Superior Synergy: Modern and Future

[Crothian]

Have you ever wondered why, when the pre-epic class levels allow you to have as many as 23 skill ranks in a given skill, that synergy stops at 5 ranks? Yeah, us too.

Superior Synergy: Modern and Future introduces new skill synergy levels at three new benchmarks: 10, 15 and 20. Not all benefits are merely increases in a simple synergy bonus, either. Some benefits include reduced times needed to perform tasks associated or altered DC modifiers with the synergy skill.

It doesn't end there, either. Superior Synergy: Modern and Future also introduces feat synergy. Much like skill synergy, feat synergy allows two or more feats to work together for additional benefits they couldn't achieve on their own without having to take additional feats.

Don't be satisfied with poor skill and feat planning. Check out Superior Synergy: Modern and Future, the second in the Superior Synergy series and let your characters make the most of their potential.

This product has not been password protected so that you may bookmark it to your needs.

 

[Angel Tarragon]

Superior Synergy: Modern & Future

[imager]http://www.rpgnow.com/products/product_5616.jpg[/imager] Superior Synergy: Modern & Future

Note: I received a copy of this product for review purposes

Superior Synergy: Modern & Future brings the element of skill synergy to the gaming table with an expansion to the synergy system and goes beyond to include what synergies might be had from the combination of individual feats as well.

What the product is, is a breakdown of all the skills and how they interact with each other. You may have noticed that synergy bonuses top out when a skill has 5 ranks in it. Superior Skill Synergy goes beyond this to allow for greater synergy, and depending on the individual skill, your synergy bonus may top out at 20 ranks. That’s right, 20 ranks.

Synergies are cumulative and they the effects of it can be felt through the application of further skill points. That means that as you level up and pour more skill ranks into your skills you benefit from synergies at certain points. At 5 ranks it is obvious that your synergy bonus is +2 to another skill. Extrapolation on this can lead to higher bonuses to the synergy skill at the 10 rank mark or it can apply to different skills. Synergies improve when a skill has 10, 15 or 20 ranks.

Now what kind of synergy bonus might one get from having 10, 15 or 20 ranks in a certain skill? Let’s take Decipher Script as an example. We all know that at 5 ranks, a character gains a +2 synergy bonus to Computer Use checks to scramble/unscramble transmissions, defeat computer security, access a site through the Internet, or defeat file security and to Use Magic Device arcane skill checks involving scrolls and written spells. When that character has 10 ranks in Decipher Script they get a +3 bonus to Computer Use checks to scramble/unscramble transmissions, defeat computer security, access a site through the Internet, or defeat file security and to Use Magic Device arcane skill checks involving scrolls and written spells. At 15 ranks the character gains a +4 bonus to Computer Use checks to scramble/unscramble transmissions, defeat computer security, access a site through the Internet, or defeat file security and to Use Magic Device arcane skill checks involving scrolls and written spells. At 20 ranks the character gains a +5 bonus to Computer Use checks to scramble/unscramble transmissions, defeat computer security, access a site through the Internet, or defeat file security and to Use Magic Device arcane skill checks involving scrolls and written spells.

Let’s look at Pilot and sere what the synergies are for it. Well at 5 ranks characters gain a +2 bonus to attack when firing aircraft-mounted weapons while piloting. When the character has 10 ranks in Pilot they can make an Aid Another Pilot check while piloting to grant someone else a +1 circumstance bonus to their attack roll if they are using vehicle-mounted weapons on the same aircraft. At 15 ranks the character gains a +3 bonus to attack when firing aircraft mounted weapons while piloting. A character with 20 ranks in Pilot can make an Aid Another Pilot check while piloting to grant someone else a +2 circumstance bonus to their attack roll if they are using vehicle mounted weapons on the same aircraft.

As clearly evidenced between the two examples, not all synergies give a named bonus to skill checks related to the skill that gains a bonus at 5 ranks. There are plenty of skills that do give named bonuses to other skills though.

Innovative in its own right is the feat synergy that is unique to this product line. It is an optional system that may be implemented but the author does give warning that if feat synergy feels too much like it is giving away free feats, for the GM to just not allow in their games.

An example of feat synergy are the Acrobatic and Zero-G Training feats. A character that has these two feats benefit by only suffering only 1d4 points of damage per 20 feet of a fall in low gravity environments.

Another example are the Dead Aim, Far Shot, Focused, Personal Firearms Proficiency and Weapon Focus feats. A character that has these feats benefits when using the Dead Aim feat with the firearm for which they have the Weapon Focus feat, may opt to continue lining up their shot beyond the initial full round that grants the +2 bonus. This is done under the same restrictions as Dead Aim, with each additional round requiring a Concentration check (DC 13, +2 per additional round beyond the first). If the Concentration check succeeds, the bonus is increased by another +1. Failing this check means you lose all bonuses acquired up to that point, including the initial +2. The character cannot increase the +2 bonus by more than their Wisdom modifier. This means a character with Wisdom 13 could gain a maximum +3 bonus from Dead Aim after two rounds and one successful Concentration check (DC 15), whereas a character with Wisdom 18 could gain a maximum +6 bonus after five rounds and four Concentration checks (DC 15, 17, 19 and 21, respectively.)

Yet another example is the combination of the Fleet of Foot, Improved Overrun, Power Attack and Run feats. A character with these feats may overrun opponents that are one or two size categories larger than them, the same size, or smaller.

As clearly shown, a player that picks and chooses their feats can truly get the most out of their character.

