/vx/ - Videogames and Paranormal

A flexible bonus feat is also kind of high power though... There's a reason why humans are the strongest race in third edition.

>>128025
One way to balance it is through level adjustment for player monsters. You look at strength, size, natural armor natural attacks, etc. and provide a sort of level handicap. This system is quite flexible and is subject to the "acid test" where if either the monster or an equivalently leveled standard character is obviously preferable then further adjustment is needed. For example, maybe baby dragons have a +3 and so in a level 5 campaign, your dragon character can have only two class levels vs. five for a pony. It's also possible to "regress" monsters or OP races down to 1st level and allow natural abilities to come back through leveling up. Obviously, the relative adjustment in the book is based on the standard humanoid races and it would have to be reworked for ponies, but I think it's a really good system (thank you >>127934).

>>128038
>For example, maybe baby dragons have a +3 and so in a level 5 campaign, your dragon character can have only two class levels vs. five for a pony.
There's no shortage of existing playable dragon in d&d already. It might not be necessary to design a whole new race.

Dragonkin, Dragonborn, Draconians, Half-dragons, draconic creatures, dragonspawn, Savage Progression True Dragons, kobolds, Viletooth lizardfolk... etc

>>128038
>Obviously, the relative adjustment in the book is based on the standard humanoid races and it would have to be reworked for ponies
I'd warn you now that the third edition level adjustment system isn't exactly balanced. Sometimes LA assignments feel arbitrary.
Regardless, it still exists for a reason. If you intend for creatures to have racial abilities that would make them significantly more powerful than than typical lvl 1 characters, there should be a level adjustment.

I took another look at that recharge magic variant system.
https://molivero.com/dndtools/USRD/srd/variant/unearthedRecharge.html
It's a pretty high-powered magic system variant, initially meant for characters that would have very long adventuring days before they get to rest. Applying it to a game where time stands still could arguably make casters more playable; although I think I'd rather devote that effort as a GM to keeping the game moving instead.
I considered it for my PF game, since it's kind of crunch and I'm trying to write a beat-em-up style adventure where the PCs have to cleave through armies of mobs.
In the end I decided against it since none of my players are actually full casters. If they have trouble, I'll just introduce action points.

Recharge magic would certainly make casters more enjoyable, but the question arises what to do with characters with per-encounter abilities (Swordsages and other Martial Adepts) or at-will abilities (Warlocks, Dragonfire Adepts and other Invokers), who might see their niches eclipsed by the variant casters. My game is going to have a Kinecist, which is part of the reason why I dropped it.

>>128025
>What are the pros and cons of using 5e over 3.5e?
I think the one pro to using 5e is that its simplicity makes it easier for noobs. It's more popular with a broader and younger audience because of that; thus it's easier to find and join 5e games online than it is for 3.5e games, although not by much if you know where to look.
Still, I prefer 3.5e because of the freedom it provides, since I have a fancy for obscure and unique builds. Pathfinder also has most of what I like about 5e anyway, so PF is my second choice (could be my first, if only it were more compatible with my beloved third edition splats).

I came across the old "Ask Merriweather" blog and it seems pretty spot on in regards to how changelings are perceived in EaW. Might be useful for worldbuilding.

>>128548
>incapable of feeling love
They'd be a lot like Mindflayers, in that regard.

>>128548
>Might be useful for worldbuilding.
It depends how you want to use them. They're definitely a level adjusted race, considering that they fly *and* have innate supernatural abilities. Their level adjustments would ultimately make them more of an NPC race as far as characters are concerned, which is also alright considering that they're not very suitable as PCs fluffwise.

As for the "soulless" and "culturally dead" aspect, that could be expressed as a charisma penalty; the penalty could be offset with a racial bonus to bluff checks.
I'd also give them a small bonus to resist mind-effecting attacks, to represent their callousness and lack of emotion.
Tbh, they could also have a Wisdom or even Constitution penalty, just based on their appearance and/or mannerisms.
I'd make their favored class Beguiler, but no changeling besides Chrysalis has been described as a spellcaster in the show, so it better be Rogue or Lurk instead.

