Post originally by Oliver at 2004-06-21 11:20:00
Converted from Phorums BB System

>I intensely dislike d20, but for once I have to admit that it is the best choice for this setting. Both LoneWolf and D&D come from the old eighties and beyond, after all, and share a similar view on RPGs.

Doesn't mean that the players still hold this outlook on RPGs. Quite the contrary, someone who has been playing that long is likely to have evolved quite a bit in his RP style. And there's quite a difference between adventure books and your average modern round-the-table group. Things that people might be willing to accept as the tools of an adventure book are unacceptable in a round the table situation, where more freedom is expected.

More, especially when looking at D20 as a system, there are profound differences between the regular system and the gamebook: In the book, there are several instant-death situations. With d20, especially in a high-level situation, such situations usually result in "Waitaminit, I have, like, what, 300 HP, no way I am instantly dead."

In a similar issue, not everything is simply transferrable from adventure gamebook to tabletop RPG. The simple adapting of opponent strength to the level of the characters is not something many people take lightly. When fighting Helghast in Fire on the Water, they are necessarily weaker than those you fight later. Same for the Vordak in Flight from the Dark and later versions. In the book, you might accept this as a way to keep the adventure challenging. At the table, where there's a live person controlling your challenges, you usually expect a bit more refined means.

Yes, of course there are similarities in outlook. That doesn't mean that these couldn't have been kept in a dedicated system.