So I had seen the D20 Modern Core Rulebook at various game stores in the past, but never picked up a physical copy. No one that I knew was playing this system. Then one day last year, the PDF version of this game appeared as one of the deal of the day at DriveThruRPG. So I snatched it up for a very reasonable price. One of the first things I thought of was using this system as one of my entries in the Character Creation Challenge. And so, here it is. This is a generic system built around the modern world. There are other supplements for games in the past, post apocalyptic and future. The character I’m aiming to create will be a private detective working in a major city.
There are 384 pages in the core rulebook. The character sheet is only two pages long. Page 12 is where we find the character creation summary. The first step is to generate the ability scores by rolling 4D6 and dropping the lowest. These are the standard ability scores we see in Dungeons and Dragons 3.5.
Next is to select the class. However these are not set up like in D&D 3.5 (example: thief, fighter, cleric, etc.) but are descriptive (example: strong, fast, dedicated, etc.) Reading the descriptions, I believe that a private detective would be in the dedicated class. For his starting occupation, I selected Investigative (fits, huh?) Both the class and the starting occupation listed my starting class skills and bonus feats. I spent my skill points.
There is a wealth bonus system in D20 Modern. I remember having an issue with the one under Blue Rose. Let’s see if this one makes a little bit more sense? My character ended up with a wealth bonus of 10. Basically anything under a DC of 10 I can get automatically. If I want something that is more than that, I have to roll and beat the DC. If I “take the 10” I get the item, but the wealth bonus is lowered by one. I don’t recall what happened back with Blue Rose (that was a year ago) but this seems to make sense with the D20 Modern. I wrote down all of the equipment I could get without having to roll anything. Then I rolled a D20 to try to get a pistol (succeed) and a vehicle (also succeeded). I have no idea where he’s living at. I’m assuming that would be discussed with the GM as a starting character.
Afterthoughts:
The different style of characters was an interesting concept. I could see how that would work in a “modern” setting. I really liked how the character sheet had feats as check boxes with the sub-feats nested under the parent feat.
With how much I had played D&D 3.5, I could have easily seen myself playing D20 Modern. While I might try hombrewing a few things for this system, I doubt I’d ever get a chance to play it.
Additional Notes:
This is the rough stretch of the Character Creation Challenge. This year has been more difficult than past years. I think it’s because I’m past the games I’m really familiar with and moving onto newer systems that I happen to pick up over the past year or two.
Coming Up Next:
Fantasy Age
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