"Call it Cinematic Earth, if you want, since the reality of this game is the reality of action-adventure fiction."
While it's easy to imagine it descending to the level of Storm Drains & Stormtroopers, d20 Modern offers much more. Built around the bare elements of the Dungeons & Dragons 3rd edition rules, d20 Modern boldly dahses into the world of gun opera, action-horror, and urban fantasy. The results are surprising.
I. Characters
Characters have Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Wisdom, Intelligence, and Charisma, so familiar to all D&D players. Characters have Classes, and advance in Skills and Feats.
Ability Scores can be rolled, as in D&D, or assigned. To assign them, you divide 25 points among the six Ability Scores (starting with a base of 8). The result is characters of above average ability, an important edge in a dangerous world.
d20 Modern dispenses with swords-and-sorcery occupations such as Fighter and Wizard and replaces them with modern roles. But it also takes a broader approach. The six basic Classes are Strong, Fast, Tough, Dedicated, Smart, and Charismatic Heroes, each somewhat associated with one Ability Score. Each class has a Hit Die (ranging from d6 for Smart Heroes to d10 for Tough ones), a list of Class Skills, a list of Bonus Feats, and a Talent Tree. Bonus Feats are exactly like Fighter bonus Feats in Dungeons & Dragons, additional Feats chosen from a small list of Feats related to that Class (such as Educated, for Smart Heroes).
Characters also begin with a Starting Profession. It modifies Wealth, and offers two or three extra Skills that are treated as Class Skills, avoiding a x2 cost penalty for out-of-class Skills. Some also offer an extra Feat, such as either Brawl or Archaic Melee Weapon Proficiency for the Athlete.
Feats are special abilities of a character. They can be special attributes, like Alertness, special areas of training, such as Combat Martial Arts, or unique abilities, such as a psychic Wild Talent. Some have prerequisites, usually other Feats, but sometimes a high Base Attack Bonus for certain combat-related Feats. Talents are sort of like Feats, only Class-specific. They tend to form trees based on other Talents as prerequisites. For instance, a Fast Hero can gain Evasion, which allows him to gain Uncanny Dodge I, which leads to Uncanny Dodge II.
Skills are assigned from a pool of Skill Ranks. A 1st level character has a nice-sized pool to distribute, but characters make slower gains later in life. Skills cover all manner of trained abilities, from Listen to Knowledge (theology and philosophy) to Climb. Sometimes the line between Skills and Feats is fuzzy. For instance, Pilot is used to Pilot vehicles, but certain Feats are needed to use specialized craft without a -4 non-profiency penalty. Skills do not include combat abilities, which are instead handled by the Base Attack Bonus, based on Class and Level, and various Feats and Talents.
As characters advance, they may continue in their origional Class, or more likely, multiclass without restriction in other Base Classes. A Smart Hero might learn to be a little Tough, or vice versa, for instance. Characters in d20 have levels, beginning with level 1. Characters have a character level, which is the sum of all their class levels.
At fairly low levels, characters become eligible for Advanced Classes. Advanced Classes are more specialized, but are otherwise the same as Basic Classes. They tend to represent actual adventuring professions, such as Soldier or Infiltrator. The Martial Artist eschews other pursuits to become a Living Weapon. One facet of Advanced Classes is that they have less Bonus Feats and effectively no Talents, instead receiving certain Class Features at each level. I don't know why this decision was made. I also don't know they're called Class Features, and not Talents. Although characters of modest level (someties level 3 or 4) can qualify, it's typically a bad idea. Advanced Classes lack many foundational abilities. For instance, a Martial Artist of low level will gain some nice hand to hand abilities, but lack Evasion, Melee Smash, and many other vital Talents they would gain as Fast or Strong Heroes. However, Advanced Classes also include campaign-specific ones like the Shadow Slayer, Mage, and Telepath. If you just want to sling spells or concentrate on powerful, unique abilities, you may just want to qualify as quickly as possible. 5 levels of Smart Hero will make you Smart, but it won't teach you to throw Fireballs.
