Spycraft 2.0 -> d20 Modern

[wedgeski]

I love Spycraft 2.0 but would never want to play it... it's way too dense for my players' tastes. However there are so many good ideas in there that I've nabbed to help me make my d20 Modern game a bit more interesting. So...

Has anyone ever converted the simplified and brilliant NPC generation rules in Spycraft over to d20M? It seems to me it woud be a neat little project but I don't want to try if someone else has already done it better.

 

[jezter6]

Heap did a good quick and dirty PDF that was on here, but removed when Adamant asked him to work up something professional for sale.

Status unknown at this point, other than the last time I asked about it they said it's still in the pipeline.

Some people may have saved the PDF before it was removed, maybe someone can help out there. If you can find the thread, you may want to post there for someone to see if they'll give it to you.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

Compared to Modern it has its ups and down. Spycraft always has better feats, for instance.

Anyway, there are three systems I've seen recently that have tried to make NPCs like in d20 Modern, but simpler.

In no particular order:

1) Iron Heroes
2) Spycraft 2.0
3) SAGA.

To be honest, I think Spycraft 2.0 is at the bottom of the heap in NPC-creation. Iron Heroes uses similar but simpler rules, which puts it at the top. Most Spycraft 2.0 NPCs just don't use the same rules as PCs, or anything close (and I've downloaded many of the Crafty Games adventures... as an aside, Spycraft has great support for its game, unlike d20 Modern). Note that they are, of course, SC2 NPCs are simpler and faster to create than NPCs from anyone else. SAGA is pretty close to Iron Heroes in this regard, but a tad more complex. (NPCs with heroic levels follow the same rules as PCs, but the skill system is so much simpler that it has a leg up over Modern.)

I would be interested in seeing what Adamant cooks up.

 

[Breakdaddy]

If WOTC would release a D20 Modern book featuring rules like those found in SWSE, I would be all in. As it stands, I like the D20 modern rules only slightly better than Spycraft, and only because they have a broader focus. I am less inclined to play a spy style game than a military ops style game. You could do it with either, but I find Modern a bit easier to fit my mil. games into.

 

[EditorBFG]

EDIT: I accidentally posted something in the wrong thread!!

 

[solkan_uk]

Beg to differ, I find Spycraft superior for running nearly any type of campaign. The only real limit is the gear system, and to me that just represents a different way of thinking rather than a flaw.

SC2.0 was designed to be generic, and not just for spies.

EDIT: Of course Spycraft was built so that it had rules that could be ignored. Don't feel compelled to use everything in the book at once.

 

[Armadillo]

Anyway, there are three systems I've seen recently that have tried to make NPCs like in d20 Modern, but simpler.

In no particular order:

1) Iron Heroes
2) Spycraft 2.0
3) SAGA.

You should also take a look at True 20. In many ways, SW Saga is a combination of d20M and True 20.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

Maybe I'll leaf through it at Hairy Tarantula, but most of what I've heard about True 20 leaves me cold

 

[TheAuldGrump]

Beg to differ, I find Spycraft superior for running nearly any type of campaign. The only real limit is the gear system, and to me that just represents a different way of thinking rather than a flaw.

SC2.0 was designed to be generic, and not just for spies.

EDIT: Of course Spycraft was built so that it had rules that could be ignored. Don't feel compelled to use everything in the book at once.

I wouldn't quite say 'generic', but I also would not limit the game to 'spies'. Action movie is a lot closer - it can be James Bond, Lara Croft, Sara Conner, or Indiana Jones with equal ease.

The Auld Grump

 

[solkan_uk]

For some reason I could've sworn that you wrote 'James Pond' ahhh nostalgia...