Help me convince a d20-guy ;-D

[MegaFehr]

Hello all

Me and my friends started a new D6 campaign today and next time another of my friends will join us.
He was however sorta disappointed that we weren't gonna use the d20 system.
He said that he felt that system was "better".

It would be greatly appreciated if you guys would write a few simple lines on why you prefer the D6 system and compare it to why you don't (if thats the case) like the d20 system.

[lurker]

Well, I'm not an expert on d6, but I prefer it because there is less opportunity for a player to min/max a character, the player has freedom in making their character (the don't have to fit a character concept into a kit or 3), and d6 is a fast paced game vs the long slow painful combat of d20
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"And so I am become a knight of the Kingdom of Dreams and Shadows!" - Mark Twain

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[Guardian_A]

The things I like better about D6 than D20:

-D6 is a simpler system to learn. I've GM'd several D20 games, and Star Wars D6 for more than 20 years now. I feel that D20 is fine for some things, but it takes months for most new players to start getting comfortable with the system. Most new D6 players have the basics down in a gaming session or two.
It allows new players to get into the game quickly.
-D6 plays at a faster pace, allowing it to have a more cemematic feel.
-D6 is not as rigid, it allows a lot more flexibility in how you build your character.
-D6 has a LOT more material available to work with, even before you count all of the fan made/convrted materials.

In summary, I enjoy D20 for D&D/Pathfinder and Exodus, but D6 is a far supperior system for Star Wars.

[Fallon Kell]

D6 is (mostly) commonsense and reasonable. It provides more freedom, and a better simulation of the universe in question. It's simple and elegant. Plus, there's far less math...

Another way to look at it is, I really don't remember Luke chipping away at the rancor's hit points over a period of half an hour. I remember him running away until he brought the door down and killed it outright. Without classes, without levels, without hit points, you get a world that's just a little more... Real.
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Or that excessively long "Noooooooooo" was the Whining Side of the Force leaving him. - Dustflier

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[Ankhanu]

Character levels, character classes and the like simply don't jive with the Star Wars setting.

I have NO problems with d20 as a system, it works very well, BUT, the marriage of system and setting is important for how things actually work. Star Wars is a much looser setting concept than the rigidity of d20 confers; D6 is designed to be loose, fast and flexible, with a more organic character advancement system. In terms of combat mechanics and the like, it's just fine, but it's plainly wrong when it comes to characters and what they can do and learn. The flexibility of action is also important, in particular in the limitations of numbers of attacks and actions in d20 that don't occur in d6; if you want to take 3 shots as a "first level" character in d6, you can... though you'll likely miss

D20 is just too boxy for the fast paced Star Wars setting.
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[cheshire]

I don't think that a die hard D6'er is ever going to be convinced that d20 is better. A die hard d20'er is not going to say that D6 is better. I've played both systems, I've GM'ed both systems, but I still keep going back to D6.

I wouldn't try to convince him it's better. I wouldn't try to convince him that it's superior. Just ask him to come in with an open mind, and play the game. He's going to say that he can break the system (which if you're trying, you certainly can --it's true of any system). He's going to tell you why some things in d20 are better, and there are certainly some advantages there.

You can say that if he plays with an open mind, he'll see that there are certain good points, like it being a very cinematic system. Further, the easy to create encounters allows GMs flexibility if they don't want to railroad their players. Also, if he thinks the Wild Die is about critical success and critical failure then let him know that not all GMs run it that way, and the bulk of the publications out there don't treat it like that. Also, the classless system allows for a broader dynamic of character creation, even more flexible than a multiclassed character.

He may tell you that the system won't allow for the precision of tactics, the specialized and differentiated characters, and ease of combat. Those may be fair points, but each system has its own advantages and disadvantages. Just give each system it's chance to shine.
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Before we take any of this too seriously, just remember that in the middle episode a little rubber puppet moves a spaceship with his mind.

[JT Swift]

I've spent 12 years GMing D6 Star Wars every weekend. I've spent 3 months being a player in D20 Saga Star Wars RPG.

I will say this. (Once you learn the system) The Force rules/powers are much easier and faster to use in D20. And it does a lot better as handling Jedi KNIGHTS without having them completely unbalance the game for the non-Force users.

But for EVERYTHING else I found D6 to be far superior. So [unless you're wanting to play high level Force users] I'd go with D6.
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- J.T. Swift

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[mdlake]

I have many complaints about D&D--excuse me, d20--but this is the big one:

The game offers (six, ten, twenty) character concepts, and you can play one of those. If you want to play something else, you're out of luck. You cannot have the character you want to play because there are no rules for the character you want to play. Only for the characters the writers want you to play.

[Nico_Davout]

D20 is for guys who cannot count more than one dice......ok it was a poor joke
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Nico,

Han Solo shot first, midichlosomething do not exist, Rebel Alliance was created as in the WEG books and indoctrination theory is the true ending of ME3.

[cheshire]

I give props to the players that can keep track of all the right modifiers in their heads.
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Before we take any of this too seriously, just remember that in the middle episode a little rubber puppet moves a spaceship with his mind.