On the whole, the six Basic Classes allow you to mix and match and create a robust variety of adventurers. Starting Professions round out the mix, and also provide a hook for shared adventures. You could have a Smart Hero and a Tough Hero in the same party if both happen to be Academics. In fact, it makes me wonder why they didn't just dispense with Classes, convert the Talents to Feats, and offer a choice of a Will, Fortitude, or Reflexes Saving Throw improvement each level. But since multiclassing is not only permitted but encouraged, its a small issue.
I decided to take the character creation for a test run. For my first character, I decided to create a Hollywood ninja, and I decided to see what a low-mid-level character looks like, and went for Level 6. It seemed logical to take two levels of Fast Hero (for Skills and the Evasion Talent), two levels of Strong Hero (for extra melee damage, Climb, and Jump), and then one level each in Martial Artist and Infiltrator. It turned out to be slightly complicated. The Fast Hero allowed me to take Defensive Martial Arts, but he was ineligible for Combat Martial Arts as a Level 1 Fast Hero (minimum Base Attack Bonus of 1). Also, level 2 left him with Hide and Move Silently at only Rank 5 (max skill ranks). I took Evasion as his Talent. Two levels of Strong Hero gave him Melee Smash (for 1 damage) and rounded out his fighting abilities. For a bonus Feat, I took Exotic Melee Weapon Profiency (Katana), wildly inaccurate but typical of Hollywood ninja. I used one level of Strong to boost his Climb and Jump, and the other to raise his Hide and Move Silently (at double cost) to 6. For his 4th level Ability Score Increase, I raised his Int to 13 to prepare for desirable Feats at higher level (like Combat Expertise). Martial Artist made him a Living Weapon (1d6 damage and the ability to use any limb as a secondary attack), while Infiltrator gave him Scanning (making him adept at casing his location with a casual walk-through). So what did I end up with?
Something not quite a ninja, even a beginning one, although close in many respects. Nunchaku required a Feat I didn't have, and kind of suck anyway, especially compared to a Katana. His Skills seemed sub-par, perhaps the result of overgeneralizing, although he was certainly sneaky enough. He had some of the right moves, though. I decided I probably did him wrong. A better way to make a ninja is probably just to go Fast Hero all the way up to level 8, closing out the Evasion tree, taking exactly 1 level in Martial Artist, then advancing as an Infiltrator. Martial Artist turns out to be somewhat inefficient for weapon-wielding martial arts (Strong Hero or Soldier are better), but Infiltrator offers a good Defense Bonus.
A full-on Hollywood ninja, even a crappy one with no name played by a stunt guy, is probably a Fast Hero 8/Martial Artist 2/Infiltrator 4. That's what it takes to get Improved Combat Martial Arts, the entire Evasion Tree, and a good enough BAB to evade bullets. I think you're looking at least 12th level to portray a Hollywood action hero, even a low-rung one.
James Bond, clearly an extremely experiened character, turns out to be a 31st level nightmare in d20 Modern. I imagine him starting out as a Smart Hero, leveling a few times, branching out into Charismatic Hero as he polishes his skills with the ladies. A couple of tight spots gets him some Fast Hero levels. I think he works out to something like a Smart Hero 5 (Strategy Talent Tree)/Charismatic Hero 5 (Charm Talent Tree)/Fast Hero 1 (Evasion)/Dedicated Hero 5 (Empathic Talent Tree)/Soldier 2 (Weapon Specialization)/Gunslinger 4 (Defensive Fire)/Infiltrator 4 (Improved Evasion)/Daredevil 4 (Fearless and Action Boost)/Investigator 1 (Profile). Admittedly it's James frickin' Bond, but Level 31? Despite its emphasis on multi-classing, d20 demands a surprising depth to get to the "good stuff," a problem that might have been avoided with the more freeform, Feat-based approach I suggested above.
