Starcraft campaign setting for D20... anyone want it?

Halivar

First Post
This just randomly popped into my head, but would anyone ever want to see races/classes/templates (Zerg-infested... oooh) statted out for d20 for Starcraft? If anybody is interested, I might want to start posting some dev stuff here.

Anyhow, just a quick thought, more on this topic later.
 

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At first, it seems as if d20 Modern would be the place to start, but I'm not so sure. That's why I'd like to generate some discussion. Spycraft also comes to mind. But, since there's just a whole lot that really doesn't have to do with "modern" equipment at all, just straight d20 SRD is also a viable starting point.
 

I'd be interested, yes. Having run a Starcraft campaign for about a year and a half at one point, it's a subject I still find interesting. I used Alternity for that, but I do think that the d20 rules would work pretty well for it.

As to which system to use ... hm. My first thought is d20 Modern, mostly because I really like that for science fiction stuff. I think the mechanics work a lot better for sci-fi than most variations on the D&D rules. Action points are an excellent mechanic, and one that I think is pretty appropriate for the setting. The only real problem I have is that all protoss have psionic powers, but they're different. This is kind of hard to get across in d20 Modern, since you can't start as a Psychic. The way I did it in Alternity was that each protoss picked a broad skill (essentially, a discipline in the D&D psionics system) that they got for free. This would probably be about the equivalent of starting all protoss off with the psionic abilities of a 1st level Psychic. Not entirely inappropriate, IMO, though it would require an ECL.

However, the Star Wars stuff might work even better. The different core classes would work pretty really nicely, though of course you'd have to redo the various Force-related elements to a more appropriate system. The feel of the two settings isn't that far apart - both are space-fantasy, with a lot of heroics from main characters.

Just the SRD would have some problems - mostly due to the necessary addition of quite a few skills and feats just to make it a sci-fi game. It's just more work than I think is necessary for the setting, when you've got several perfectly good alternatives.
 


StarCraft

I recently began working on a StarCraft d20 conversion for a couple of weeks ago, using the d20 Modern rules. It is actually a lot older than that, began working on it before the d20 Modern rules were released. If you looking for StarCraft zergs, I think you can still find them on the old Alternity/StarCraft boards on Wizards. I'll see if I can find the link later.
 


I'd be interested too but since I think that d20 Modern is the natural base for this (isn't there a d20 Future coming out next year?) I have to purchase that to play it. I've only looked a d20 Modern so far. Contrary to what my group may think... I haven't brought everything out there. Close, but not everything.
 

What exactly makes d20 Modern better than regular d20 SRD? It seems as if most stuff in the d20 SRD wouldn't even fit in a Starcraft setting, other than... well... bullets. And those rules aren't terribly hard to redo.

Given that, it seems the only other diff is the wound system and the initial hero class system. Both of those could probably be dispensed with without too much trouble.
 
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I guess you could use the d20 SRD base, it was how originally envisioned the classes. Fighters were simply renamed to soldiers, zealots would be built similar to barbarians etc. Then I’d just make prestige classes for more “specific” professions such as the high templar, the ghost, goliath pilot etc.

When d20 Modern came, I really liked the thought of advanced classes as opposed to prestige classes, mostly because you could obtain them much earlier. I know that it's basically the same idea, but it just seemed right to me at the time. Since I would use the d20 Modern basic classes and advanced class, the need to bar certain class and strange race combinations would not be required (so no terran zealots, protoss ghosts etc, although it's up to each individual GM). It also meant that I no longer needed to decide which classes should be base or prestige classes, which was really causing my trouble.

That’s how I originally reasoned the switch to the d20 Modern rules. But until d20 Future is released, I believe that the d20 Modern rules are perhaps the easiest way to do it. That's at least my humble opinion :D

Here's the link to some Converted SC Creatures on the old Alternity StarCraft boards (and no, it's not 2nd Edition): http://archivedboards.wizards.com/community/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=224;t=000013
 

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