The D20 Thread

[Rallen16229]

Wait there are Godzilla RPGs on this site, that's so cool!

[Kaiju Claws]

Indeed Rallen! And they are currently going through an overhaul. The next entry should be going up any day now as well, having been submitted to the powers that be on Tuesday. And after the kaiju are all done, there will be more! Land and lore! A setting built for these powers and faiths (assuming your GM/DM doesn't want to homebrew anything to begin with). Let me know what you think or if you have any questions. I'm usually around these parts at least a few times a day.

Added in 8 hours 5 minutes 36 seconds:
A question for all of you:

Does size matter? Because thus far (a pair of errant pictures aside) I have stuck with the listed sizes and weights of the existing kaiju I have posted. My next entry, despite its power, would be absolutely dwarfed by the other kaiju. So I was wondering if I should keep the official sizes or work with more of an associated size as compared to Godzilla?

For example, Biollante is roughly 1.5x Godzilla's height in her debut movie. Should I keep her with that ratio in mind (roughly 150 meters tall compared to a 100 meter Godzilla) or should I leave her at 120 meters tall? I am of 2 minds about this, as I do intend to release some variant forms, but if I wanted to keep the current scale I would have to change sizes on this kaiju or use another version of it.

Let me know what you think.

[Grimlock#1]

If I were doing this, I would use the Heisei sizes for Heisei kaiju. If a monster I wanted to include was from either the Showa or Millennium eras, I would compare its size to that era's Godzilla to see what the size difference between the two was. I would then subtract the size difference from the Heisei Godzilla's height and use the result as the monster's height in the D20 universe.

[Kaiju Claws]

Excellent. I was simply curious if there was a call for the according to hoyle size for each kaiju. And of course there are great materials out there for 100 meter tall base Toho kaiju. If anyone else is of the opposite opinion, please let me know. I want to entertain all ideas.

And of course, King Ghidorah is up! One of the most powerful kaiju that we have seen yet, his statistics and abilities took a goodly bit of planning and thought. If anyone sees something that makes them worry/ curious about his balance, do let me know. These entries are updated as I notice errors and work out the balance, so it won't bother me if you guys discover something odd/worrisome.

Over the next few days or so, there will be some image fixes coming to both Godzilla and Rodan. As for the date of the change, I cannot speak to that because it is up to the powers that be. In the meantime, I will be working on the next entry in the section as well as an update to the overall look of the D20 page. Out of curiosity, would you guys like it if I included points about future expansions to the section? Or would you prefer that I keep it with only what is there right now?

[Coobzilla03]

This is awesome! D&D + Godzilla = cool! A suggestion would be to add King Kong, since he is a god to the people of Faro island. Not sure on his alignment though...

[Kaiju Claws]

You know it Coobzilla! I loved it so much, that I couldn't let it sit and do nothing. And don't you worry about Kong, I've got plans for him.

For those of you wondering, the project is still continuing. My editor on the site has been out of town on business trips of late, in addition to an unexpected death in my family recently. Between the two of us though, we're getting everything back on course (I have submitted a rather large number of edits and a new main page for the D20 section for example). Right now I'm finishing the most complicated entry yet in the form of Kiryu, and within the next week or so I will have his entry submitted to the powers-that-be. After that, hopefully it will find it's way to all of you fine people soon.

Until then, I was wondering. Do any of you guys play D&D/Pathfinder? Has anyone ever used the rules for the Toho D20 kaiju, either the original versions or mine? Because there's a good bit of fun to be had there, even without Toho kaiju thrown in. In my own game I recently had a player become a Warden, one of the followers of Battra, so it's been fun to see him try to apply the tenets of Battra to his character's interactions.

[Coobzilla03]

I don't play D&D but I'd like to sometime, and I've never heard of Pathfinder until now, but I'm very interested in it. That's awful about the death, my condolences to the you and your family. Another thing, sorry to bother you, Gabara could be a good choice. He's a demon so I think he'd fit in pretty well. Have you any kaiju D&D models? It would be awesome to have those.

[Kaiju Claws]

Thank you, it's appreciated. As for D&D/Pathfinder, they are very similar considering Pathfinder is based in the 3.5 edition of D&D. However, whereas D&D has simplified a bit to bring in players, Pathfinder has kept with the older 3.5 style and still remains incredibly popular. It's a blast to play as well.

