The Venomous Pao

Cool. Well, with two general thumbs up and a price that's hard to beat, consider it ordered. Thanks, Rurik and Chaot!

So, great and powerful BRP board folks, how are the sailing rules in the Elric!/SB5 supplement Sailing on the Seas of Fate? Are they (as I expect) generally compatible with the current iteration of BRP? Do they make you itch with a need to run a sailing-focused campaign? Or do they just make you itch? I ask all this because I'm pondering picking up a copy, but I figured I'd check with the experts before I spent my precious dollars. I bow before your wisdom. And I promise that I shall not to ask any questions about opposed rolls in this thread. I can't speak for others, though

I hadn't really had any trouble with all of this opposed roll stuff personally, but big thanks to you Harshax for putting this together. It really should help anyone who is struggling with the concepts. Cheers!

Stats found. Thanks! These guys are one of my favorite Melnibonéan, critters. What are yours? Anything else you folks like to spring on an unsuspecting party?

Hey folks. I've never owned any of the Elric/Stormbringer stuff, so I'm reduced to begging here. Did any of those books ever have stats for everyone's favorite Moonglum-chaser, the dharzi hunting dog? If so, would anyone be up to sharing the details? I can knock something together for my own purposes, of course. But I figured it couldn't hurt to check with you fine individuals first.

Thanks for the replies, gentlemen. After sleeping on it I'm inclined to go the route mentioned by leonmallett when it comes up in the game I'm running this weekend. And it will - some goofus has already taken the power Thanks again!

Hey folks. I was just reading over the Danger Sense psychic power (BRP p. 115) and I had a question. The power itself appears to be dependent on a difficult luck roll, but since it's a psychic power it's also based on the skill level of the power itself. So... Does a player have to succeed at a Danger Sense roll and then have to pass the luck roll as well? Or do folks interpret this power differently than other psychic powers?

My bad. I was still looking at my Edition Zero copy

It should be noted, though, that the aforementioned sexy assistant is an absolute requirement to run BRP. If you don't have one, you can't play. Period. Unless, of course, you hire one. But doing so can begin to erode the relatively inexpensive nature of the rules if your game sessions run more than an hour or so >:->

Since we're doing non-English phrases, "Murry Crimmis, y'all!" is how we say it here in Texas. So that, plus a Happy Chanukah, Happy Kwanzaa, or Festive Winter Solstice Holiday Of Your choice to each of you fine BRP-loving folk. Oh, and Happy New Year, too!

Heretic! Everyone knows the race car is the way to go. The Top Hat is too dependent on social skills. Plus, the race car is always the beneficiary of GM Fiat

In my admittedly limited experience, no, it does not differ significantly. Using a skill-based, Power Point-draining magic system keeps things in line. I've not tried the Sorcery rules, but again, the PP-drain seems like it alone should be enough to keep the spell-slingers in check. Additionally, the simple requirement of having a 16 POW to use Sorcery in the first place is also a speed bump. Putting aside the practice of examining the rules in a vacuum (which is, of course, useful) one should also consider the GM's game world effects on such things as well. For example, Sorcery in any world I run would only be available to characters of certain specific professions, which would also have their own limiting effects on such casters. Of course, this is all very situational and what works for me might not work for others. In the end, I think if you are, as you state, ok with "D&D levels of difference between characters" then you'll be fine with BRP. I believe that the book makes note of possible unbalanced situations simply out of an honest desire to alert (but not alarm) the reader. Unfortunately, saying "Some snakes may be poisonous" sometimes comes across as "Holy crap! All snakes are poisonous!"

I'd play this in a heartbeat. You might want to look for a copy of Hero Games' Pulp Hero (for Hero 5th), as it's a heartbreakingly wonderful resource for the pulp era. The old Tales of the Gold Monkey tv show might have some applicable concepts. You might also want to read Robert E. Howard's Sailor Steve Costigan stories. Ten of them are available in Boxing Stories. There seem to be ebooks (Amazon Kindle, at least) of several others. That's all that comes to mind initially. I do like your idea of using the merchant style of Traveller as a model as well. Go forth and make with some serious rockin' out!

Well, with your charm and my nearly limitless budget for drinks, surely we can get him to come back to town for one liver-smashing weekend of raw alcoholic debauchery, no? Failing that, maybe you can convince him to swing through to do some playtesting on Interplanetary. Then, when he least expects it, I can show up with an armload of burritos from Chuy's. Really, I'm up for anything that will fix my karma on this whole "free book" thing. My guilt has blossomed to nightmarish proportions since Saturday!

I, too, received a copy I didn't order. It arrived yesterday and it's as lovely as can be. I was planning on getting one anyway, but just hadn't gotten around to ordering it. The Zero and the PDF that I had already ordered were enough to keep me covered until the book showed up at my FLGS. But hey, now I don't have to spend the gas to get there. After an email exchange with Dustin everything is now copacetic. It seems that (like Lord Twig, I suspect) I was the unintended beneficiary of an utterly unplanned PDF/print copy 2-for-1. They appear to have that particular ordering system bug squashed now. Sorry, folks Since they don't seem to want to let me pay for the book, I've promised to buy Dustin a drink or three the next time he's in my neck of the woods.

Just downloaded. Delighted to have it. But in Preview on my Mac (OS X 10.4.11) nearly all of the graphics come through as photo negatives and the tables and option boxes are unselectable black text on black backgrounds. Stinky. Same file works fine in Adobe Reader. Though the images take an extra second or so to resolve to their proper resolutions. All in all, though, I'm glad to have the game in a PDF.

