Taking the d20 Modern/Future Plunge!

C. Baize · Oct 1, 2004

Oh. And Modern Backdrops for some quick plot hooks, and NPCs ... not to mention a load of maps.

Bill Scott · Oct 1, 2004

C. Baize said:
Oh. And Modern Backdrops for some quick plot hooks, and NPCs ... not to mention a load of maps.

I bought MB earlier this month and in my opinion, it was crap with a capital C. Although some of the plot hooks were cool, the maps sucked big time and you don't even get many of those. Now for a great map book for Modern, along with the NPCs to go along with them, I suggest Dark Furies's New Glory Naval Base.

C. Baize · Oct 1, 2004

I dunno... 22 maps is quite a few (whether or not they're good is certainly subjective... I thought they were good), 5 cities, NPCs, plot hooks...
It's certainly not a "open it up and it runs the game for me" supplement, to be sure. It's more to supplement your game.

As an aside, though... you're the first one I've seen complain that the maps were not good. Joe Kushner didn't like it at all, due to the fact that the population wasn't detailed down to the last person. :boggle:
But, different strokes for different folks.
Sorry you didn't like it.
Everybody's got to start somewhere.

Was my wife's first gaming book.
Hopefully the second will be better.

But, on the topic of maps, 12 to Midnight's "Weekend Warriors" has a ton of maps, and it's a fun romp to boot. They're military based maps, of course, but they're well done.

Roudi · Oct 1, 2004

Bill Scott said:
I bought MB earlier this month and in my opinion, it was crap with a capital C. Although some of the plot hooks were cool, the maps sucked big time and you don't even get many of those. Now for a great map book for Modern, along with the NPCs to go along with them, I suggest Dark Furies's New Glory Naval Base.

Well, for starters, Modern Backdrops isn't a book of maps. If that's what you bought it for, well... maybe you should have read the description first.

Secondly - judging MB to be Crap by virtue of maps alone is a bit unfair. The book gave so much more than maps. It is, essentially, an entire GM toolkit/inspiration guide for adventures in a city without one having to do a bulk of research on real ones.

Thirdly - Carrie Baize is an amazing writer. Biased as Mr. Baize and I might be, we've both worked with her for a while now. Her MODERNIZED submissions continue to impress me and other readers - not to mention the fact that she was good enough to break into the RPGObejects fold in the first place.

Fourthly - Psion reviewed both New Glory Naval Base and Modern Backdrops. I count Psion as the foremost reviewing authority on this site. New Glory Naval Base garnered a B-. Modern Backdrops garnered a B. 'Nuff said.

Bill Scott · Oct 2, 2004

It looks like I offended a couple people and I'm sorry about that. I should'nt have been so harsh with my comments. Although I still do not like the maps, I'll still stand by that, I did compliment the book on some good plots which I'll definitely use. It is a good book for a beginner and I saw some real talent

I think my big gripe with MB is it's false description in the back of the book. I consider the city maps to be more the size of small towns. Hell, my grandparents farm was bigger then the 'cities' in the book

As for Psion's review comparison, I respect his opinion but I disagree in this matter. Although the building descriptions go a bit too extensive, I feel that NGNB is a better product

Once again, I'm sorry for my poorly worded comments on MB

DarkSoldier · Oct 2, 2004

I can't recommend enough the d20 Modern NetBook of Famous Characters.

Where can you get this most excellent supplement to any d20 Modern game? Why, just down yonder screen to the sig below the line.

C. Baize · Oct 2, 2004

Nah. Didn't offend me. I expect a couple of people to not like it. Looks like it's you and Joe.

Klaus · Oct 6, 2004

Just acquired d20 Future, Menace Manual and Urban Arcana. And I REALLY like these books (I already liked d20 Modern). But I'll try and run some sessions with only what's in the core book before adding anything else (much as I did with 3.0/3.5).

Achan hiArusa · Oct 7, 2004

Weapons Locker Pointless?

Weapons Locker has a lot of heavy weapons not to be found in UMF. Sure there is overlap with personal weapons, but I don't think WL is totally pointless.

Salcor · Oct 7, 2004

Knightfall,
Good to see you are still around. Hope things are going well. For products, I definately recommend the RPG Objects stuff. The Blood and Guts series is outstanding. Blood and Guts: Modern Military covers the US military, and there are four internet sourcebooks, War on Terror (a great book of bad guys), Her Majesty's Service (Brits of course), and a two smaller expasions. Also the Darwin's World stuff is pretty good. From the Game Mechanics I would definately get their players companion. I have yet to pick up the modern magic book, but it is on my list.

Salcor