I'm presently planning on using True20 for a 'D&D-ish' campaign.  We've had one session so far, using some PCs that I made ahead of time, and the free 'Death in Freeport' True20 adventure available from the GR site.  It went well, and I think that I really dig the system (although, unfortunately, it looks like it will be a few weeks before we can play again, as I'm insanely busy with work for the next 2-3 weeks).

That session, though, prompted me to wonder what aspects of True20 I should keep in mind, and plan for, when running a longer-term 'D&D-ish' campaign...

I'm happy to reduce (massively!) the number of magic items in the campaign.  True20 is not dependent on them, so I can retain them as truly unique, rare items, rather than mandatory 'class-balancers'.  

The magic system is also quite different in True20, and I much prefer it in terms of overall style and power level.  There's no 'divine/arcane' split -- another good thing, IMO -- but that raises the question of what to do with the typical divide between 'wizards' and 'clerics' found in most D&D material.  (I've always loathed 3e 'sorcerers', and so am happy to eliminate CHA-based casters entirely, treating any 'sorcerers' simply as wizards.)  

My initial thought is to maintain that there is simply one type of magic: all adepts are INT-based 'mages' (WIS remains important for casters, as using powers is fatigue-causing, which requires a WILL save to avoid).  The only difference between 'clerics' and 'wizards' (aside from the kinds of powers they choose) will be that the former are associated with hierchical religious organisations, whereas the latter are not.  (Another possibility would be to keep the divine/arcane split, make divine casters WIS-based, and relegate all other differences to the choice of powers.)

The combat system in True20 can be more lethal for PCs than bog-standard D&D combat (any edition).  I'm not sure how to compensate for this.  Conviction helps, obviously, so perhaps I should simply consider giving a bonus 1-2 points of conviction?  (I already plan on giving PCs bonus conviction equal to 1/2 CHA, in order to make CHA less of a dump stat.)

Any thoughts on this?  Anything else I should keep in mind when using True20 for a 'D&D-ish' campaign?

Oh yeah, I should mention that I'm thinking about using either a 'homebrew' setting (previously used for D&D 3e and C&C) or adapting the forthcoming Goodman Games' setting (DCC35: The Known Realms) for the campaign.  I also plan on adapting a number of D&D-based modules (including some more Freeport stuff) to True20 (which should be quite easy).

Thanks!  :wizard:

What are you planning to do with the Wealth system?

Quote from: JongWKWhat are you planning to do with the Wealth system?

Oh right!  Forgot about that.  

I've removed it entirely, using old-fashioned 'gold pieces', etc.

Having recently completed my first True 20 book, I think it would work well for standard fantasy, it would just be a little deadlier.

I think I'd handle the deadliness of combat by limiting the number of encounters per day at low levels, this would give them a chance to recover a point of conviction daily.

Id also toss in a lot of chances for their Virtues and Vices to help them recover more conviction.

In short, Conviction is the game's recoverable resource rather than HP, so if you plan accordingly you should be ok.

Chuck

Remember that combat will be more LOTR than D&D. Characters can be extremely competent, but still die from a couple of wounds.

Why does this board keep reading my mind? I'm sitting here happily flipping through True20 and True Sorcery, thinking about using them as my go-to sword & sorcery/fantasy system.

Since I'm a lazy ape, is there anything in particular I should look out for in converting monsters over? I've got a metric fuckton of d20 monster books/adventures available to me.

Quote from: Christmas ApeWhy does this board keep reading my mind? I'm sitting here happily flipping through True20 and True Sorcery, thinking about using them as my go-to sword & sorcery/fantasy system.

Since I'm a lazy ape, is there anything in particular I should look out for in converting monsters over? I've got a metric fuckton of d20 monster books/adventures available to me.

Don't bother with the stupid ones.


Just kidding, do you have True20 Bestiary yet? If not, get it for sure. It has converted a great many of DnD's all-stars, and it includes a section for converting, and a decent sized section on making your own monsters, as well as templates, new powers.... it's dreamy.

Quote from: SigmundDon't bother with the stupid ones.


Just kidding, do you have True20 Bestiary yet? If not, get it for sure. It has converted a great many of DnD's all-stars, and it includes a section for converting, and a decent sized section on making your own monsters, as well as templates, new powers.... it's dreamy.

*salute* Understood, puppet-man!

Quote from: Sigmund... do you have True20 Bestiary yet? If not, get it for sure.  ... it's dreamy.

I love the True20 Bestiary.  It is one of the best RPG books I've purchased in years.
:emot-flowers:

I'm still working on my True Birthright conversion, and what I'm 99.9% sure I'm going to do with the magic system for that setting is split the powers up into groups, ala Blue Rose. I'm going to select maybe 8-12 powers for each god, most likely with a bit of overlap, and grant access to those powers with a "divine favor" or "divine investiture" feat, select a smaller set of powers along the divination and illusion lines and grant access to them for magicians (low magic users) with the "Student of Low Magic" feat, then toss the rest of the powers into the "True Magic" bin for wizards with access granted by the "Student of High Magic" feat. This will maintain the divine/arcane split (which is important to the Birthright fluff), and give the two sources of magic distinct feels to them. I would think the same could be done for any other DnD derived True20 campaign.

Quote from: Sigmund... This will maintain the divine/arcane split (which is important to the Birthright fluff), and give the two sources of magic distinct feels to them. I would think the same could be done for any other DnD derived True20 campaign.

That sounds cool (even though I'm not that familiar with the Birthright setting).

For my own campaign, though, I think that I'll stick to my 'one type of magic' idea. There's just 'magic', and you need Intelligence to master it (namely, learning to recite the proper words of power).  

I've always found the divine/arcane split in D&D somewhat irritating, and so feel fine with eliminating it. 'Clerics' are simply adepts who train with particular religious organisations. The powers that they focus on will depend on the focus of their church/faith (e.g. a church devoted to a 'God of Knowledge' will train its priests in different powers than a church devoted to a 'Fire God').

One consequence of this is that dieties will have a less direct presence in the affairs of the world, as they will not be regularly granting spells. That makes them somewhat more mysterious, and their interventions -- when they do occur -- significantly more noteworthy and awe-inspiring. This is a good thing, IMO.

Quote from: AkrasiaThat sounds cool (even though I'm not that familiar with the Birthright setting).

For my own campaign, though, I think that I'll stick to my 'one type of magic' idea. There's just 'magic', and you need Intelligence to master it (namely, learning to recite the proper words of power).  

I've always found the divine/arcane split in D&D somewhat irritating, and so feel fine with eliminating it. 'Clerics' are simply adepts who train with particular religious organisations. The powers that they focus on will depend on the focus of their church/faith (e.g. a church devoted to a 'God of Knowledge' will train its priests in different powers than a church devoted to a 'Fire God').

One consequence of this is that dieties will have a less direct presence in the affairs of the world, as they will not be regularly granting spells. That makes them somewhat more mysterious, and their interventions -- when they do occur -- significantly more noteworthy and awe-inspiring. This is a good thing, IMO.

I think this sounds good too. It would bring faith as a component of religion back into the equation, which can be a great thing.

The reason it won't work for Birthright has to do with the nature of the divine in the setting, but for most settings I've read your idea would be great, just requiring a small redefining of the roles of religious folks and magic users in the adventuring party (which isn't a problem that I can see).