[DL] Re: No D20 for Deadlands

["John Goff" <johngoff@cavtel.net>]

> I finally looked at 3rd ed D&D.  And then I saw it applied to Star Wars.
And
> all I have to say is in regards to DL d20: NOT JUST NO BUT HELL NO!!!  A
> level based system for Deadlands?  With classes?  Woo-hoo!!! I'm a 23rd
level
> Pony Express Rider.  A level/class system was old when second ed D&D hit
the
> shelves.  It doesn't translate well into a non-fantasy setting.  Deadlands
is
> a dark, deadly little game.  You don't just keep getting shot until you
fall
> down.  No hit points, vitality points or any other kind of point.  Five
> wounds and out.

Speaking unofficially now, I can say I was actually pretty syked about the
D20 conversion (which is a good thing since I was supposed to do it at the
time <g>).

I don't think most die-hard fans would have found it as offensive as they
might suspect, either. We were well aware of the D&D quirks going into it
and had brainstormed a number of not-too-creative ways around them.

(BTW, I'm not overly impressed by D&D 3 system-wise. The more I delve into
it, the clunkier and less consistent it seems to me. Today, I found the
"percent chance to miss" rules for concealment, which mean that when facing
_really_ powerful opponents like ancient dragons and the like, your
character is probably better hiding in a bush than behind a castle wall. I'm
not kidding...)

That said, it would have been level and class-based, to make it as little of
a leap as possible. Hit points would have been there, but in a static form
or marginally increasing at best--IOW, you get X to start with and they
either stay the same regardless of level or they increase at a rate of 1 or
max of 2 per level--no Con bonus. With a decent critical multiplier, a gun
could still easily be fatal on a lucky shot. (Let's be honest--how many DL
characters are really afraid of a single shot from a Peacemaker right now,
anyway? ;-)

Classes would have been much broader than Pony Express Rider, along the
lines of Gunslinger, Huckster, Maverick (shysters, gamblers, saloon girls),
Blessed, Shaman, Brave, Scout, Spy (Agency operative, military spy, etc.)
Mad Scientist/Inventor, and so on. Feats would then tweak each class to
fine-tuning--for example: a Law Dog Feat, which then could be built on to
increase authority (raise a posse, State jurisdiction, etc.).

While we wanted to keep it as close to D&D as possible, we also wanted to
provide some diversity in character types--without whipping out a character
type for each archetype in the books.

I think it would have worked. It may still, depending on the D20 STL ever
getting approved...

Here's to hopin'!

John Goff