D20 System
Encyclopedia
The d20 System is a role-playing game system
published in 2000 by Wizards of the Coast
originally developed for the third edition of Dungeons & Dragons
. The system is named after the iconic 20-sided
dice
which are central to the core mechanics of many actions in the game.
Much of the d20 System was released as the System Reference Document
(SRD) under the Open Game License (OGL) as Open Game Content
(OGC), which allows commercial and non-commercial publishers to release modifications or supplements to the system without paying for the use of the system's associated intellectual property, which is owned by Wizards of the Coast
.
The original impetus for the open licensing of the d20 System was the economics of producing roleplaying games. Game supplements suffered far more diminished sales over time than the core books required to play the game. Ryan Dancey, Dungeons and Dragons' brand manager
at the time, directed the effort of licensing the new edition of Dungeons and Dragons through the 'd20 System Trademark', allowing other companies to support the d20 System under a common brand identity. This is distinct from the Open Game License, which simply allows any party to produce works composed or derivative of designated Open Game Content.
, the most obvious being the "feats" gained every three character levels in most games (note that this is an extension of the d20 mechanics and, while implemented by most companies, can be dropped). The three primary designers behind the d20 System were Jonathan Tweet
, Monte Cook
and Skip Williams
; many others contributed, most notably Richard Baker
and Wizards of the Coast then-president Peter Adkison
. Many give Tweet the bulk of the credit for the basic resolution mechanic, citing similarities to the system behind his game Ars Magica
. Tweet, however, stated "The other designers already had a core mechanic similar to the current one when I joined the design team".
To resolve an action in the d20 System, a player rolls a 20-sided die and adds modifiers based on the natural aptitude of the character (defined by six abilities, Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma) and how skilled the character is in various fields (such as in combat), as well as other, situational modifiers. If the result is greater than or equal to a target number (called a Difficulty Class or DC) then the action succeeds. This is called the Core Mechanic, as opposed to the mechanics used by earlier editions of D&D, such as the first-edition hit tables or the second-edition AD&D "THAC0" and saving throw
mechanics. This system is also consistently used for all action resolution in the d20 System: in prior games in the D&D family, the rules for different actions varied considerably in which dice were used and even whether high numbers or low numbers were preferable.
The d20 System is not presented as a universal system in any of its publications or free distributions, unlike games like GURPS
. Rather, the core system has been presented in a variety of formats that have been adapted by various publishers (both Wizards of the Coast
and third-party) to specific settings and genres, much like the Basic Role-Playing
system common to early games by veteran RPG publisher Chaosium
.
The rules for the d20 System are defined in the SRD (currently version 3.5), which may be copied freely or even sold. Designed for fantasy-genre games in (usually) a pseudo-medieval setting, the SRD is drawn from the Dungeons & Dragons books Player's Handbook v3.5
, Expanded Psionics Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide v3.5
, Monster Manual v3.5
, Deities and Demigods v3.0, and Epic Level Handbook
. Information from these books not in the SRD include detailed descriptions, flavor-text, and material Wizards of the Coast considers Product Identity (such as references to the Greyhawk
campaign setting
and information on mind flayers
).
d20 Modern
has its own SRD, called the Modern System Reference Document (MSRD). The MSRD includes material from the d20 Modern roleplaying game
, Urban Arcana Campaign Setting
, the d20 Menace Manual
, and d20 Future
; this can cover a wide variety of genres, but is intended for a modern-day, or in the case of the last of these, a futuristic setting.
When gaming company The Valar Project, under former WotC brand manager Anthony Valtera, attempted to publish the d20 Book of Erotic Fantasy (BoEF), which focused on sexual content, WotC altered the d20 System Trademark License in advance of publication of BoEF by adding a "quality standards" provision that required publishers comply with "community standards of decency." This subsequently prevented the book's publication under the D20STL. WotC said this was done to protect its d20 System trademark. The Book of Erotic Fantasy was subsequently published without the d20 System trademark under the OGL. Other books subsequently published under similar circumstances include Skirmisher Publishing LLC
's Nuisances which also includes on its cover the disclaimer "Warning: Intended For Mature Readers Only."
