FunGuyFromYuggoth

Good advice! I hate sending new gamers out to search for OOP editions, particularly given that there are other choices (including BRP and forum volunteers willing to share their lore). :thumb:

I think you're inadvertently mixing parrying and attacking here. Parrying in game terms is usually defined by deflecting or redirecting the attack. The Shield skill or Block are different but related defensive abilities. Speaking as someone with edged weapons experience, I think combat simulation in BRP is necessarily abstracted, but also appreciate the fact that the GM can adjust the system on the fly. Depending on the situation, there is no reason why the 40% modifier you suggested could not find its place. But that depends on a lot and I think we're over-thinking this. Look at the attacker and the defender, the weapons and armor they have, and whether or not it makes sense for an attack or defense to happen. There are no specific rules on using largish weapons in a dungeon crawl, but GMs generally know that some weapons are just not usable depending on the situation and in this case, perhaps parrying isn't always practical. Sometimes (in the case of the sai) it means momentarily trapping a sword while the other sai (wielded in each hand) went in for the kill. I agree that momentum is a consideration, but evasion and deflection are equally important in the decision on whether to parry or just get out of the way. Some weapons in some circumstances should just not be allowed to parry by an alert GM because the opportunity just isn't there or it just doesn't make sense--use Dodge or Shield instead.

Reminds of me of the art that used to grace The White Dwarf back in the day. Good times! :thumb:

I agree. In general, we should try to work within the spirit of the BRP ruleset, which is to keep things reasonably simple. As a GM, I'd probably say to the player, "You're insane. He will hit you and all you can do is Dodge unless you can close the distance." Since no mechanism is given for closing the distance, I'd probably ask the player to give up an attack and roll a Special on Dodge to do so, prompting the attacker with the polearm to back up to an optimal range, change weapons, or use the haft of the weapon in a staff like fashion (= quarterstaff). Upon reflection, the example perhaps is not the best one. Until my first edition arrives, the typo in Edition Zero for the Parry column permits Knives to parry in Historic weapons, but doesn't permit Large Hunting Knives to parry in Modern. Speaking strictly on realistic terms, knives and daggers weren't used to parry unless they were radically redesigned into something we know of as the sai--a weapon with its own characteristics, history, and application.

Sounds like a great idea. The Keepers Compendium Alternate Resistance Table doesn't really come into play with stats that are scaled for normal human beings. I suppose if you wanted a resistance table result for something fantastically huge and strong versus something of equally terrifying proportions, you could use it, but how often does that come up?

I half expected Jason to jump onto the truck riding an Arabian stallion and throwing the driver out through the windshield. Nice driving George! Can't wait to get my hands on that book!!!:party:

I have every intention of using Hit Locations (or at least the BRP Call of Cthulhu version of it). Like Nick, I've used Hit Locations since RQ and when Call of Cthulhu's Cthulhu Now re-introduced it, I found a place for it. :thumb:

I should have been more clear. All of the OGL settings/games spawned by 3.5 will be left in the dust. They won't make the jump to the new gaming license unless a D&D/WoW style Epic experience is somehow shoe-horned in. In this regard, I see this a D&D 4.0 as an effort to go back to the core business of WotC/Hasbro and dump the legacy gamers who aren't playing D&D or find that the new set-up, while fine for D&D/WoW style level grinds and those who don't mind getting game-related subscription models. This won't necessarily please the rest. In this case, D&D 4 will see a few survivors left bobbing in the water--hopefully BRP can extend a life preserver and welcome them aboard. :thumb: Of course, it's anyone's guess now. We won't know for sure, but its incumbent on BRP to at least have a system ready with settings and scenarios ready-to-go in order to capture this slice of the market.

If D&D 4th edition falls flat on its face, you will have alot of legacy 3.5 and OGL gamers floating around. It might be a good time to consider marketing to them (hint, hint, Chaosium).

