What are some of your favorite mechanics from a D20 system (not just dnd)?

[GMMichael]

Take 10 is a great rule, since it's a nod to two important ideas:

- Sometimes there's really no need to be rolling dice.
- On average, characters perform an average effort.

I took it a step further to create the Take Half rule, which basically says that you can take half of the highest roll at any time, on any die. If you like it, let me know!

 

[Imaculata]

I totally agree. Take 10 is a great rule.

Also, I really love Storm Wrack's weather system.

 

[Zhaleskra]

I like that in World Tree, succeeding too well (Triumph 3+: beating what you need by 30 or more) is "good with bad", just as the botches can sometimes still succeed in a "bad with some good" way.

 

[RobShanti]

I liked the idea of "Hero Points" or whatever it was called...it was a Feat that came from a D&D 3e Sourcebook that you were able to spend once per [some period of time I no longer recall...I think it was once per session] that let you modify a roll in some way. It was the first time I could ever recall an incarnation of D&D where you weren't beholden to a roll, but could affect it in a positive way if it was for something really important.

This ended up appearing as Force Points in Star Wars Saga Edition. I really liked that mechanic.

I also loved Destiny Points in Star Wars Saga Edition.

And I liked the Talent Tree concept, which stemmed, if I recall correctly, from D20 Modern, and was carried over into Star Wars Saga Edition.

In fact, there was a lot about SW SAGA Ed. I liked. I always felt it was the best incarnation of the d20 system.

In D&D 5e, I also like the narrative elements they have added. I always felt that what the d20 lacked was a more narrative-conducive rules set.

 

[Imaculata]

A friend of mine came up with a great rule for 3rd edition. The idea of skill-books. Basically any book that the players find on their travels, can grant them 1d4 skill points in a particular topic, if they succeed at an intelligence check DC 15. So they might increase your knowledge history, knowledge arcana, knowledge religion, etc. If a player fail the int-check, they can retry it later as often as they like. And once they succeed, they can not learn from that book again, but they can pass it to other player-characters.

 

[Tony Vargas]

13th Age is indeed a D20 system,

Yep, the Archmage Engine is a d20 OGL system. Ironically, only 3.0/3.5 D&D are technically d20, in spite of the horde of d20 retroclones, though, obviously, 4e and 5e use d20 mechanics, they just don't have SRDs like the 3.0 & 3.5 SRDs. So, really, we're looking at D&D and d20 games, combined.

In any case, 13A takes the cake when it comes to cool mechanics you can lift for any d20 game: the escalation die, triggering off the natural d20 result (even/odd, over/under), One Unique Thing, Icon relationships, rallies, full heal-ups, campaign losses, etc...


...oh, and support for TotM, of course.


Edit: 5e has an SRD now, welcome to the d20 family of games.

 

[GMMichael]

I liked the idea of "Hero Points" or whatever it was called...it was a Feat that came from a D&D 3e Sourcebook that you were able to spend once per [some period of time I no longer recall...I think it was once per session] that let you modify a roll in some way. It was the first time I could ever recall an incarnation of D&D where you weren't beholden to a roll, but could affect it in a positive way if it was for something really important.

This ended up appearing as Force Points in Star Wars Saga Edition. I really liked that mechanic.

I'm thinking I first saw this in Eberron 3e. Back then it was just a bonus. Pathfinder picked it up, watered it, and let it bloom into a much more complex creature.

I prefer the first incarnation.

 

[gribble]

I'm a fan of Shadow of the Demon Lord's boons/banes (advantageous/disadvantageous effects). In a nutshell, you compare the number of boons and banes that apply to a roll, and roll a number of d6 equal to the difference. If there were more boons, you add the highest d6 to the d20 roll. If more banes, you subtract the highest.

Seems more elegant and usable than 5e's much less granular advantage/disadvantage. Don't get me wrong, I love the concept of advantage/disadvantage in 5e, it just seems to be such a powerful effect that it isn't used as much as it could be.

 

[Morlock]

I liked the idea of "Hero Points" or whatever it was called...it was a Feat that came from a D&D 3e Sourcebook that you were able to spend once per [some period of time I no longer recall...I think it was once per session] that let you modify a roll in some way. It was the first time I could ever recall an incarnation of D&D where you weren't beholden to a roll, but could affect it in a positive way if it was for something really important.

Fate points and the like are what I usually come up with as a first answer when I'm wondering "how do I get rid of hit points/HP bloat and keep some semblance of previous game balance?" for the thousandth time.

I'm a fan of Shadow of the Demon Lord's boons/banes (advantageous/disadvantageous effects).

Doh! I'm glad the 5e OGL and SRD are out, then; boon/bane is what I was going to use to replace advantage/disadvantage if I published anything.

In a nutshell, you compare the number of boons and banes that apply to a roll, and roll a number of d6 equal to the difference. If there were more boons, you add the highest d6 to the d20 roll. If more banes, you subtract the highest.

Seems more elegant and usable than 5e's much less granular advantage/disadvantage. Don't get me wrong, I love the concept of advantage/disadvantage in 5e, it just seems to be such a powerful effect that it isn't used as much as it could be.

Powerful/less granular, yes. Inelegant, no. Arithmetic is less elegant than choosing the lower or higher die.