Baron Wulfraed

Until the canon rules appear, there is https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/326489/Secrets-of-HeroQuesting

The conversion guide recommends a 50% cut in the wealth of converted characters... Regarding treasure in published adventures it states (page 437 RQ:RiG) Decimation, not simple halving!.

I would consider RQ:RiG starting characters to be rather over-powered -- Some of the ones I've generated have weapon stats in the 90-100% range (I've been generating a lot of characters including some not normally considered "adventurer", but don't currently have a gaming group; did get a niece interested and have bought her some of the books [the bundle RiG pack, and the reprint Classic/Apple Lane/Cults of ...]). The weakest character I generated is an Esrolian SCRIBE (STR 9, DEX 10). And she's about on par with the old Apple Lane opponents -- Dagger @ 45%, Self-Bow @ 45% (Her strength is too low for cultural battle axe, and dexterity too low for cultural rapier). No armor might be a factor. My next weakest (well, not in STR 14, DEX 18, though POW 8 ) is an ENTERTAINER! He's got dagger @ 65%, broadsword @ 55%, sling @ 55%. Minimal armor (part of "costume" Leather Pants <G>) and neither have much in the way of offensive spells (mostly detection spells; the entertainer has a heirloom with Bladesharp 2 matrix). Even my FARMER is in the 60+% attack range. The sorcery-based PHILOSOPHER has 60% with a dagger, but no armor or effective combat spells. The rest are rather high... My "walking tank" (STR 18, CON 16, SIZ 18 -- lowest stat is DEX 12; he's actually light cavalry, probably needs a large horse) a 115% broadsword [yes, he managed to get enough "adds" [occupation, manipulation adjustments, cult - Humakt] to break 100% before getting to the "pick 4 skills add 25%, pick 5 add 10% -- but do not go over 100% total" section of the rules]. Even the varied Ducks have weapons in the 90+% range. {Enough about me <G>} One thing you might do is use the RQ:RiG rules for starting characters at different ages -- cf Page 25 Also consider the sidebar on page 31 -- but rather than going for older characters, adjust dates for younger ones... You could perhaps have them around 18yo and run old Apple Lane in 1615 or whatever (which means they are involved in events normally part of parent's history)... THEN perhaps age them up 1625 to visit new Apple Lane. Besides skipping step 7, I might suggest also skipping, or reducing [based on age difference below 21] the distribution of 50pts to Rune affinities (page 51). Possibly reduce occupation and cult skill bonuses (and spells) in proportion to age difference (keep note of them so you can add them back in when aging the characters up to 1625, same with step 7 and affinities. Also see the sidebar on page 81. Treasure (and random encounter tables) are things currently missing in RiG. The back of RQ2 has such items. Determining treasure in RQ2 came down to calculating "treasure factors" (factors based on opponents best weapon, spells, etc.), then roll on suitable table(s). The "treasure dropping" is in the conversion guide: RQ2 tended to give out a rather high treasure amount vs what Chaosium considers viable in RQ-RiG. The treasure factors computation may also be the means by which to equalize the two sides: calculate party treasure factor, adjust opponents so the total treasure factor is similar.

Hmmm... Back in the early 80s I had a Multiplan spreadsheet using Traveller ship design rules (can't recall if original black books, or MegaTraveller). Someday I should see if the old TRS-80 model III/4 (chassis/power-supply of the III, but circuit board upgrade to the 4) will boot without snapping the heads off the floppies. Though with no serial port, I'd have to hand-copy the SYLK file (or photo-grab the screen pages) to get something that might import into Excel. Lots of table look-ups -- airframe type, tech level, weapons, etc. And I'm sure I missed a few modifiers in the rules.

As I recall, they were picked to explore it after "oppressive empire" guards entering the ship failed to report back. Somehow they managed to avoid triggering ship's self-defense systems.