Their love-feeding mechanic would be similar to an Elan's Sustenance, except that it wouldn't consume power points, and it would require the changeling to be in the presence of an unwittingly friendly humanoid.

Like the Eberron changelings, their transformation outta be equivalent to Disguise Self usable at-will, except that it would be a transmutation effect instead of an illusion. That in and of itself would give them a +10 Circumstance bonus to disguise checks.
Eberron changelings are already pushing it as a +0 LA race though, pushing the boundary towards +1. Adding at-will flight to it would make them a highly-adjusted race, but I guess that's also kind of the point.

First off, why? If a setting is in WW2 and features combat, sooner or later there will be combat featuring a tank or armored car. If the party is involved in any way a set of rules relevant to armored combat is needed for balance and fun without simply being DM railroading. Such rules could ideally be modified to fit a different time or fictional setting (for example, Godzilla where a colossal creature attacks such vehicles), or even a silly game along the lines of the fanfic “Fluttershy finds a M4 Sherman.” Fortunately, military designers have recognized the need for simplicity and uniformity and so calibre is measured in millimeters, barrel length is measured in calibers and armor penetration is measured in millimeters of rolled homogeneous armor equivalent. Games like World of Tanks[i] and [i]War Thunder simplify the complexities of armored combat so that even a layman can understand it. Thus a conversion into dice rolls may be possible, if difficult.

Basics

The first major problem for armored vehicles comes from deciding what size they are. By 3.5 rules most could be considered either “large” or “huge,” as a M3 Stuart just fits within “large” while the M4 Sherman is “huge.” In a happy stroke of luck, super-heavy tanks like the Tog II, Char 2C, and the Maus can be considered “gargantuan.”

Most home-brew solutions I’ve seen come from making an armored vehicle its own “creature.” Although this is simple and works for JRPGs I don’t think it’s satisfactory for an immersive DnD experience, because 1) the AC is not uniform, 2) tanks are not “whale on it until it runs out of HP” creatures, they have parts and crew, and 3) it’s hard to balance something when only a few variables govern its effectiveness. The complexity of rule expansions for all sorts of different things implies that making [i]War Thunder[i] in DnD may actually be possible, so I propose this simulated system adapted for round-based combat. For example, if a grid is used then the armored vehicle occupies a rectangular set of squares, with crew and components occupying locations within this rectangle.

In a way a tank in combat acts like a creature, but in others it acts like multiple entities. Crew (characters) are needed to operate the vehicle and they do with components. These are protected by the armored shell and to force a “win” in combat it’s necessary to “mission kill” the tank, either through disabling components or knocking the crew out. This is usually very difficult because of the weaponry wielded, as even machine guns can quickly kill PCs, so depending on the campaign these will be rare encounters, special fights, or support on the side of the heroes. If it’s a war setting where the PCs are tank aces, or if it’s a one-off/characters die off easily, then they might be more common.

As normal when attacking a tank a 20d is rolled to determine hit or miss (I guess they never miss, huh?) This takes into account the size modifier of the opposing vehicle, cover, whether an anti-tank weapon is already facing that direction, distance, and character skill (more on this later). There are 10 external armor zones for a typical tank: front turret, side turret, rear turret, top turret, front hull, side hull, tracks, rear hull, top hull, and bottom hull. An attacking character calls out what part he’s attacking which has to be facing him. A roll low enough to be a “miss” but not enough to miss the entire tank may hit another zone instead; on the other hand, a critical may hit a vulnerable part like the cupola which is targetable from every side yet counts as “top armor.” Whether a round penetrates depends on the vehicle’s armor stats for that zone and the relative angle to get effective armor, which is then compared to the attacking gun+round penetration statistic.

