What modern??

[duburu]

uhhhh....i have a question..i was just introduce to to d20 modern. yeah i was wondering what is it?

[shadow_archmagi]

uhhhh....i have a question..i was just introduce to to d20 modern. yeah i was wondering what is it?

Apparently you had a lousy introduction if you're still unsure what it is!

As the name suggests, the setting is modern times, and the primary die used is the d20.

[ArqArturo]

Standard D&D: Sword & Spell-wielding Murderhobos wandering the world, plundering tombs, killing kings and defying gods.

D20 Modern: Gun & Magic/Psionics/Cybernetic-wielding Murderhobos wandering the world, plundering tombs, killing mob-bosses, and defying local governments.

Or at least that's my version of it :smallbiggrin:.

[Tvtyrant]

uhhhh....i have a question..i was just introduce to to d20 modern. yeah i was wondering what is it?

It is a mostly free system that allows you to play in the modern world, with a splash of magic and a fair proportion of typical monsters from D&D. D20 modern is distinctive in that it replaces money with wealth checks, classes are all 10 levels long, and it has a defense bonus system that helps some of the game math.

[ArqArturo]

It is a mostly free system that allows you to play in the modern world, with a splash of magic and a fair proportion of typical monsters from D&D. D20 modern is distinctive in that it replaces money with wealth checks, classes are all 10 levels long, and it has a defense bonus system that helps some of the game math.

It was a good system, to be fair. The only downside to it, was the fact that is was (sadly) let go very quietly. There was no announcement (that I know of), no 'this is our last official sourcebook', no Paizo saving the day.

[Larkas]

It was a good system, to be fair. The only downside to it, was the fact that is was (sadly) let go very quietly. There was no announcement (that I know of), no 'this is our last official sourcebook', no Paizo saving the day.

Indeed. It was a very consistent system.

Didn't Star Wars SAGA Edition salvage some of it, though?

[Tvtyrant]

Indeed. It was a very consistent system.

Didn't Star Wars SAGA Edition salvage some of it, though?

I believe so, and SAGA edition is what I really wanted D20 (any of them) to be like anyways. Best rule system they ever came out with IMO.

[Larkas]

I believe so, and SAGA edition is what I really wanted D20 (any of them) to be like anyways. Best rule system they ever came out with IMO.

Indeed, I've heard great things about it. There even was an attempt to "port" SAGA for use in a fantasy-style setting. Let's see if I can dig it up...


Found it (http://gneech.com/swordandsorcery/). Too bad it looks abandoned... It seems like the creator is open to give the stuff (http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?204291-Sword-and-Sorcery-Saga-v-1-02-and-NEW-Adventure-Conversion!/page14&p=4942445&viewfull=1#post4942445) he does have ready for 2.0 to anyone willing to take up the mantle, though.

[T.G. Oskar]

Standard D&D: Sword & Spell-wielding Murderhobos wandering the world, plundering tombs, killing kings and defying gods.

D20 Modern: Gun & Magic/Psionics/Cybernetic-wielding Murderhobos wandering the world, plundering tombs, killing mob-bosses, and defying local governments.

Or at least that's my version of it :smallbiggrin:.

That'd be a very specific vision of what d20 Modern is.

In a nutshell: take the rules of D&D, but replace the setting from "high fantasy" to "modern world". The Core Mechanic is the same (d20 + modifiers vs. Target Number), the character creation format is pretty similar, most of the rules are the same... There are some differences, though.

To explain a bit further, while the game is functionally similar to D&D, the way a character plays is quite different. There's Base Classes, each of which represents one of the six ability scores shared by d20 Modern and D&D: Strong (Strength), Fast (Dexterity), Tough (Constitution), Smart (Intelligence), Dedicated (Wisdom), Charismatic (Charisma). The game is heavy on multiclassing, which is why nearly all classes have 10 levels. In practice, you *should* create any kind of character in a modern world by mixing and matching levels in base classes: anything from a pro athlete to a bouncer to a thug to a politician should be covered with those levels.

