So how would this work? They explained how to use items and monsters from GW in a standard 4e game - What about having PCs drawn from each in the same game?
For a simple example, 3 players:
a Dwarf Cleric
a seismic hawkoid
a felinoid eladrin
Are the two games balanced? Can you have a 4e character and a GW character playing at the same table? How would that work?
What about characters that draw from both sources, a half 4e - half GW? Would they give up their 4e class for a basic mutation, or their race?
Or am I just being way too literal?
"Gamma World will use the 4E “chassis” for Characters and will technically be completely compatible with D&D 4E"
So how would this work? They explained how to use items and monsters from GW in a standard 4e game - What about having PCs drawn from each in the same game?
For a simple example, 3 players:
a Dwarf Cleric
a seismic hawkoid
a felinoid eladrin
You would make GW character and if the abilities that you get are like "a Dwarf Cleric" then you say that that's what her is.
GW does not have races. You roll two origins and that what you are.
Are the two games balanced?
They are campatable. The Word from a few places is that GW characters are a little more powerful. Top out at tenth LEVEL.
Can you have a 4e character and a GW character playing at the same table?
Absolutly.
How would that work?
The mechanics are the same. Gamma world is a 4ed game world, not a seperate RPG.
What about characters that draw from both sources, a half 4e - half GW? Would they give up their 4e class for a basic mutation, or their race?
Or am I just being way too literal?
GW has nor classes. On races. Just origins.
The Gamma World game stands apart from the normal D&D game in a few important ways, most notably through the elimination of race and class, which are instead replaced by mutation. “A Gamma World character is composed of two mutant themes – we think the right way to do it is to roll them randomly off a table, because if you’re picking them, you’re just not playing in the spirit of Gamma World,” Baker opines. “Sample themes might be: seismic, yeti, cockroach, pyrokinetic, plant, android, cyborg – there’s a zillion of them. You throw a couple of dice, and find out ‘Hey, I’m playing a seismic yeti. Wasn’t expecting that. I guess I’m a yeti made out of rock’.”
"Gamma World will use the 4E “chassis” for Characters and will technically be completely compatible with D&D 4E"
So how would this work? They explained how to use items and monsters from GW in a standard 4e game - What about having PCs drawn from each in the same game?
For a simple example, 3 players:
a Dwarf Cleric
a seismic hawkoid
a felinoid eladrin
You would make GW character and if the abilities that you get are like "a Dwarf Cleric" then you say that that's what her is.
GW does not have races. You roll two origins and that what you are.
-snip-
hmmm...maybe my question wasn't clear (Not all that surprising - been under the weather and highly medicated for a few days).
When I see the words "fully compatible", what I read is "fully interchangeable". I've read all the info on the new GW, and it looks interesting, but it also looks like it might be more interesting to combine the two games, PCs and all. Is this included under "fully compatible"?
I'll try to give a better example of what I mean, with a table of 4 players (please tell me which ones are unworkable, and how to do it better):
1. The player on my left wants to go fully GW. He rolls his 2 d20, comes up with his character concept. simple.
2. The player on my right wants to go fully 4e. He chooses his race, class, takes a standard array for ability scores, chooses powers and such, and fills out a full 4e character sheet.
3. The player across from me wants to combine GW and standard 4e. He chooses his race from the phb or phb2 or whatever, and instead of taking a class, instead rolls a d20 to take basic mutation from GW. He then proceeds to....(?)
4. The player sitting in the corner also wants to combine GW and standard 4e. He chooses his class from the phb or phb2 or whatever, and instead of taking a race, instead rolls a d20 to take a basic mutation from GW. He then proceeds to...(?)
So these four players sit down with me, the DM, and we have an adventure. Sometimes we have random encounters, sometimes we have Alpha mutations. Sometimes they find treasure, sometimes they pick up an Omega card.
ok, end of simulated game. When I hear "fully compatible", this is what I see in my mind - a full merging of possibilities for items, monsters, and player characters. However, in all the documentation to date, I have yet to see any indication that the PCs are "fully compatible", meaning playing in the same game, either in their original form or hybridized between 4e standard and GW. I would love to hear something about this - how to combine characters or pieces of characters across the 2 systems.
If I and my wife are "fully compatible", that doesn't mean that we only get along fine as long as she stays in New York and I stay in LA. GW and 4e standard - can their PCs play nicely together?