Damage Mechanics

Hit mechanics differ between small arms and heavy weapons. Small arms normally are not able to penetrate an armored vehicle, but with a confirmed critical they are still able to deal damage to weak points like optics or night vision, reducing the gunner’s ability to spot and accuracy. A penetrating hit from a heavy weapon can have different results. A shot that remains intact will pass through crew and components in its way; if it reaches the other armored side then it may bounce and cause more damage, but if the penetration value exceeds the relative armor of both sides and the effective armor of crew and components, it will overpenetrate and pass clean through. The heavier the armor, the more likely a shot is to fragment through a dice roll, and this will result in damage in a cone pattern within the tank. If somehow a HE shell manages to penetrate the armor, then its explosion inflicts maximum damage to whatever is adjacent inside the tank and less damage to crew/components further away. Depending on encounter it’s more likely that HE explodes on the outside of the vehicle. This causes (reduced) sonic damage to crew within the tank and a die is rolled to determine whether spalling occurs (the larger the explosive, the more likely, and riveted armor is more likely to spall), which causes damage in a cone pattern but to a lesser extent than with an AP fragmentation. Explosions which don’t penetrate armor can still damage components like tracks.

Components that may be damaged include but are not limited to: engine, transmission, tracks, ammunition, main gun barrel, main gun breech, machine guns, turret ring, and fuel tanks. Damage to any of these reduces capabilities of the tank which should be obvious: in addition, critical damage to ammunition can cause an explosion which is the equivalent of a TPK, critical damage to engine or fuel can cause a fire (reduced chance if the vehicle runs on diesel), and a significantly damaged gun breech requires a roll to ensure it won’t explode upon firing. Although fire can be suppressed remotely (presumably) and characters with appropriate skills/feats may repair components inside the tank, to repair something outside like the tracks requires getting out of the vehicle.

A vehicle may have anywhere from three to five crew members: the most critical members are the driver, the gunner, and the commander, but a machine gunner and a loader are also likely to be present. Operation has its own skills, such as driving or gunnery, and even its own feats (like attacking with machine guns and main cannon at the same time); this makes fighting an experienced crew tougher. Some things may also require ability rolls such as strength for loading the gun and hand-turning the turret. The commander suffers a spot penalty while “buttoned-up,” but if he’s standing through his hatch enemies still have a hit penalty while targeting from front, sides, or rear (but not the top). A character on top of the tank may make a strength check to forcibly open a tank’s hatch while it’s occupied.

To keep the spirit of DnD it may be preferable to dismiss fixed values and instead use dice modifiers for armor class, gun penetration, and more. It’s a trade-off: the more dice are rolled per turn of battle the more variability exists but each round takes longer. The way I think it could work is this: an attacker rolls to hit a tank with an AP round and let’s assume a non-critical hit here. Penetration gets rolled with the modifier being the gun’s AP ability. The tank makes an opposed armor check with modifier depending on armor thickness and slope. If penetration wins out then damage is rolled. This makes a total of four rolls in every standard attack on a tank.

Weaponry

Because I felt like it I compiled a list of vehicle-mounted machine guns and cannons used by Britain, America, Germany and the USSR in WW2. It is by no means definitive or fully accurate but it gives a good overview of how weapons relate to each other in regards to calibre, barrel length, and penetration. Rather than including every single kind in a DnD home-brew it may be better and more flexible to come up with a formula that translates calibre and barrel length (measured in calibers) into penetration and damage modifiers in dice rolls. A wider/heavier shell and longer (proportional) barrel mean more force and therefore better penetration. A wider/heavier shell and shorter barrel (to be fair, from my table it looks like only the largest calibers benefit from a shorter barrel) allows for more explosive mass in HE shells, as shorter barrels exert less stress and allow for thinner-walled shells. Machine guns in DnD would operate differently and barrel length can be assumed to be irrelevant; RPM determines number of hit dice per round.

