Swashbuckling d20 -- standard D&D adaptations?

[jaerdaph]

Okay, after all this friendly teasing, now I feel I owe you a serious reply.

Even if you're not a Seven Seas fan and don't really want to use that particular campaign setting, do you feel that the Swash.Ad. options are a viable alternative to the standard high-magic D&D world?

Yes. I think the new character classes and the non-7th Sea-specific prestige classes would allow you to run a satisfying homebrew swashbuckling campaign. As for adding them to a more traditional or "standard" D&D campaign, the overlap between some of these new classes becomes a little more pronounced - the overlap works in a swashbuckling setting where you want shades of a common theme, but not necessarily in a typical D&D style campaign.

What's with all those feats?! Why the heck can't we get a core D&D campaign book with the variety that shows up in something like Swash.Ad. or Forgotten Realms resource books?

I really like the arcana feats - virtues, wiles, hubrises (is that the plural?), and flaws- in that they add to the d20 feat system a way to represent disadvantages - take a hubris or flaw disadvantageous feat and you get to pick up another traditional feat. Most of these are generic enough to be added to a non-7th Sea swashbuckling campaign as well.

 

[Mal Malenkirk]

I'm disapointed by the book.

I was looking forward to something along the lines of Spycraft with AD, defense bonus, armor that provides DR, Class that all have special abilities at each level and along a similar pattern (such as everyone gets a super class ability at level 14) etc.

Perhaps even a HPless system comparable to what M&M is cooking up that allows for the dramatic/flesh wounds of the old system.

But this is just D&D with tons of new class and feat, many of which hardly look balanced with each other.

 

[am181d]

But this is just D&D with tons of new class and feat, many of which hardly look balanced with each other.

Um... That's because it is D&D. Not officially. But it's meant to be a companion to Oriental Adventures and the d20 Lo5R line.

 

[jaerdaph]

[Um... That's because it is D&D. Not officially. But it's meant to be a companion to Oriental Adventures and the d20 Lo5R line. [/B]

Substitute "analogous to" for "a companion to", and yeah, what Drew said.