The largest compatibility matter may be in character strength. The old Apple Lane was meant for freshly minted characters in RQ1/2 -- which tended to mean skill levels in the 25% range and an age of 16 unless you apply (as suggested in the scenario) the "Previous Experience" section of RQ2 (which is way in the back of the book -- my old group in the 80s never even realized that was an option, we started as 16 year olds with minimal armor and likely a small mace; RQ3, OTOH, put that into the character generation phase). RQ2 Previous Experience appears to assume a fixed additional 5 years of age; RQ3 used a die roll to determine age, and had experience modifications based on number of years difference from 15 (1D6 die roll meant minimum 16). Using that Apple Lane in the new rules will likely require greatly increasing the stats of the opponents, besides applying the rules in the Conversion Guide. Most of the opponents in RQ2 Apple Lane are in the 35-45% attack range. There is about a generation between RQ1/2 Apple Lane and RQ:RiG Apple Lane (the pawn shop is a ruin in the latter). RQ2 seeming to be around 1580-1600. (I can't find any specifics for what the year is in RQ2 -- the timeline goes to 1627 which is just after RQ:RiG "begins"). GM-Pack explicitly states 1625. RQ2 Apple Lane states Gringle moved there 37 years earlier, while the GM-Pack mentions he had run the pawnshop for some 50 years -- doesn't mention when he left or the shop burned down, but a minimum of 14 years (50-37 + 1 for burning) puts RQ2 Apple Lane at 1611. You may need to pick which Apple Lane scenarios to run due to the differences. Residents are older, pawnshop burned... In the GM-Pack Aileena is 34yo priestess of Uleria (with a 25% attack with club), while RQ2 she's just a (no age stated) initiate with 20% attack. Those NPCs common to both versions do have similar weapon skills... In RQ3's Apple Lane (which IS a rewrite of the RQ1/2 Apple Lane, same scenarios) Aillena is a 24yo "acolyte'. -- That fixes RQ3 Apple Lane in 1615.

Too expensive... I propose something more like a croupier's stick, used to move small merchandise and money back&forth across the merchant's counter

Try the Silmarillion... The first part is basically the equivalent of biblical "Genesis"... And I think that's as far as I ever got with it.

So for some time we get swords with really long blades but 1H hilts, which require Conan to swing; a series of short swords with 2H hilts (which provide space between the hands, or one hand on a dull ricasso with the other near the pommel) but coming up ineffective due to shortness of the blade. Then there is coming up with the technique to use a bastard sword. Need a bit of strength to use it 1H where its length may be a hindrance (whoops, just cut my neighbors head off swinging side-arm), yet using it 2H, the hilt is only long enough to fit a second hand, possibly with fingers wrapping the pommel itself, so the hands are too close together for real leverage (a la greatsword), fighting style has to keep the blade in front of one if one needs to parry -- no swinging of a blade held behind the shoulder. OTOH -- I could see Humakt Rune level smiths possibly making something of the type -- especially if they are working rare iron and don't want to waste any of it, but don't have enough to make a greatsword.

As I recall from SCA lectures/demos (at gaming conventions in the 80s/90s), greatsword usage keeps the weapon on front of one -- unlike broadswords with their wide swings (possibly starting from behind the back). Parrying (more blocking I think, as one can't really deflect the attack) with a greatsword tended to involve twisting at the waist to put the near vertical sword into the path of the attack; low attacks being a tad harder to parry as one either dropped to the knee to get the blade closer to the ground OR one did a "quick" inversion of the blade (rather than hands near waist height with blade extending upwards -- think deep sea fishing rod -- one rotated the arms up to chest height, dropping the blade tip toward the floor). In either case, the blade is still in a position suited for an attack (or, vice versa, if an attack was done, the blade may not be near vertical, but moving to a parry should still be possible).

So, when taking into account the RQ3+ change in the roll for SIZ... I don't have to worry about generating a RQ:RiG character similar to one of my RQ2 ones... 4.5ft, swinging a 4ft sword one handed (STR 18). We used to joke that he push upwards on horses to walk under them.

Are Pierson's Puppeteers cowards? (Niven, Known Space universe) -- in at least one book it is pointed out that the tendency to "run" from a perceived threat is accompanied by using both heads to triangulate on said threat, which is thereby positioned for a severe kick by the puppeteer's central/hind leg. That's not to say some ducks might be quivering outside a city's walls, slowly leaving yellow stains in their feathers... A "coward" duck might have high stealth skills to avoid being noticed, and maybe a specialty in back-stabbing <G>

Isn't that what (TOS) red-shirts are for? Besides, the lead helm officer in original ST (for the Enterprise at least) had a fairly high Botany skill <G> (enough to spawn a filk song: Passion Flower)

Robbie from Forbidden Planet or (the) Robot from Lost in Space (original series)

The Bestiary does state (for impala) It is the High Llamas that are obscene -- they are larger (3D6 + 30 -> max 48) than horses (4D6 + 12 -> max 36)... They are even larger than Bison!