Forming categories of tank weapons by calibre may be helpful in simplifying this, though these are just suggestions. Smaller cannons suffer an accuracy penalty when hitting anything smaller than “large” while larger bores have a penalty hitting anything smaller than “huge”:
20mm-45mm
46-75mm
76-100mm
101-120mm
120-150mm
150+mm

Movement

Heavy armored vehicles are very cumbersome and cannot fit through gaps narrower than they are. Though capable of cross-country movement and crushing objects smaller than themselves, they suffer a movement penalty on rough terrain or upward-sloping hills. Although they can move at a decent pace in a straight line, turning 90º requires its own standard action (same with the turret, and either needs a full turn to rotate 180º, but although normally there is an accuracy penalty to firing while turning, a feat mitigates this).

Any thoughts regarding this? I’m not letting up on the idea because it has so much potential, yet I cannot find any home-brews that do this already. If we do come up with detailed armored combat we could test it with short one-offs.

Sources
Primary source, particularly for barrel length/muzzle velocity, is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tank_main_guns
The War Thunder wiki is good for other details. If there’s a lack of information then World of Tanks at least provides a penetration estimate.
Although more useful for a modern setting this is helpful as a reference for the penetration value of ammunition: http://www.steelbeasts.com/sbwiki/index.php/Ammunition_Data
For other instances then it is possible to calculate the penetration value here: https://www.tankarchives.ca/p/demarre-calculator.html?m=1 (using the equation B = (V • √P)/(K • √D))
Information regarding machine guns was obtained here: https://www.militaryfactory.com/smallarms/ww2-machine-guns.asp
You can calculate effective armor using this handy calculator: https://panzerworld.com/relative-armor-calculator

>>128801
Here is the table

>>128800
>>128801
>>128802
The d20 d&d system already has mechanics for most of this. Why go through all of the trouble writing original mechanics?
You could find the mechanics for most of this between Stronghold Builder's Guide, Heroes Of Battle, and d20 modern.

Eberron actually has it's own equivalent to tanks. Using Bind Elemental, you can create vehicles of all kind (and they don't even need fuel!). The only drawback is how expensive they are.
It's even better if you use Permanent Animate Objects or minor servitor to bring them to life.

The rel question is how do you put an appropriate gp price on modern weapons in a game that was made for medieval level technology.

As far as combat is concerned... 3.5e still probably isn't the best engine to run a tank-based game on, just because stats will be a nightmare and PCs probably won't be able to use most of their class features in tank battles, unless they're Wizards or Artificers.

Gosh, Eberron is such a fun setting. I love how it's a high-magicktech setting, but the world is also so balanced and has room for everything.

>>128800
>>128801
>>128802
These are pretty neat ideas. I could say more later, but the first few things I would say is, don't forget about armored cars and half tracks. Those are more likely to come up in many instances anyways. Another is that it's worth thinking about what a tank can do when it's a part of the environment, but does not have a functioning set of tracks. The machine guns alone would be amazingly useful in many situations... or immensely threatening. I like the comments on movement, but I am less sure about the damage mechanics. Letting a 20 for small arms successfully hit a portal or some other spot almost seems too easy when what you are shooting at is a tank.

>>128806
[YouTube] because it's so much fun, jan! [Embed]

>>128810
There are tank rules in d20 modern, which is effectively the same engine as 3.5e d&d, except made for modern settings.
Also rules for mass-scale artillery fire and assisted warzone encounters in heroes of battle.
Arms and Equipment has rules for steering vehicles, and Magic Of Eberron has rules for piloting elemental vessels.

>>128806
>>128808
>>128811
Huh, I'll have to do more research. Know a place where I can find the pdfs for these? Where I am I doubt I could buy them anyway.
Also, the best way to learn is from doing. Anyone willing to DM a quick "test" campaign?

>>128859
Um... I can

>>128859
It's all available online.
Which books do you want?
>Anyone willing to DM a quick "test" campaign?
A campaign or an adventure?
A campaign takes months.

>>128861
I get all of my books from TheTrove:
https://thetrove.net/Books/

>>128862
It really is a "trove" of information, though finding the specific rulebooks takes a bit of digging. I couldn't find "Arms & Equipment" but I did find "Arms & Armor," is that what you meant? Eberron has twenty books, does "The Forge of War" have what I'm looking for? It's the same for d20 Modern except I don't know where to start. Where's Stronghold Builder's Guide?

