X-files: d20 Modern, or d20 Call of Cthulhu?

[Desdichado]

So, which system is better for a game that plays out pretty much the same as the X-files show? It's not exactly cinematic in an action movie sense, but you don't really have folks going insane either.

 

[buzz]

I voted d20M. The deal-killer for me is the lack of insanity (among PCs). If PCs aren't going insane, it just ain't Cthulhu.

Granted, a CoC game started at a higher level would probably fit the bill, but Sculder and Mully are competent enough that I think they'd be more accurately modeled using d20M.

Not that any of this kept Delta Green from being a smash hit as Cthulhu supplements go.

 

[jaerdaph]

Funny you should bring this up. I was watching some X-Files reruns on SciFi last night, and all I could think about was how much Mulder sucks in a fight.

Here's my suggestion: use d20 Modern with the option for "average" player characters in the sidebar found in the GM's chapter, which is essentially the same as saying use d20 CoC sans Sanity rules

 

[buzz]

Funny you should bring this up. I was watching some X-Files reruns on SciFi last night, and all I could think about was how much Mulder sucks in a fight.

True, but we all know d20 games are about more than just fighting.

For me, it's that Mulder and Scully don't seem to flinch when faced with the supernatural or the horrid. Heck, Mulder actively seeks it out. While this could be said of some CoC investigators, they're usually the ones who are on the brink of insanity anyway.

Here's my suggestion: use d20 Modern with the option for "average" player characters in the sidebar found in the GM's chapter, which is essentially the same as saying use d20 CoC sans Sanity rules

I guess it is six-of-one, half-dozen-of-the-other. And, as presented, d20M is geared towards more "action-packed" settings than X-Files.

Still, when I think of Mulder n' Scully, I think of smart/dedicated heroes, not investigators.

 

[jaerdaph]

True, but we all know d20 games are about more than just fighting.

Oh I definitely agree - I was just being my usual silly self

I guess it is six-of-one, half-dozen-of-the-other. And, as presented, d20M is geared towards more "action-packed" settings than X-Files.

On a related note, has anyone actually run a game with either of the two options presented in that sidebar I mentioned - either powered "down" (like in d20 CoC) or powered "up" (D&D-style heroic), relatively speaking, modern characters? So far, I've only used/played the d20 Modern rules as written (in the "middle" of the other two options), but I'd like to experiment with the others, especially the powered "down" option for a modern occult horror style game.

Still, when I think of Mulder n' Scully, I think of smart/dedicated heroes, not investigators.

Me too - Smart and Dedicated, but perhaps with the Investigator AdC.

 

[Dismas]

So, which system is better for a game that plays out pretty much the same as the X-files show? It's not exactly cinematic in an action movie sense, but you don't really have folks going insane either.

I'd use d20 CoC and drop the sanity rules.

 

[Mordane76]

Mulder is actively seeking out the horrible things! If that's not someone who's Sanity is low, then I don't know what is. Scully just has a REALLY good Sanity (going from CoC), and ALWAYS (or almost always) make her rolls to maintain her Sanity.

However, CoC and X-Files are two very different genres. CoC's dedication to the proliferation-of-all-that-is-evil-in-the-world-and-how-it-will-invariably-eat-your-brain-from-the-inside-out motif is a very far cry from "The Truth is Out There." I'm a fence-poster, with more of my butt on the d20 Modern side...

 

[Roland Delacroix]

Spycraft with the Shadowforce Archer expansion.

 

[Desdichado]

Spycraft is right out! James Bond is not an archetype that works with the X-files.

I'm thinking, after reading the replies and thinking about it some more, that either d20 Modern "powered down" (I've never played other than written d20 Modern either) or CoC (but way eased up on the Sanity penalties) probably fits the genre best.

 

[Staffan]

I'd go for Alternity with Dark Matter, but that's just lil' me...