clarence

Excellent! Are you comfortable with annotating a pdf or do you want some other file format?

Thanks for the link. Interesting read.

Ok, thanks! Time is always too short to squeeze in everything… I appreciate your support. While many Swedes speak reasonably good English, it's surprisingly difficult to find people here knowing it good enough for proofreading. Anyone else interested?

As BRP Starships hopefully is making the transit to print-on-demand soon, most of the text needs proofreading. I would like to do this myself, but as my Read/Write (English) is not good enough, I just can't. I need help. In total there's 116 pages, and about 100 pages with text. There is one volunteer already, and with a couple of more the work should be quite brisk. Anyone interested?

I think this sounds very promising! Keep up the good work.

Very good read so far! And Reunion looks like a fine scenario...

Just to be clear: The pdf is 120x120 millimeters. That's very close to 8.5x8.5 inches. Printing on A4 and 8.5x11" should be quite similar, with only a few millimeters difference. What I do when printing at home, is that I print to A4, and as the printer puts everything on the top of the page, I just leave it as it is. It might not be very pretty, but at least I have a lot of space at the bottom of the page to take notes on. Alternatively I will take the finished A4s to a print shop or paper shop and have them cut all pages at once. Where I live it costs about a dollar. I haven't tried binding though, but I think they can use A4 binding and just cut away the surplus length if you decide to go with the pages cut to square format.

Converting to .doc should be easy and using Dropbox seems like a good idea. I will ask around to see if there is someone else willing to proofread a chapter or two. My email is clarence.redd (a) gmail.com Edit: I have set up a Dropbox account for the proofreading. Send me an email and I will share the folder.

Thank you Daniel for your comments! I'm also in favor of a black and white version with color cover, I think it will be a good start. And Lulu seems like a safe choice. I also found out that Publit has a $35 starting fee per book project - not a deal breaker, but not ideal either. Regarding more interior art, I'm also a fan of B&W art, especially if it's mixed in with the text. My thought was to keep the color spreads (as I think they work quite well as chapter dividers) and add B&W sketches on the other pages. And that perhaps explains one of the other questions you have, about the amount of white space: I have a a WIP copy of the InDesign file with sketches (not the final one's though) already in it. And it looks very good : ) The pdf you have is the same, only with the art removed. About the formating of the document, I don't think I'm willing to alter it. Lulu has a "preset" square book that's 8.5x8.5 inches, and it's not more expensive than the other options I think. If proofreading would be ok for you, that would be perfect. Take your time - but I also think you will find it a quite fast read. You can send me a chapter at a time if it feels more manageable that way. Is pdf a working solution for you to annotate?

I didn't realize so many here had actually written for sci-fi too. I enjoyed Cthulhu Rising a lot (and looking forward to the new version), but haven't tried Fractured hopes yet. Those daydreams seems very interesting. How specific are they? Hard or soft sci-fi?

Ok, I have investigated a few alternatives for a 116 page paperback (210 x 210 mm) with color cover as a print-on-demand title. Lulu: Full color $23, shipping $5 (very approximate - it depends on where you live). Total: $28 Lulu: Black & White $5, shipping as above. Total: $10 Publit: Black & White with 16 color pages $6, shipping (from Sweden) $9. Total: $15 Lulu was my first option, but unfortunately they can't print just a few pages in color. It's either all B&W or all color. That's why I checked with the biggest print-on-demand service here in Sweden (Publit, very good I believe), as they offer mixed color/B&W. Then there is the question of shipping rates. With Publit it's a bit more expensive (but fixed within EU/USA), but Lulu on the other hand is very secretive about shipping costs, so it's a very rough estimate above. It can be lower, and it can be higher. Now you might wonder how interior art holds up in black and white. Surprisingly well, I must say after running a few tests in Photoshop. I guess it says something about the quality of Matthias' work. Naturally you lose some clarity and vividness, but the images are still very good. I would also very much like someone to check the writing before it goes to print. As English is not my first language, I'm sure there are some things I've got all wrong. Does anyone volunteer? What do you think of all this? Any option that looks more promising than another? Edit: Would it be impolite of me to consider adding a dollar or two to the price, to re-invest in adding one more interior artist? I have had discussions with one very talented sci-fi draughtsman, but he really wants to get paid. Let me know what you think.

Yes, that's what I've heard too. What seems a bit strange to me is that there were no further attempts with sci-fi. On the other hand, only a few years ago it wasn't even sure you could find a fantasy version of BRP, unless you got it from Ebay. As a casual observer, Mongoose re-releasing/updating Runequest (combined with Chaosium doing the MULA's) really made the BRP world come to life again. I might have missed a lot of things going on below the radar though... A new sci-fi game under those earlier circumstances would perhaps not have been very likely.

Thank you Max! This also means that I translated it back to it's original language - I wonder how close I got… : )

I forgot: There is also an offer to get the cover painting as a print on http://jadrienc.deviantart.com. I ordered a medium-sized print a few days ago for about $7, which I find very reasonable. The artist, Jadrien Cousens, is a professional matte painter and has very kindly let me use the image for free. I think he is one of the most talented sci-fi artists on DeviantArt and if you enjoy his work and have the opportunity, please support him.

I just uploaded a new version of BRP Starships (2.2). What's new in 2.2: - Gorgeous interior art by Matthias Utomo! - New chapter on Alien Creation. Starting with universal body plans and traits for planet-wide systems of organisms, then boring down to individual species, their advantages, disadvantages, behavior, preferred form of communication and so on, and ending with guidelines for calculating characteristics. - Alternate technological paths. Rules for societies evolving technology in ways differing from the standard Tech Levels. - Classic star mapping. Easy to use with Hexographer. - Occupations listed with skills for convenience. New occupations: Belter, Bounty Hunter, Colonist, Diplomat, Mercenary & Pirate. - Some vehicle samples. I also have had a few requests about making the pdf available as a print-on-demand book. Would anyone else be interested in this?