>>128861
I meant adventure, sorry

>>128863
Arms and Equipment and Stronghold Builder's Guide:
https://thetrove.net/Books/Dungeons%20&%20Dragons/3rd%20Edition%20(3.x)/D&D%203.0e%20Core/Arms%20&%20Equipment%20Guide.pdf
https://thetrove.net/Books/Dungeons%20&%20Dragons/3rd%20Edition%20(3.x)/D&D%203.0e%20Core/Stronghold%20Builder%27s%20Guidebook.pdf
Mind that these are 3.0 books.

The Forge of War is indeed a good book; I like it particularly because it went into detail about the manufacturing costs and efficiency of the warforged.
Eberron is a magicktech setting that takes place shortly after an intercontinental war. I consider it's lore to be pretty good for war-based d&d (excluding epic level nonsense).
I think the elemental vessels are in Magic Of Eberron though.
https://thetrove.net/Books/Dungeons%20&%20Dragons/3rd%20Edition%20(3.x)/Eberron/Magic%20of%20Eberron.pdf
Pretty sure the economics surrounding them was detailed in the Eberron Campaign setting, but idk since my artificer never got near the level where I would have been interested in using them.

War-based mechanics for all of d&d are detailed in Heroes Of Battle:
https://thetrove.net/Books/Dungeons%20&%20Dragons/3rd%20Edition%20(3.x)/D&D%203.5e%20Core/Heroes%20of%20Battle.pdf
It's got stuff about how to set-up large scale battles, commader auras, ways to gain strategic advantages, teamwork benefits, decorations, affiliations, artillery meta and more. It goes well with the PHBII, and with The Complete Champion.
I consider it to be a pretty good book. The strategic elements proved useful for my last Cleric.

I think you're really looking for d20 modern.
https://thetrove.net/Books/Dungeons%20&%20Dragons/d20%20Modern/
Everything about 3.5e d&d assumes medieval/classical warfare. Adding modern tech makes equipment-levels hard to deal with... The DMG says to refer to d20 Modern for all rules surrounding firearms and modern technology, but also wants to use modern technology sparingly if at all in a d&d game.
A lot of what you might be interested in is in the SRDs though.
http://www.d20resources.com/

I think the biggest priority in all hybrid settings is to establish gold piece pricing for modern weapons.
d20 Modern has it's own wealth system, employing the use of starting occupations and purchase DCs; however, the gold standard is a pivotal aspect of 3.5e d&d, as the power of a character is strongly tied to its WBL, and that overgeared/undergeared PCs can be overpowered/easily-TPK'd. All encounters and modules in third edition assume that PCs have their properly allocated WBL and reasonably-ample access to chances to buy/sell their equipment.

In addition, a game with modern weapons will have players that want to use/craft/enchant said weapons. Those weapons also need to have a gp cost to facilitate balance.
There's also the question of item level in addition to WBL, since a PC who picks up an overpowered weapon can plausibly ruin encounters that were meant to be hard. Item level is a concept detailed in the MIC.
https://thetrove.net/Books/Dungeons%20&%20Dragons/3rd%20Edition%20(3.x)/D&D%203.5e%20Core/Magic%20Item%20Compendium.pdf
The MIC is a good book, imo. It has a lot of useful and reasonably priced items, as well as details for how to incorporate items into games.

>>128864
>but also wants to use modern technology sparingly if at all in a d&d game
typo
It warns to use modern tech sparingly. Says to treat them like artifacts.

>>128859
>>128863
What kind of test are you aiming at? Like, a one-shot?

>>128871
Yes, with throwaway characters, just to get a feel how combat with any armored vehicle might play out.