This is beginning to turn into the (documented/in-game) origins of the logo for Traveller's Scout Message service (researcher finds mention of Earth's [Solomani] "pony express", but has no idea of what a "pony" is -- so picked some animal with similar sounding name -- and we get someone riding an 8-leg lizard).

So he turns into Celestia and is effectively immortal 🤯

Reupholstering the captain's chair is a whole different skill set from rewiring the communication system to bypass a fried console. I don't know what BRP does other than the short mentions in this thread. RQ:RiG (and precursors) tended to incorporate INT as a modifier to some skill categories, so using it a second time for some skills seems hokey. As for "repair device"/"repair spaceship" -- are those really what the rules have, or just your ideas. At the very least I'd consider something for mechanical engineering (wrench monkey/welder, capable of running a milling machine to make replacement parts, knowledgeable of stress factors), and a separate electrical engineering (soldering iron, and fine detail stuff, knowledgeable of electronic theory, Maxwell's equations, Ohm's law, etc.). Your electrical engineer, while maybe able to disassemble something like a carburetor, is unlikely to have the knowledge of adjusting idle and main jets, etc.; the mechanical engineer might...

That's already a Sacred Time feature... Page 420 (emphasis mine) There are also the seasonal holy days... Page 418 (ditto) For Humakt -- that makes Storm/Death/Windsday (so with sacred time -- two POW gain rolls a year) Chalana Arroy -- whoo... Every day of Sacred Time/Fate week is a high holy day... Whether one interprets that to mean 7 possible POW gain rolls (if one rolls at the close of the day) or just 1 roll (I'd probably rule for two rolls: a high holy day Worship, and a general [p420] worship, just as most cults have at least one high holy day during the rest of the year [Aldrya has one each season]).

One thing to consider -- many "full auto" these days aren't... Current issue M4/M16 are safe/semi/3-rd burst. After each burst, one has to cycle the trigger.

At which point one might try pseudo-RPG board games... Talisman and the many add-on expansions, the old Mice & Mystics (overpriced, and expansions are hard to find).

That ain't old... Try finding the 70s "Barrier Reef" show... At least one episode had the on-board computer take control of the ship -- when some crank had hijacked it because he objected to the scientists for some reason. Given that was a hybrid motor/sail ship, and the time period, that was rather futuristic servo controls. Ship had them as it was used for surveys and needed computer guidance of the search pattern... Using LORAN I suspect as it was 15 years before common GPS was available.

Concur on ancestor names -- for history easiest to just mark PGF/PGM, MGF/MGM (Paternal or Maternal -- Given how deadly some history paths are, I tend to generate occupations for all four grandparents, and both parents. That gives 1) some things to embellish [the fisher married a noble!], and 2) individuals one can switch to when the first choice is killed in the history) As for generating names... Since I haven't seen any obvious pattern to the sample names given for the homelands I've just ignored them and gone with incongruous names (like a nordik Varg Fenrirson -- a name that would be ominous in 3rd Edition Vikings: Wolf, son of the Fenris Wolf [, son of Loki]; I've got a whole slew of canid puns for names besides Varg: Auric Chacal [gold jackal], Dhi Ngo [dingo], Kai O'Tei [coyote], Lycaon Pictus [African Wild Dog], and Kami Inu... And a pair of ducks: Akn'Ard [a canard], and Hua'rd [do I need to spell that one out?]) Yes -- I did spend too much time practicing the character generation system...

May have a slight conflict with page 275 Or maybe not... "compatible" <> "associated and friendly"? But it is definite that being an initiate in multiple is viable.

Haven't seen it for RQ:RiG... But "buying in" IS what I did in RQ2... (at a time when they had both rune lord and rune priest listed for Humakt) Cults of Prax page 36 emphasis mine RQ2 (well, Classic Edition PDF) page 63 emphasis mine I had one character that still took two tries with a year of game time between them -- taking the common 96-100 failure usage (not explicit in the above quote). That's after computing how much would need to be donated to get the 100% (IE: average POW, CHA, donation => 20) Ah... Page 276 of RQ:RiG has the same clause for priests (but no longer has simple priest for Humakt -- only the more difficult to attain Rune Lord-Priest.