T20 News

[Neo]

1) How many of you play video games?

yup

2) How much do you spend per video game?

about £25-£40 dependant upon the platform (i.e PC or console)

3) How long does that game last after you
beat it? (Replay value)

Well i only tend to buy RPG's and Strat games some for me Replay value is always high

4) How often do you know 90% sure the game has
no or few bugs and that it plays like you
think it will?

well for console games it tends to be 90% certain they don't, for PC games it tends to be 90% certain they do....and more often than not because of hardware incompatabilities. Regarding gameplay being as expected well for computer games i almost always try it out first, check the reviews from various sources and so forth.

I tend to take far more for granted where RPG's are concerned.but for T20 i was a playtester so i'll get a complimentary copy anyway, but even if i wewren't i'd have still bought it simply because a) it's Traveller b) it's D20 and c) the previews and feedback so far that would have been available to me had i not been a playtester show the game to be very promising.

Also i like the notion of BIG books, they may be pricey but in the long run save you money,and time... as you don't have to wait for extra sourcebooks to be released, you have all the necessary in the one place so no switching back and forth between books every few minutes during play..and so on

 

[NDS]

Originally posted by aramis:
As a GM, I found it easy to run, and suffering only from a few trivial issues, issues which were not corrected solely for D20 system compatibility.

aramis,

From what I've heard I agree with Hunter's reasoning to maintain D20 compatibility. I am curious however to know what small changes you would make if running a T20 game.

Thanks

 

[aramis]

Originally posted by NDS:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by aramis:
As a GM, I found it easy to run, and suffering only from a few trivial issues, issues which were not corrected solely for D20 system compatibility.

aramis,

From what I've heard I agree with Hunter's reasoning to maintain D20 compatibility. I am curious however to know what small changes you would make if running a T20 game.

Thanks</font>[/QUOTE]1) Progressive skill cost increase (1st 5 ranks normal cost; next 5 double cost, next 5 triple cost, etc. This will cure the probllem of 12-15th level characters having +22-+30 skill totals

2) change ranged weapon range band from -2 to -1

3) remove Armor from AC

 

[Reginald]

Hmm. Only just now I've noticed on your price comparison chart.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't you have to take the D&D Player's Handbook into account since The Traveller's Handbook does require the aformentioned product? I mean if you compare this with other product that also require the Player's Handbook then it would be fair.

But with standalone products, such as Star Wars RCR and maybe Star Trek RPG Guides, wouldn't the inclusion of the Player's Handbook with The Traveller's Handbook change the price per page?

 

[Smiling DM]

Originally posted by Reginald:
Hmm. Only just now I've noticed on your price comparison chart.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't you have to take the D&D Player's Handbook into account since The Traveller's Handbook does require the aformentioned product? I mean if you compare this with other product that also require the Player's Handbook then it would be fair.

But with standalone products, such as Star Wars RCR and maybe Star Trek RPG Guides, wouldn't the inclusion of the Player's Handbook with The Traveller's Handbook change the price per page?

Good question, but an earlier post provided all of the info you need from the PHB (basically character creation and level progression) to run with the T20 book, so adding in the PHB cost would be somewhat unfair. Unless you were to also add the cost of those other games' future supllements for special equipment, vehicles, and vehicle design (which is rumored to already be in T20 - I'm not a playtester so I will wait for someone who is to either back me up or shoot me down

.

Also, just saw the Judge Dredd D20 supllement at my FLGS - cover price of $39.95 - and it looked thin (sorry I didn't get the page count - I didn't buy). Fodder for yet another price comparison.

 

[Smiling DM]

Originally posted by aramis:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by NDS:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by aramis:
As a GM, I found it easy to run, and suffering only from a few trivial issues, issues which were not corrected solely for D20 system compatibility.

aramis,

From what I've heard I agree with Hunter's reasoning to maintain D20 compatibility. I am curious however to know what small changes you would make if running a T20 game.

Thanks</font>[/QUOTE]1) Progressive skill cost increase (1st 5 ranks normal cost; next 5 double cost, next 5 triple cost, etc. This will cure the probllem of 12-15th level characters having +22-+30 skill totals

2) change ranged weapon range band from -2 to -1

3) remove Armor from AC</font>[/QUOTE]These look reasonable. Another change I'd suggest (just from running D20 in a fantasy game):

4) Apply a penalty for lack of proficiency with a skill (i.e. character has purchased no ranks). I prefer skill-based games, and while I like D20 in general, I still feel that skills aren't as important as they should be - especially when applied to a sci-fi genre.