Haha, I hadn't really thought about Gabara. Anything is possible in a game like this though, so maybe I'll put some thought into iIt...

[Coobzilla03]

How's the game coming?

[Kaiju Claws]

Heya Coobzilla! The game is coming along nicely now that I've managed to finish up as much craziness as possible. I have submitted updates for the main page, as well as another kaiju god. And once those are up, I'll be on here as usual to explain some things and answer any questions that you guys may have. The problem is that the powers that be are swamped right now... my updates are in line with the other updates that go up everyday. As for when they'll go up, that's anyone's guess right now unfortunately. I'm hoping for in the next week or so.

So I'm waiting, planning, etc. right now. Work begins next week on the next kaiju! I've got 3 that I really want to do next, so I'm trying to decide just who I want to update... good or evil? Hard to say right now. All of them will be updated, and more of them will come in time, so it's really just a question of order. Any preference?

[Coobzilla03]

A preference on if the next kaiju is good or evil? If so, another good one would be nice.

[Kaiju Claws]

Then the forces of virtue and justice will see another player arrive on the battlefield, their standard held high and their banners unfurled behind them!

[Coobzilla03]

Nice update on the D20 article!

[Grimlock#1]

Have you considered adding Dogora? He (it?) would be an interesting monster to have in the game

[Kaiju Claws]

Thank you for the warm reception to the update Coob! Perhaps shockingly, Kiryu was one of the most difficult updates to manage! I did an unbelieveable amount of research and comparison to make Kiryu work within the system, though there is nothing else quite like it in Pathfinder. I lucked out in finding the soul-spark template, which made it unnecessary to build a second stat block for Kiryu when it goes berserk... (the conditions of which, for now, are left to GM/DM interpretation on how to activate). After that came a bit of difficulty making Kiryu's weapons work.

From its two movies, we know that Kiryu is pretty tough in a fight. It's long range weaponry can be overwhelming, as can the Absolute Zero cannon. And I wanted to stay true to the movies, so we've got a few interesting things that I've done (I think). With its missiles, Kiryu's ability to harm another kaiju are limited somewhat, but some solid damage can be done. It requires multiple hits to do damage, which makes sense given how little Godzilla seemed to react to them on film. The twin Maser cannon in its mouth is similarly effective; it isn't the most powerful breath weapon by a long shot, but it can do the job. The Absolute Zero Cannon needs no introduction... it's unlikely that a more powerful attack exists in this expansion of ours, let alone Pathfinder at large. The trick is that Kiryu can use these a lot. And with its range feats, it should be able to do some impressive maneuvers to stay at that range.

But what of Kiryu's melee attacks? In the movies, we see a surprisingly limited amount of melee diversity. Kiryu seems big on the sumo shove, but we don't get much in the way of tail attacks or claws (as I recall). Periodically it uses its blades, but Kiryu tends to lose those as fast as it deploys them. So we compromise; Kiryu gets a limited amount of melee attacks in the form of a bite attack, the blades (which deal electrical damage), and a slam attack, but the blades won't break unless specifically targeted by a powerful kaiju via a sunder attempt (which seems unlikely in most scenarios, assuming you are playing your kaiju as kaiju). Kiryu's vital strike capabilities represent the drill hand attack: a single, powerful strike against its foes, with sky high damage as a result. But as a trade off, it's still not the strongest in melee overall.

And even with all that, Kiryu still worries me that it's too powerful. As more of these entries are put out, I'm expecting to rebalance a number of the kaiju to better reflect their on screen abilities in comparison to one another. For now though, Kiryu is done and I can move on to my next kaiju, who won't take nearly as long to put out!

Grimlock, I'm not going to lie; Dogora would be insanely easy to stat. Monsters that work as swarms/ engulf attackers are an easy part of Pathfinder/D&D history (Gelatinous Cube anyone? http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monste ... inous-cube). And I am a big fan of Dogora, both as a film and a monster. So I'd say it can and just may be done at some point. I love the idea of working on a lot of obscure monsters to really flesh out the ecosystem of Janjira, something that I incorporate into my own games.