>>128884
Well, if it's a one-shot I could give a crack at it. I'm always game to test new mechanics.
I'm not the best at writing stories on the fly, but I can run encounters. You're going to have to make it clear what it is you're trying to do though. If I have even a skeleton of a module I could flesh it out and test a few encounters for 3-4 players.
What medium are you interested in playing with? I could set up a discord server or a Roll20 game.

>>128890
Any medium is fine with me, even a thread here on /vx/. Perhaps it's a WW2 setting and the band is either infantry trying to take out a T-34, or they're a tank crew operating a Sherman or Panzer IV fighting that T-34. Hopefully we can get some Anons on board

>>128892
Ngl, after some past experience I've come to think that chansites might not be as good of a medium for RPGs as I once thought. That's just my personal preference though, since it doesn't matter as much for a single one-shot.
Would you be interesting in a discord chat? If so, I could work this over with you in DMs. Since it's your idea i would appreciate a co, just so I can figure out what to prep.

>>128894
Chans may not be the best but because they're public and not a muh sekrit club a test run on /vx/ offers a good reference and allows others to observe.

>>128896
>>128892
So what kind of situation exactly?

Something like an RPG version of Fury, where a group is in a tank going through a multitude of obstacles?

>>128896
Okay. I'd still like top DM about planning the content, if at all possible. If you've got a discord, roll20 or mythweavers we could chat about it.

I'll flip through the d20 modern tank meta and see what I can cook up in some weeks.

>>128898
I was thinking of something like a mass-scale army styled encounter, with a couple hundred enemies advancing on a stronghold. I'm quite interested in the idea of undead armies, so it could be a fun encounter to write.
Basically the PCs and the enemies keep shooting at eachother until the BBEG descends and the party has to take them on.
>>128898
That could work too, although in that case I'd prefer the players to use d20 modern classes, since most d&d class features aren't exactly usable inside a tank.

>>128898
>>128901
Either would be neat, or we could have a classic DnD (with a more WW1-style tank) and a d20 modern (with a WW2 tank) back-to-back. I'm not picky, I just think that a scenario which tests out every aspect that would be commonly encountered is probably best.
Because this is a test adventure and nothing serious don't be afraid to share ideas or tips here.

>>128902
I have to go to bed and be ready for exams. I'll talk more about this tomorrow.
You could also just dip in the official /mlpol/ server and post a shout-out so I could PM you later about it, if you've got an account:
https://discord.gg/rDNnqr7

I'm trying to write my own campaign with a lot of warzone encounters, so this could let me experiment with some of my ideas. It's probably only going to last for one day though.
But for the next two weeks I might have my hands tied with exams.

>>128905
Understandable, best of luck on the exams. I prefer steering away from Discord whenever possible.

>>128906
Suit yourself.

Just posting this dragon magazine file here so i can find it later. Has a few firearm stats, and listings of which magazines they're from.

Also posting this here, because I was interested in War Magic Study, and other spells with the [War] descriptor.
WoTC is like: "Monks are overpowered; Wizards need moar toys Xp"

>>128915
That Article:
https://thetrove.net/Books/Dungeons%20&%20Dragons/Magazines/Dragon/301-350/Dragon%20Magazine%20%23321.pdf
D20 Modern Weapons Locker:
https://thetrove.net/Books/Dungeons%20&%20Dragons/d20%20Modern/d20%20Weapons%20Locker.pdf
D20 Modern Core Rulebook:
https://thetrove.net/Books/Dungeons%20&%20Dragons/d20%20Modern/d20%20Modern%20Core%20Rulebook.pdf
D20 Modern Past (for hybrid milieu):
https://thetrove.net/Books/Dungeons%20&%20Dragons/d20%20Modern/d20%20Past.pdf
Menace Manual (Modern Monster Manual):
https://thetrove.net/Books/Dungeons%20&%20Dragons/d20%20Modern/d20%20Menace%20Manual.pdf
Errata:
https://thetrove.net/Books/Dungeons%20&%20Dragons/d20%20Modern/d20%20Modern%20Errata.pdf
GM screen, with all of the most important weapon stats on it:
https://thetrove.net/Books/Dungeons%20&%20Dragons/d20%20Modern/d20%20Modern%20GM%20Screen.pdf
D20 Arcana (For Hybrid milieu):
https://thetrove.net/Books/Dungeons%20&%20Dragons/d20%20Modern/d20%20Urban%20Arcana.pdf
And the collection (just putting it here to sift through when I'm a bit less busy):
https://thetrove.net/Books/Dungeons%20&%20Dragons/d20%20Modern/

