The D&D d20 Duality...

[Scribble]

So I remember when 3e first debuted.. There was D&D 3e... but underneath it all was this new d20 system.

There was also the idea that the d20 system could be used to create other types of games aside from D&D... (Cuthulu, Star Wars, Modern, etc...)

I always found it strange though, that they never released a strictly d20 rulebook. D20 had to kind of be reverse engineered from D&D.

They've stated that 4e is still a d20 game at its heart... So I guess I'm wondering if that means that the d20 system is in its own second edition so to speak?

I know the d20 label is no longer existing, but what about the d20 system concept?

 

[xechnao]

The D20 system is nothing more than the concept of rolling a d20 and adding the result to a modifier or stat to beat target numbers. Perhaps if the d&d stats change in the new edition some people could see it as another edition. But I think the stats will be the same. 4e will be a cleaner implementation of the same D20 system on d&d races, classes and actions -that's what they are saying.

 

[Ranger REG]

I always found it strange though, that they never released a strictly d20 rulebook. D20 had to kind of be reverse engineered from D&D.

They did. It's called d20 Modern.

Unfortunately, the label is not as strong as D&D. It's like White Wolf deciding to go with Storyteller System Handbook instead of Vampire: The Requiem.

It shows that rules alone does not always make a complete game.

 

[Greg K]

It shows that rules alone does not always make a complete game.

Has TSR or WOTC really had any rpgs other than DND that have really lasted? They don't seem to stay around very long.

Anyway from a mechanics perspective, I still consider d20 Modern ito be the best rpg that WOTC has created. My only major complaint is the fx rules (i.e., magic and psionics). Other than fx rules (which I have replaced with Elements of Magic:ME and the Psychic's Handbook), I can't think of anything I would really want changed other than the automatic fire rules and both introducing a damage track and replacing negative hit points with the death and dying rules from Unearthed Arcana.

I mean consider the d20 Modern mechanics that have been incorporated into other WOTC games.:
1) classes with talent trees and bonus feats
2) class based defense
3) action points

 

[Hjorimir]

From the ENWorld 4e page

7. With the OGL tied more closely to D&D, how would that impact the future impact of games like Spycraft or Mutants and Masterminds – games that in 3e used the core d20 concept but diverged radically from D&D?

The new version of the OGL isn’t as open-ended as the current version. Any 4e OGL product must use the 4e PHB as the basis of their game. If they can’t use the core rule books, it won’t be possible to create the game under this particular version of the OGL.

Future versions of the OGL, including a 4e d20 Modern version, may make certain games possible where they weren’t before.

 

[Ranger REG]

Has TSR or WOTC really had any rpgs other than DND that have really lasted? They don't seem to stay around very long.

Licensed or their own original creation?

Anyway from a mechanics perspective, I still consider d20 Modern ito be the best rpg that WOTC has created.

Looks like 4e will incorporate some of the good aspects of d20 Modern as they have already been done to Star Wars Saga Edition.

My only major complaint is the fx rules (i.e., magic and psionics). Other than fx rules (which I have replaced with Elements of Magic:ME and the Psychic's Handbook),

That's why they tuck them all aside in the FX chapter, away from the rest of the rules. FX is nothing more than rules plug-ins.