I've got those Futuristic blues... d20 Future, that is.

[Aribar]

I roleplay with a group of people on IRC (internet chatting thing). Typically, I'm in the role of the player, but sometimes I'm the DM (For some reason they think I'm competent), such as some of them are requesting right now. A while ago we talked about me making a d20 Future (Or some sort of futuristic) game to get out of the 'ye olde middle ages' of D&D. Coincidentally, my crappy DMing skills are ONLY used to the 'ye olde middle ages' style...

I've thought and thought about how to host such a game, but I haven't really thought of anything good. I'm pretty much oblivious on how to create a futuristic world. I can't even really think what the futuristic counterpart of the 'rats in the tavern celler' quest would be like! It seems a bit too mundane to work with...

I don't have the d20 Modern/Future rulebooks (and I can't really buy them right now...) but thankfully I think we were all looking at the SRD on Wizard's site when we talked about the idea. There's also the slightly different route of playing a d20 Star Wars game since I actually DO own that rulebook, but I don't know if there are rules on the internet for the others to look at... Plus (*prepares to be killed by SW fans*) I know little about the Star Wars universe... I haven't even watched all the films the entire way through!

The only other thing I could think of was to adapt the rules to futuristic settings that I'm familiar with... This would mean looking at futuristic video games I've played. Phantasy Star instantly came to mind, but one person in said group mentioned at the beginning already has a game based around that. I don't really want to barge in on his territory. Besides that I think the most futuristic game I've played was Star Fox on the SNES... That would be interesting, but once again I know little of the, ah, plot/background of the games. Oh, and the Jak and Daxter series and Ratchet & Clank series... Those would be interesting to convert to a d20 format, but I'm not particularly sure what I would do for plot!

Yeah. I'm pretty hopeless as a DM, heh. Can anyone think of some tips for hosting a d20 Future game, or at the very list some interesting futuristic games that I could 'steal' a setting from? Thanks for your time.

[Dhavaer]

Deus Ex is always a reasonable place to steal from, but it's more cyberpunk than space opera, if that's an issue.

[Starsinger]

Advent Rising is a good one, which could be adapted to d20 future, but it has psionics, so if you don't want to use them... There's always Halo, depending on how much inspiration you want/need.

[Maxymiuk]

If you can get your hands on it, I heartily recommend the Fading Suns setting. That one has space opera coming out the wazoo. As an added bonus, it exist both as its own ruleset, and as a d20 conversion, so if your gaming group is the conservative type, they shouldn't have too much trouble learning it.

[Kioran]

I´ve dabbled a lot in Homebrewing, essentially creating my own Setting plus two complete RPSes (one of which sucked to due overcomplication and the other was a tad to simple). If you want some very simple, fun gaming that requires little creativity, I can recommend you use the basic scenario one of my buddies came up with for the simple game:

Have one side of Rebels fight against an army of evil Robots who enslave the populace of the former empire, with the rebels led by survivors of the old empires military, but mostly composed of newer, young characters who have never lived in this old empire. Place the rebels on a fleet of starships or a hidden Space Station/fortress(heck, you can even have the names and specs we used if ya want) and let them sortie out to the surface on a short raid against a supply depot/comm station/whatever.
One of the main reasons it worked so well was that the party is interchangeable - since they all "fight the good fight" you can order the PCs of whatever player is present to embark on this mission.

I´m aware this is a little crude and detracts from the variety of possible Chars/encounters, it is, however, quite nice if you just want to lump something together........

I can even give you d20-Stats for our staple enemies.......

[Rakeesh]

For a very basic, easily plothooked campaign idea: your adventuring party is a group of bounty hunters. Hey, it's Future, humanity has (possibly) spread through dozens and dozens of planets, and sometimes the guvmint just can't keep up with the bad'uns.

