Which game would you use?

[mistergone]

Okay, I figure this is an okay place to ask this. If not, the august moderators will surely wrangle it to it's proper place.

I'm looking to run a game that is like a modern horror action saga. Like say, The Matrix with supernatural instead of sci-fi. I mean, it's gonna have everything, from kung-fu werewolves to gunblazing demigods. Ancient secret orders lead by impossibly unspeakable and powerful beings battling superpsychics, genetically altered ninjas, crazed cultists, and fallen angels. I want to be able to throw any and everything I think of in there. And to be able to do that without much work. Basically, I need a game that can do it all.

I figure my best bet is to go the D20 route, as most people know the basics of that system, so it would be easier to get them into it. Also, I want as little background setting as possible, because I'm not gonna use any of it anyways, I'm doing my own thing. I need options though. Lots and lots of options. Right now, I'm seeing my choices as these:

D20 Modern

Spycraft

What else is there? Anything? I have Mutants & Masterminds, and while I think it is the best execution of the OGL so far, and it COULD do what I want, it's really entrenched in the superhero imagery, and I'd really rather run a straight supers game if I was gonna use those rules.

 

[Psychotic Jim]

You could go with d20 modern. The base classes are extremely generic, and there is a wide variety of advanced classes (like prestige classes but w/ less prerequisites and play a more integral, slightly different role than prestige classes). Different advanced classes defines the genre, so you could just allow multiple advanced classes- in the book they have martial aritst, soldier, movie/rock star (called the "personality"), techie, medical doctor, and even occultist, mage and psychic (with magic and psionics ala D&D with slight modifications and slower progression). Many monsters from D&D are put into this book as well. Converting resources from D&D shouldn't be that difficult. They don't have stats for super-futuristic weapons and technology in the d20 modern base book but the other day at the bookstore I saw Ultramodern Firearms which is compatible, which seems to have gotten consistently good reviews at the EN World d20 reviews page.

If you want super high-tech, high-fantasy space fantasy (not Spelljammer and its crystal sphere and philogistion (sp?)), Dragonstar is very impressive. It uses D&D and not D20 modern as a base, but has stats for spaceships and future tech, as well as some new base classes like the engineer and pilot, as well as some interesting combinations of magic and tech. One new race is the soul-mech, a robotic construct implanted with the soul and consciousness of a person (human or not). The Dragon Empire is a great, expansive realm of many worlds ruled by a dragon council (similar to Council of Worms) and is a good setting, especially the principle of "active morality"- judging a person on how they act rather than their traditional D&D alignment- which still exists. Though you could probably just scrap those elements fairly easily- there's not that much fluff/world info in the Star-Farer's Handbook. Everything in standard D&D could possibly exist in Dragonstar as well.

Four Colors to Fantasy, which I have only heard about, could be added for super-hero flavor since it relies on the D&D system as well.

 

[Kenpo Wolf]

This is all a matter opinion. Since you have the M&M book, I woud use that because it's not limited just to the super heroes genre. Of the other two books you mention I prefer Spycraft but it sounds like you're looking for Modern and it's upcoming supplement, Urban Arcanna

 

[Gospog]

MisterGone,

I think D20 Modern is broad enough to cover just about everything you listed. And using D20 lets you steal from other D20 games with relative ease.

So, any chance of getting some more details of what you're running? It sounds absolutely crazy...and totally fun!

Goos luck to you.

 

[mistergone]

So, any chance of getting some more details of what you're running? It sounds absolutely crazy...and totally fun!

Well, I've been having a lot of ideas lately about different campaigns I want to run. A LOT of ideas, but I am really really having a hard time deciding on which one I am most "in to" right now. I kept waffling back and forth. I know that I won't be able to scrounge up enough players or energy to run multiple games. So, I figured I might be able to smash all my current ideas together, specifically, modern horror and superheroes, but with a leaning towards the supernatural rather than capes and spandex. There's more to my reasoning than that, but that's the gist of the method to my madness. I used to run a pretty involved World of Darkness game back when, but it was too entrenched in and tied down by the trappings of that setting. So not too long ago, I figured out a plot for a "modern supernatural action" game.

