clarence

1 hour ago, foolcat said:

I wouldn’t mind b/w printing, at all. What I do mind are shipping costs in relation to product price; but IIRC, both Lulu and DTRPG fulfill POD orders from Poland (for EU orders, that is).

Here in Sweden, I usually get Lulu prints from Holland for some reason. With DTRPG, it seems they print everything in the UK and use UPS for shipping. I hope that combination works for you foolcat.

12 hours ago, foolcat said:

Will the companion again be available as POD via Lulu? I was quite happy with the quality and price tag of the M-Space book.

While I do like Lulu, their full-colour prints have been a bit too expensive lately. As the Companion is in colour, DriveThruRPG is currently hard to beat. (Well, Publit’s colour print of M-SPACE is even better - as you only pay for colour on pages with colour - but their international shipping rates are prohibitive). It seems Lulu is working on a big update for their services, so this might change in the future. 
 

6 hours ago, g33k said:

That's all well and good, but... how will we know which secret freebie is which???

We have done some extensive double-blind testing and very few respondents mixed up the freebies, despite having them delivered in random order. If you run into trouble, however, we will offer a full money back guarantee on both.

I got the test print today and it looks quite nice. The release is getting close. 

There is a modular system for robots and cybernetics, tech-magic implants and a lifepath system for character creation. Also, new rules for computers and hacking allows PCs to hack almost any tech. Plus a scenario and a secret freebie. And an updated character sheet. 

Oh, and another secret freebie.  

No problem. Get well soon. 

Fantastic work!

Sweet!

Good catch! It seems to be quite quite rare these days. I found it a bit too complex for my tastes, but it’s perfect to mine for ideas. 

Thanks! It only took a few minutes to update the InDesign file. I’m happy you find it useful. 

I spotted Gunnery/Unarmed in my second round, and I thought they looked a bit misplaced. 

Here's a new version both with and without Hit Locations:

https://bit.ly/2YdCaXb

50 minutes ago, ORtrail said:

Let me know if you want these made into fillable PDFs.  This would allow the Skill list to be edited as needed for each setting, but having to write each skill in by hand would be a nightmare to me. 

A fillable version would be nifty! I will send you a PM.

Thanks! I will update the file with a second version containing Hit Locations as well. 

Here’s a character sheet without any skills, not even the Standard:

https://bit.ly/2YdCaXb

Let me know what you think.

3 hours ago, Nikoli said:

Actually, if Clarence sees this, might I suggest a skill open sheet (just blank aside from characteristics) for the M-Space Companion, complete with guidelines to create one’s own professions? That way, the GM can use M-Space to completely evoke any and all settings by adding their own skills and designing their own professions (including adjusting previous ones). Combat styles, too.

If we really want to use the family of BRP games we need an open sheet.

Nikoli

Hi Nikoli, a character sheet without skills is a good idea! It will not make it into the Companion, but I can put it up on my webpage. 

I also found Seamanship a bit misplaced at first. But I think it’s wise to keep the skill list compatible between Mythras books - as much as possible. Seamanship could indeed be filed under Pilot, but it doesn’t really do any harm as a standalone skill either. Similarly, Sing, Acting, Dance and Musicianship could be combined into Perform. But in the end, I prefer compatibility over focused skill-sets. A blank character sheet would allow you to go both ways though, which would be nice. 

If the careers don’t suit your campaign, creating your own is the best route. I’ve often done that to get the flavour right - even if I just add/remove one skill and rename the career. 

And make sure you look up the skill pyramids in Mythras Companion. They skip careers entirely if you want and is a much faster way to create a PC. 

(Scientist is very similar to Scholar. Just switch the Knowledge skills to Science skills. But I agree, it should have been in the rules. Hopefully, I can add it in a future update). 

Good review!

Welcome to the forums Vittoriano!

The rules for creating robots - and cyborgs - take a modular approach in the Companion. Similar to starship design, players add various Modules to their characters. Weapons, gadgets and compartments, for example, are easy to install. 

The Companion is in the final stages of development. I can’t give you a date yet but it’s not far away. 

Thanks ORtrail! Good work. 

Fantastic work @ORtrail ! I will give it a try as quickly as possible. 

Good stuff, Runeblogger and Pentallion!

On 3/19/2020 at 9:50 PM, g33k said:

Gotta give big, BIG props for Odd Soot.  It's an amazing and very original work.

Also wanting to point to  "...Mystery/Horror Scifi in 1920s ..."  and say that while that's is completely accurate, it could also apply to Cthulhu...  But I must stress that Odd Soot is UTTERLY NOT a Cthulhu (nor Cthulhu-Mythos "vibe") setting.  It's very VERY much "ominous noir mystery" with a hint of maybe-supernatural-(and/or-spiritual)-corruption sort of horror, rather than Cosmic Horror with Eldritch Beings.

It's also alt-history / alt-science.  It'd be a brilliant thing to blend with Luther Arkwright (looks like a pretty seamless fit), or with Worlds United (need to tweak some 20's-alt vs 50's-alt stuff, both setting and tech).

Thank you for your kind words g33k!

I lived in Malmö for a few years, visiting Copenhagen regularly. Sadly I always had to ask people to switch to English. Norwegian is easier for us, as long as it’s not in too much dialect. 

And yes, Expert Nova is a fascinating little game. It’s as if 40 years of BRP has been boiled down to only the most essential pieces. 

@seneschal The big change in roleplaying is that Swedish RPG companies produce games for the international market these days. And a surprising number of them turn into bestsellers. To explain the reasons behind this boom would require a lengthy reply though. 

Since the early 1980s, Basic Roleplaying has dominated the Swedish RPG scene. For me and most other 80s and 90s teens here, it was the first system we ever learned. Dungeons & Dragons never stood a chance. 

To find out more about that Golden Age, I talk to Anders Blixt, the elder statesman of Swedish BRP, in a new interview. He authored many of the most beloved books of the early years, but also wrote for Traveller and, much later, Mutant: Year Zero. 

We also talk about his Swedish adaption of Call of Cthulhu - and discuss his first BRP game for many years, Expert Nova, now in English. 

Read the interview here:

http://www.frostbytebooks.com/blog/interview-with-anders-blixt

Clarence Redd

Hi Charaina, I’m happy you’re looking forward to it! So am I.

There will be a scenario, character backgrounds and rules for computers and hacking. Plus a couple of secrets.

Clarence

Good to hear! I’m surprised it’s so easy to do the conversion. 

On his RPG blog, Shawn Medero now shares a method for converting planet data from Traveller to M-SPACE. And the process is quite straightforward. Anyone who has flipped through Traveller in the past 20+ years have seen the Universal World Profile codes (like C77A9A9-6) scattered through the text. Very convenient when you know the game, hopeless for everyone else. With Shawn’s guide, UWP codes are easily cracked.

You can use it to take Traveller (or Cepheus Engine) scenarios to M-SPACE. Or apply it to the output of the excellent Sector app - the amazing little app that produces entire sectors at the push of a button, with all planetary data set up for you.

Shawn’s blog post is here:

https://shawn.medero.net/2020/1/traveller-universal-world-profiles-to-m-space-planets

Also, make sure you check out Shawn’s solo play example. It’s an entertaining read where he shows his techniques for playing M-SPACE without a Game Master:

https://post79.com/observation-deck/m-space

And now it’s fully backed : )