d20 Future (d20 Campaigns: d20 Modern) (Hardcover)

~ (Author), (Author), J.D. Wiker (Author) "The rules for creating and advancing characters in d20 Future appear in the d20 Modern Roleplaying Game..." (more)
Key Phrases: cybernetic attachments, mutation bonus, flying mecha, Modern Roleplaying Game, Progress Level, Computer Use (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Provides new rules and modules for running a futuristic d20 Modern campaign.

This new supplement provides everything players and gamemasters need to participate in a futuristic adventure with d20 Modern rules. The wealth of information in this volume covers new character traits, feats, advanced classes, starting occupations, gear, vehicles, starhips, aliens, monsters, and different types of futuristic travel. Also included is extensive discussion of different types of futuristic science, including genetic engineering, nanotechnology, xenobiology, and even a section on mutations. As this title ties directly to the d20 Modern rules system, it includes new psionic magic rules which influences everything from psionic power to item creation.

About the Author

Christopher Perkins is currently a Creative Director in the R&D department at Wizards of the Coast, Inc.

JD Wiker is currently freelancing while also working as president of The Game Mechanics, a d20 design studio. Some of JD's recent titles include the Star Wars Revised Core Rulebook™, The Dark Side Sourcebook™, Power of the Jedi Sourcebook™, the Hero's Guide™, and the Galactic Campaign Guide™.

Rodney M. Thompson is a freelance RPG writer and developer. In addition to writing for Wizards of the Coast, Inc., his a full-time webmaster for the Star Wars RPG Network website.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Wizards of the Coast (August 12, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786934239
• ISBN-13: 978-0786934232
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 8.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #338,938 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars If you liked d20 Modern, you should own this book, August 31, 2004

By	Matthew W Rossi (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews

When d20 Modern came out, one of its clear limitations was that it contained little if any material for gamers who wanted to go beyond near-future settings. While you could run an interesting dark urban fantasy, or an adventure-movie themed game, or any number of interesting sci-fi scenarios with it, if you wanted to get into something a bit more exotic you were pushing the edge of the system. (The fact that the first setting released for d20 Modern was Urban Arcana, a game blending magic and the modern world ala Shadowrun, emphasized this.) I know a lot of people poured over 3rd party releases for SF rules and used them in their games, and I also know that older TSR/WOTC releases like Alternity were poured over for conversion.

So the release of d20 Future fills a niche and does so quite effectively. There's a lot of material here... so much that I almost think it would have been well-served with a page count upgrade and a price bump to $39.95. (It's rare that I advocate an increase in price, but in this case...) Since this product is intended as a supplement to an existing rules system, I understand why they didn't, but the campaign settings alone could have used about twice the room. There are nine of them, and they could use more fleshing out. Highlights include Genetech (seen in more detail in Dungeon Magazine), Mecha Crusade (Ditto) and old favorites Star Law (the original Star Frontiers setting for old curmudgeons like me) and Star*Drive. Really, I would have loved to have seen more of these.

The book has good chapters on FTL travel, technological development, robotics, nanotechnology, and so on. I'd almost recommend buying it just for those. It has not gotten rid of the Wealth system, so if you hate that, that's still here. Art is good. Really, it's a typically excellent product. Whoever chose to include the Alternity and Star Frontiers races as playable options deserves a big wet sloppy kiss.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good extension of d20 modern, but with a few holes, September 11, 2004

By	Edward Swing "blackdaggr" (Laurel, MD USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

d20 Future includes a range of futuristic campaign options for adventuring in sci-fi settings. There are a lot of different ideas for campaigns, including Bug Hunting, Post-apocalyptic, mecha wars, and a return to Star*Drive. Fortunately the campaign settings are only introduced for gamemasters to elaborate on.

A number of prestige classes, building on the d20 modern characters, are included. There are even campaign-specific prestige classes (such as Nuclear Nomad or Bughunter). Of course, there is also gear, and chapters on a number of different futuristic technologies.