And two SRD links for vehicles:
http://www.d20resources.com/modern.d20.srd/equipment/military.vehicles.php
http://dmreference.com/MRD/Equipment/Vehicles.htm
The SRDs have external links detailing how to drive tanks using the Drive or Pilot skills. As well as description for AoE automatic weapons function.
One more link:
http://www.d20resources.com/modern.d20.srd/equipment/equipment.vehicles.php

Still not sure how wealth checks purchase DCs should convert to gp prices though... Mundane items as powerful as magical weapons ideally should have high prices in a D&D setting, but they can only be so expensive before it gets absurd because guns shouldn't be worth ten times their weight in gold.
If you applied Tippyverse macroeconomics, you might consider the existence of self-resetting traps of Wall Of "Iron + Fabricate" or professional wizards and magewrights mass-producing magecraft items, thus reducing the costs of said items. Let us not go to the Tippyverse though; 'tis a silly place.
Still, applying Eberron ideals in a hybrid magicktech milieu, even a lvl 1 Blacksmith would learn the spell Magecraft, allowing them to produce mundane goods of masterwork quality, The subject of how magic and technology could work together in manufacturing processes is a fascinating one.

>>128916
Dragon #309: All about War:
https://thetrove.net/Books/Dungeons%20&%20Dragons/Magazines/Dragon/301-350/Dragon%20Magazine%20-%20309.pdf
Features the War Magic Study feat, and 21 [War] scale spells.
... Also a nice little side bar about creating Martial Arts styles. I'm surprised I never saw that one. Nice page on hobgoblins too.
Dragon #348 had Marshal/Commander Auras that Complement the Marshal (Minis Handbook) or ant creature using the Commander Auras Variant mechanic in Heroes Of Battle:
https://thetrove.net/Books/Dungeons%20&%20Dragons/Magazines/Dragon/301-350/Dragon%20Magazine%20-%20348.pdf

Looks like Dragon #325 was the only third edition Dragon article on firearms. The DMG has a sidebar that says to refer to D20 Modern for rules regarding that.
Looks like Dragon did have articles for tanks, but they weren't for third edition. D20 Modern has tank rules though.

Nice perspective on Modern Magic and technological devices in Dragon #327:
https://thetrove.net/Books/Dungeons%20&%20Dragons/Magazines/Dragon/301-350/Dragon%20Magazine%20-%20327.pdf

Thank Pelor for Dragondex.
>tfw no Dungeondex

Posting the old D20 Modern WoTC SRD, just for reference. I'll check to see if there's anything left of the Web Articles to fuel the wayback machine before Hasbro tries to memory hole it. They deleted a lot of the third edition web pages a couple months ago.
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=d20/article/msrd

Pinnacle Entertainment came out with a D20-system conversion for their Weird Wars II game while the D20 bubble was still hot. I heard Savage Word is decent, but I don't yet have an opinion about PEGs D20 stuff.
Still, more potential modern tech gear for the D20 system.
https://thetrove.net/Books/Savage%20Worlds/Weird%20Wars/Weird%20War%20II/
The D20 stuff is at the bottom of the collection.

>>128920
I dislike its revisionist "ack-chually it are otherworldly horrors who have led to the rise of the nazis and inspired them to their atrocities" approach to the history of WW2 (although that's the whole point of the game), but that is probably of no concern to anyone here if you just want to steal the ready-made gear.