The same round of changes to the license also limited the size at which the text "Requires the use of the Dungeons & Dragons Player's Handbook, Third Edition, published by Wizards of the Coast" (which is required to appear on the front or back cover of most fantasy d20 System products) could be printed, and prohibited making part of it larger than the rest. This was perceived as being aimed at the same Valar book; early mockups of the cover had the words "Dungeons & Dragons" in the above text printed much larger and in a different font
from the rest, right at the top of the front cover. This could have made the book appear to be an official Dungeons & Dragons publication to a casual or uninformed observer. The published version does not have the offending text on the cover.
Criticism is also levied at the conditions for termination of the d20 System Trademark License through a breach of its terms. The license requires that, upon breach of the terms of the D20STL which includes any subsequent modifications of the license after publication of a work using the d20 System trademark, all inventory and marketing material must be destroyed. Adhering to the breach conditions is an onerous task for smaller game companies. The mere threat of this condition being imposed was a huge blow to the now defunct d20 System publisher Fast Forward Entertainment, which had released several books that used non-open WotC content due to company president James Ward's misunderstanding of the license.
Other criticism is based around the part of the d20 System Trademark License which defines "Open Game Content" to include game mechanics and purports to license it. It is widely believed that game mechanics are uncopyrightable in the USA, and according to a circular on the US Copyright Office's website, "Once a game has been made public, nothing in the copyright law prevents others from developing another game based on similar principles."
One result of this has been the abandonment of the d20 System License by some publishers in favor of a simple "OGL" designation. Mongoose Publishing
's licensed games based on the Conan the Barbarian
property and the Robert A. Heinlein
novel Starship Troopers
, for example, use systems that function nearly identically to d20 but do not carry the d20 logo.
At least one company, Technomancer Press, has begun publishing d20 System-compatible material, but not under the d20 System License or OGL. Their use of the Dungeons and Dragons trademark and d20 System material is explicitly forbidden by the Open Gaming License, and this is deliberate (as is stated on their web site).
Sales of roleplaying games had already been in decline, and the popularity of the d20 System motivated companies to refocus on those products at the expense of their own games. Some companies (notably Alderac Entertainment Group
, with 7th Sea
and Legend of the Five Rings
) experimented with d20 System versions of existing creative properties.
The d20 System jump-started the fledgling PDF roleplaying publishing industry. Since many of the d20 System publishers were small, amateur companies started by fans, publishing as PDF offered a cheap and easy way of getting published, without the minimum returns required by professional ventures. Some of these companies became profitable and even broke through into offset print
(as opposed to print on demand
) runs.
While various manifestations of the d20 System have comprised the largest marketshare in roleplaying games, various sources (including Kenneth Hite
and Game Trade Magazine) report an overall decline in RPG sales. Some attribute this decline, at least partially, to declining d20 System game sales due to a market glut.
Role-playing game system
A role-playing game system is a set of game mechanics used in a role-playing game to determine the outcome of a character's in-game actions...
published in 2000 by Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for games...
originally developed for the third edition of Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
. The system is named after the iconic 20-sided
Icosahedron
In geometry, an icosahedron is a regular polyhedron with 20 identical equilateral triangular faces, 30 edges and 12 vertices. It is one of the five Platonic solids....
dice
Dice
A die is a small throwable object with multiple resting positions, used for generating random numbers...
which are central to the core mechanics of many actions in the game.
Much of the d20 System was released as the System Reference Document
System Reference Document
The System Reference Document, or SRD, is a set of reference role playing game mechanics licensed under the Open Game License by Wizards of the Coast and based upon their Dungeons and Dragons role-playing game. The SRD forms the basis of WotC's various d20 System role-playing games, including the...
