2002-07-05 - 4:23 p.m.
When I first began work on Paragon, one of my criteria for its design was that it would have to be fully compatible with the PHB, which meant using hit points instead of Vitality/Wounds, leaving out level-based defense (except for specific classes, such as Martial Artist), and so forth. My primary goal in doing this, as I have stated frequently, has been to allow people to play the game with only the two books and nothing else. My secondary, rather less publicized goal, has been to allow classes to be mixed freely between different games (although, to be honest, my original interest mainly revolved around prestige classes, rather than regular ones). Since most d20 games are more or less "backwards compatible" with the PHB, that volume seemed like the safest Rosetta Stone to use.
Well, it looks like that notion is starting to pay off. Recently, one of my players took over the DM mantle for a while and threw us all a curveball, by sending our characters into a fantasy world, a la D&D. And guess what? It worked perfectly. No muss, no fuss. No need for conversions of any sort. She just had to keep in mind that Paragon characters have an ECL of around +2 or +3 and slightly better hit dice (which was a deliberate change). I gather that Clarence has been piecing together a similar experiment and that it is going well (he has added in the psionic classes and the assassin prestige class).
For my part, I have been having fun combining Paragon with another game that suits it even better than D&D, in my mind: Spycraft, from AEG. So far, this has been a very successful experiment, and I'm working out a whole new campaign, based on the mix. For those who are interested, here are a few tips on mixing the two with minimal trouble.
First off, you have to decide whether you are going to be bringing Spycraft classes and characters to Paragon or vice versa, since Spycraft is a d20 game and uses a few systems that are a bit different from the PHB. I'm going the former route, but either way works. Here are some things to keep in mind:
Spycraft to Paragon (i.e. playing Paragon with Spycraft classes): This is really pretty simple. Ignore the Spycraft races altogether and use Paragon's, since, in effect, any character in Spycraft would count as a Human. Just use the classes, with the following changes:
- Ignore the Defense Bonus and Initiative Bonus for each class, and use the Vitality dice for hit dice. You do not even have to raise the hit die a step, as you do in most other games, since Spycraft already uses the same scale as Paragon.
- The Faceman suffers a little for this change, so give him an extra +1 bonus on Reflex saves (i.e. just raise his base Reflex modifier, at any given level, by +1). Technically, the Snoop is in the same boat, but his extra Gadget Points and class abilities seem to make up for the loss, in Paragon terms.
- Keep the Budget Points, as they indicate the equipment the spy can have beyond what his Wealth would allow; however, they are not increased during any particular "mission" -- only the base score is used.
- At the DM's discretion, Gadget Points can also be used, as long as you keep two important points in mind: a) the gadgets belong to the organization, not to the individual, and b) no gadget should mimic a Power level beyond Standard. As with Budget Points, only the base score is used, and it is not increased on any given "mission".
Paragon to Spycraft (i.e. playing Spycraft with Paragon Powers):
- You have to add, at least, the Mutant race to Spycraft, or you won't really have any Powers in the first place. In theory, the Alien and Cyborg races could be added with minimal fuss, as well, as long as your campaign background allows for it. Remember that all three races have an ECL of +2, in Spycraft terms (it might be even higher in some games, but Spycraft humans are pretty tough customers, anyway). Paragon Humans are unnecessary, since, by default, any normal Spycraft character is a Human, using the Departments from that game. I would shy away from Augmented Humans, as well, since they do not fit in well and are difficult to classify, ECL-wise, in Spycraft terms.
- The only class that should be brought over from Paragon is Metahuman, since it allows a character to improve his Powers. All of the usual benefits (including attack and saving throw modifiers) apply normally, with d8 being used for Vitality. Defense is as per the Faceman (i.e. level/2, rounded down), and Initiative is as per the Snoop. Budget and Gadget Points are as per the Soldier. The Metahuman has no core ability.
- All of the Power-related feats can be brought over to Spycraft without change. In fact, most of Paragon's non-Power feats probably can be, as well.
- Powers work pretty much the same in Spycraft as they do in Paragon. Just remember that any reference to hit points now applies to Vitality, and any reference to Armor Class now applies to Defense Bonus. I would also recommend pushing up the threat range for Natural Weaponry from 20 to 19-20, to increase the chance of doing Wound damage with this Power.
I have probably missed a few things here and there (especially in the latter conversion, since I am not yet using it myself), but this should be more than enough to get you started. Even if you don't want to actually mix classes between the two games, you will probably find that many of the systems in Spycraft are also handy in Paragon -- especially the vehicle rules. While I have not yet seen Shadowforce Archer, I suspect that, at least in that campaign world, Spycraft might also benefit from some of Paragon's many new Powers and feats. I did go to some lengths to make Paragon play nicely with other games, so don't be afraid to experiment, with this or any other combination.
P.S. If you are diving into this in the middle and feeling puzzled, make sure that you click on the Older button to check out the very first introductory post. The d20 Supers rules and Vancouver: 2020 primer can be found at RPG Hoard. If you want to comment on this page, just click here, or press the Contact Cwylric button, to the left, to send me an email. Remember that the kermode.net address listed in older versions of Paragon and Vancouver: 2020 is no longer active, so please use one of these two methods to get in touch with me, instead.
