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What's wrong with D20?

There are a few things that are wrong with D20 that could be addressed.

One is the abundance of rules for mechanics. It can be quite difficult to mediate exactly what happens because of all the mechanics involved. It's true, some people prefer to have a large amount of rules so that the mechanics can arbitrate a large number of scenarios on a fair basis, "fair" meaning that the mechanics are even and balanced. However, this can be pretty wieldy for D20 games. New players can have a hard time learning all of them, frequent players can have a hard time remembering them, and looking them all up in a book can impede gameplay during a session. With combat, knowing when someone can do an attack of opportunity, or when sneak attacks do or don't apply, can be tough to discern if such mechanics are the rule rather than the exception. This is made even worse if the fictional novels gives one instance for how an ability can work that goes against the grain of what the rulebook says. Should the novels be considered examples of the mechanics? Or should DMs and players accept that those are the recipient of creative licenses? Keeping the rules and mechanics simple, especially towards exceptions to them, would go along way to making the game easier to play.

Another problem with D20 is how their campaign settings apply to the mechanics. Wizards of the Coast, which owns and publishes the D20 system, does not use it just for their Dungeons and Dragons line - they also publish the D20 Modern line. However, the mechanics of the two lines are quite separate. For example, D&D used a level system that goes up to 20 and after that goes into epic levels. D20 Modern, on the other hand, uses a kind of tier system - base classes goes up to level 10, and then they can progress further with specialized prestige classes. Their magic and psionic systems are also different. In D&D, a 1st level spellcaster can cast level 1 spells and can eventually cast level 9 spells. In D20 Modern, on the other hand, characters cannot cast spells or psionic powers until they take a prestige class, and even then those go up to level 5.

What this dissimilarity does is makes it harder to do crossovers between the two lines. Because of the differences in the mechanics in the two lines, it makes it difficult to run campaigns where you have some D20 Modern characters in a D&D setting or D&D characters in a D20 Modern setting. Some players and DMs like to be able to do crossover games, but differences in systems and


Below are the top articles rated and ranked by Helium members on:

What's wrong with D20?

  • 1 of 5

    by Charles Durfee

    I started played Dungeons and Dragons back in the 70s, when the manuals were
    perforated for three-ring binders. Things have

    read more

  • 2 of 5

    by Steven Laskoske

    The d20 concept isn't necessarily a bad one: take the structure of the oldest and best known role-playing game, Dungeons

    read more

  • 3 of 5

    by Waltraud Grady

    Well that is a good question. But is it really a question, not much wrong with the d20 system all it really did was changed

    read more

  • 4 of 5

    by Stephen Pate

    There are a few things that are wrong with D20 that could be addressed.

    One is the abundance of rules for mechanics. It can

    read more

  • 5 of 5

    by Paul Emerson

    WHAT'S WRONG WITH D20?
    Those of you who are experienced role-players will say, "Simple answer: nothing, but I still don't

    read more

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