(SRD) under the Open Game License (OGL) as Open Game Content
Open gaming
Open gaming is the movement within the role-playing game industry that is somewhat similar to the open source movement. The key aspect is that authors give recipients of works covered by copyright a license to certain rights, such as the right to make copies or the right to create derivative...
(OGC), which allows commercial and non-commercial publishers to release modifications or supplements to the system without paying for the use of the system's associated intellectual property, which is owned by Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for games...
.
The original impetus for the open licensing of the d20 System was the economics of producing roleplaying games. Game supplements suffered far more diminished sales over time than the core books required to play the game. Ryan Dancey, Dungeons and Dragons' brand manager
Brand management
Brand management is the application of marketing techniques to a specific product, product line, or brand.The discipline of brand management was started at Procter & Gamble as a result of a famous memo by Neil H...
at the time, directed the effort of licensing the new edition of Dungeons and Dragons through the 'd20 System Trademark', allowing other companies to support the d20 System under a common brand identity. This is distinct from the Open Game License, which simply allows any party to produce works composed or derivative of designated Open Game Content.
Mechanics
Mechanically speaking, the d20 System is a derivative of the third edition D&D game system; d20 also shares mechanical aspects with other game systems such as GURPSGURPS
The Generic Universal RolePlaying System, or GURPS, is a tabletop role-playing game system designed to allow for play in any game setting...
, the most obvious being the "feats" gained every three character levels in most games (note that this is an extension of the d20 mechanics and, while implemented by most companies, can be dropped). The three primary designers behind the d20 System were Jonathan Tweet
Jonathan Tweet
Jonathan Tweet is a game designer who has been involved in the development of the role-playing games Ars Magica, Everway, Over the Edge, Talislanta and the third edition of Dungeons & Dragons, as well as the Collectible Miniatures Game Dreamblade.-Early life:Jonathan Tweet started playing D&D in...
, Monte Cook
Monte Cook
Monte Cook is a professional table-top role-playing game designer and writer. He is married to Sue Weinlein Cook.-Roleplaying:Cook has been a professional game designer since 1988, working primarily on role-playing games. Much of his early work was for Iron Crown Enterprises as an editor and writer...
and Skip Williams
Skip Williams
Ralph Williams, almost always referred to as Skip Williams, is an American game designer. He is married to Penny Williams, who is also involved with the games industry...
; many others contributed, most notably Richard Baker
Richard Baker (game designer)
Richard Baker is an American author and a game designer who has worked on many Dungeons & Dragons campaign settings.-Early life, education, and military:...
and Wizards of the Coast then-president Peter Adkison
Peter Adkison
Peter D. Adkison is the founder and first CEO of Wizards of the Coast , as well as a hobby game professional.During Adkison's tenure, Wizards of the Coast rose to the status of a major publisher in the hobby game industry. Wizards achieved runaway success with its creation of "Magic: the...
. Many give Tweet the bulk of the credit for the basic resolution mechanic, citing similarities to the system behind his game Ars Magica
Ars Magica
Ars Magica is a role-playing game set in Mythic Europe, a quasi-historical version of Europe around AD 1200 with added fantastical elements. The game revolves around wizards and their allies...
. Tweet, however, stated "The other designers already had a core mechanic similar to the current one when I joined the design team".
To resolve an action in the d20 System, a player rolls a 20-sided die and adds modifiers based on the natural aptitude of the character (defined by six abilities, Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma) and how skilled the character is in various fields (such as in combat), as well as other, situational modifiers. If the result is greater than or equal to a target number (called a Difficulty Class or DC) then the action succeeds. This is called the Core Mechanic, as opposed to the mechanics used by earlier editions of D&D, such as the first-edition hit tables or the second-edition AD&D "THAC0" and saving throw
Saving throw
In role-playing games, a saving throw is a roll of dice used to determine whether magic, poison, or various other types of attacks are effective against a character or monster....
mechanics. This system is also consistently used for all action resolution in the d20 System: in prior games in the D&D family, the rules for different actions varied considerably in which dice were used and even whether high numbers or low numbers were preferable.
