Robert S.

I just recently bought all the Greg Stafford Library books (there are nine of them, unless I missed any), but have not had a chance to read them yet. This will be a most welcome addition to the collection his early stuff.

For over 20 years, one of my most repeated comments in the classroom was, "students? As if teaching wasn't already hard enough ..."

Good point, and good way to dial it back. Perhaps add that you must sacrifice a permanent POW point to it to be able to use it at all, or even for each use. Or water it down so it only translates a sentence or two per day. Or, it requires the use of special ink to work, like walktapus ink or some such.

Lhankor Mhy goodies: A quill pen that translates text in any language while transcribing it. About one MP per "page" sounds like a reasonable cost. What language it translates to could be set by the gamemaster (er, I mean the person who originally enchanted it), or perhaps the user could "tune" the quill to a desired language with a POW point sacrifice. A fake beard that allows the wearer to spend one MP to speak a sentence in any language. Does NOT translate any responses they get! General stuff (roll 1D12): A yoke (for a plow or wagon) that gives a benefit of some kind to horses or oxen fastened to it, like boosted strength, endurance, or speed. A glass eye that grants something like Farsee/Second Sight/Rivereyes/Detect once per day. Must be worn in an empty eye socket. An anvil that makes weapons fashioned upon it faster, reducing their SR by one. Benefit for the person who crafted the weapon only. A small stone that is always warm, good for holding in your hands to avoid frostbite. (variant of the hot cooking rock) A pouch that keeps duckweed fresh and potent. A "pissing jar" that converts urine to pure water. A cup that increases potency of alcohol. Or, a cup that decreases potency of alcohol. A lantern that Ignites its wick on command. A dowsing rod that finds fresh water once per day. An oriole feather that boosts Sing. A comb or pick that changes hair color once per day. A fish hook that always catches a fish, without requiring bait.

Lots of good ideas here. I still feel that some restriction on Dodge/Parry is needed to simulate looking for an opportunity to strike something vital. Since the Aimed Blow in the rulebook halves the attack roll, how about making holding your attack to adjust the hit location giving you halved defense rolls? There's a kind of symmetry in that.

You know, I couldn't fully recall that aspect, come to think of it. Looking back, it does look too restrictive. There's nothing said about using Dodge or Parry in the current core rulebook Aimed Blows, though halving your chance to hit seems harsh enough to impose further penalty. Maybe just Dodge or Shield, reasoning that the attacker is probing for enemy weakness with their weapon. Parry could knock them "out of the zone," if that makes sense.

Hi all! This is my first post on this forum. I had a long gap in getting to play RQ, but recently played the newest edition to prepare a Jonstown Compendium title. Back in the day, I was in a long RQ2/RQ3 campaign. I love the latest edition of the game! Our group had a different version of calling Aimed Blows in combat. I honestly can't remember if this was a house rule or the earlier version of the rules (alas, all my RQ2/RQ3 stuff is currently in storage). Whatever the source, it works for me, and is an option at my table. I use it as a "yes, and" rather than a "no, but" to the currently published rules. The Aimed Blow rule as it is has you holding back until SR 12, attacking at half skill, and choosing any hit location if successful. The "house rule" version: hold back your attack until later in the round. The extra time sparring gives you more chances to find an opening. This is more an opportunistic strike rather than making an effort to hit one particular location. Each SR you hold back after when you'd normally attack gives you a +/- 1 modifier to your Hit Location roll. You attack at full skill, but cannot Dodge or Parry before your attack (or lose the advantage). Example: Kesten engages an insane cultist with his two-handed battle axe. He decides to hold back for three extra strike ranks to look for an opening. Normally, he attacks at SR 6, but this round he attacks at SR 9. The cultist swings a sickle sword at SR 7, Kesten decides to take his chances (If Kesten Dodges or Parries the attack, he no longer gets the hit location modifier). The cultist hits, drawing Kesten's blood, but not enough to stop him. At SR 9, Kesten swings back. His attack connects. He rolls damage and hit location. For hit location, Kesten rolls a 7 (left leg), but has a 3-point modifier for holding the attack. He can choose to hit any location from 4 (right leg) to 10 (abdomen). Kesten decides that he feinted for the leg, then gave his blade a sharp upward turn at the last moment, and plants his axe in the cultist's gut. If Kesten had been worried about his character's chances against the attack at SR 7, he could have chosen to Dodge or Parry, and give up the 3-point bonus at SR 9. Good? Bad? Re-inventing the wheel?