''d20 Future'' is an accessory for the ''

d20 Modern ''d20 Modern'' is a modern fantasy role-playing game system designed by Bill Slavicsek, Jeff Grubb, Rich Redman, and Charles Ryan. The system's core rulebook was published by Wizards of the Coast on November 1, 2002; by 2006, ten additional supp ...

role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, or abbreviated as RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out ...

written by Christopher Perkins, Rodney Thompson, and JD Wiker. It facilitates the playing of campaigns in the far

future The future is the time after the past and present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the apparent nature of reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently ex ...

, using elements such as

cybernetics Cybernetics is the transdisciplinary study of circular causal processes such as feedback and recursion, where the effects of a system's actions (its outputs) return as inputs to that system, influencing subsequent action. It is concerned with ...

mecha In science fiction, or mechs are giant robots or machines, typically depicted as piloted, humanoid walking vehicles. The term was first used in Japanese (language), Japanese after shortening the English loanword or , but the meaning in Japan ...

mutation In biology, a mutation is an alteration in the nucleic acid sequence of the genome of an organism, virus, or extrachromosomal DNA. Viral genomes contain either DNA or RNA. Mutations result from errors during DNA or viral replication, ...

robotics Robotics is the interdisciplinary study and practice of the design, construction, operation, and use of robots. Within mechanical engineering, robotics is the design and construction of the physical structures of robots, while in computer s ...

, space travel,

starship A starship, starcraft, or interstellar spacecraft is a theoretical spacecraft designed for interstellar travel, traveling between planetary systems. The term is mostly found in science fiction. Reference to a "star-ship" appears as early as 1 ...

s, and

xenobiology Xenobiology (XB) is a subfield of synthetic biology, the study of synthesizing and manipulating biological devices and systems. The name "xenobiology" derives from the Greek word ''xenos'', which means "stranger, alien". Xenobiology is a form o ...

. ''d20 Future'' is one of the most extensive of science-fiction d20 games and has its own SRD, which is a source for many other sci-fi d20 games.

New rules

''d20 Future'' introduced a number of new elements to ''d20 Modern'', including: * New classes, occupations, feats, and skill applications * New equipment, include

and

* Rules for robot player characters * Rules for mutations * Rules for scientific engineering, spaceships, and constructs * Hazards and environments, including vacuum and radiation * Progress levels, describing global levels of technological development

Campaigns

The book presented a number of campaign models, which provided a framework for building a full

campaign setting A campaign setting is a setting for a tabletop role-playing game or wargame campaign. Most campaign settings are fictional worlds; however, some are historical or contemporary real-world locations. A '' campaign'' is a series of individual adve ...

but did not include a full-scale setting. Campaign models introduced include: * '' Bughunters'', an

adventure game An adventure game is a video game genre in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in an interactive story, driven by exploration and/or puzzle-solving. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based m ...

and bug hunt setting inspired by '' Aliens'', ''

Starship Troopers ''Starship Troopers'' is a military science fiction novel by American writer Robert A. Heinlein. Written in a few weeks in reaction to the US suspending nuclear tests, the story was first published as a two-part serial in ''The Magazine of ...

'', and its predecessor in '' Amazing Engine''. * '' Dimension X'', an adventure game setting based on the concept of parallel universes, which are referred to as

dimension In physics and mathematics, the dimension of a mathematical space (or object) is informally defined as the minimum number of coordinates needed to specify any point within it. Thus, a line has a dimension of one (1D) because only one coo ...

s. * '' From the Dark Heart of Space'', a Fifth Element style setting inspired by the eternal struggle between good and evil, with a touch of the

Cthulhu Mythos The Cthulhu Mythos is a mythopoeia and a shared fictional universe, originating in the works of American Horror fiction, horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. The term was coined by August Derleth, a contemporary correspondent and protégé of Lovecraft, t ...

