Somebody! Tell me of the d20 Future ship templates in Dungeon #113!

[RodneyThompson]

I'm assuming this means you wrote the article. If so, congratulations -- it's a good piece of work, and quite enjoyable.

Any teasers on the 6th template?

Yes, I did write it. Makes sense to have one of the authors of the book write a preview for it, yes? Erik Mona asked me to whip up a preview of d20 Future for the last issue of Polyhedron, so that's what I came up with. Since I didn't write the starships chapter of the d20 Future book, I decided it wasn't such a bad idea to make my mark on that chapter after Erik suggested it.

As for the sixth template, it was a template for a fortress ship, basically the "armored car" in space.

Any teaser on d20 future at all!! I have ordered my copy on Amazon 1 month ago and I am tired of waiting.

I wish I could say something. I really do. Unfortunately, my nondisclosure agreement explicitly prevents that without permission. I'll ask Chris Perkins if I can say anything, but for now you'll just have to do with what pops up on the WotC website. Push comes to shove, I did an interview for the book that should hit the site soon. That has some spoilers in it for the book.

How are the ships designed? Is the write-up like vehicles in modern? (i.e. it's possible to destroy a tank with your bare hands). Tell me something, darn it!!

Heh, well, it's very different from Modern. The starships are tough, but they also deal out a huge amount of damage. Even the smallest starships have a Hardness of 20 or more, and then vast amounts of hit points. The stat blocks would remind you more of those found in the Revised version of the Star Wars RPG.

Is it at all like the ship rules from Alternity?

Not really.While you will find many of the same general concepts (laser weapons, mines, super-dense armors, etc.) the actual combat system is quite different. At least, I think so. I'm a bit rusty on my Alternity space combat rules. It reminds me a lot of, again, the Star Wars RPG.

 

[Flynn]

Progress Levels?

Good morning, All,

I'm unfamiliar with the specifics of Progress Levels, and assume that they are similar in concept to both Traveller's Tech Levels and GURPS's Tech Levels. Could someone post some information on the various Progress Levels, as a way of giving the uninitiated an overview. In particular, if you could compare them to another gaming system's approach, such as either Traveller or GURPS, that would give me much greater insight into how D20 Future will break things down technologically.

My thanks for your time,
Flynn

 

[Charles Dunwoody]

The article doens't have actual stats for ships (damage etc.). Instead, the template includes systems that are overlaid over basic ships (which will be in D20 Future). Two ship with templates are pictured and labeled, which really helps me visualize them.

For instance, basic starships include ultralight, light, mediumweight, and heavier ships. The default ships (again not in the article but in D20 Future) are PL 6 (Fusion Age).

These templates are all PL 7 (Gravity Age) expect one PL 8 (Energy Age). Each template will take a PL 6 basic ship and update it to a PL 7 (or 8) specialized ship.

A mediumweight starship apparantly will have listed engines, defense systems etc. all based on PL 6. That base ship can be upgraded with one of these templates.

So a Niven-class Deep Space Explorer (PL 8) includes engine upgrades like thrusters (tactical speed +1,500 feet), Class VI sensor array (+2 initiative), and an upgrade to increase passenger capacity by 50%.

To actually see how speed and initiative work, or how many passengers a base ship holds, or even how big a basic ship is, we have to wait for D20 Future. However, I think these templates are a great idea, since making every ship from scratch is tough.

The basic ship would be like a V6 truck with a regular cab. A manufacturer can swap the engine for a V8 and put in an extended cab (represented by a template). Same base model but now upgraded and more specialized.

 

[Dismas]

Good morning, All,

I'm unfamiliar with the specifics of Progress Levels, and assume that they are similar in concept to both Traveller's Tech Levels and GURPS's Tech Levels. Could someone post some information on the various Progress Levels, as a way of giving the uninitiated an overview. In particular, if you could compare them to another gaming system's approach, such as either Traveller or GURPS, that would give me much greater insight into how D20 Future will break things down technologically.

My thanks for your time,
Flynn

As I said it looks like they are using the same levels as Alternity, they are not as detailed as GURPS or Traveller and are as follows:

• PL 0: Stone Age
• PL1: Bronze / Iron Age
• PL2: Middle Ages
• PL3: Age of Reason
• PL4: Industrial Age
• PL5: Information Age
• PL6: Fussion Age
• PL7: Gravity Age
• PL8: Energy Age

 

[Flynn]

As I said it looks like they are using the same levels as Alternity, they are not as detailed as GURPS or Traveller and are as follows:

• PL 0: Stone Age
• PL1: Bronze / Iron Age
• PL2: Middle Ages
• PL3: Age of Reason
• PL4: Industrial Age
• PL5: Information Age
• PL6: Fussion Age
• PL7: Gravity Age
• PL8: Energy Age

Thank you so very much for this info, Dismas! It is greatly appreciated!

Looking forward to the new book,
Flynn