That's interesting! Serenity in BRP should be a good combination. And I have always thought it very strange that sci-fi has been so weakly represented in the world of BRP. It's been around for forty years soon… Could it be because of the not-so-successful early release of Ringworld combined with the huge success of CoC? Let's hope your adventure made it to the book!

Well, sci-fi adventures for BRP isn't too common : ) This could be nice. Does anyone know what to expect or who's written any of them?

Here is the final piece! I hope you find some use for it, and that my English is making the rules justice (the writing in Swedish is a bit clumsy actually, as it often was in the early games here). "What a prayer demands of the caster Just like the spells of a magician, a prayer costs Power points to use. Every level costs one Power point. This is not so much that the prayer needs power to work, but instead it is caused by the strain on the caster when in contact with a god. A holy person regains all Power points after one hour of continuous and unbroken meditation. Raising POW Every time a holy person must overcome the POW of someone else and succeeds, s/he has the possibility to raise his POW just like a magician. Inverted prayers Most of the prayers mentioned above can have some kind of inverted effect. Those effects are described below: Purify: Contaminate – Every level adds to the damage a substance can do with 1d6, by turning it into a poison. Heal: Hurt – 1d6 damage for every level. Blessing: Curse – Every level reduces the target's chance to hit with 50%. Exorcise: Control – Allows the caster to control undead and demons. Revive: Slay – Every level opposes the caster's POW with the target's. If the holy person wins, the target dies. Hurt, Curse, Control and naturally Slay must overcome the target's POW before they start working. All inverted versions have the same limitations regarding range and concentration as the normal prayers."

Here are the prayers/spells: "General Prayers Most holy persons know the following prayers: 1. Purify – Every level of the prayer removes 1d6 of damage caused by poison or impurities in food and drink. 2. Heal – Every level of the prayer removes 1d6 of damage caused by something else than the ones mentioned above. 3. Holy Aura – Every level works as a protection of the holy person, and is visible like an aura of light around him/her. Every level above the first adds one level in strength, or widens the field's radius by 1 meter. As with other prayers it starts to work one round after it has been cast, and Anti-Magic and Push (other spells) will only affect those hostile to the holy person and his friends. A common sight on a battlefield, are slowly growing spheres of light. If the spheres of two opponents overlap, none of them works in the overlapping area. If two spheres from the same side overlap, they enhance each other in the overlapping area. 4. Blessing – Every level affects one separate target. Two levels can not affect the same target. The target will have all his/her fighting skills multiplied by 1.5. Contary to a holy person's other prayers, this one will affect anyone within hearing range, but s/he must mention the names of the beings who should be affected. When the target has been pointed out, the prayer continues to work as long as it is upheld. 5. Exorcise – This prayer opposes the holy persons POW with the POW of an undead (ghost, skeleton, vampire, wraith etcetera), whereby s/he tries to banish it. If the roll on the resistance table is successful, the undead (or demon) is destroyed. The prayer must be used within reach of the target in question, and if an Anti-Magic spell is at work on the target, the prayer must first overcome that spell as a first level prayer. 6. Revive – One level of this prayer must be used for every ten minutes a person has been dead. It opposes the POW of the caster with the POW of the dead's soul. If the roll on the resistance table is successful the soul returns to the body (the body must be healed to a positive hit point value before the prayer ends). If the roll fails, it means that the soul has disappeared. The holy person must also roll below his/her's hit points on 1d20, or suffer death him-/herself. The caster also collapses and is unconscious for 30-POW minutes."

Looking forward to this!

Here are some more paragraphs: "The Gods Which religion a holy man is devoted to depends on the campaign. If the world has a pantheon with several gods ruling over different aspects, as the sea, heaven, war, love and so on, the holy person prays to one of the gods and can ask for spells related to that area. Example: Thor the Holy is devoted to a god of storm. He can ask for a magician's Lightning spell. Alternatively, the world can be dominated by two opposing monotheistic teachings, like christianity and satanism. In this case all holy persons have the same skills and can get the same spells from their god. But because of the two opposing sides, some spells will have the opposite effect depending on which side the caster is from. Example: A holy man devoted to the good side will have access to Heal, while the evil side will use Hurt. Those spells are two sides of the same magic. The Effect of Prayers Contrary to the day-long spell casting of spiritualists, necromancers, sorcerers and alchemists, a prayer is a relatively short ceremony. Just like the spells of a magician the prayers are divided into levels. The more levels that are needed, the longer a prayer takes. One level takes one combat round to cast. Example: If brother Thor the Holy wants to pray for healing for his badly hurt friend (who has lost 14 out of 16 Hit Points), he must pray for at least three rounds to be able to heal the 3d6 needed. The spell takes effect step by step while Thor is praying, giving his friend 1d6 HP the first round, 1d6 the following round and so on. The holy man must be within an arm's length of the target of the prayer, though s/he doesn't have to touch it. The spell is working only for as long as the prayer is continuing. You will quickly notice that ranged spells are not that useful to a holy person. A holy person is not limited to the spells of magicians, they have a few of their own too."

@Chorpa: You don't happen to know what version of DoD this is? I don't recognize it, but I've not read/played much DoD since… a very long time.

Both would be perfect! I prefer pdf, though any of the formats works fine.

Any chance the file could be added to the downloads page (looking at you Atgxtg)? Seems like a valuable resource.

Yes, that's ok! Just give me couple of days. You can send the second page to my email if you don't want to start a new thread: clarence.redd (a) gmail.com