Stargate Campaign: Spycraft or D20 Modern?

[s/LaSH]

I've wanted one of these for years. Dagnabbit, now I have to set aside money for the book!

(No, I don't know what a nabbit is, but dag as a verb or noun is something unpleasant. So I just hope the nabbit is a straw-eater, for the sake of whoever gets to dag it.)

 

[Femerus the Gnecro]

Well... that settles that.

Fantastic

-F

 

[mkletch]

I was really hoping that Mongoose's 'big announcement' was going to be SG-1, and was fairly disappointed when it was B5. I was a huge B5 fan, but it is largely out of circulation. Even Crusade was cancelled, and there hasn't been a new movie in years. SG-1, OTOH, is still in its original run, and seems to be fairly popular now.

As for d20M vs. Spycraft, I voted for d20M for one reason: access. I mainly play d20 fantasy, and have mostly WotC materials, though some 3rd party as well. Do I want to shell out a non-trivial amount of cash to get the whole 'Spycraft experience'. No. New books that I buy will probably be fantasy except for campaign books like SG-1. d20M is online as the SRD, so I don't have to spend a whole lot just to see if I like it.

Just the fact that there is a whole 'nuther d20 system out there is bothersome. It's really the only thing keeping me from running a Star Wars campaign, too. Sorry if I seem like a purist of sorts, but I have other things to do with my cash than buy every d20 supplement where ink has met paper.

Will I buy SG-1? Not sure. This unofficial announcement is not a whole lot better than having the property unlicensed. From my perspective, although I don't really like Mongoose or most of their products to date, I'd rather they did SG-1 and AEG did B5. At least Mongoose probably would not cobble the property with a semi-compatible format (though it seems like B5 will have its own non-standard idiosyncracies).

-Fletch!

 

[jakspade]

I was really hoping that Mongoose's 'big announcement' was going to be SG-1, and was fairly disappointed when it was B5. I was a huge B5 fan, but it is largely out of circulation. Even Crusade was cancelled, and there hasn't been a new movie in years. SG-1, OTOH, is still in its original run, and seems to be fairly popular now.

Well, Mongoose is going to revive B5? That's probably cool. I'll have to see it when it comes out to see if it's worth a run... The show's children have had their own problems, but that's neither here nor there.

As for d20M vs. Spycraft, I voted for d20M for one reason: access. I mainly play d20 fantasy, and have mostly WotC materials, though some 3rd party as well. Do I want to shell out a non-trivial amount of cash to get the whole 'Spycraft experience'. No. New books that I buy will probably be fantasy except for campaign books like SG-1. d20M is online as the SRD, so I don't have to spend a whole lot just to see if I like it.

I understand how you feel, but you plan to purchase all the WotC d20 3.5e stuff, right? What's the difference here?

Just the fact that there is a whole 'nuther d20 system out there is bothersome. It's really the only thing keeping me from running a Star Wars campaign, too. Sorry if I seem like a purist of sorts, but I have other things to do with my cash than buy every d20 supplement where ink has met paper.

Isn't the OGL great? That means that you can create your own game without having to abide by one specific game rules set.

Now the real thing you need to do is go out and read reviews and such for supplements before buying anything... that's how I came across Spycraft. And the system's good enough that they won't have to put out any "updated" versions... No "Spycraft v2" like WotC did with Star Wars. And now their redoing 3e? No thanks. I own the only three D&D books that I am ever going to buy from them.

Will I buy SG-1? Not sure. This unofficial announcement is not a whole lot better than having the property unlicensed. From my perspective, although I don't really like Mongoose or most of their products to date, I'd rather they did SG-1 and AEG did B5. At least Mongoose probably would not cobble the property with a semi-compatible format (though it seems like B5 will have its own non-standard idiosyncracies).

-Fletch!

Well, I for one am stoked. I'm glad that someone has finally licenced SG1 for a game. And I admire AEG's work. I love Swashbuckler Adventures, I love Spycraft. I haven't looked in to L5R yet, but I've heard really good things about it. And, since I collect a lot of gaming material, I'll be buying SG1 when it comes out, pre-release announcement or no.

Jak

 

[Voneth]

From the gamingreport:

http://www.gamingreport.com/article.php?sid=7689&mode=thread&order=0

AEG reveled details on their new licensed Stargate RPG. The book will use the same rule set as Spycraft (the main Spycraft book isn’t necessary for play) and is going to be major properity for AEG unlike, as they stated, their “test” with Farscape. A very cool aspect that was mentioned is that the back of the book would have various stargates that would port players to other fantasy and modern d20 products and campaigns from AEG and other publishers. As John said, this property was made for gaming and from the sound of it AEG is going to use it to its full extent.
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Well I guess everyone gets their wish with the "funky" Stargates in the back of the book.

 

[RodneyThompson]

One thing I'd like to point out and highlight is that you don't have to have any Spycraft books or know anything about the system in order to pick it up. The book is completely self contained (save for needing a D&D/d20 Modern core book for level advancement, like all d20 games) and should be ready to play right off the shelf.

This book is absolutely packed with information, guys, and I think you're all going to love the approach we've taken to it.

 

[Femerus the Gnecro]

One thing I'd like to point out and highlight is that you don't have to have any Spycraft books or know anything about the system in order to pick it up. The book is completely self contained (save for needing a D&D/d20 Modern core book for level advancement, like all d20 games) and should be ready to play right off the shelf.