The danger I see is mixing gritty to legendary styles, which may work well in a story, possibly even a movie, but in a game you end up in the same fix that the "Star Wars" roleplaying game (in its various forms) found itself in--while it's nice to be a roguish smuggler, your jedi friends could wipe the floor with you. A bit of a downer.

Doesn't it also depend on what kind of campaign you're running? Think "The Bourne Identity" films versus "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." What a world of difference! After all, if you're running a more gritty, realistic game, your martial arts skill would probably translate to what is given in the book except to say that certain martial arts have limitations (Brazilian jiu-jitsu would not have any strikes, Boxing wouldn't have much in the way of grappling beyond the clinch, etc.). A more cinematic/legendary approach would use super powers. I think a Wuxia campaign setting could flesh that out nicely, but those are powers you wouldn't want to bring into a lower power setting.

So that's the cursing in the distance I heard 4 days ago...from Texas...whoa! :thumb:

If I understand your question correctly, no. If the rolled result is lower/higher than the skill, then the skill works/doesn't work. You roll once. "Always use the Martial Arts skill in combination with another skill: Brawl, Melee Weapons or Grapple, as appropriate."

BRP is a great way to teach kids math. I spent many an off hour just grinding out multiple digit math in my head on the long walks to school. I hated XP and wanted something faster than a calculator. Frickin' AD&D...

Someone started a thread that involved inflicting pain on somebody else and Nobody Expects the...FunGuyFromYuggoth!

If you keep a firm grip on the book with both hands and whip across hard to the temple, you can knock someone out.

Both are excellent. Happy hunting.

I played D&D, had a great time, but moved on to better things. Rest in Peace, Gentle Reader.

Hit locations are entirely optional in "Call of Cthulhu" and one would have to hunt for it in a supplement to even see it. Combat in "Call of Cthulhu" is alot more freeform than RQ3, which IIRC RQ3 was criticized by some RQ2 players for making combat (and the system) a little more complicated than it needed to be. It was OOP by the time I came to the game, so I had no reference point. I GM'ed RQ3 for several years and found the rules very playable and a huge leap over D&D, but I disliked the strike rank system and the sorcery section. The people who I played with were more passionate about the skill system and the magic system, plus the setting, and were unlikely to wax on about the elegance of strike ranks. To me, strike ranks and hit locations are mechanics and don't stand out when there are so many other plusses to RQ3. Plus, in RL, people shoot or stab each other milliseconds apart, and double wounds/kills are more common than movies would have you believe. In my actual campaigns, the hit locations were used, but I preferred using one set and giving a plus or minus on the D20 to achieve a result that made more sense. I'd probably not use strike ranks and in the case of determining who hits first, use distance (missiles first), then skill level, then DEX to determine who gets to attack first. It gets the same thing done and I find it forces the player to think about the situation more tactically than relying on a static number generated weeks and months before based on numerous tables that produce similar results without any awareness of why they attack on Strike Rank 4.

There will be a better cover coming.

Much appreciated. Thank you for sharing this! :thumb:

The HERO system is expecting a big shot in the arm with the new superhero MMORPG in the works.

I first want to say that I am very happy with Jason (Durall) and Sam's (Johnson) update of the BRP rules in Edition Zero. I have been playing roleplaying games for going on 25 years now and was thrilled to see that somebody was going to try to bring it together. Excellent work! Thank you for your contribution to gaming! I did want to query them on the rules about Hit Locations. I have been using the "Call of Cthulhu" hit location rules (first seen) in "Cthulhu Now." The spread of hit locations from 1-20 are slightly different between the version the new BRP rules and in "Call of Cthulhu." Can you tell me what the thought process was behind this decision? Thank you.

Yes, def a big bump in the middle for those of us who were kids when roleplaying games (before they were rechristened pen & paper or tabletop roleplaying games) gained popularity. Good times...good times... :thumb:

I checked out the Downloads section, but couldn't find the new version of the BRP character sheet (the generic one you find in the book). Will one be made available or does somebody have one that scanned well enough to upload? Has anybody else developed a satisfactory superhero genre character sheet? If you have one you could share, please. Pretty please.