>>128920
>>128921
Dead From Above has meta concerning WWII era planes for the D20 system:
https://thetrove.net/Books/Savage%20Worlds/Weird%20Wars/Weird%20War%20II/Weird%20Wars%20D20%20-%20Weird%20War%20II%20-%20Dead%20From%20Above.pdf
Land Of The Rising Dead is based on the Pacific Wars. More Plane/Navy stuff:
https://thetrove.net/Books/Savage%20Worlds/Weird%20Wars/Weird%20War%20II/Weird%20Wars%20D20%20-%20Weird%20War%20II%20-%20Land%20of%20the%20Rising%20Dead.pdf
And Just about everything else important for D20 is in Blood On The Rhine:
https://thetrove.net/Books/Savage%20Worlds/Weird%20Wars/Weird%20War%20II/Weird%20Wars%20D20%20-%20Weird%20War%20II%20-%20Blood%20on%20the%20Rhine.pdf

>>128922
Flipping through Blood On The Rhine, a lot of this looks decently usable.

>>128920
Weird Wars, as the name implies, is a war-based game. The books i read last night had a lot of mechanics for mass-scale combat, artillery, and heavy machines that seem to have a competent conversion into the d20 system. It's got skill systems meant for planes and artillery that look like they'd mesh well with the D20 Modern Games.
I also noticed that they Artillery a skill, instead of just making it based on attack rolls. It's comparable to how siege engines in D&D operate off of profession checks.

It looks like a decent supplement for a war-themed D20 game, considering that third edition D&D and D20 Modern are not war games, but instead games about heroes, where things like armies and strongholds are intentionally made irrelevant in place of class level, individual power, and access to magic/items. A mid-level, well-equipped barbarian can make mincemeat out of hundreds of grunts, armed to the teeth or not, and a competent mid-level Wizard can lay waste to entire countries as a standard action (if he's ruthless enough). D&D assumes medieval/classical era technology; magical items are common, but incredibly expensive, and not exactly easy to mass produce (without bullshit).
D20 Modern/Future has a different approach it's class and skill system is different. The Strong, Fast, Dedicated, Tough, Charismatic, and Smart Hero classes are all rather versatile with plenty of alternate class features. Equipment is a solid foundation of power, but not to the extent that it is in d&d. instead of a gold piece system and WBL, it has a system of wealth checks and purchase DCs. It also takes Death By Massive Damage a bit more seriously, as PCs start with lower massive damage thresholds (that can be increased with feats/items): unlike in mid-level d&d, taking a grenade to the face might actually kill you.
D20 Modern also saturates PCs in bonus feats, allowing them to use a wide array of equipment and learn useful (albeit mundane) abilities.
Their skill system is also different. It includes the Drive and Pilot skills (both dex-based), as well as separating Craft into a multitude of separate general skill categories. These skills allow the heroes to make use of modern technology and equipment in the world.
D20 Arcana has both magic and psionics, but they are only accessible through feats and prestige classes. World-changing, full-casting classes are nonexistent.
Considering the emphasis on strategy and teamwork over brute force and superhuman power, I would say D20 Modern is a more suitable engine for war themed games that involve modern tech. That being said, it still favors specialized SWAT teams over armies and strongholds, since it's still a D20 game in the end.
>128864
Heroes Of Battle does a good job of establishing guidelines for war-based games, artillery fire, teamwork benefits, military ranks and decorations, and how to calculate XP for assisted encounters.
As it's name implies, it's still a supplement for a game that is meant to focus on a party of 3-6 heroes, who in this instance happen to lead armies. The chance of success by low-level followers can be make greater by being buffed by the Commander Auras that higher level characters who've met certain prerequisites can emanate. Tactical victories an be made by PCs gaining Strategic Advantages by rolling Knowledge (Warcraft) checks, in addition to the Local, History, or Engineering checks that PCs would normally make. Teamwork benefits are derivative of what prerequisites that team leaders make. A game that heavily features Heroes Of Battle content s not so much about armies as it is the leadership and military genius of the heroes who lead said armies.

I'll finish reading these books after my exams.