The d20 System is not presented as a universal system in any of its publications or free distributions, unlike games like GURPS
GURPS
The Generic Universal RolePlaying System, or GURPS, is a tabletop role-playing game system designed to allow for play in any game setting...
. Rather, the core system has been presented in a variety of formats that have been adapted by various publishers (both Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for games...
and third-party) to specific settings and genres, much like the Basic Role-Playing
Basic Role-Playing
Basic Role-Playing is a role-playing game system which originated in the fantasy-oriented RuneQuest role-playing game rules...
system common to early games by veteran RPG publisher Chaosium
Chaosium
Chaosium is one of the longer lived publishers of role-playing games still in existence. Founded by Greg Stafford, its first game was actually a wargame, White Bear and Red Moon, which later mutated into Dragon Pass and its sequel, Nomad Gods...
.
The rules for the d20 System are defined in the SRD (currently version 3.5), which may be copied freely or even sold. Designed for fantasy-genre games in (usually) a pseudo-medieval setting, the SRD is drawn from the Dungeons & Dragons books Player's Handbook v3.5
Player's Handbook
The Player's Handbook is a book of rules for the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons . It does not contain the complete set of rules, but only those for use by players of the game...
, Expanded Psionics Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide v3.5
Dungeon Master's Guide
The Dungeon Master's Guide is a book of rules for the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons...
, Monster Manual v3.5
Monster Manual
The Monster Manual is the primary bestiary sourcebook for monsters in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. It includes monsters derived from mythology, and folklore, as well as creatures created for D&D specifically...
, Deities and Demigods v3.0, and Epic Level Handbook
Epic Level Handbook
The Epic Level Handbook is a rulebook by Wizards of the Coast for the 3rd edition of Dungeons & Dragons.-Contents:This books contained rules for Dungeons & Dragons 3rd edition characters to attain levels above 20, the limit in the core rulebooks...
. Information from these books not in the SRD include detailed descriptions, flavor-text, and material Wizards of the Coast considers Product Identity (such as references to the Greyhawk
Greyhawk
Greyhawk, also known as the World of Greyhawk, is a fictional world designed as a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game...
campaign setting
Campaign setting
A campaign setting is usually a fictional world which serves as a setting for a role-playing game or wargame campaign. A campaign is a series of individual adventures, and a campaign setting is the world in which such adventures and campaigns take place...
and information on mind flayers
Illithid
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, illithids are monstrous humanoid aberrations with psionic powers. In a typical Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting, they live in the moist caverns and cities of the enormous Underdark...
).
d20 Modern
D20 Modern
d20 Modern is a roleplaying game designed by Bill Slavicsek, Jeff Grubb, Rich Redman, and Charles Ryan. It was published by Wizards of the Coast in November 2002, and uses the d20 System...
has its own SRD, called the Modern System Reference Document (MSRD). The MSRD includes material from the d20 Modern roleplaying game
D20 Modern
d20 Modern is a roleplaying game designed by Bill Slavicsek, Jeff Grubb, Rich Redman, and Charles Ryan. It was published by Wizards of the Coast in November 2002, and uses the d20 System...
, Urban Arcana Campaign Setting
Urban Arcana
Urban Arcana is a campaign setting for the d20 Modern roleplaying game that builds on a small campaign model included in the original rulebook. It adds much in the way of magic and monsters to the game, and contains rules for things such as playing Shadowkind characters.In the world of Urban...
, the d20 Menace Manual
D20 Menace Manual
The d20 Menace Manual is a listing of statistics for animals, aliens, and other potential enemies, for use in the d20 Modern role-playing game...
, and d20 Future
D20 Future
d20 Future is an accessory for the d20 Modern role-playing game written by Christopher Perkins, Rodney Thompson, and JD Wiker. It facilitates the playing of campaigns in the far future, using elements such as cybernetics, mecha, mutations, robotics, space travel, starships, and xenobiology...