The use of a tech level for sci-fi settings helps establish what kinds of gear and tech is available, ranging from near-future to near-godlike. The tech level includes low-tech levels as well, so a gamemaster can easily set the tech level of various planets that starships might visit. In most of the chapters, the technology is kept "real", but a few references to fantastic science are included.

The chapters on different teechnologies really make up the bulk of the book, and provide the most game material. The chapters cover Engineering (including genetic and nanotech), traveler science (space and dimensional travel), starships, vehicles, mecha, robotics, cybernetics, and mutations. A final chapter covers aliens, including some old character races from Star Frontiers.

The starships section was a little confusing in parts, requiring a few rereads. The standard d20 size ratings are not altered for starships, meaning most ships fall into the Colossal range. On the good side, Ship combat is wisely adapted from the standard personal combat rules. I'm not sure whether these rules are compatible with the Star Wars starship rules, but if not, a conversion guide might be nice.

The mecha in the book are more bipedal tanks (similar to Battletech) than anime-style mecha. While this isn't a bad thing, I would have liked to see some reference to more fantastic mecha (even if it was a refence to the d20 mecha book from Guardians of Order).

The mutations chapter covers a range of mutations in classic Gamma World style. Mutations are given a point value, and characters who start out as mutants must balance positive and negative mutations. Unfortunately, its not clear whether a mutated human counts as human for the purposes of bonus feat and skill points. Furthermore, it would be nice to see some sort of scale to let players start out with a slightly more powerful mutant character, setting 10(?) mutation points equal to +1 Level Adjustment, for instance.

One glaring missing chapter was a section on cyberspace and netrunning. Hopefully WotC will address this omission in a future supplement.

A final missing section would be experience adjustments based upon what the characters are facing. How much experience does a character get when facing a 5th level mecha pilot in a Tech level 8 gargantuan mech? It obviously should be more than facing the same mech pilot outside of his mech, and an adjustment based upon different tech levels should also apply - tech level 6 characters should get more XP than a tech level 8 character for facing the same opponent.

Aside from these lacks, the d20 future book is a good resource for gamemasters and players alike.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty good. The future is d20 Future, October 3, 2004

By	Robert Hamilton IV "aiptasia" (Canton, OH) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is an expansion sourcebook for the d20 Modern system. It provides information to run a campaign in the near or far future. The book has 13 chapters - characters; campaigns; gear; environments; scientific engineering; traveler ecience; starships; vehicles; mecha; robotics; cybernetics; mutations; and xenobiology. The first five chapters describe future ages - the knowledge, technology, places, weapons, and character occupations. In short, we get many possible settings and a few generic campaign ideas. Chapters 7 - 9 add starships, futuristic vehicles, mecha, and robots. The last portion of the book adds cybernetic implants, mutations and mutants, and aliens.

The book is pretty well done and enjoyable. As I was reading it I recognized the genres where the information originally came from - X-Files, Predator, Cyberpunk, Robotech, Battletech, Terminator, Traveller and so on. d20 Future kind of had a GURPS-like quality to it.

This book had its unique starships and mechs, and simple rules to make them fight. (What more do we need to conquer the galaxy?) I was also pleased with the futuristic gadgets and enhancements for player characters. The thing I liked the most about this book is how it showed what items are used at different tech levels. this opens up all kinds of possibilities.

I have two criticisms of the book. First,the book contains a lot of information, making campaign ideas limitless, but the reader is given only a few small idea kernels. The chapter on campaigns comes too early in the book - before you're introduced to all of the cool gadgets, ships, and mecha. Second, is it could have given more information on integration with other d20 products. Chapter 12, Xenobiology, does a fantastic job of crosslisting creatures from D&D Monster Manuals, d20 Modern, Menace Manual and Urban Arcana that would be suitable in a d20 Future campaign. Why weren't the other chapters, especially the ones on characters and campaigns (Ch 1 & Ch 2), as integrative? How can I bring my d20 Modern Smart Hero Appraiser into this campaign?

In summary, I really enjoy this book and recommend it. This book is a nice addition to the d20 universe.