Right now, a super intelligent character (Int=18) can be just as good at an Int-based skill as an average person (IQ=10) who has spent his/her few skill points to attain 4 ranks in it. In my games, I usually add 5 to the DC of the task if the PC has purchased 0 ranks in the skill. Thus while they can attempt the task, there is no way they can be as successful as someone who has purchased the skill. I find this forces my players to distribute their various skill points onto a breadth of skills (which keeps them from having lots of obnoxious skill levels at high level) It also makes the specialists look really good at their specialty (usually each PC has one or two skills at those >+20 levels - this makes the game more fun for the player - few people want to see their characters core capabilities as just mediocre).

 

[Simon Jester]

Originally posted by Smiling DM:
(snip)
4) Apply a penalty for lack of proficiency with a skill (i.e. character has purchased no ranks). I prefer skill-based games, and while I like D20 in general, I still feel that skills aren't as important as they should be - especially when applied to a sci-fi genre.

Right now, a super intelligent character (Int=18) can be just as good at an Int-based skill as an average person (IQ=10) who has spent his/her few skill points to attain 4 ranks in it. In my games, I usually add 5 to the DC of the task if the PC has purchased 0 ranks in the skill. Thus while they can attempt the task, there is no way they can be as successful as someone who has purchased the skill. I find this forces my players to distribute their various skill points onto a breadth of skills (which keeps them from having lots of obnoxious skill levels at high level) It also makes the specialists look really good at their specialty (usually each PC has one or two skills at those >+20 levels - this makes the game more fun for the player - few people want to see their characters core capabilities as just mediocre).[/QB]

The penalty I impose is that a someone that doesn't have at least one rank in the skill they're trying to use cannot "take 10" or "take 20" to try to gain a success. They've always got to make a roll. If they are trying the roll in a stressful situation, their Attribute modifier is halved, rounded down. Those with negative modifiers have them doubled. Of course I also tend to give out extra skill points for good roleplaying of skill, good use of skills in unusual ways, etc. (but not just for good "roll" playing).

Simon Jester

 

[Psion]

Originally posted by Smiling DM:
Right now, a super intelligent character (Int=18) can be just as good at an Int-based skill as an average person (IQ=10) who has spent his/her few skill points to attain 4 ranks in it. In my games, I usually add 5 to the DC of the task if the PC has purchased 0 ranks in the skill.

In my d20 games (i.e., D&D right now) I do that dependant upon the task. Some tasks require some basic familiarity, others are just an extention of natural talent and don't deserve a "non-proficiency penalty (for example... seeing how far you can jump.)

 

[Psion]

Originally posted by Reginald:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't you have to take the D&D Player's Handbook into account since The Traveller's Handbook does require the aformentioned product?

Well, since I already own said product (and judging by the popularity of d20, I am hardly alone), factoring that in would be just as wrong or more wrong, than the price of the book alone.

 

[Takei]

I'm away for a three week holiday and suddenly there's going to be a full pdf version of T20. Great! Here's another playtester that will be buying the pdf version to go along with the comp hardcopy. (That will certainly make a thump when it lands in the post box!)

 

[notagoodusername]

Originally posted by hunter:

We also plan to make a full PDF version available for around $25

There should be something along these lines available around the first of July.

Hunter

Hunter,
Any news on the PDF version?

Shane
(who is chomping at the bit, here...)

 

[T'Sarith DeGaalth]

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by hunter:

We also plan to make a full PDF version available for around $25

There should be something along these lines available around the first of July.

Hunter,
Any news on the PDF version?

News! News! News!

OK - the local games club has an opening in two weeks, and I am trying to start T20 instead of another D&D game. But I need some kind of copy.

Besides - I want the book!!

 

[Nightshade]

PDF version, eh? Really. When?

 

[RabidVargr]

It'd be really awesome if there was a PDF version on disk or cd stuck to the back inside cover of the book.. *hint hint hint*

RV

 

[GypsyComet]

Originally posted by RabidVargr:
It'd be really awesome if there was a PDF version on disk or cd stuck to the back inside cover of the book.. *hint hint hint*

RV

looking to slow down the book release even more, eh?

 

[Falanor]

Hunter: Honestly the PDF version is an experiment. I don't think any other major publisher has tried releasing a full copy of their rules via PDF. I don't expect the PDF version to outsell the print version, but we hope it will serve as a nice supplemental income. The biggest risk of course is that an unscrupulous person might make it available via Usenet or a pirate website. Of course, this will likely happen anyway so we decided to give it a try.

So far it doesn't look like that is much of a problem for the guys at Darwin's World, as they have been producing their product for a while now and have seemed rather successful at it. So I don't think there is much of a worry about piracy of this stuff; as it is I've noticed that most gamers are very much willing to not pirate their favorite games...

 

[NDS]

Originally posted by Shane Mclean:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by hunter:

We also plan to make a full PDF version available for around $25

There should be something along these lines available around the first of July.

Hunter

Hunter,
Any news on the PDF version?

Shane
(who is chomping at the bit, here...)</font>[/QUOTE]Soon?