Author Topic: Trailblazer d20: Is it any good?  (Read 1904 times)

Offline Libertad

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Trailblazer d20: Is it any good?
« on: January 26, 2012, 09:20:14 PM »
So I came across a product made way back in 2009 by Bad Axe Games.  It's Trailblazer d20, a book which takes a surgical approach to the d20 System in an attempt to figure out the crunchy math underlying it.  The book also addresses many of the most common complaints of the system (like caster-noncaster balance) and presents fixes for them.

To those who've looked over the product, what do you think of it?  Do they know what they're talking about?  Do their fixes go far enough in implementing solutions?
« Last Edit: January 26, 2012, 09:21:47 PM by Libertad »

Offline Unbeliever

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Re: Trailblazer d20: Is it any good?
« Reply #1 on: January 27, 2012, 11:32:36 AM »
I liked it.  It was certainly worth the like $5 for the pdf.  It has some nice, meta-analysis of the system and is written in a clear style.  It also has a goal of cutting down the flotsam and bookkeeping a little bit, but makes very little changes to the system.

I particularly like its implementation of Action Points, as that puts less pressure on the iterative probability defenses issues and allows you to play characters with weaknesses without worrying about setting your character sheet on fire.  Likewise, it lets you get away with less system mastery.  There are other rules it proposes -- like the way it handles full attacks -- which I like but haven't bothered using yet. 

I don't recall it really addressing inter-class balance much, though.