In practice...things are different. The game also has "Advanced Classes", which are accessed in the same way a D&D character accesses a Prestige Class, but their abilities are somewhat similar to D&D's Base Classes. They represent a focus within the character: a Strong Hero can be skilled at martial arts, but the Martial Artist is supposed to be the definite expert. Likewise, anyone can wield a gun (and spend its feats to be a very effective gunner), but the Gunslinger is necessary if you wish to further excel in firearm combat.

The way campaigns are defined also differs. The format used by campaigns often result in about two dozen pages, detailing the theme of the game. More often than not, these campaigns are taken from movies and series. For example: the three campaign settings in the Core Rulebook (Shadow Chasers, Agents of PSI and Urban Arcana) involve horror (a la Buffy the Vampire Slayer), espionage with psionics (think the conspiracies related to MK-ULTRA, with a dash of 007 movies and The X-Files) and "D&D meets Modern World". You should be capable of taking any action flick and make it a campaign, or at least heavily draw from them. This differs from D&D, where "Campaign Setting" involves a new world with new rules; some books (namely, d20 Future) can allow you to make other worlds, but with Earth as a hub of sorts.

Because of this, the general assumption is that stuff like magic, psionics or monsters doesn't exist. Chances are they might, but that depends on the GM and the campaign it wishes to play. A GM that's a fan of war movies may attempt a campaign heavily inspired in, say, Apocalypse Now and Full Metal Jacket, and another may use the same campaign but heavily ramp up the supernatural elements (shell-shocked soldiers and one or two civilians suddenly face dragons, aliens and eldritch horrors!). Because of this, rather than explain the game in terms of the typical campaign, it's best to explain what it allows you to do.

Another short way to explain it would be "a Generic Modern setting that uses most D&D rules". You could make it a clone of D&D (and thus, Urban Arcana and the book that comes with it, which are both available free as part of the Modern SRD) but in the modern world, and either strip elements (characters don't use magic but still fight monsters, which comprises Shadow Chasers, or only the PCs and some NPCs can use that, which would make it closer to a superhero campaign) or add elements (think D&D, but all of a sudden the Yautja of the Predator movies faces off a Xenomorph from the Alien series and you suddenly have a Human, a Dwarf, an Elf and a Halfling in outer space!) to your taste. Yet, every time you play it, it'll play very similarly.

It's a big change from D&D or Pathfinder, considering it has a lower power level than those games. Even magic-users and manifesters can't pull off all the tricks they can in D&D, and depending how many rules you can add, mundanes can fight back (most likely if you add cybernetics, which still counts as mundane; just higher-tech, but still mundane). While it has some content, it's less content than the wealth of 3.5 content or even Pathfinder content, and the rules are somewhere in between the 3.0 rules and the 3.5 rules. It's modular, so you could adapt some content from any of the two games if you desire.

I'd recommend looking at this website (http://www.d20resources.com/index.php) for more details about playing the game. It contains all of the Modern SRD content in the same way the Hypertext d20 SRD contains all D&D 3.5 SRD content and both the PRD and the d20 PF SRD contains all Pathfinder Core content.

[Larkas]

It's a big change from D&D or Pathfinder, considering it has a lower power level than those games. Even magic-users and manifesters can't pull off all the tricks they can in D&D, and depending how many rules you can add, mundanes can fight back (most likely if you add cybernetics, which still counts as mundane; just higher-tech, but still mundane). While it has some content, it's less content than the wealth of 3.5 content or even Pathfinder content, and the rules are somewhere in between the 3.0 rules and the 3.5 rules. It's modular, so you could adapt some content from any of the two games if you desire.

That's actually what I feel is most interesting in the system. It's somewhat like "D&D meets GURPS" done right. And it gets me thinking: if I can build from this system up, surely I can strip D&D/PF down and still keep it playable, right? What is essential, and what is accessory? What boring/broken stuff can I take away and still net a more fun/consistent game?

[ArqArturo]

Actually, there is an adaptation of D20 Modern to Pathfinder (http://www.d20modernpf.com/).

[Ravens_cry]

I've played d20 Modern, and it's pretty enjoyable, though it carries quite a bit of baggage from its D&D roots.
Still, it has the most awesome magic item ever: Duct Tape of Repair.
Duct Tape.
Of Repair.
Actually, I am pretty sure it's just duct tape.:smallbiggrin: