Mass Effect d20

[EccentricOwl]

As far as weapons go, it seems like making your own would be required. The ones that you came up with seem fairly balanced, even if they lack the 'awesome' factor that the powerful equipment in d20 Future has.

You should probably copy the table to the front page - for easy reference.

I totally agree with "Shield Points" working like an HP buffer. Seems much more fun than having them as straight DR.

As for overheating, is it plausible to, say, use a 'tracker' system? Here's a really rudimentary overheat system that involves less die-rolling. Of course, it doesn't incorporate thermal clips from ME2, so pick your poison.

Spoiler

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Weapon Overheating
All weapons overheat on a natural roll of 1, unless noted otherwise. Using autofire increases the chance to over heat by +2. When a weapon overheats, your shot is fired as normal, but you may not fire with that weapon for 1 round.


Example weapon overheat chances:

Assault rifle : +1
Sniper Rifles: +2
Pistol, heavy +2
Shotgun +2
Heavy Weapons +4
Any weapon on autofire: additional +2 (including using the
Burst Fire feat)
Using the Rapid Fire feat: additional +1
For each additional consecutive attack in a round (including
attacks of opportunity): additional +1

[Dragonfire]

All right loving Mass effect i'm quite interested in this project so here's what I have to say.

For weapon overheating are you going the ME 1 or ME 2 route?

As in do the weapons overheat by continues fire or do you have the "clips" that dissipate heat like in ME 2?

Shield points as a HP buffer would work better than straight DR, but perhaps if something large like a boulder/heavy object hit the shield it would work like Dr because of mass shield overload? Or something.

Here's another question are the PC's Specter's or something else? For example maybe they work for a Specter?

I think weapon templates could work, I'll tinker around with some ideas.

Thanks for doing this! You have made me very happy

[EccentricOwl]

The overheating process I described above is just an idea. I'm sure the older creators have something better. Regardless, the idea is for the ME1 ruleset.

There is a hybrid system that combines ME1 and ME2's effects described earlier.

The settings if fairly open-ended. It seems as thought it would be much more valuable to get the rules together first before worrying about the campaign.

What about tech powers?

[Lord Iames Osari]

As far as weapons go, it seems like making your own would be required. The ones that you came up with seem fairly balanced, even if they lack the 'awesome' factor that the powerful equipment in d20 Future has.

You should probably copy the table to the front page - for easy reference.

That's the intention, that these are baseline weapons that people can modify using the d20 Future Tech gadget rules.

As for overheating, is it plausible to, say, use a 'tracker' system? Here's a really rudimentary overheat system that involves less die-rolling. Of course, it doesn't incorporate thermal clips from ME2, so pick your poison.

Spoiler

Show

Weapon Overheating
All weapons overheat on a natural roll of 1, unless noted otherwise. Using autofire increases the chance to over heat by +2. When a weapon overheats, your shot is fired as normal, but you may not fire with that weapon for 1 round.


Example weapon overheat chances:

Assault rifle : +1
Sniper Rifles: +2
Pistol, heavy +2
Shotgun +2
Heavy Weapons +4
Any weapon on autofire: additional +2 (including using the
Burst Fire feat)
Using the Rapid Fire feat: additional +1
For each additional consecutive attack in a round (including
attacks of opportunity): additional +1

My existing rules are a hybrid system, tracking heat based on percentages and whatnot, and also incorporating thermal clips for those who want to use them.

All right loving Mass effect i'm quite interested in this project so here's what I have to say.

For weapon overheating are you going the ME 1 or ME 2 route?

As in do the weapons overheat by continues fire or do you have the "clips" that dissipate heat like in ME 2?

I use a hybrid system as I said above.

Here's another question are the PC's Specter's or something else? For example maybe they work for a Specter?

Eccentric Owl's right. This is something to decide on for individual campaigns.

I think weapon templates could work, I'll tinker around with some ideas.

I think weapons templates - collections of modifications common across a manufacturer's products - are a very good idea.

Thanks for doing this! You have made me very happy

You're welcome.

[EccentricOwl]

What are your thoughts on the Progress Level of the Mass Effect setting?

[Lord Iames Osari]

If I might be permitted to quote my opening post...

I'll be using d20 Modern and d20 Future (around PL6-7) as a mechanical basis.

[imp_fireball]

What are your thoughts on the Progress Level of the Mass Effect setting?

The fact that you can't bring a definitive PL to the table, and the fact that it has no mechanical effect on game play, apart from a different goods and services item list (weapons/armor are irrelevant), is why PL is silly.

[EccentricOwl]

*Shrugs* It helps to set the tone of a game, I feel. Mass Effect's setting is highly influenced by a much more advanced race's technology, which muddles the mixture.

[mr.fizzypop]

Discussing PL is pointless, what do you have left to homebrew?

[EccentricOwl]

Is there some section I missed with the Biotic/Tech powers? It seems like only Barrier has been fully mapped out.

[Lord Iames Osari]

There've been a couple of stabs at writing them out. I just haven't added anything to the first page because I've been so busy with other projects lately.

[EccentricOwl]

Here is a slightly more cleaned-up version of Biotics. I really don't have any ideas at all for Tech powers.

Does anyone know of a similar system that one could get inspiration for 'tech' powers?

Spoiler

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Barrier
Use: Move Action

Invoking this talent as a move action, you gain (10 x level) barrier points for (level) rounds. Cooldown: 2 rounds up to level 10, 1 round from level 11+.

Charge
Use: Swift Action

On activating the Charge talent, you may move 10ft per character level level (or your standard move, whichever is greater) as a move action, taking a full attack at the end of the charge. These attacks must be made against an opponent you are adjacent to at the end of your movement.

Dominate
Prerequisites: Asari or Biotic Plus
Use: Standard Action
Save: Will negates; see text

You imprint your mind upon an opponent's, altering their perceptions or planting a suggestion in its mind. If the target fails its Will save, you may choose one of the following effects:

-Create a hallucination that distracts the target and allows you to use Hide or Move Silently even if the target is aware.
-Perform a feint so that the next attack you make considers the target creature as Flat-Footed.
-Make an otherwise unpalatable suggestion seem completely reasonable. The suggestion cannot obviously threaten the target’s life or the target will realize that it is under attack.
-Fill the target with terror, causing it to flee from you at top speed for 1 minute. It stops feeing if it is wounded, and is negated if the target’s character level is higher than yours.



Pull
Use: Standard action
Save: See text

Activating this Talent is a Standard action. The user generates mass effect fields, forcing the target to move to the user. To resist, the target must succeed on a Fortitude save or be pulled 5 feet for every 3 levels of the user.

Reave
Prerequisites: Warp and Barrier or Asari Matriarch
Use: Standard action.
Save: See text

This talent is activate by a standard action. Select a target within 30 feet. That target instantly makes a Fortitude save. If the target fails, she takes 4d6 points of bludgeoning damage and suffers a -1 to all rolls during the target’s next turn.
This talent deals double damage to Barrier points and Armor points.

Shockwave
Use: Standard action
Save: Reflex negates.

You create a burst of biotic power 10 feet wide that has a length of twice the biotic user’s level. Every opponent who the Shockwave passes over must make a Reflex save. If they fail, they take 1d6 points of damage and must make a Strength check as if they had been bull rushed. The effective strength score of the bull rush is equal to 4 times the biotic user’s character level.


Singularity
Prerequisite: Warp or Biotic Plus
Use: Standard action
Save: See text
You create a gravitic anomaly that encompasses a 5ft/level radius on any point within 300 feet that draws opponents towards its central point. They may make a Strength check as a free action (vs an effective Strength of 2/Biotic's level) to break free and act as normal; if they fail this check, they are drawn 30ft towards the center of the anomaly and may take no actions. Upon reaching the center, treat them as paralyzed as they spin around its central point.


Slam
Use: Standard Action
Save: Fortitude for Half Damage

You pound a target with a mass effect field. One target within 30 feet makes a Fortitude save. If she fails, she takes 4d6 points of bludgeoning damage and is then knocked prone. If the target succeeds her save, she takes half the damage and is not knocked prone.

Throw

Warp
Use: Standard action.
Save: See text
Make a ranged touch attack against one target within 40 feet. If successful, the gravitic anomaly deals 1d6 damage per character level of the user and paralyzes for 1 round for every 2 character levels of the user. (minimum 1 round). A successful Reflex save negates the Paralysis.

[Lolzords]

For the Quarians, I'd rework the penalty to account for the terrible immune system. At one point in the game a Quarian gets a little tear in his suit when a bullet grazes him and he ends up getting sick for a week - and thats when he was pumped full of antibiotics.

Also, the way a Quarian's eyes shine seems to suggest they'd have some sort of nightvision. (Even if it was nightvision/light sensitivity the tinted visor on their biosuits would probably counteract the latter.)

That's what I'd add to the Quarians, anyway.

[BladeofOblivion]

For Tech Powers, Just use something like the Tinker Class from Warcraft D20 and modify it to fit. Also, give them warlock-type casting focused around (non-eldritch) blasting and a few buffs and debuffs reflavored around ME abilities. For example, Incinerate does 1d6/level Fire Damage as a ranged touch attack usable once every 5 rounds. Reflex Save for Half, Save DC is Int-based.

[EccentricOwl]

One summer campaign later, and I can say with great certainty that, after running a campaign using your rules, they are "pretty good."

Nobody ever really used or asked for Tech Powers. I made up a few rules for having a drone, but it didn't make that big a difference.

The races were all very good and very balanced in their current form. Having lots of rules, for example, for Quarians' poor immune system is fun on paper but it's a total pain to work with in-game. Besides, if they get to the point where they're bleeding out of their suits, they probably have bigger problems (like enemies) to worry about first.

Geth rules were light, but luckily Geth don't take that much work to insert or remove from a campaign.

Krogans are very powerful. Luckily, they're just perfectly balanced to the point that they never 'break' the game. I will say that Krogans have a -very- narrow range of playstyles mechanically.


My players thought that keeping track of heat was too much work. I disagree. Maybe you'll have better luck with your groups if you want to use the heat system.

In the end, we just decided to use thermal clips, and thermal clips only. We basically went to the 'traditional' system of ammunition and threw in some fancy wording. It didn't make a big difference; ammunition was a surprisingly small part of the game.

I've linked them to the thread. Maybe they'll stop by and give some feedback, who knows.

[Lolzords]

Also, in dungeons and dragons I'd put the geth as constructs with the hive mind template (although geth are more mind-hive than hive-mind ), either way, not sure if d20modern has an equivilent of this

[Grave613]

This thread inspired me to join the forums. Great work so far.

On the subject of tech powers...Spycraft comes to mind.

[Gralamin]

This thread inspired me to join the forums. Great work so far.

On the subject of tech powers...Spycraft comes to mind.

Don't expect much more progress here: The user has been banned. With any luck he will post the project somewhere else if he intends to continue it.

[Grave613]

Hmm then it looks like I'll have to dosome of my own work.

[BladeofOblivion]

Yeah, I'd be tempted to finish this project, but I already miss too much life. That said, I'm always available through PM or other contact if Simone wants help.

[Grave613]

roger that