; this can cover a wide variety of genres, but is intended for a modern-day, or in the case of the last of these, a futuristic setting.
Trademark license
Because Dungeons and Dragons is the most popular role playing game in the world, many third party publishers produce products designed to be compatible with that game and its cousin, d20 Modern. Wizards of the Coast provides a separate license allowing publishers to use some of its trademarked terms and a distinctive logo to help consumers identify these products. This is known as the d20 System Trademark License. The d20 System Trademark License (D20STL) requires publishers to exclude character creation and advancement rules, apply certain notices and adhere to an acceptable content policy. Games that only use the OGL are not bound by these restrictions, and several have included character creation and advancement rules, allowing them to be used as standalone products. D20STL products require a core book from Wizards of the Coast and must clearly state this. As the D20STL has changed, some companies have chosen to use the OGL by itself. All D20STL products must also use the OGL to make use of d20 System open content, but publishers may use the OGL without using the D20STL.Criticisms
Unlike the OGL, the d20 System Trademark License (D20STL) is revocable and is controlled by WotC. WotC has the ability to alter the d20 System Trademark License at will and gives a short, 30 day "cure period" to rectify any issues with the license before termination. These changes apply retroactively to all material published under the d20 System Trademark License.When gaming company The Valar Project, under former WotC brand manager Anthony Valtera, attempted to publish the d20 Book of Erotic Fantasy (BoEF), which focused on sexual content, WotC altered the d20 System Trademark License in advance of publication of BoEF by adding a "quality standards" provision that required publishers comply with "community standards of decency." This subsequently prevented the book's publication under the D20STL. WotC said this was done to protect its d20 System trademark. The Book of Erotic Fantasy was subsequently published without the d20 System trademark under the OGL. Other books subsequently published under similar circumstances include Skirmisher Publishing LLC
Skirmisher Publishing LLC
Skirmisher Publishing LLC is a Spring Branch, Texas-based publisher of wargames, roleplaying games, and historic reprints. It was founded by author, editor, and game designer Michael J...
's Nuisances which also includes on its cover the disclaimer "Warning: Intended For Mature Readers Only."
The same round of changes to the license also limited the size at which the text "Requires the use of the Dungeons & Dragons Player's Handbook, Third Edition, published by Wizards of the Coast" (which is required to appear on the front or back cover of most fantasy d20 System products) could be printed, and prohibited making part of it larger than the rest. This was perceived as being aimed at the same Valar book; early mockups of the cover had the words "Dungeons & Dragons" in the above text printed much larger and in a different font
Typeface
In typography, a typeface is the artistic representation or interpretation of characters; it is the way the type looks. Each type is designed and there are thousands of different typefaces in existence, with new ones being developed constantly....
from the rest, right at the top of the front cover. This could have made the book appear to be an official Dungeons & Dragons publication to a casual or uninformed observer. The published version does not have the offending text on the cover.
Criticism is also levied at the conditions for termination of the d20 System Trademark License through a breach of its terms. The license requires that, upon breach of the terms of the D20STL which includes any subsequent modifications of the license after publication of a work using the d20 System trademark, all inventory and marketing material must be destroyed. Adhering to the breach conditions is an onerous task for smaller game companies. The mere threat of this condition being imposed was a huge blow to the now defunct d20 System publisher Fast Forward Entertainment, which had released several books that used non-open WotC content due to company president James Ward's misunderstanding of the license.
Other criticism is based around the part of the d20 System Trademark License which defines "Open Game Content" to include game mechanics and purports to license it. It is widely believed that game mechanics are uncopyrightable in the USA, and according to a circular on the US Copyright Office's website, "Once a game has been made public, nothing in the copyright law prevents others from developing another game based on similar principles."
One result of this has been the abandonment of the d20 System License by some publishers in favor of a simple "OGL" designation. Mongoose Publishing
Mongoose Publishing
Mongoose Publishing is a prolific British manufacturer of role-playing games, miniatures, and card games, actively publishing material since 2001...
