Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 valentein Sep 22, 2008 14:18:45	How well do the more specific books - Past, Apocalypse, and Dark*Matter, to be specific, lend themselves to a generic Modern campaign? My question is really about feats (Past), the Visionary and the mutation system from Apocalypse (and Future, but the concern mostly hangs on the Visionary class), and the playable races from Dark*Matter (I noticed the Weren have different stats in Dark*Matter than they do in Future, but the same Level Adjustment). I'm not sure what to make of the Past-specific feats, a few of them (Obscure Knowledge, for example) seem to step on the toes of other abilities (The Field Antiquarian's class feature, that requires spending an action point while Obscure Knowledge doesn't). The reason for my uncertainty is that I'm building a campaign that will run the gamut from ancient magic-wielding cults to alien psionics and superscience, and I'm trying to find some measure of balance before I get in over my head. I'm including magic (in the forms of the Mage, Acolyte, and Mystic AdC's), but I don't wish for it to become as commonplace as the other Urban Arcana classes (using the Modern Player's Comapanion variants on the UA classes) to keep it in the realm of the unknown. I'm not sure if I've actually made sense, but can clarify any unclear points. The root of the question is "How well do Past, Apocalypse, and Dark*Matter fit together with Modern, Future and FX rules."
#2 tema69 Sep 22, 2008 15:53:29	Well, of the books mentioned, I only have Apoc, Modern and Future. So, I'm gonna comment on their compatibility. d20 Future AdCs are somewhat more powerful than d20 Modern ones (Helix Warrior, Dreadnought, etc...)... I don't know much about the Apoc AdCs, but they seem balanced.
#3 masada Sep 22, 2008 20:55:10	My advice would be to talk to your players about what they want to play. Watch out for players that want to meta-game (find the most exploitative feat combos). But otherwise, all the books you mention are "compatible". However, since the number of combinations is quite large, there are sure to be some that will be unacceptable in some way. The "rules" really only apply to the players in the game. The GM can (and should) create any combination of powers/challenges they deam necessary to provide a fun and challenging game. Manually creating full NPC characters it too tedius to do for more than a handful of key NPC's and mindlessly adhering to only the published "ordinary" stats is sure to create flat and boring challenges. The point here is... while your campaign may include everything... chances are your players will only be interested in certain niches. Those niches are really the only thing you have to look at in detail.