I own a large collection of various RPG books, and I almost never play RPG’s. I would like to see that trend change, and start playing a few more roleplaying games when I can. I would really, really like to spend some time on the GM side of things. It is not something I have really done before, except for one Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay game in college at Oregon State when I was a freshman. What I cannot decide is, do I want to focus on d20 gaming or on other games. This post is going to be two lists, one is the top 5 reasons to go d20, and the other is my top 5 reasons to go other.
Five reasons to setup a game using the d20 system
- Popularity: This is an obvious one, but I think it is important. Most of the people I would be playing with have played D&D, or are at least comfortable with it. The learning curve on the players is therefore reduced, and I think that would make my job as a gm a bit easier. It also worries me because I am sure they might know the system better than I…but I guess I will never get going if that is my fear.
- Availability of Materials: I am almost certain to run a fantasy game of some sort, more on that in a bit, and I have a huge library of resources for d20 already that relate to fantasy games. I have most of the Fantasy Flight Games Legends & Lairs series..which is for 3.0 but I don’t think that will matter much. I also have a number of world source books to draw from. I subscribe to Dungeon Magazine so I have a good resource there as well.
- Variety: d20 is a system, which is a good thing in my mind. This means that d20 makes it possible to play fantasy, space, horror…..pretty much anything within the same ruleset. After I get comfortable taking the lead role it would be nice to branch out from my primary genre of fantasy.
- Miniatures: Being a board gamer, and miniatures gamer I have a certain affinity for the use of miniatures in an RPG. I don’t want to say it would be essential, but I think it would be nice. d20 is obviously a big proponent of the use of miniatures, at least in the D&D game. I would love to have my players see a small village like this one, rather than only describe it.
- Hypertext d20 System Reference Guide: I really like what has been done with this online guide to the entire d20 system. It is a perfect GM’s tool. I have been considering writing my d20 materials using the Google Docs & Spreadsheets tool, and linking directly into the SRD where needed. Of course, the SRD itself is extensively linked for fast access to information. I find myself going to this site on the web instead of the players handbook when I want a fast answer to something.
If I were to run a d20 game tomorrow I would be running a game that was either a) a generic homebrew adventure most likely set in Greyhawk so I can use some of the pantheon basics from the core game. b) Iron Kingdoms from Privateer Press c) Dawnforge by Fantasy Flight Games. I think I would choose that order of preference.
Five reasons to setup a game using a system other than d20
- A break with tradition: When I think of roleplaying, I think of the mechanics and general ideas in D&D. However, that does not really need to be the end all of RPG play. Systems like Impressa from Precis Intermedia Games (PIG) offer something very very different from the norm. In fact, it is so different I sometimes have a hard time wrapping my head around the ideas. Still, breaking out of the shell does hold a very strong level of interest to me.
- Encourage Variety: I think it is very easy to get stuck in the campaign mentality with d20 games. Start today at 1st level, and work my way up to 15th…man when I get to 15th level things are going to rock. So you start a game and plan to play it for years. I am not a campaign kinda guy. I like a short series of adventures, specific to a level if need be, and then move on. I think that playing a non d20 game can help encourage this. Many of the indie RPG games let you choose a power level for your game ahead of time, and they don’t focus a great deal of attention on advancement. In fact, games like the 1pg line from Deep 7 are specifically designed to provide fast access to games played in a single session or perhaps two.
- Speaking of Variety: Game systems other than d20 offer as wide a range of genre variety as d20 does, you just may need to learn a new rule system for each setting. Of course, GURPS and Fudge and other game systems can help alleviate this. Still, the variety in both genre and rules i appealing. When I read D&D adventures, and when I read d20 Modern adventures I get the feeling that the guy with the bow and the guy with the gun are pretty much the same guy. The games are not terribly different in that regard. By mixing up the mechanics of play along with the genre I think you can get to a better feel. I think when Margaret Weis Productions did with the Serenity RPG is a good example. I think the mechanics of that game provide a good heroic adventure that you would not get playing d20 Modern in the Serenity Universe.
- Community: The smaller game companies especially offer a much more appealing online community than does Wizards of the Coast. I need to go back to PIG for a second, because Brett (the designer of the games) spends a great deal of time on the forums answering questions and posing others. He is a part of the community. He is encouraging people to play his games not just buy them which I think is crucial. As a GM I feel confident that I could go to his, or a to the forums of a number of other publishers, and get ideas on how to proceed with something in the system if I get stuck. On the Wizards forum I am just as likely to get some smart ass telling me my idea is dumb.
- Because its not d20: I didn’t plan to include this one, but I think it is important to note. There is always a sub-set of a community that wants to do something because it is not the norm. D&D and d20 are the big boys in the RPG world…by far. Perhaps it is a good idea to play something else simply because I can. Personally, I think the games you play should be chosen because a) you like the genre and b) you think the game system works. I have to admit, I think d20 fits both of those criteria, but I also think it would be nice to break out of the d20 vein and try something else…I guess that is the variety I spoke of.
If I were to start a non-d20 campaign today it would be using either a)Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2.0 (pretty d20 like if you ask me) b) Iron Gaunlets from Precis Intermedia Games or c) the Serenity RPG.
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