True 20 -- races/backgrounds?

[Akrasia]

There are no rules for races or backgrounds in the True20 pdf. However, I know that BR included rules for 'backgrounds' (which appear to include some fantasy races).

How did these work in BR? More precisely, how would one cook up a 'background' (race or culture) for True20?

It is simply a matter of coming up with a few feats that must be chosen by a character who wants to belong to a certain background?

Thanks!

 

[Skywalker]

There are no rules for races or backgrounds in the True20 pdf. However, I know that BR included rules for 'backgrounds' (which appear to include some fantasy races).

How did these work in BR? More precisely, how would one cook up a 'background' (race or culture) for True20?

It is simply a matter of coming up with a few feats that must be chosen by a character who wants to belong to a certain background?

Thanks!

In BR, each background granted bonuses and abilities as normal, included Favoured Feats (non-general feats accessible to that background) and Favoured Skills (no longer relevant in True 20).

As a result of the changes this method is not as useful as the normal d20 one. In fact True 20 can use any existing d20 race with little to no effort.

If you need guidelines to create more then use those for d20 generally in that humans get a free feat and skill. Other races get the same, roughly. Normally a feat and a skill (they don't get to choose) and maybe a minor ability to counter the lack of choice.

 

[SWBaxter]

How did these work in BR? More precisely, how would one cook up a 'background' (race or culture) for True20?

I haven't read the True20 PDF, so not sure if it'd work exactly the same, but in BR:

Each human background adds three favoured skills, and 1-3 favoured feats (usually 2). They also get the normal human bonuses, which in BR are a bonus skill and a bonus feat.

Non-human backgrounds get from 0-3 favoured skills (most get two), 0-4 favoured feats (2-3 on average), and other bonuses associated with their species - stat bonuses, nightvision, etc. I don't think there's any more of a consistent pattern than there is to D&D races.

In case they didn't make it into True20, favoured skills are those which, if selected, get the full level +3 skill bonus. Favoured feats are available regardless of role.

 

[Skywalker]

In case they didn't make it into True20, favoured skills are those which, if selected, get the full level +3 skill bonus. Favoured feats are available regardless of role.

True 20 does away with the Favoured Skill distinction. I think in practice most Known Skills were also Favoured and the multi-roling rules were unnecessarily complex as a result. Now all skills are just 3 + level. So background "favoured skills" don't work. As mentioned, True 20 is actually set up to accept any d20 race, more than the BR ones.

 

[Akrasia]

Thanks for all your comments Skywalker (both here and at RPG.net).

 

[Skywalker]

Thanks for all your comments Skywalker (both here and at RPG.net).

That's cool. I am currently tackling all these porblems myself and I am happy with how easy True 20 is to modify for things like new races and also slightly different concepts like Jedi.