It assumes that all of the classical supernatural conventions are possible, and most likely actual. So, vampires, werewolves, magic, zombies, secret cults, ghosts, monsters, immortals, everything exists in one form or another in the world. But there's no overarching cosmic reason for them, no great all powerful being guiding them or playing them against each other. No Technocracy or Pentex or Caine, or common origin for all of them. Basically, the key to power is up for grabs. Yet the supernatural world still is hidden from the common man, it's unknown to most everyone but those few who somehow can know it exists. I guess it's the World of Darkness without all the bullsh*t.

The first act would be about the characters discovering the supernatural world around them, building to an event that lets them see "how deep the rabbit hole goes". The next act would explore the characters dealing with this knowledge and it's consequences. And Mister, they deal in lead. That would lead up to discovering that some force is trying to make a bid for power. Wicked evil power. The third act would involve the characters deciding how to deal with, and then actually dealing with this force. At the end of the third act, however they deal with the power-seeker, they gain a larger picture of the world of the supernatural and their place in it. What happens from there, I'm not sure. The characters would start as at least apparently human, but with unusal quirks, and would evolve into supernatural beings themselves over time. The way I sort of see it, the game would have a beginning, middle, and end... though it might be able to continue after that, depending. Oh yeah.. heh, I forgot to mention, in the beginning, I didn't want it to be clear just how weird things would get, I mean, I wouldn't want even the players to know.

So that's why I need a ruleset that is wide open for just about anything. Because just about anything could happen. The problem I have with WoD is, like I said, it's too entangled with itself. I don't want to go throug ha strip out all the setting specific crap. Their werewolf is not how my werewolves will be etc...

 

[Gospog]

That does sound like fun!

If you want to see how other people (authors) address this sort of setting , check out Mike Mignola's Hellboy comics or the Necrosope series by Brian Lumley.

Both contain organizations that investigate the paranormal, which never seems to come from just one source.

Of course, a paranormal investigating team would know what they're getting into (sort of) and it sounds like your players will be starting "blind", but both series are excellent in thier own right.

Good luck with your game. It sounds like your players are in for a good time!

 

[Desdichado]

I'd use d20 Modern, but it really depends on how you want to develop that setting. d20 Modern isn't very Matrix-like, for instance. If you want your PCs to be super-heroic in their action, then d20 Modern may not be your game at all. If anything, it's toned down from D&D in that regard.

 

[mistergone]

I was looking at some Feng Shui stuff, and while it seems really close to how I want at least the combat to "feel" and it has a few other elements, unfortunately, it's also very moored in it's setting, and again, I just ain't gonna buy a whole book for a few elements.

Hm, D20 not so cinematic, eh? That's too bad. Hm.. more to think about....

 

[malladin]

We've been playing Feng Shui now for years without even considering the setting. It was only when I wanted to play a victorian masked avenger that we had to start thinking about it. But even then, I moved the character forward to the modern juncture for 3 or 4 sessions of fairly generic modern cinematic stuff until I got o bring the others back into my world. Some of the classes in Feng Shui are locked into the setting (monster hunter, sorcerer, etc) but others are not and I beleive it would be quite easy to use Feng Shui for you described purposes.

cheerio,

Ben

 

[Bagpuss]

I was looking at some Feng Shui stuff, and while it seems really close to how I want at least the combat to "feel" and it has a few other elements, unfortunately, it's also very moored in it's setting, and again, I just ain't gonna buy a whole book for a few elements.

Hm, D20 not so cinematic, eh? That's too bad. Hm.. more to think about....

You can very easily remove Feng Shui rules from the setting, Certainly the modern era characters initially have no ties to the netherworld and time-travelling aspects of setting.

I don't see how you can say Feng Shui is moored in its setting, the combat and skills, martial arts and magic can all be used without any ties to the setting.