. * ''Genetech'', apparently an uncredited adaptation of the background of the

Moreau series S. Andrew Swann (alternately S. A. Swann, S. A. Swiniarski, and Steven Krane) is an American science fiction and fantasy author living in Solon, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, where much of his fiction is set. He was born Steven Swiniarski and has ...

of books by S. Andrew Swann. It originally appeared as a mini-game in ''

Polyhedron In geometry, a polyhedron (: polyhedra or polyhedrons; ) is a three-dimensional figure with flat polygonal Face (geometry), faces, straight Edge (geometry), edges and sharp corners or Vertex (geometry), vertices. The term "polyhedron" may refer ...

'' #155. * '' Mecha Crusade'', an

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

-inspired (primarily ''

Gundam is a Japanese military science fiction media franchise. Created by Yoshiyuki Tomino and Sunrise (now Bandai Namco Filmworks), the franchise features giant robots, or mecha, with the name "Gundam". The franchise began on April 7, 1979, with ...

''-inspired) setting taking place in the 2050s that focuses on the war between Earth and the Colonists, with giant fighting robots (mecha) being used on both sides. It originally appeared as a mini-game in ''Polyhedron'' #154. Mecha Crusade uses a different system than the Guardians of Order-published '' d20 Mecha''. * ''

Star*Drive ''Star Drive'' (stylized as ''Star*Drive'') is a science fiction campaign setting that was published in 1998 by TSR, Inc. for the ''Alternity'' role-playing game. The first published setting for ''Alternity'' was provided in the ''Star Drive Camp ...

'', a political

space opera Space opera is a subgenre of science fiction that emphasizes Space warfare in science fiction, space warfare, with use of melodramatic, risk-taking space adventures, relationships, and chivalric romance. Set mainly or entirely in outer space, i ...

taking placed in the 26th century. It is a remake of ''

Alternity ''Alternity'' is a science fiction role-playing game (RPG) published by TSR, Inc., TSR in 1997 in games, 1997. Following the acquisition of TSR by Wizards of the Coast, the game was discontinued in 2000 as part of a broader rationalisation of T ...

'' campaign setting of the same name. * '' Star Law'', a remake of the popular 1980s '' Star Frontiers'' space opera-based role-playing game. The mini-setting is cited to use material from ''Star Frontiers Alpha Dawn'' and ''Zebulon's Guide to Frontier Space''. * ''The Wasteland'', a somewhat

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

-flavored

post-apocalyptic fiction Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction are genres of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; astronom ...

setting inspired by its predecessors in ''

Metamorphosis Alpha ''Metamorphosis Alpha'' is one of the first science fiction role-playing games,Several sources call ''Metamorphosis Alpha'' the first science fiction role-playing game, but others name ''Starfaring'' as the first. ''Designers & Dragons: The '70s ...

'' and ''

Gamma World ''Gamma World'' is a post-apocalyptic science fantasy role-playing game in which player characters explore Earth centuries after the collapse of civilization, searching for artifacts from the time before "The Great Upheaval". The game was origi ...

''.

Expansions

''d20 Cyberscape''

''d20 Cyberscape'' is an expansion for the ''d20 Future'' supplement of ''

''. It adds more Cybernetics to accompany those found in ''d20 Future'', as well as alternate forms of cybernetics, such as cybernetics in fantasy. It also includes a cyberpunk campaign model called ''CyberRave'', in which the world has become a collection of corporation-owned and run countries.

''d20 Future Tech''

''d20 Future Tech'' is a 96-page supplement for the ''

and the ''d20 Future'' supplement. This supplement contains rules which expand on various weaponry and gadgets from ''d20 Future''. The book contains additional material expands of the following topics already established in ''d20 Future'': Weapons/Personal Gear, Starships, Mecha, and Robotics. There is a chapter on how future technology affects life, and one on integrating different types of combat (Mecha vs Vehicle, Starship vs. Mecha, etc.).

Reviews

*''

Pyramid A pyramid () is a structure whose visible surfaces are triangular in broad outline and converge toward the top, making the appearance roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be of any polygon shape, such as trian ...

References

External links

The d20 Future System Reference Document
{{D20 D20 System supplements Science fiction role-playing games