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<blockquote data-quote="Aldarc" data-source="post: 8933493" data-attributes="member: 5142"><p>The Expanse RPG is based on <em>Modern AGE</em>, which uses Green Ronin's AGE System, first developed for the <em>Dragon Age RPG</em> (2010). It's not exactly a coincidence that "it still feels very D&D like." History lesson time. </p><p></p><p>Chris Pramas began work on the Dragon Age RPG in 2007 when BioWare approached Green Ronin about making a tabletop RPG for their unreleased and still in-development <em>Dragon Age: Origins</em> game. The date is important because one of Green Ronin's major product lines at the time was <em>True 20</em> (2005), which was a generic toolkit d20 system that spun-off from <em>Blue Rose RPG</em> (2005) by Jeremy Crawford, Steve Kenson, John Snead, and Dawn Elliot. I say this because you can see a lot of the design DNA from True 20 in the AGE system, though modified for (a) a 3d6 dice resolution system, and (b) a Dragon Age TTRPG adaptation. (There are some Warhammer Fantasy RP influences too, but that's indebted to Chris Pramas, who was also the designer of WHFP 2e.) Support for the <em>True 20</em> system stopped and AGE became the new flagship lines alongside Mutants & Masterminds. </p><p></p><p>But Chris Pramas's goals was to make a RPG that was easy to learn and get started in, which is one reason why it uses 3d6 and feels simplified when compared to 3e D&D (or even 5e D&D). The GM's authority and responsibilities is much the same as in D&D or other trad games, so that is a big step in making the game feel familiar to people who are used to D&D. </p><p></p><p>Since Dragon Age RPG, Green Ronin used the system for a more generic fantasy game system: Fantasy AGE (2017). This then spawned the classless Modern AGE game, which was the basis for the Expanse RPG. From what I recall, the Expanse novels actually started as co-author Ty Franck's d20 Modern (d20 Future) homebrew and hacked game. So the move from d20 Modern to Modern AGE is hardly a big step considering their shared roots in the d20 system. </p><p></p><p>All that said, I can personally vouch for the success of Chris Pramas's design goals with the AGE System. My non-TTRPG gaming partner and some of my neophyte gamer friends absolutely bounced <em>hard</em> off 5e D&D, but they found Fantasy AGE so much easier to learn and fun to play. My partner has even asked if we could play it again once we try a few other games that have been on our list (e.g., Numenera, Fate, The One Ring, Avatar Legends, etc.). This is all, of course, anecdotal, but from what I have seen through running a number of other groups, the AGE System succeeds at Chris Pramas's design goals. It's not perfect. No game is. But if I can play something that "still feels very D&D like" while also playing something that my partner and table finds more enoyable and easier to learn than D&D 5e, then <em>MAZEL TOV!</em> to everyone.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Aldarc, post: 8933493, member: 5142"] The Expanse RPG is based on [I]Modern AGE[/I], which uses Green Ronin's AGE System, first developed for the [I]Dragon Age RPG[/I] (2010). It's not exactly a coincidence that "it still feels very D&D like." History lesson time. Chris Pramas began work on the Dragon Age RPG in 2007 when BioWare approached Green Ronin about making a tabletop RPG for their unreleased and still in-development [I]Dragon Age: Origins[/I] game. The date is important because one of Green Ronin's major product lines at the time was [I]True 20[/I] (2005), which was a generic toolkit d20 system that spun-off from [I]Blue Rose RPG[/I] (2005) by Jeremy Crawford, Steve Kenson, John Snead, and Dawn Elliot. I say this because you can see a lot of the design DNA from True 20 in the AGE system, though modified for (a) a 3d6 dice resolution system, and (b) a Dragon Age TTRPG adaptation. (There are some Warhammer Fantasy RP influences too, but that's indebted to Chris Pramas, who was also the designer of WHFP 2e.) Support for the [I]True 20[/I] system stopped and AGE became the new flagship lines alongside Mutants & Masterminds. But Chris Pramas's goals was to make a RPG that was easy to learn and get started in, which is one reason why it uses 3d6 and feels simplified when compared to 3e D&D (or even 5e D&D). The GM's authority and responsibilities is much the same as in D&D or other trad games, so that is a big step in making the game feel familiar to people who are used to D&D. Since Dragon Age RPG, Green Ronin used the system for a more generic fantasy game system: Fantasy AGE (2017). This then spawned the classless Modern AGE game, which was the basis for the Expanse RPG. From what I recall, the Expanse novels actually started as co-author Ty Franck's d20 Modern (d20 Future) homebrew and hacked game. So the move from d20 Modern to Modern AGE is hardly a big step considering their shared roots in the d20 system. All that said, I can personally vouch for the success of Chris Pramas's design goals with the AGE System. My non-TTRPG gaming partner and some of my neophyte gamer friends absolutely bounced [I]hard[/I] off 5e D&D, but they found Fantasy AGE so much easier to learn and fun to play. My partner has even asked if we could play it again once we try a few other games that have been on our list (e.g., Numenera, Fate, The One Ring, Avatar Legends, etc.). This is all, of course, anecdotal, but from what I have seen through running a number of other groups, the AGE System succeeds at Chris Pramas's design goals. It's not perfect. No game is. But if I can play something that "still feels very D&D like" while also playing something that my partner and table finds more enoyable and easier to learn than D&D 5e, then [I]MAZEL TOV![/I] to everyone. [/QUOTE]
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