Why so little D20 Modern Support?

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

As far as NPC's go, look in your core book, there's a big list of Ordinaries in there, everything from terrorists to thugs.

"Everything" is a big word, and, as I've already mentioned, they don't have a soldier. Or a military commander. Or a small plane pilot.

 

[Dana_Jorgensen]

Right there is 80 adventures (Well, OK, 60 Adventures) and the line is constantly expanding, with roughly 15 to 30 days between each new release.

As far as NPC's go, look in your core book, there's a big list of Ordinaries in there, everything from terrorists to thugs.

Hmmm... You know, the fact that Alpha was released in July of 2003 and Bravo was released in April 2004, that kind of shoots a broadside of a barn sized hole in your "15-30 days between releases" theory...

And as for the core rules NPC section, where's the variety? They cough up low-, mid- and high-level variant of the same slim handful of Ordinaries. By no means a big list...

 

[Dana_Jorgensen]

Damn, Dana. Calm down. Deep breaths. Deep breaths.

Sorry... it's just that when somebody GOES ONLINE and then starts complaining about game support for a MODERN genre game on WEB-BASED message boards and then turns around and declares hatred for E-BOOKS in pdf format, well, people that backward just rub a raw nerve in entirely the wrong way for me.

 

[Bagpuss]

Sure, there are maybe 10 or 15 print products on the market, but over on RPGnow, they list over 70 PDF products for D20 Modern. I even maintain a D20 modern checklist (including pre-D20 M modern genre D20 products) that has over 100 products on the list.

And that's the problem with that list there is a load of stuff listed that isn't really D20 Modern, and much of that is the hardcopy published stuff.

For example the Crime Scene series by Hogshead isn't D20 Modern, its D20 in a modern setting but it doesn't build on D20 Modern's skill set it instead introduces its own, it doesn't use D20 Modern's base classes and instead introduces its own class system. So that's 4 supposed D20 Modern products that arn't actually readly useable without some conversion work.

The Horizon series is the same (That's minus another 3). X-Crawl, Real Life Roleplay, etc. etc. Most of these don't require D20 Modern and use none of its rules, in fact adapting them to D20 Modern would involve a lot of work. When you strip away all of that there isn't actually anywhere near as many products as your list makes out.

Most of what's on that list isn't immediately of use to someone using D20 Modern without some major alterations. It would be handy if you list actually listed what used the D20 Modern rules, and not there own version of the D20, or at least had a tick box to that effect.

 

[Sir Elton]

I don't hate E-books. I just don't like using Credit Cards to buy them.

 

[The Overlord]

Out of curiosity, can I ask why? Did you try one and get burned? Do you have a personal grudge against Acrobat? Did a PDF kill your family? While it's true there's some awful stuff out there, there's also some stellar work, too.

Well there are a few reasons:

1) I hate the format: Reading on the screen is a pain
2) The product comes in an unusable format- I have to perform another step to make the product usable at the game table
3) Cost- To get the product printed and bound can sometimes cost as much as it does to buy a product from the store.

 

[The Overlord]

Sorry... it's just that when somebody GOES ONLINE and then starts complaining about game support for a MODERN genre game on WEB-BASED message boards and then turns around and declares hatred for E-BOOKS in pdf format, well, people that backward just rub a raw nerve in entirely the wrong way for me.

I am not backward, just hate .pdfs because they are a horriable format. And if you can understand someone has an opinion that differs from yours then I will happily add you to my ignore list as you have nothing of value to add.

 

[Henry]

Dana, that WAS uncalled for. He may have valid reasons for him to not purchase PDF's, but there is no valid reason for the insult.

I do concede the point that someone willingly denouncing PDF's out of hand would be dealing themselves a willing blindness to some top-notch products out there, however. That's where the support is, frankly - in third-party companies who have tons of great ideas, but not the cashflow to do print-runs of their own.

 

[Ralts Bloodthorne]

Hmmm... You know, the fact that Alpha was released in July of 2003 and Bravo was released in April 2004, that kind of shoots a broadside of a barn sized hole in your "15-30 days between releases" theory...

Not to hijack the thread, Dana, but that was due to problems that are no longer an issue, and the problem has been rectified. I'd prefer not to air those things in public, but I will be happy to explain them in email to you. The 15-30 days between releases is the target goal for current and future releases of QuickShots books.


As far as the cost, how is printing it on the printer (the pages you NEED) and putting them in a plastic sheet (Or you can do the old 2E binder format) and then into a binder cost MORE than a print book?

What are you printing them on, Gold?

I own a Lexmark printer (Possibly one of the most expensive to replace cartidges in) and have printed out the following books on 2 ink cartridge refills ($100 at CostCo), put them in plastic page protectors (Box of 500, $15) and in a binder ($6 fo 4 3" binders)
Book of Eldritch Might 1, 2, 3
Darwin's World II books (Metal Gods, Terrors of Twisted Earth, Players Book, GM's Book, downloads and maps available at RPGObjects, Fists of the Wastelands)
Blood & Relics, Blood & Fists, Blood & Guts (And supplements)
Arcane Strife
Crimson Contracts
QuickShots Alpha-Charlie
Various downloads from Wizards
Modern Players Companion 1 & 2
Vossberg SuperMax
Character Sheets
Requiem for a God

So, that's TWENTY ONE books, in my hands, easy to fix or replace if damaged, for rought $150

Go ahead, tell me how much cheaper it is to buy print books.

 

[The Overlord]

Dana, that WAS uncalled for. He may have valid reasons for him to not purchase PDF's, but there is no valid reason for the insult.

I do concede the point that someone willingly denouncing PDF's out of hand would be dealing themselves a willing blindness to some top-notch products out there, however. That's where the support is, frankly - in third-party companies who have tons of great ideas, but not the cashflow to do print-runs of their own.

More likely then not I am going to get rid of D20 Modern and be done with it. I have found another generic system that seems to have more support.