How do we make this game better?
I've heard a lot and lurked a lot on Veeky Forums about why this game sucks, but what about it needs to change to make it better?
tl;dr: Lets fix D20 Modern with suggestions.
Note: I know all about the other modern RPGs out there(GURPS, Savage worlds, phoenix command), so if your opinion is to just "Play those instead" then that completely and utterly misses the point of this thread. Stay in your circle jerks.
Use E6.
What is E6?
You only go up to level 6, then you only get feats when you'd level.
It's an OK fix for 3.5, dunno how it'd work with modern. Probably stops people from being able to tank bullets.
Get rid of the Wealth system wholesale, it's busted.
>RPGs out there(GURPS, Savage worlds, phoenix command)
What about Spycraft, Ops & Tactics, or True20? Three modern RPGs, are ones that are actually based on the d20 system. If you're looking for "d20, but modern" they might do what you want better than a houseruled d20 modern.
This so much.
Beyond that, make Dex less of a god stat somehow.
What this guy said. It would allow characters to get three levels in a basic class and another three in an advanced class. It's enough to round out a concept, but not so much that the math starts to cave in on itself.
>so if your opinion is to just "Play those instead" then that completely and utterly misses the point of this thread. Stay in your circle jerks.
I think you miss the point of why people complain about d20 Modern. 3.5's problems are pretty baked in, and you're then taking a system meant for epic medieval high fantasy and trying to use it for modern firearm combat. It's like asking how to fix a car that drove off a cliff; you get a new car because by the time you were done that's pretty much what you'd have anyway.
Just accept it for what it is or play something else.
I'd make it more deadly, with a vitality/wounds system by default and people never getting enough vitality to make any armed conflict safe or trivial. Any amount of damage to wound points would impose penalties from pain and tissue damage, and you'd probably be unconscious or too disabled to fight well before losing your last wound point and dying. Since vitality represents things like good tactical positioning, surprise attacks go straight to wound points.
To counterbalance this a little, the basic classes would have much more powerful and flavorful abilities. Instead of having vague stuff based on ability scores, the classes would all be based on roles that people might actually want to perform in a fight. Out-of-combat stuff would be supplementary and not the focus of a whole class.
The problem with applying e6 to d20 Modern is that d20 Modern already has classes that are too boring and not separated well enough from each other. Setting a level limit makes that even worse. People who like the d20 system like fiddly rules mechanics to play with.
I'd like to propose replacing it with something more like the similar-but-less-dumb wealth system from Marvel FASERIP. It has more forgiving guaranteed purchases, it's harder to lose wealth by buying things, there's less variance, and there's a more sensible system for buying big things on credit.