T20 and d20 Future

[Malenfant]

I'm not sure if this should go here or on the Lone Star board... but here goes anyway.

I just picked up D20 Future - the supplement for D20 Modern that covers sci-fi (yes, you do need D20Modern to use it). I must say I'm somewhat impressed by it, it seems to cover pretty much everything (ship design/combat, mecha, robotics, cybernetics, aliens, genetic engineering, space travel) while also tossing out a few campaign ideas too (including the old Alternity Star*Drive setting. It also has the Progress Levels from that game too).

I think it's worth checking out if you're looking for an alternate d20 ruleset to run the Traveller universe with. I think it's easier in some ways than the T20 system, though each ruleset has its own advantages (T20 seems to have more detail but with added complexity, whereas d20F seems to be more versatile but less detailed).

 

[Qstor2]

Do any of the settings in the book adapt well to Traveller?

I'm not much a gearhead. Would the ship stats adapt well too?

Mike

 

[Malenfant]

I'm not a gearhead either , so I dunno. They do break things down into different size ships and there are cruisers, huge cargo haulers, etc. The sample ships they have are all rather blocky looking (but they look kinda realistic), but I guess a Far Trader would be the equivalent of a PL 6 Fast Freighter. I think Traveller itself would be PL 7 maximum.

The ship design sequence is nowhere near as detailed as T20s though, it's more effect-based from what I can see.

As for settings, they have:

Bughunters (aliens, basically)

Dimension X (travel across alternate dimensions, looks suspiciously similar to something I've had on the web for years)

From The Dark Heart Of Space (Event Horizon/Cthulhu/Fading Suns)

Genetech (near future anthropomorphic animal espionage)

Mecha Crusade (Jovian Chronicles, basically)

Star*Drive (probably the closest to Traveller, this was an old Alternity setting)

Star Law (space cops), and

The Wasteland (post-nuclear apocalypse, 70s style. Oh, they have a general section about Mutations too).


So Star*Drive is easily the closest thing to Traveller there.

 

[Colin]

Lots of resources for Star*Drive as a campaign setting are still available, with rpgnow having all the books as pdf downloads. Cheap too, $5.00 a pop (US$, or course).

Colin

 

[Nearside]

from what I've seen of d20 future there are some potential feats and equipment that might translate over.

 

[Malenfant]

Funny thing is, try pointing your browser at http://www.d20future.com and see where that takes you

 

[far-trader]

Now how did Hunter manage that

 

[Psion]

Been that way WAY before D20 Future was announced. Also check out the contents of www.havacola.com

I think the most appealing use would be using the SF/Alternity races as PC-friendly minor races. (Incidentally, MTU's version of Reaver's Deep had a race that was the Vrusk in all but name for years now.)

From what I understand, ship generation is pretty weak.

 

[mike wightman]

Ahem...

...look at post no.6

 

[Morte]

But they haven't got www.perkacola.com

Somebody tell Colin, quick...

 

[Pagan priest]

If you like the T20 starship design system, you will find the so-called system in D20 Future to be either a joke or an insult. It is simplified to the point of being useless.

It is basically take an existing ship type (cruiser, battleship, bulk freighter...) and add a template to modify it, if you really want to change what is there. Don't get me wrong, having a system like this is okay for setting up random encounters on the fly, but it is useless for handcrafting the ship the characters are going to live (and die) in for the rest of the campaign.

 

[Malenfant]

Yeah, the design system in D20F is rather sucky. Particularly where it's basically a case of swapping out something that's fitted to the standard ship for something else, but there's no restrictions on size or power or anything like that - you just change one thing for another.

The star system design is also highly crappy. Makes me wonder why they bothered putting it in.

 

[mike wightman]

I agree with Malenfant. You're better off getting the Alternity Gamesmaster Guide and the free Warships pdf; or, better still, T20

It'll be interesting to see what third parties do with D20 Future though.

 

[Muaadeeb]

Hi there. First time poster new to the forums.

I've read through D20 Future and recently purchased Gurps 4th Ed and a bunch of Gurps Traveller books.

With that in mind I don't have to much personal ship design exp that you all seem to have but I think D20 Future and traveler could work very well together.

I see Traveler at a PL6 rating perhaps mid-way to PL7 (( I am new so please don't grill me if I am wrong!)) What I like about the D20 Future is that it has all of the tech that Gurps Traveller has noted.

On the ships aspect couldn't a player use the standard template in D20 Future for combat and tonnage/storage and then for game play make their own ship floor plans? You could even take the Traveller diagrams and just translate it to D20 Future stats but keep the "feel" that you are craving. With that said I have never done Traveller ship to ship battle so please keep that in mind. As a new player to D20 Future/Gurps/Traveller I like everything I have been reading and I thinking it could go nicely together.

 

[far-trader]

Hi Muaadeeb, and welcome aboard

I'm pretty confident you won't be grilled for anything you say here, we're a right friendly bunch mostly

You have used a term unfamiliar to me though, care to educate an old Traveller what "PL" refers to? I'm guessing it's some kind of level of difficulty to play a game.

 

[Malenfant]

PL = Progress Level. The d20F equivalent of Tech Levels, lifted straight out of the old Alternity game.

 

[Muaadeeb]

Hi thanks!

PL5 = Real World today.
PL6 = Fusion Age (Just acquired Light Speed engines, no jump drives) - (I think Traveller would fit in here but add in Jump Drives.)
PL7+ = Ultra Tech levels for traveler. (Computer AI's, Andriods, nanotech, etc...)


What I envision is that Traveller would be a D20 Future PL6 level with the addition of Jump Drives. I just looked over the books (D20 Future/Gurps Traveller and if we use the Traveller maps a PL6 ship engine would take 4.4 to 8.8 years to travel from 1 parsec to another at crusing speed (non-jump drive).

So add in the advent of the Jump Drive at the PL6 tech level and I think you've got a good conversion system.

What I really like about the D20 Future concept and setting Traveller at the PL6 rating is that you have the ability to grade the tech levels and introduce new items/gear at the game progresses.

Hmmm... ((sorry thinking out loud ...thinking of starting a D20 Future Traveller game also)).

 

[Malenfant]

Of course, I have to wonder why you're using D20Future to run Traveller when there's a purpose-built d20 Traveller game you could use instead that you don't need to convert stuff to...

 

[hunter]

Originally posted by Malenfant:
Of course, I have to wonder why you're using D20Future to run Traveller when there's a purpose-built d20 Traveller game you could use instead that you don't need to convert stuff to...

Well to be fair, T20 doesn't use the d20 Modern rules so maybe GURPS is easier to covert...

*grin*

Hunter

 

[DElrick]

> PL5 = Real World today.
> PL6 = Fusion Age (Just acquired Light Speed
> engines, no jump drives) - (I think Traveller
> would fit in here but add in Jump Drives.)
> PL7+ = Ultra Tech levels for traveler.
> (Computer AI's, Andriods, nanotech, etc...)

In Alternity, general Traveller society equated to PL7, with the Darrians & Ancients at PL8, so it looks as if they haven't copied the PL system exactly (but you have the D20F book and I don't).

Also in Alternity, the starfall drive (or whatever it was called) was close enough to jump drive to use unmodified (from a rules POV anyway) as long as you limited the maximum range.

Cheers

David