MotRD - anything worth saving?

[Rock of the Fraternity]

Having recently re-read bits of the Masque of the Red Death handbook ... I have to say the player classes by and large suck. The class features are on the unimaginative side, for one thing. For another, once you look at the more specialized forms of the general classes, you will see that quite a few noticeably drop in appeal instead of adding any. The skills and feats look interesting enough, but the niggling little differences with standard D&D rules make me wonder whether some of them weren't made for the sole purpose of being different from mainstream D&D. And don't even get me talking about a magic system that's a constant threat to the user! Adding a bit of danger to spellcasting is fine with me, but a Powers check for every cantrip seems like overkill.

I've been impressed with the potential for good roleplaying material that the community of this forum puts forth for a good long time, now. Is there anyone here with ideas on how the MoRD classes could be made playable and the other less-than-desireable qualities could be improved upon?

[High Priest Mikhal]

One alternative to the spell system I use is just to apply the Restricted Magic trait: Spellcraft DC 15 + Spell Level to get the spell off. No powers check for every spell, no new skills to learn, just existing rules.

As for classes, I just replace them with the closest thing in the core rules or expanded rules. I kind of had to deal with all that bull when writing up rules for Gothic Earth 1998. Unfortunately I never got a chance to fully refine the rules before my group disbanded. I still have everything in MS Word format, but I need to go back and update some of the fluff before I'll feel comfortable releasing it. Really I just threw out the MotRD rules and kept the setting, though with a few changes (like the old 2e rule that metal armor offers no protection from firearms).

[Dion of the Fraternity]

Three words: World of Darkness.

[Dr Bloodworth]

I always did want to do an either MotRD or maybe Gaslight (CoC Victorian setting) game using World of Darkness rules.

Otherwise, just replace the classes with D20 Modern. They fit better, anyway, IMHO. And with the one setting in D20 Past, you have half-MotRD anyway.

[HuManBing]

I'll see your three words and raise you one acronym.

[order99]

I'm keeping my copy of 2E Masque just as it is.

Seriously though-the Sinkhole of Evil concept from 3E rocks. I even ported it into my Classic Masque. It's good if you don't necessarily deal with Pocket Domains and Mini-Darklords all the time, but still want to emphasize a...Wrongness about the place.

It's also nearly interchangeable with the 'reality wrinkle'.

The rest? Grab an odd skill or feat for something else and let the bulk of it go. D20 Past would work, so would the Shadow Slayers mini-game from Polyhedron. The Hogshead D20 variants(Haunted House, Asylum etc) would do nicely as well.