I'll just repeat myself by saying that I think BRP looks great. I'm a happy owner (and reader) of Edition Zero and I look forward to the eventual release of the final version. I expect I'll get some very nice gaming in with BRP, enjoying the options and elegance of the system to the utmost. So cheers to Jason and the rest of the folks involved in bringing this out-of-print goodness back to the world. It's no fault of theirs if people are happier whinging (especially about things they haven't looked at first hand) than they are playing. On that note, I've decided that the negativity among certain folks on this forum only reinforces my belief that I don't much need to be hanging out on RPG boards. So I don't think I'll be around much anymore, either. Y'all have fun with the internecine warfare, ok? Oh, and if it turns out my players all decide that a light pistol is the best weapon in the universe then I'll roll with it. Perhaps I'll tweak the rules if that somehow gets to me. Who knows? I'm crazy like that.

I'm in the "thanks for making BRP, not another iteration of RuneQuest" camp, personally. I love (love, people, l-o-v-e) what I've read in Zero Edition so far. Yes, there have been some typos and things that needed clarification, but those things are to be expected in what amounts to a proofreader's copy. Anyone who is scared off of the final version before there is a final version just because of the typos and errors found in such an advance text probably should stay away from sausage factories. You do not want to see how the stuff is made. Also, judging the game based on an early sample character sheet seems right up there with judging a book by its cover to me. All this angst over things being made optional confuses me. It's not really the same as taking the sacred cow out back, shooting it in the head and turning it into hamburger. It's just streamlining things a bit for the newbies (yes, like me) but leaving the option for the crunchier stuff for those who want it. Take strike ranks. I don't like 'em. I'll never use 'em. They're too crunchy for my tastes. Now, I could get mad that they're in the book taking up space that could've been used to flesh out the powers systems (which I do like). But hey, why stress? Let's let everyone have their options. Now I'll admit where I can see how this might lead someone to think that these options won't be readily supported in supplemental material. But I'd suspect that, given the relatively small amount of effort required to include them, they don't get dropped. And if they do, that same small amount of effort can add them back in for each person who chooses to do so. In my initial read through I didn't really get the idea that EDU and SAN are considered core. I also don't quite remember the sanity rules taking twenty pages. I don't have the book here with me right now, though, so I won't get pedantic and count them. I'll just say that these concerns seem to me to be the most unfounded. Not less meaningful, just unfounded. In the end, though, I'm not here to tell people they're wrong or anything. I just thought I'd throw my hat in with the "I like it, sorry you don't" crowd. As to soltakss's "final" sentiment in the first post All I can say is wow. I mean, you're entirely within your rights to feel that way. But it seems like an awfully limiting world view. Still, if you feel that way then, to be all zen-like, that's the way you feel. Anyway, I'll repeat for sanity's sake, I'm not into this for a fight. I just don't understand the vitriol or the judging something apparently sight unseen. Like I said, I'm glad this isn't just a redo of RQ. I was never into RQ. It's a fine game in its own right, but I happen to like BRP better. So I'm glad to see it get a new lease on life. I can't help but wonder if that, in the end, isn't what all this is about. BRP gets resurrected but RQ proper doesn't (MRQ notwithstanding) and that upsets people. Then again, I might just be reading too deeply into things. Oh, and a note to Joseph Paul: I don't see any way in which BRP couldn't be used for a future space setting. What crunch is it that you don't perceive to be in the rules (even as options)? Strike Ranks are there. Hit Locations are there. HP by location is present, too. I'm not trying to refute you here, I'm just trying to understand where you're coming from and what you think is missing.

Thanks for clueing me in on that, Sarah. I think I saw your original questions and then promptly forgot about them. The ol' memory ain't what it used to be We'll wait and see what the mighty Jason has to say. But I suspect you're right, or very close to it, anway.

It's from Order Of The Stick, which, despite being about D&D, is a terribly funny webcomic all the same. Find the shirt here: The Order of the Stick Store!

Folkmanis, Inc. - Maker of Folkmanis Puppets for Over 30 Years They have a terribly cute gargoyle as well.

Cool! Wear it with pride. Or sympathy. Or something. On a different note, I have an actual question about parrying. Specifically, in the attack vs. parry matrix, what does it mean when an effect is list with an "or" conjunction? I don't have the book here at the office, but the gist of it is something like "Attack fails, no damage OR shield takes 1 pt of damage." Why the or?

Close the internet. Atgxtg has created the perfect post. There is no reason to bother with anything else. Ever. Outstanding, sir or madam! Oh, and I have that puppet at home. Seeing it here really messed with my head for a minute.

To quote Rich Burlew, Your d12 Cries Itself To Sleep. I've never understood the hate, either. I love d12s. They're just so... Platonic.

You know, I ran Toon once back in college. The drugs were slightly more alcohol related. The only thing I remember about that session was that one of the players had a portable hole and he kept accidentally pulling out the Yellow Submarine version of Ringo Starr when he was trying for useful things, like bombs and stuff. Ah, Killer. We got busted at school (sixth grade) for playing Killer. The principal was worried that we might take it too far. But this was the 80s, so we just sat down and talked for a while* rather than being sent to special schools or deprogramming camps or jail or whatever they'd do to kids these days. The best part of the Killer thing, though, is that it was my mom's fault we were playing. She started everything off by "killing" me with a poisoned sandwich. When the other kids saw that they went gaga for the concept of the game. Yes, I love my mom. She's still the coolest. * We convinced her that we were all sane within a few minutes. We spent the rest of the hour or so helping her plan what kind of computers to get for the lab they were putting in the next year. Apple ][e's, of course.