Conquest of the Universe: under the hood

[pawsplay]

Reposted from my journal, because crowdsourcing is awesome.

This is about Conquest of the Universe, my OGL space fantasy game.

Well, I've reached that stage where it's becoming clear that not all of my bold new ideas are suitably compatible, and it's time to lay down the bones of my d20 science fantasy book.

The following are definite:
- I really like Conviction (True20) and have my own tweaks on how to use it
- Modular backgrounds, akin to True20 Backgrounds, BESM d20 style Race packages, or Fantasy Craft Origins, are in
- I have settled on stat blocks keeping some common points of interface with at least some of the major d20 game lines; no altering the defense/save mechanics radically, for instance
- Hit points
- I need some way to attach some pieces of equipment to PCs, eg. beam swords for Knights, vehicles for pilots
- Probably using something damn close to the Pathfinder skill list, maybe with some M&M 3e flavor

The following are not definite:
- Using BESM d20 Attributes as character building blocks vs. hardcording special abilities and using menu options for alien race creation
- Going with that, hardcoding premade options versus laying all the "tinker toys" out to see, for instance, specifying Heightened Senses (psychic) versus simply saying Psychic Sense or something like that
- Preserving BAB, AC, and the three saves, vs. perhaps consolidating BAB and AC into Combat Bonus (a la True20) and folding all saving throws into Resistance as a defense, and then using attributes for actual saving throws versus conditions and effects
- Energy point based psionics versus basically using the True20 supernatural power mechanics
- Professional Classes (Soldier, Pilot, Noble, etc.) vs. roles (Warrior, Adept, Expert, Knight, in one possible configuration)

It's kind of at a tipping point, whether I'm going more BESM d20 toolkit versus True20 mix-and-match. The big tension is PC creation modularity vs. simple choice-driven character creation.

What are your thoughts?

 

[pawsplay]

I guess one question might be, who is even familiar with True20's role-based classes?

 

[Antonlowe]

I guess one question might be, who is even familiar with True20's role-based classes?

I am. It was also in unearthed arcana for 3.X

 

[pawsplay]

The following are not definite:
- Using BESM d20 Attributes as character building blocks vs. hardcording special abilities and using menu options for alien race creation
- Going with that, hardcoding premade options versus laying all the "tinker toys" out to see, for instance, specifying Heightened Senses (psychic) versus simply saying Psychic Sense or something like that

I am leaning toward hardcoded options to make the game newbie friendly, with perhaps a "toolkit" section sequestered in another chapter.

- Preserving BAB, AC, and the three saves, vs. perhaps consolidating BAB and AC into Combat Bonus (a la True20) and folding all saving throws into Resistance as a defense, and then using attributes for actual saving throws versus conditions and effects

On the one hand, I think the three saving throw system is a natural evolution of D&D's zillions of conditions, which I think may be less relevant to a space opera game. You aren't likely to face petrification, an area effect explosion, and mind control in the same encounter. OTOH, shifting to a simplified system means I would probably need to invent new Feats to improve ability score-based saving throws and possibly other traits as well.

- Energy point based psionics versus basically using the True20 supernatural power mechanics

I like energy points. I like BESM d20's "Magic" attribute, and I like the D&D 3.5 expanded psionics rules. However, I don't like the idea of having to include a whole section on attributes (BESM style), which means I would ultimately have to create a "spell list" for psionics. OTOH, 3.5 psionics are pretty slick, but introduce a whole new set of balancing issues that give me headaches. It's never been clear how well spells and powers balance with non-casters in d20 in the first place, and I would prefer not to have to try to solve that problem again in this context.

True20's powers aren't exactly what I was thinking of originally, but they actually work pretty well for Jedi, super-psychics, alien shamans, etc.

- Professional Classes (Soldier, Pilot, Noble, etc.) vs. roles (Warrior, Adept, Expert, Knight, in one possible configuration)

I am leaning toward a compromise here. I think I am going to shoot for role-based creation, but with the number of roles expanded to cover a number of clear archetypes. This means I will have to retool some of the class writeups I have already done. OTOH, moving toward a True20 style feat-based level-up system does simplify class design in many respects. I think synergistic rather than "capstone" high level abilities probably work better for bombastic adventure fiction.