's licensed games based on the Conan the Barbarian
Conan the Barbarian
Conan the Barbarian is a fictional sword and sorcery hero that originated in pulp fiction magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, several films , television programs, video games, roleplaying games and other media...
property and the Robert A. Heinlein
Robert A. Heinlein
Robert Anson Heinlein was an American science fiction writer. Often called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was one of the most influential and controversial authors of the genre. He set a standard for science and engineering plausibility and helped to raise the genre's standards of...
novel Starship Troopers
Starship Troopers
Starship Troopers is a military science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein, first published as a serial in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction and published hardcover in December, 1959.The first-person narrative is about a young soldier from the Philippines named Juan "Johnnie" Rico and his...
, for example, use systems that function nearly identically to d20 but do not carry the d20 logo.
At least one company, Technomancer Press, has begun publishing d20 System-compatible material, but not under the d20 System License or OGL. Their use of the Dungeons and Dragons trademark and d20 System material is explicitly forbidden by the Open Gaming License, and this is deliberate (as is stated on their web site).
History
Shortly after the publication of the D20STL and OGL, d20 System publications began to proliferate. Many new companies were started exclusively to publish d20 System content. This was a profitable niche for some established companies, revitalized others, and inspired the creation of new d20 System-only RPG production houses.Sales of roleplaying games had already been in decline, and the popularity of the d20 System motivated companies to refocus on those products at the expense of their own games. Some companies (notably Alderac Entertainment Group
Alderac Entertainment Group
Alderac Entertainment Group, or AEG, is a publisher of role-playing game and collectible card game products. AEG was formed by Jolly Blackburn in 1993 and is based in the city of Ontario, California...
, with 7th Sea
Seventh Sea (roleplaying game)
7th Sea is a "swashbuckling and sorcery"-themed role-playing game set in the fictional world of Théah. The setting also inspired a collectible card game.In 2000, 7th Sea won the Origins Award for Best Roleplaying Game of 1999...
and Legend of the Five Rings
Legend of the Five Rings
Legend of the Five Rings is a fictional setting created by the John Wick and published by Alderac Entertainment Group in 1995. The setting primarily involves the fictional country of Rokugan, though some additional areas and cultures have been discussed. Rokugan is based roughly on feudal Japan...
) experimented with d20 System versions of existing creative properties.
The d20 System jump-started the fledgling PDF roleplaying publishing industry. Since many of the d20 System publishers were small, amateur companies started by fans, publishing as PDF offered a cheap and easy way of getting published, without the minimum returns required by professional ventures. Some of these companies became profitable and even broke through into offset print
Offset printing
Offset printing is a commonly used printing technique in which the inked image is transferred from a plate to a rubber blanket, then to the printing surface...
(as opposed to print on demand
Print on demand
Print on demand , sometimes called, in error, publish on demand, is a printing technology and business process in which new copies of a book are not printed until an order has been received...
) runs.
While various manifestations of the d20 System have comprised the largest marketshare in roleplaying games, various sources (including Kenneth Hite
Kenneth Hite
Kenneth Hite is a writer and role-playing game designer. He holds an M.A. in International Relations from the University of Chicago and a Bachelor's degree in Cartography from East Central University. He has been writing games since 1981 and full-time since 1995...
and Game Trade Magazine) report an overall decline in RPG sales. Some attribute this decline, at least partially, to declining d20 System game sales due to a market glut.
External links
- Official website of the d20 System and the Open Gaming License
- THE (UNAUTHORIZED UNOFFICIAL) OPEN GAMING LICENSE OGL D20 FAQ - Comprehensive, Unbiased D20 History (1/1/2009)
- Open Gaming Foundation
- The Hypertext d20 SRD – v3.5 d20 System Reference Document
- d20 Resources - HTML reference documentation for d20 Open Content.
- D20 System Game