Other characters fare better. You can create a near-Buffy by taking 5 levels each in Tough, Strong, and Charismatic and going to the Shadow Slayer Advanced Class. Most super-spies played by Arnold are just Charismatic, Strong Heroes with levels in Gunslinger, Soldier, Investigator, and Negotiator. Other fare worse. It's hard to mimic the derring-do of Indiana Jones, who works out to be some kind of Tough, Smart Hero, but with much better combat abilities, and less over-the-top Talents. While cinema is full of heroes who seem to get by on wits, luck, and sheer nuts, d20 Modern emphasizes the highly-trained adventurer. It does well with superspies, demon-slayers, field scientists, and hot-dogging pilots, not so well with fighting archaeologists, kung fu noodle cooks, teenaged sidekicks, or teen witches.
The other big issue for me is Feats. Since they do everything, not everything they do really balances. Is Alertness ( 2 to Listen and Spot) really comparable to Improved Combat Throw (an attack of opportunity with a trip attack versus anyone who misses you) or Exotic Melee Weapon Profiency: Nunchaku (a weapon with exactly the same stats as a club)?
II. Mechanics
Under the hood, this is basically D&D. Attacks are resolved using a d20 versus the target's Defense Rating. Skills roll a d20 versus a Difficulty Check. Combat uses hit points, and psionics and magic are handled by familiar mechanics.
One area in the combat rules that chaffs me is this paragraph, under Nonlethal Damage (p. 55):
"Two unarmed combatants with no combat-related feats can often battle indefinitely with no real ill effects. They may suffer bruises and black eyes, but without picking up weapons or trying to deal lethal damage, they probably can't cause real harm--but one of them may get knocked out."
Let's step aside the issue that this is fairly stupid. What really bothers me is that it's not true. To threaten a knockout, you need to score more damage than their Constitution, just like death by massive damage. A punch does 1d3. Even on a critical hit, rolling maximum damage, for a total of 6, you would not even threaten to KO someone's twelve-year-old sibling. And nonlethal damage in d20 Modern has no effect whatsoever, other than to threaten knockout.
Death by massive damage is here; the threshold is your Constitution, making for a slightly more deadly game than D&D. If someone does 14 damage (say, from a critical hit with a firearm), and your Con is only 13, you have to roll a Fortitude saving throw versus DC 14 or start dying. I actually prefer this mechanism over Wound/Vitality (from d20 Star Wars), if for no other reason than that healing repairs injury, not some abstraction. Hit points are and remain an abstraction in d20 Modern, but they do at least represent a mashed little toe. Using both Defensive Bonus (like Armor Class) and a hit point abstraction at the same time strikes me as using two tools for one job. So I am as happy with this as I will be with any mechanic that uses Hit Dice. Less grievous wounds just take some hit points. At 0 hit points, you pass out, and at -1, you start dying.
Some situations will stretch believability, but basically, you have a decent rule-set for what they set out to do. My main complaint is the sheer number of rules and charts you need to familiarize yourself with before entering a firefight. Attacks of Opportunity, Cover, and Firing Into Melee all have important effects. But a dedicated GM should be able to hack it.
The experience point system is a definite weakness. Borrowed from D&D, the chart here is less helpful since you are left to invent CR's for your own creatures. But basically, you get experience points for beating up bad guys and defeating obstacles. You also get nebulous Wealth ratings, probably an artifact designed to circumvent issues of currency standards, liquid resources, agency salaries, and other complicated economic issues. So if you find a few million dollars, you don't have a few million dollars, you have a Wealth bonus.
d20 Modern also introduces Action Points. Despite that they are a non-replenishble resource per Level, they can be spent for die roll bonuses or some Talents. Strangely, they are not given out as rewards, as nearly as I can tell. Every time you level, you get some Action Points, and you just have to hope they last you.
d20 revels in its old-school disregard for logic. But that said, it plays right out of the box.
