''True20'' is a

role-playing game system A tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG or TRPG), also known as a pen-and-paper role-playing game, is a kind of role-playing game (RPG) in which the participants describe their characters' actions through speech and sometimes movements. Participants d ...

Steve Kenson Steve Kenson (born June 16, 1969) is a writer and designer of role-playing games (RPGs) and related fiction. Career Steve Kenson began working as an author and game designer in 1995. Kenson co-wrote the super-hero role-playing game '' Silver Ag ...

and published by

Green Ronin Publishing Green Ronin Publishing is an American company based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 2000 by Chris Pramas and Nicole Lindroos, they have published several role-playing game–related products. They won several awards for their games includi ...

. True20 is similar to other game systems such as d20, but it has a few different mechanics. The system was first published as a part of the ''

Blue Rose A blue rose is a flower of the genus ''Rosa'' (family Rosaceae) that presents blue-to-violet pigmentation instead of the more common red, white, or yellow, through use of artificial means such as dyes. Blue roses are often used to symbolize myst ...

RPG RPG may refer to: Military * Rocket-propelled grenade, a shoulder-launched anti-tank weapon **''Ruchnoi Protivotankoviy Granatomyot'' (Russian: ''Ручной Противотанковый Гранатомёт''), hand-held anti-tank grenade laun ...

before being published as a standalone universal generic

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 ...

, True20 Adventure Roleplaying.

History

The True20 system was originally used in Green Ronin's ''

'', itself based on their '' Mutants & Masterminds'' RPG. Later that year, Green Ronin released a PDF distillation of the ''Blue Rose'' rules, with an appendix of some modern-era rules, as a generic form of the game. This was followed by an expanded hardcover release in 2006. A revised softcover rulebook, combining the rules section of the ''True20 Adventure Roleplaying'' book with the ''True20 Companion'' was released in April 2008.

Settings

The original setting for the system was the Blue Rose in which the system first saw print. In its generic role-playing game, the original hardcover printing of the ''True20 Adventure Roleplaying'' book included four sample settings. These were chosen among publisher submitted setting with the winners announced in Dragon Magazine: * "Caliphate Nights", an

Arabian Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' (, ), is a collection of Middle Eastern folktales compiled in the Arabic language during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as ''The Arabian Nights'', from the first English-language edition () ...

-style fantasy version of the golden age of

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

, circa 800 AD. A full-color standalone hardcover was released for the setting at Origins 2006. * "Lux Aeternum", a swashbuckling

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 ...

. * "Mecha vs.

Kaiju is a Japanese term that is commonly associated with media involving giant monsters. Its widespread contemporary use is credited to ''tokusatsu'' (special effects) director Eiji Tsuburaya and filmmaker Ishirō Honda, who popularized the ''kaiju'' ...

", in which giant robots protect Japan from giant monsters. * "Borrowed Time", a setting of

Kung Fu Chinese martial arts, commonly referred to with umbrella terms Kung fu (term), kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (sport), wushu (), are Styles of Chinese martial arts, multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater Ch ...

action and gunplay against a backdrop of time-controlling conspiracies. The Revised Edition offers sections on fantasy, space, horror and modern adventures. A follow-up volume, ''True20 Worlds of Adventure'', includes five additional settings, ranging from "Land of the Crane", based in an imaginary land based on medieval

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, to "The Razor in the Apple", a horror setting based on the idea o children battling monsters.

System

Utilizing the

Open Gaming License The Open Game License (OGL) is a public copyright license by Wizards of the Coast that may be used by tabletop role-playing game developers to grant permission to modify, copy, and redistribute some of the content designed for their games, nota ...

, ''True20'' is derived from

Wizards of the Coast Wizards of the Coast LLC (WotC or Wizards) is an American game Publishing, publisher, most of which are based on fantasy and List of science fiction themes, science-fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail game stores. In 1999, toy ...

's ''

d20 System The d20 System is a role-playing game system published in 2000 by Wizards of the Coast, originally developed for the Editions of Dungeons & Dragons#Dungeons & Dragons 3rd edition, 3rd edition of ''Dungeons & Dragons''. The system is named after ...

''. Differences from the parent game include the following:

Ability score In the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' role-playing game, game mechanics and dice rolls determine much of what happens. These mechanics include: * Ability scores, the most basic statistics of a character, which influence all other statistics * Armor cla ...

s are given as simple modifiers (+1, +2, etc.) and not as a statistic in the range of 3 to 18. A single

20-sided die A die (: dice, sometimes also used as ) is a small, throwable object with marked sides that can rest in multiple positions. Dice are used for generating Statistical randomness, random values, commonly as part of tabletop games, including List ...

is used for each roll. Instead of

hit point Health is a video game or tabletop game quality that determines the maximum amount of damage or fatigue something takes before leaving the main game. In role-playing games, this typically takes the form of hit points (HP), a numerical attribute ...

s, characters experience "damage conditions" as in '' Mutants & Masterminds''. Character classes are the "roles" of Adept (users of psychic powers or magic), Expert and Warrior. There are no class-specific or restricted skills. Any characters of any role can have any skill. Magic spells are treated as feats and do not have "levels". New feats are available at each level and characters increase in level at the GM's discretion, rather than by accumulation of

experience point An experience point (often abbreviated as exp or XP) is a unit of measurement used in some tabletop role-playing games (RPGs) and role-playing video games to quantify a player character's life experience and progression through the game. Experien ...

s, which do not exist here.

Licenses and third-party products

Since before its release, the True20 system has been open to users under the terms of the Open Gaming License. Use of True20 logo required a separate license and license fee purchased from Green Ronin. Several companies have taken advantage of this to produce their own True20 titles.

Chris Pramas Chris Pramas is an American game designer and writer, as well as a founder of Green Ronin Publishing. He is best known as the designer of the ''Dragon Age'' RPG, ''Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay'' (second edition), and ''Freeport: The City of Adventu ...

of Green Ronin Publishing made a new, free licensing agreement with third-party publishers to produce True20 products in April 2008. Details were posted on the company's website and forums, and met with praise from publishers, freelancers and players alike.

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

* Steve Kenson ''True20 Adventure Roleplaying'' (Green Ronin Publishing, 2006) * Various Authors ''True20 Worlds of Adventure'' (Green Ronin Publishing, 2006)

External links

Official website
{{RPG systems Universal role-playing games D20 System Green Ronin Publishing games Role-playing game systems Role-playing games introduced in 2005