This book is absolutely packed with information, guys, and I think you're all going to love the approach we've taken to it.

I have a few questions if you don't mind...

1. How much of the movie material is being included in the book, if any? I ask this to determine how you'll be dealing with the inconsistancies between the movie and the series.

2. How are you dealing with the possible game-breaking qualities of weapons like the Zat Gun (1 shot stun, 2 shot kill)?

3. How much of the 'mythos' will be covered in the book, and are you being given access to spoilers for the final season of the show, to provide for better accuracy?

4. How long do we have to wait to pick this up?

-F

 

[Enforcer]

I have a few questions if you don't mind...

1. How much of the movie material is being included in the book, if any? I ask this to determine how you'll be dealing with the inconsistancies between the movie and the series.

-F

Hopefully none. The movie was entertaining, but can't even compare to the series. The fact that they got the Stargate SG-1 license leads me to believe that it will focus solely on the tv show.

One suggestion for Morgenstern and co.: Use lots of stills from the series to illustrate the book, rather than drawings. That would make the book so cool looking!

 

[Voneth]

Hopefully none. The movie was entertaining, but can't even compare to the series. The fact that they got the Stargate SG-1 license leads me to believe that it will focus solely on the tv show.

One suggestion for Morgenstern and co.: Use lots of stills from the series to illustrate the book, rather than drawings. That would make the book so cool looking!

I got the Farscape book and it is beautiful. You won't be disappointed by the look. Now if they just don't completely change the game with an errata that changes the feel of the game. We'll be happy.

 

[mkletch]

I understand how you feel, but you plan to purchase all the WotC d20 3.5e stuff, right? What's the difference here?

Well, I play D&D twice a week, maybe 14 to 18+ hours total. These are two different groups, and the thing that glues them together is WotC products. Pretty much anything WotC is allowed (with exceptions, like a few prestige classes and feats, and house ruled spells). However, any 3rd party supplement goes through an unstructured but thorough review, by the DMs and some of the players. And frankly, its time consuming and tiresome. I want to game, not read supplement after supplement that is 85% cool and 15% broken, unclear, contradictory or simply bad.

3.5e will be the benchmark, but it will be 98% the same as 3.0e, so it really isn't a problem. The DMs in the two groups will likely 'upgrade', but that's about it.

As for a significantly different system, like the Star Wars system or Spycraft, one or two people having the book is not sufficient. These rule changes are pervasive and profound. Will everyone in the group buy the book? Not likely. So it is not viable. Both groups I play with are 'older gamers': post college, with jobs and mortgages, kids, bills, taxes, responsibilities other than the next keg or random gaming book with cool cover art. Buying some new game system on a whim is just not there any more; not that it ever was a good thing before.

It's been close to 11 years since I've played GURPS, 13 for Shadowrun and 9 for Palladium in various genres. Do I miss 'em? No. But I get more gaming in now that I ever did then. Why? I'm not wasting my time figuring stuff out that I'll want to forget in six months. It's why I don't own a diesel car, try to support token ring for my home network, or make up my own invented language with which to speak to the checkout clerk at the grocery store. Some people may not like standards, but they can be very, very useful.

Now the real thing you need to do is go out and read reviews and such for supplements before buying anything... that's how I came across Spycraft. And the system's good enough that they won't have to put out any "updated" versions... No "Spycraft v2" like WotC did with Star Wars. And now their redoing 3e? No thanks. I own the only three D&D books that I am ever going to buy from them.

I walk into a dealership, and I don't have to lay down $40-50 to take a test drive. It's free. But if I want to try a new system or supplement, I've got to drop more than a few bucks. My 'experiment' Star Wars was an expensive mistake. Sure, everyone thought it was totally cool, but getting everyone to buy the book was a failure, regardless of how rabid the SW fans are in my gaming groups. My wife and I are the only major SG-1 fans in our groups. I'm sure you can predict the likely outcome of an SG-1 'experiment'.

The SRD is online. Theoretically, anyone can play using a few choice printed pages, and borrowing their DM's PHB for level-ups. Although SG-1 is going to be partially OGC/d20, will it be available online as the SRD is? It would help but, nope, not holding my breath on that one. Sure it detract from a few sales, but think of it as a test drive. I have a small-font PDF of d20 Modern. It may be missing a couple things, but it mostly gets me there. But it's 220+ pages, and I'm probably not going to print out the whole thing. If we try d20 Modern, we'll print out maybe 30-50 pages total (including multiple copies of some sections), play with a couple laptops at the table (which we normally don't do) and try it out. But if we decide to start playing seriously, I'd make a decent guess that four out of five would buy the book. That is where Star Wars and every other 'licensed game' fails.

Well, I for one am stoked. I'm glad that someone has finally licenced SG1 for a game.

I thought I'd be stoked, too, and I was at first. But then I realized that it was a false hope. The further the product is from basic d20 (either modern or fantasy), the much, much less likely I am to ever play it. Inversely geometric. I'd be 1200% better off to buy every episode on DVD with the money and time I'd spend/waste on the RPG version.

Where does this put me? Well, I'm five months into converting the VP/WP damage system from Star Wars to fantasy so that I can try my one group on it, and then perhaps try Star Wars after. So, if I were to get SG-1, I'd have a vague hope of playing it in maybe 2005. Hardly a wise gaming investment. I think I'll buy the Arms and Equipment Guide instead. Or wait until Monte's Arcana Unearthed; it has twenty times the chance of being used at the table.

-Fletch