Changing MWWG

[Utgardloki]

As I work on developing my MWWG ideas, I am once again thinking about D20 Modern and how it contributes to making a workable system.

And my opinion is that, aside from providing for machine guns, it doesn't.

I've thought long and hard about the concept of Smart Heroine, Tough Heroine, et al. I think that even renaming the base classes to things like Amazon, Dancer, and Babe, it still does not work for me. The base class + occupation concept just does not seem as workable as the concept of a D&D base class and a possible progression into a prestige class, if desired.

I might adopt a couple of D20 modern base classes with some modification, such as Babe (formerly known as Charismatic Heroine) and Jock (formerly known as Strong Hero).

But I thought that I'd give any advocates for the D20 Modern system a chance to see if they can post something to sway my mind. If there are any comments, criticisms, or cries of outrage, I look forward to reading them.

 

[GRIM]

It's a trade off.

d20 trades (some) niche protection for versatility.

I see d20 Modern as a sort of 'halfway house' between the traditional class/level D&D setup and a more modern skill system - in that its classes are broader and more customisable but it still retains much of the class/level system.

You need to decide for yourself really whether the tradeoff is worth it.

I'm not sure what the alternative is though, it would be quite a lot of work to convert the occupations into class equivalents, though some could probably be merged.

 

[Utgardloki]

I think the D&D classes are more flexible and customizable than the D20 modern classes and occupations. Fighter, Expert and Rogue can get you very far. A person might be a boxer or a person might be a marine, but the Fighter class provides plenty of opportunity for customization.

When I ran a game set in World War II, I made the following characters for pregen PC's:

A British officer was a rogue -- highly skilled and able to attack as a sniper.

An Australian soldier was a fighter -- proficiency in firearms replaced proficiency in archaic melee weapons.

A British radio operator was an expert -- considering how she tried firing a pistol at a target 100 yards away she was obviously a radio expert, not a firearms expert.

A Hungarian Count was a maverick -- the Maverick is a class from Deadlands D20, designed for gamblers and other scoundrels.

A Gypsy burglar was a rogue/expert/maverick/thief acrobat -- this combination gave her plenty of skills and special abilities, and a +19 Reflex Save modifier.

My thought for MWWG is that the basic classes would include the Fighter, the Scout, the Expert, the Maverick, the Babe, and the Jock. Babes and Jocks are essentially conversions of the Charismatic Heroine and Strong Heroine. This is not meant to be a comprehensive list, just an indication that I don't need to have a large number of classes.

(Of course, there will also be clerics, sorcerers, wizards, bards, paladins, and other classes with mystical abilities. Most of these will be like advanced classes in that normally a character will start out in another class and then get training in one of these classes, but there are no prerequisites.)

I suppose one thing I sacrifice by giving up D20 Modern classes is Defense and Action Points. (Did I mention that I minored in Math in college?) I'm thinking this is not a big deal: I can easily bring back Defense, and I think I prefer using a rechargable Manna points system instead of a non-rechargable Action Points system to allow cinemaic action.