Right in the middle of the rules section, it inexplicably reproduces a chunk of D&D's Monster Manual. The Creature Factory section ends with dozens of d20 Modern conversions for Goblins, Bugbears, Dragons, and Displacer Beasts. And vicious Apes, which do not seem to belong in any of the model campaign settings. But just in case you need vicious, giant apes, they're there. Some of the sample Fiends are grotesquely delightful, though. As noted above, unless you are using a vicious ape or a Displacer Beast, you might be on your own for expeirence Challenge Ratings (and thus experience) for beasties of your own creation.
III. Setting
d20 Modern is setting-lite. Three sample campaigns are introduced.
The first, Shadow Chasers, is an action-horror game centered around fighting monsters. Unseen by the disbelieving masses, evil stalks, and you are the heroes that oppose it. Sort of a Buffy/Angel/Chill/Hunters thing. It introduces two campaign-specific Advanced Classes, the Shadow Slayer and the Occultist. The Shadow Slayer is able to root out and slay evil creatures. The Occultist dabbles in that which we were not meant to know, which basically amounts to a Use Device Skill to activate scrolls and items with D&D-like powers. Since everyone is out to slay evil creatures, the Shadow Slayer could have used a little more focus, I think.
The second setting is similar, but the supernatural is not all evil, a modern urban fantasy, reminiscent of Gaiman, de Lint, and maybe even "Harry Potter." It introduces the Mage and Acolyte classes, basically d20 Modern versions of the Wizard and Cleric.
The third is a psychic superspy setting. Since you are also defending consensual reality, it's sort of X-files meets a heroic Technocracy with a little Aeon Trinity. You get some D&D-esque psionic rules, Telepaths, and Battle Minds.
The most interesting thing I could think of to do with these settings was to combine them, starting with the psychic spies, introducing them to horror from beyond, then lightening the game with a resurgance of old dreams and magic. But as far as it goes, any of the suggested settings are a good starting place.
It's pretty clear that WOTC plans to follow their D&D plan; sell the rulebooks, then start selling setting.
IV. Evaluation
WOTC seems to have claimed the middle ground. While less elegant than Feng Shui or BESM, d20 Modern seems aimed at delivering a death blow to also-rans like Palladium's "Ninjas & Superspies" and "Shadowrun." Here, in one package, is the rules-set to market any number of gun-based fantasies. While the central fantasy of d20 Modern is the Hollywood action film, WOTC's approach of converting D&D magic and psionic mechanics means instant expandability. d20 Modern offers a new level of cross-genre compatability. I see no great difficulties in incorporating elements of Star Wars or Godlike's OGL rules.
However, Action Points are poor cousins to the Butt-Savin', Dramatic Editing (BSDE) mechanics used in other game systems. The Class system, while flexible, and helpful to new players, is inferior to point-driven systems for character modeling or designing characters of diverse talents. The combat system is fairly, ahem, bulletproof, but perhaps needlessly complicated, and preserves quirks like hit points, Hit Dice, and armor raising the hit roll needed.
The System excels at adding new modules, whether psionics rules or some hypothetical mecha combat system. It is my prediction that d20 Modern has a long future. It may eventually falter, but the central design is sound enough to support numerous genres and products.
Meanwhile, it falls on the players of this brave new game to iron out little problems, like Street-Fighting Brawlers who do more damage than Living Weapons, or the description of the Volkswagen Jetta as a station wagon.
I'm not sure I'll ever run d20 Modern. But I own it, and before it's all over, most of you will, too. It's decidedly superior to Palladium's house setting, and different from Chaosium's Basic system in ways that some will find appealing. It does provide more than D&D conversions for modern firearms, and yet less than a full-fledged game-in-one book (such as Shadowrun or Chill). While quirky, it's a better product than most. And being d20, that may be enough.
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