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<blockquote data-quote="mmadsen" data-source="post: 183640" data-attributes="member: 1645">The recent release of d20 Call of Cthulhu demonstrates that the d20 mechanics can handle a genre beyond high fantasy (or its cousin, space opera).&nbsp; There are still some mechanics that don't quite carry over well (e.g. one hit die per level), but the workarounds aren't too ugly.Anyway, it seems we can learn a lot about D&amp;D, or how to vary our D&amp;D games, from d20 Call of Cthulhu:<ul>
<li data-xf-list-type="ul">Finding out that something is out there, learning what it is, and learning how to defeat it can be as much fun as (or more fun than) just killing it.</li>
<li data-xf-list-type="ul">Not all encounters have to be combat encounters, and the combat encounters don't have to match the party perfectly.&nbsp; In CoC, this can get taken to an extreme (1st-level Investigators vs. Cthulhu), but I suspect it works better (and creates more tension) if the PCs have a chance.&nbsp; Maybe a single Troll is stalking the party (or the party's &quot;red shirt&quot; spear-carriers), eating them one by one.</li>
<li data-xf-list-type="ul">Power is fun, but Power at a Price is more interesting.&nbsp; Again, CoC seems to take this to something of an extreme, with Mythos Tomes blasting the Sanity of any who dare to read them, but offering the party power that they're not quite sure they want to use adds drama.&nbsp; For instance, the party might ally themselves with neutral monsters against a terrible foe, but their allies demand something of them.</li>
<li data-xf-list-type="ul">Secrets make great &quot;treasure&quot;.&nbsp; Learning what the heck is going on can be a reward in itself.</li>
<li data-xf-list-type="ul">Normal folk make fun adventurers.&nbsp; It's easy to identify with a guy who isn't Conan -- and if he later evolves into Conan, that transformation can be quite fulfilling.</li>
</ul></blockquote>

[QUOTE="mmadsen, post: 183640, member: 1645"] The recent release of d20 Call of Cthulhu demonstrates that the d20 mechanics can handle a genre beyond high fantasy (or its cousin, space opera). There are still some mechanics that don't quite carry over well (e.g. one hit die per level), but the workarounds aren't too ugly. Anyway, it seems we can learn a lot about D&D, or how to vary our D&D games, from d20 Call of Cthulhu: [List] [*]Finding out that [i]something[/i] is out there, learning what it is, and learning how to defeat it can be as much fun as (or more fun than) just killing it. [*]Not all encounters have to be combat encounters, and the combat encounters don't have to match the party perfectly. In CoC, this can get taken to an extreme (1st-level Investigators vs. Cthulhu), but I suspect it works better (and creates more tension) if the PCs have a chance. Maybe a single Troll is stalking the party (or the party's "red shirt" spear-carriers), eating them one by one. [*]Power is fun, but Power at a Price is more interesting. Again, CoC seems to take this to something of an extreme, with Mythos Tomes blasting the Sanity of any who dare to read them, but offering the party power that they're not quite sure they want to use adds drama. For instance, the party might ally themselves with neutral monsters against a terrible foe, but their allies demand something of them. [*]Secrets make great "treasure". Learning what the heck is going on can be a reward in itself. [*]Normal folk make fun adventurers. It's easy to identify with a guy who isn't Conan -- and if he later evolves into Conan, that transformation can be quite fulfilling. [/List] [/QUOTE]

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