes, there are no feats. The combat skills, Combat Techniques, Special Movements, and various other powers made _most_ feats unnecessary. Second, the game is not D&D in tights. I say this again because it is important. We have plans for several other d20 games in the near to medium future and several of them will be more tradtional approaches to d20 because they will have crossover potential with games that people view as traditional d20 games. Thus, we want to present them in ways win which traditional d20 players will be familiar and be able to easily utilize them with their other traditional d20 material. SAS? Well, we pointed out various things that a GM must consider if doing conversions but we also set the system up in a way that was best for the game, not for using the game with D&D or Spycraft or someone else's IP. We wanted to make the game the best system _for Silver Age Sentinels._-----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.-----     No. They aren't. They are a cool (or kewl, as may be the case) part of D&D and various other d20 mechanic games but they are not a key component of d20.-----Skills: The system ignores the core D20 skills entirely, and just replicates the SAS skill list.-----     We felt "converting" our existing skill list to the D&D skill list provided absolutely no benefit and thus served no purpose. Yes, we _could have_ done the conversion, but why? Was it good for the game? No. It was, at best, a neutral proposition. It wasn't better nor worse. Thus, why do it? Because D&D players are familiar with it? Sure, but we aren't making D&D. We are making the best game system possible for a superhero game using the d20 system mechanic.-----What were they thinking?-----     We were thinking about how to make the best superhero d20 game possible. Heaven forbid...-----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. -----     I won't bother beating the dead horse of "not a D&D game." Oh, wait, I just did... <grin>-----Never mind things like Attacks of Opportunity, Flanking, or any other concepts which tend to be part of the D20 rules.-----     Those portions of the rules are 1) not in the best interest of the fast-paced superhero game we were interested in designing and thus removed from the game and 2) really require gamers to use miniatures (or counters) on a grid to track movement. When characters can run at 10 000 mph or fly at 1 000 mph, a grid of 5' squares becomes laughably stupid. Do the conversions and find out how fast some of the characters are moving in terms of 5' squares. No, really, before you reply, do the conversion and you might notice why we didn't bother addressing any of the grid-based movement that is common in most d20 games. Since the numbers are so high, we preferred to utilize the traditional "role-playing" based movement with which most experienced gamers are familiar. Most gamers are accustomed to thinking of movement in imaginary terms of "ok, you zip by the bad guy, smacking him in the head and zip around the corner of the building before he can counter-attack. Now what do you do?"-----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.-----     Perhaps you'd like to look a little closer. I think you'll find the system is amazingly similar. The presentation is different from most traditional d20 games but the mechanics are incredibly similar.----- 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.-----     See the DMG on page 64, top of the right column. Thanks for playing.     I'm sorry that SAS d20 isn't your cup of tea but I'm glad you called it out so that others who share a similar view (who are looking for D&D in tights) can avoid the game. SAS d20 is _NOT_ D&D in tights. It was never designed to be that. It was designed to be the best superhero game possible using the d20 system mechanics. It is that. It is not D&D. If you are looking for D&D in tights, I'm sure that at least one of the other half dozen or so publishers who are bringing a d20 superhero game to the market will appeal to your tastes. If you are looking for the best system possible for emulating the superhero genre, then SAS may be the game you are looking for (I'm biased and think it _is_ the game you are looking for but I'll leave that choice to the readers).</blockquote>

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