Conclusion
This product does for modern, future and modern fantasy games what Superior Synergy: Fantasy does for DnD games. It is a great product that takes synergy in a new direction. I am as impressed with this product as I am with her sister. This reviewer gives Superior Synergy: Modern & Future five stars.

 

[danzig138]

Superior Synergy: Modern and Future
Misfit Studios
Author: Steven Trustrum
Page count: (landscape) 26 plus OGL; (portrait) 21 plus cover and OGL
Price: $3.00

D&D uses the concept of skill synergy bonuses: if you have 5 ranks in certain skills, you gain a bonus to other skills. In D&D, the synergy bonuses provided by each skill are clearly laid out. Superior Synergy: Fantasy is a product that expands on that idea.

However, in d20 Modern, skill synergy is not cleanly explained or detailed. In fact, skill synergy in d20 Modern is a matter of GM judgment. Superior Synergy: Modern and Future addresses this lack by clearly laying out synergy bonuses for skills. In addition, as with Superior Synergy: Fantasy, it details additional bonuses at increased skill ranks.

Superior Synergy: Modern and Future increases the utility of skills by providing expanding bonuses based on skill rank. In some cases, the synergy bonuses simply increase. Take Handle Animal for example:

• Synergy (5 ranks): If you have 5 or more ranks in Handle Animal, you get a +2 bonus on Ride checks.

• Synergy (10 ranks): If you have 10 or more ranks in Handle Animal, you get a +3 bonus on Ride checks.

• Synergy (15 ranks): If you have 15 or more ranks in Handle Animal, you get a +4 bonus on Ride checks.

• Synergy (20 ranks): If you have 20 or more ranks in Handle Animal, you get a +5 bonus on Ride checks.

In other cases, not only does the synergy bonus increase, but the skill provides expanded usage or benefits. For example, look at the benefits of 5 ranks in Bluff:

• Synergy (5 ranks): If you have 5 or more ranks in Bluff, you get a +2 bonus on Diplomacy checks.
  If you have 5 or more ranks in Bluff, you get a +2 bonus on Gamble checks.
  If you have 5 or more ranks in Bluff, you get a +2 bonus on Intimidate checks.
  If you have 5 or more ranks in Bluff, you get a +2 bonus on Sleight of Hand checks.
  If you have 5 or more ranks in Bluff, you get a +2 bonus on Disguise checks made when you know you’re being observed and you try to act in character.

Compare this with 20 ranks in Bluff:

• Synergy (20 ranks): If you have 20 or more ranks in Bluff, you can change the attitudes of others with Diplomacy in roughly half the normal time.
  If you have 10 or more ranks in Bluff, you consider your Wealth bonus to be 2 ranks higher for the sake of purchasing a gambling stake (see the Gamble skill.)
  If you have 20 or more ranks in Bluff, the effects of a successful Intimidation last 30 minutes.
  If you have 20 or more ranks in Bluff, the Search check bonus of anyone frisking you is negated.
  If you have 20 or more ranks in Bluff, Spot checks are made against your
  Disguise immediately upon meeting you and every two hours thereafter instead of every hour.

Superior Synergy: Modern and Future also adds and addresses the concept of feat synergy. For example, if a character has Acrobatic, Defensive Martial Arts, Dodge, Improved Grapple, and Mobility, he can gain the following:

• Instead of using your Strength modifier you may use your Tumble ranks (no Dex modifier or benefits from feats or similar sources) while opposing a grapple check against you.

If a character has Advanced Firearms Proficiency, Focused, Personal Firearms Proficiency, Strafe, and Weapon Focus, he can gain the following benefits:

• When using the firearm to which Weapon Focus applies with an automatic rate of fire, your control is such that any targets within the autofire’s area of affect risks getting hit by two bullets instead of one. Therefore, anyone in that area makes two Reflex saves (DC 15) against being struck. Once all the autofire’s bullets are accounted for, no more targets may be harmed by the attack.

Considering the number of feats available to d20 Modern characters, the possibilities are quite interesting.

Layout and Style
Superior Synergy: Modern and Future (landscape) follows a typical two-column format, with a small, easy-to-read font. As with its cousin, Superior Synergy: Fantasy, and numerous other d20 products, it includes a thick border around each page. In this case, the border is black and yellow stripes bordering brown. I believe it is supposed to provide the impression of a door or portal of some sort, with warning colors.
Headings are black, outlined in bright yellow. This actually makes it easy to read the headings, and find them quickly.

Unfortunately, the black text is on a grey background. It is a light grey background, unlike some game books, but still, black text, grey background. It just doesn't work.
Even worse, the few tables use alternating light and dark grey rows, with thick, black, bold text. This is a terrible design decision.

The portrait file lacks the grey background, making the text much easier to read. The yellow, black, and brown border is gone as well. Unfortunately, the tables use alternating white and dark grey rows, still with the thick, black text.

Art
Superior Synergy: Modern and Future has several small pieces of black and white art. The quality of these pieces is average.

Open Gaming
Superior Synergy: Modern and Future is full of open content.

File Utility
Superior Synergy: Modern and Future includes two files: one landscape with graphics and color for screen reading, and a portrait version minus graphics and color for printing. Superior Synergy: Modern and Future is an unlocked document, allowing for copying and pasting, and page extracting. Open pdf files are good things. Both the landscape and portrait files have full bookmarks, allowing you to quickly jump to any particular entry.

Conclusion
Superior Synergy: Modern and Future is a solid product. Skills are very useful in the d20 Modern line, with feats arguably more so. Superior Synergy: Modern and Future increases the utility of a character's abilities by a vast degree. It does suffer from stylistic problems, but not enough to devalue the product.