However, I've still got a fair bit of more mainstream kaiju to do, especially within the pantheon itself. Because as cool as Dogora is, I'm not sure it's the worshipping type. Some kaiju entries will be just that; kaiju. These beasties will still be tough as nails and privy to the kaiju stat effects, but they'll lack that certain divine spark (though that doesn't mean they won't grant special abilities). Having the big 5 updated means now the more sideline kaiju start getting updated on the list, but I'd still like to do more of the originals before diving into the really obscure ones. I hope that's not discouraging though. It's my intention to build up this section for years to come, and all concerns, requests, and ideas are welcome here.

[Kaiju Claws]

And we're back! As requested, our newest goodly kaiju has been put into the game: Battra! A straightforward and cool kaiju, Battra proves a nice foil to Mothra while still being on the side of the angles. Of particular interest to me is the difference between Godzilla and Battra though; both have a similar M.O. as nature protectors, but the main difference comes from their approaches. Godzilla is more territorial, whereas Battra is much more "grand protector". Where this really shines is in their worship, which I will happly expand upon as more articles go up.

Speaking of which, I have been writing still! Truth told, I write/brainstorm ideas for the Toho RPG on a daily basis to one degree or another. The lull in activity on the site was do to some holiday slowdown and communication problems between myself and my editor. This issue has been resolved, so we should hopefully be seeing some additions to the D20 main page itself that I have submitted over the last 2 months. This will include a variety of updated stats and other basic edits, our first kaiju god variant, a new race article updating the Elias, and some kaiju themed artifacts that I have designed!!

As always, I'm here for questions if you have any. I'm always up for ideas, suggestions, and discussion as well. Finally, if you guys are interested in hearing stories of how all of these kaiju work in an actual game as deities, etc, I'll be happy to share some stories as well! Thanks for taking a look at everything!

[Arbok]

Just like to chime in here that it's great to see this section of the site active again. It's one of the older sections of the site, and really nice to see new life being breathed into it.

[Kaiju Claws]

Just like to chime in here that it's great to see this section of the site active again. It's one of the older sections of the site, and really nice to see new life being breathed into it.

Thank you sir! As I've mentioned before, I've always loved the original section. It inspired me to create my first role playing game character ~5 years before I ever played a tabletop RPG! I just always wanted a little more from it though... Hopefully when the section is "finished" I'll have done the original justice.

Added in 10 hours 34 minutes 20 seconds:
And again we see the D20 section updated, this time at the request of Mr. Romero himself!

When I originally stated Godzilla, I didn't think twice about what I had done; in my home game, I use the Legendary version of Godzilla. There is a certain strength to the simplicity of his powerset; the bare bones of Godzilla if you will, demonstrating no real powers beyond the 1954 version. He is strong, his hide tough, his breath deadly. Combined with the Pathfinder kaiju template (including the minor tweaks I needed to satisfy a Toho Kaiju's necessities) and you have a pretty gnarly Godzilla. However, as pointed out by Mr. Romero, the previous version was the Heisei Godzilla. An easy fix, I altered some stats, sizes, and added a few new powers and viola! The Heisei Godzilla rises once more!

Note that the two versions are meant, as I stated, to work as the same god; within the setting of the Toho RPG, there is only one Godzilla. Meaning that of the two versions, whichever you chose, is your Godzilla, the head of the Toho pantheon. BUT, as you will be the DM of your adventures, there's nothing saying that you can't use them both. The Heisei Godzilla has a slight edge on ranged combat, while the Legendary Godzilla is a bit better up close. These differences aren't quite enough to make one greater than the other, but my intention was to keep them rather equal due to the use of the Heisei Godzilla as a variant on my original design. I'll be redesigning the chart on the D20 page soon enough to reflect a category for variant kaiju, as there will be more to come in the future.

And perhaps if there is enough clamor for it, I could update the variant kaiju to separate them even further from their counterparts. Simply from my own perspective, I see many opportunities for role play and adventure in a world where there are 2 Godzillas, where the question starts as to which one is the True Godzilla.

[BlankAccount]

Nice to see Biollante updated. Just a thought, why not add King Kong? We now have our second Godzilla/King Kong crossover on the way.

[Kaiju Claws]

I thought so as well Corpse and I hope you like it (that goes for the rest of you as well). Kong has been on my mind for awhile, but I was already working on the Lady of the Vines when Skull Island came out. He's on my list though; some fun monk style skills and greatclub holy weapon, some dirty tricks to make Kong the cleaver, tool using beast that he is on the screen. I originally had some plans for a certain cosmic sultan for this month, but why not look at Kong?

Let me see what I can do.