[Machete]

Both Cowboy Bebop and Outlaw Star are what I'd consider excellent sources to borrow from. The first one having only a bit of divination magic (which is hard to sort out among the frauds anyways) and the second having more >BOOM< to its magic like Conjuration and Abjuration on a limited number of uses scale. I'm playing in a Shatterzone campaign right now, and the rules were fairly easy to learn but I believe it is out of priint.

[Viscount Einstrauss]

I played a Gundam inspired d20 Future game once. It was awesome.

[blackout]

I have an absolute custom-made setting all set. I was hoping to break it out for my group's next campaign. If you want, I could send you the details via PM. :)

[Closet_Skeleton]

If you're planing on using d20 Future check out WotC's d20 Future board for houserules since there are a lot of problems with it by RAW.

[Aribar]

Bleh... I had a post typed out, and then I accidentally closed the internet.. In the interest of laziness:

Dhavaer, Starsinger, Maxymiuk, Machete, Einstrauss: Thanks for the advice with the settings. I'll have to look into them.

Blackout: Thanks for offering your campaign, but by the time I get done procrastinating and actually start the game your group will be beating the BBEG! Heh... I don't want to be too much of a bother.

Kioran and Rakeesh: Thanks for the adventure ideas. The bounty hunter idea is nice because it can last until I'm comfortable enough to actually make a plot.

Closet Skeleton: Thanks for the warning.

[Knight_Of_Twilight]

I played a Gundam inspired d20 Future game once. It was awesome.

You have to tell my players this. I've been trying to get them to let me run one for ages!

Except, mine is a bit more like Super Robot Wars Original Generation...

[Lugat]

I plan on running a D20 modern campaign soon which may not be what you are looking for but I think it can give you some ideas:

- Alternate realities rock. I plan on introducing another dimenson quite soon. This can also be used to introduce some "magic" and DnD stuff or as an alternative to Urban Arcana's Shadow

- Best Sci Fi stuff is horror if you ask me. Lock them up in a large space craft (dimesions etc up to you), give them only the most basic provisions and look how well they fare :D

- Time travel is fun too, and it helps to get you back into your "familiar" basic fantasy setting (I would use this only as a short time solution though)

- Players stranded on an unexplored planet make good food for dinosaurs :)

[blackout]

Blackout: Thanks for offering your campaign, but by the time I get done procrastinating and actually start the game your group will be beating the BBEG! Heh... I don't want to be too much of a bother.

.

That's just it! With my campaign, there IS no BBEG! Make up your own, some pirate commander who wants to gather up all the criminals he can find and start a war, or, maybe some law-enforcement officer who's taxing people relentlessly for 'disturbing the peace.' The possibilities are(almost) endless!

[Diggorian]

*taking a deep breath, lowers the lightsaber from Aribar's neck*

Aribar you could always take your old D&D adventures, change the descriptions and settings to sci-fi versions, and rerun them. Rats in the tavern cellar = gundarks in the space station air ducts. What's the difference between goblins and a savage race of reptile pygmies from a wild world; answer: how you describe them.

[blackout]

....What are Gundarks?

[Diggorian]

Gundarks are four armed reptilian primates with large ears native to the Star Wars galaxy. In the sickbay of the Rebel base on hoth, Han comments on Luke restored health by saying "You look strong enough to pull the ears off a gundark".

Actually mynocks, the bat-things chewing on the power cables of the Falcon in the space worm, are more equivalent to rats in the tavern cellar.

[blackout]

Yeah, I assumed you would change your mind eventually.

Mynock=rat.
Gundark=Dwarf...or something.

[Diggorian]

More like Gundark = dire ape with higher natural armor and improved grapple

Still, this redressing would be the eaiest way for Aribar to ease into unfamilair territory IMHO.

[blackout]

Well, I've sent him some details on my campaign setting, some basic runs for the party he's gaming with, the ships, guns, races, and so on...now all I need is a name for the damn thing.

And status reports regarding how his team does with the campaign.

[Diggorian]

Very generous of you, Blackout. *golf clap*