Only character options 1 and 2 can be determined from what I have read.
Making characters with option 3 or 4 would not be part of the game as it is described so far. They WOULD still be compatible, but I think that it would be much more powerful then PCs that are made from either system entirely.
So in your frame "fully compatible" is NOT "fully interchangeable". They made it clear a few months ago that a Gamma World character is different (and more powerful) then a D&D character (of the same level), but the game mechanics are the same.
I've been collecting what I can find in...
Gamma World comes back ahead of competators!
Btw, the latest article now mentions CROSS COMPATABLE instead of merely compatable or "completely compatble."
Monsters
For WotC, the biggest focus for the compatibility is the same phrase they push in every GW product description, "The monsters presented herein can also be pulled over and used in the Dungeons & Dragons Fantasy Roleplaying Game."
At that level, switching out monsters for either game, the games wil probably go smoothly, with little adjustment.
Cards
As for the cards, they are a metasystem on top of the 4E engine. If you come up with a convincing game setting, you could use them in D&D proper. i.e., it's a world where everyone had magical gifts, chaos energy permeates everywhere, magic is really a pervasive nanovirus that responds to thought and the cards represent impulses.
PCs
Maybe a GW race with a PH class might work -- if you dump the three mutations that go with that race. I'd only run this PC in a DnD world.
A DnD race with one GW mutation might be underpowered, he only gets one set of mutations and no benifts for a class. I'd only run this PC in a GW world.
Otherwise, I think the game will have one or two levels of a "sweet spot" where DnD and GW characters are on par with each other and you can have a mixed party. At lower levels, GW will be ahead and at higher levels DnD PCs will be king. Just use the rule set that pertains to a particular PC when dealing with them (no mutations for DnD PCs and GW PCs stick to their 10 levels)
My best guess
I think most GW games in the future will be a one-night affair where high level DnD PCs visit this interdimensional crossroads world and leave with a few one-shot plasma rifles and a lot of chuckles.
Like if Marvel had done a What If comic about Planescape.
This is all purely speculation from what I've read about GW so far.
Von-Etheris right, I believe.
Quote from a June interview.
Secrets of the Gamma World reboot
io9.com/5574788/secrets-of-the-gamma-wor...
Jun 28, 2010 02:20 PM
Baker emphasized that, while "the chassis is the same" as fourth edition, Gamma World is not just a bunch of 4E powers with different flavor text. There's a new character creation method intended to be fast and fun, including rolls on a table of random mutations (he mentioned two mutations called Seismic and Cockroach, the latter apparently causing your character to be a giant cockroach). The end result is a character with the same essential stats as a 4E character, but slightly more…mutated.
In fact, your existing D&D characters could potentially jump directly into a Gamma World adventure. It'll be up to you to explain how a paladin or warden ended up in your post-apocalyptic future, but that's part of the fun. Comparing D&D characters to Gamma World characters will depend on the situation, Baker said. In some cases the D&D character might be more powerful. On the other hand, Gamma World characters can have fusion rifles. If there's one generalization to be made about Gamma World PCs, it's that they will be more destructive.
So, I'm realizing that there isn't likely to be any EXP compatable tables either. MAYBE?
So, I'm realizing that there isn't likely to be any EXP compatable tables either. MAYBE?
I am assuming that since GW PCs are supposed to be tougher than level equivalent PCs that the design team kept the core XP chart and then designed the rest of the game from there. Which resulted in tougher characters and bigger XP bonuses (fitting the game's design philosophy of being a one-night stand of gonzo adventure.)
Otherwise, what would be the point of a different XP chart, when that effort could have been to tweak GW more in line with D&D?
I got to compare the charts and XP wise, GW caps out where 7th level DnD heroes are.
I got to compare the charts and XP wise, GW caps out where 7th level DnD heroes are.
??? A tenth level GW PC has the same numer of EXP points as a D&D PC?
That seems strange to me.I got to compare the charts and XP wise, GW caps out where 7th level DnD heroes are.
??? A tenth level GW PC has the same numer of EXP points as a D&D PC? That seems strange to me.
Starts at 500 and ends at 10k, so it's a bit odd compared to D&D. Without Alpha and Omega cards, a GW PC might be weaker on average. hmmm.
community.wizards.com/go/forum/view/7588...