RE: [WW] Re: A New System and Goodbye to D20

["Robbie Corbett" <robbie@duotronics.com>]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-weirdwars@gamerz.net 
> [mailto:owner-weirdwars@gamerz.net] On Behalf Of Grand Master 
> Nilus of the Dark Angel Chapter
> Sent: 22 April 2002 14:53
> To: weirdwars@gamerz.net
> Subject: Re: [WW] Re: A New System and Goodbye to D20
> 
> 
> > > 2) The System: I don't hate D20, but neither am I its 
> greatest fan.
> >
> >Nor am I. In fact I prefer a d100 system as per RuneQuest or Call of 
> >Cthulhu. Unfortunately there are really only two successful 
> mainstream 
> >generic systems: d20 and GURPS. We would not have bought 
> Weird War II 
> >had it NOT been d20!
> >
>
> Actually I believe you should say "I would not have bought 
> Weird War II had it NOT been d20!" or "I and the people I 
> know would not have bought 
> Weird War II had it NOT been d20!".

Thanks for telling me what I should have written. Actually you are right
- hope you weren't the only one to spot it - I was referring to MY
group, not the world at large.
 
> I personally bought it because 1) I'm a rapid PEG fan.  2) I 
> wanted a Horror 
> WWII RPG(Godlike is a Superhero game, and I could use Gurps 
> WWII, but then I 
> would probably also need GURPS horror and a host of other 
> gurps books. Plus 
> I dislike the GURPS System(Great books to use as Generic source books 
> though).

But GURPS does attempt to be truly universal and GURPS WWII is pretty
darn good. I'd suggest that you only really 'need' GURPS Horror and any
of the other add-ons that Steve Jackson Games will be releasing for
GURPS WWII - assuming they take your fancy?

> The problem is D20 isn't a universal system.  Its D&D.  It 
> works best for 
> Cinematic Sword and Sorcery.  The Fact that WOTC/Hasbro is 
> trying to sell it 
> as Universal is ludicrouse.

I agree to a point that trying to convert a fantasy system to modern
combat is fraught with potential problems, but I think that it works
quite well myself. Call of Cthulhu d20, for example, seems to deal with
it very well IMO.

<snippage>

> I think the point is that PEG wanted a realistic Combat game. 
>  But since the 
> market wanted D20,  They figured they'd try that.

I agree.

> And D20 is not Cinematic.  

I think you said that you thought that it worked best for "Cinematic
Sword and Sorcery", thus suggesting that you thought it was cinematic?
Easy to make a symantic error isn't it :-)

I'm not trying to be arsy, honest, I agree that it was aimed at fantasy
role-play; but I that does not mean to say that you can't have *fun*
with d20 in a modern setting.

> Cinematic systems offer way more 
> options for 
> attacking and defending, reward characters for cool stunts, 
> and generally 
> move a lot quicker(mook rules).  The only thing Cinematic 
> about D20 is the 
> fact that it takes tons of hits to kill a character...but 
> since it also 
> takes several hits to kill most Monster/NPC its not really cinematic.

The d20 Call of Cthulhu approach suggests that when a character takes 10
HPs of damage they must make a fortitude save or die . . . pretty nasty.

> If you want a Cinematic RPG.  Try Feng Shui.  D20 just has a  
> archaic  
> Damage System. D20 modern is suppose to fix this a bit.  We 
> will have to see 
> what it actually does.

I don't like Feng Shui myself. And I don't truly want a total suspension
of disbelief, but we like the cinematic approach as per, say . . . the
Star Wars or Lethal Weapon movies.

> >I suspect that we won't be using your new system - since we can't be 
> >bothered to learn yet ANOTHER new system.
> >
> The least you can do is download the free rules and look at 
> it though.  

I promise you I will. But to repeat: we (MY GROUP OF ROLEPLAYERS - I'M
NOT SUGGESTING EVERYONE WHO BOUGHT WEIRD WARS OR SUBSCRIBES TO THIS
LIST) do not relish the idea of 'yet another' system, so it's not that
likely we will run with it. 

> Maybe you will be suprised at how much easier it is.  Hell 
> its free, so what 
> do you have to lose.

Absolutely nothing. :-) In the same way that once you've got d20 under
your belt you've got nothing to lose trying out any of the other
d20-based products on the market.

Robbie