Simlasa

This came up during last weekend's game, while trying to lift a heavy lid off of a sarcaphagus. We had one strong PC, one of medium strength, and one puny guy with a gimpy hand. How would you run all of them lifting together? (we couldn't see any specific mention in the MW rules).

That don't involve Mythras? Or.... ?

This is interesting news. I bought a copy of the Chaosium version... based primarily on my enjoyment of Mr. Snead's previous work. In truth, on reading it, I thought it was a bit... undercooked. But I've felt that way about several of the later Chaosium books... like Atomic Age Cthulhu and Astounding Adventures. Not the author's fault I suspect. So I'll look forward to the Mythras version with renewed enthusiasm. If only The Chronicles of Future Earth could have made the crossing as well...

Yep, games don't have a 'play by date'. Someone who won't play a game just because it's 'old' is probably someone I wouldn't enjoy playing with anyway.

I'd be interested as well. Lots of potential there I think. I could happily run it straight historical, but I'd also be tempted to bring in some weirdness and have a go at The Brothers Grimm movie... its depictions of rational Frenchmen and technology coming up against the legends in the ancient forest.

I don't know much about Wildcards but it seems to have a following. Not that it's ever going to happen... but a supers setting I'd like to see fleshed out for Superworld is City of Heroes... though we've got a nice start on that here in the downloads. City of Heroes was generally lower-powered (no supermen or green lanterns) and many of the villains were straight out of old school pulps.

That's my real, true, core sentiment... but it's fun to play 'what if' regarding various settings.

What I've seen of it doesn't seem much like WFRP. It keeps trying to sell that aspect, but without Warhammer's setting... meh. Maybe when it's finally out I'll get a look at it and find more to love.

'The Book of Nots'... Not-Dr. Who, Not-James Bond, Not-Captain Kirk...

Sometimes the 'wink and a nod' versions of popular IP are just as fun. Like some of classic Traveller's who's who sample character profiles or parody NPCs in WFRP and Rogue Trader (such as the Inquisitor (in)famously named Obiwan Sherlock Clouseau). It's the specific names that draw fire... so a write-up of an adventurous archeologist named Nevada Smith oughtta fly under the radar.

Our Wednsday group started playing Basic D&D last week... my halfling was eaten by rats just a short ways into our first dungeon. Which was great! I've yet to play Classic Fantasy but I hope stuff like rats, cats, and dogs still present something of a threat to PCs. There was an old mantra I had when looking at a set of rules, that a pack of wild dogs should always be a viable threat to a PC caught alone and unarmed... but I'm not sure if that's true of D&D past a certain level.

This? I call shennanigans!

Is that part of the Prime Directive setting? I haven't delved far enough into it to run across that bit. Yeah, I'd think that was dumb, I'd just ignore it/change it. Seems a minor point though.

I like that setting... vs. struggling with all the expanded canon of the further TV shows and movies... but really more in spirit than specifics. I've been wondering how well M-Space could be turned to that sort of relatively optimistic space exploration, ala Star Trek, Space Patrol, Fireball XL5 and other Andersonverse shows.

That's interesting... so, a branch of Wesen that did such a convincing job of hiding amongs humans that they forgot they weren't fully human? What do you think of the Royals? Will you use those? They appear to be ordinary humans, with vast wealth and power. According to the fan Wiki, the Grimm were knights in the employ of the Royals to put down rogue Wesen... and Reapers were employed by the Royals to put down rogue Grimm.

I think you're right about the action points, healing, agility and such... Trubel is something of an action hero even without Nick's fancier schtick of super senses. Something I've struggled with while watching the show is... what are the Grimm? How did they get started? Did some occult group make them or did they 'evolve' naturally? There are obviously real dangers presented by the Wesen, probably moreso in the past when it was harder to fight back. But it's shown that there are populations of Wesen that are relatively harmless... yet were still killed indiscriminately by Grimms of the past. So is that all the Grimm are? See the monster, kill the monster, repeat? Is there some higher purpose? Why get some powers (seeing Wesen) right off... but others only come under extreme stress? By design? By accident? Maybe because the rituals meant to bring those powers out during training were mostly forgotten/lost at some point? Were the Grimm angels placed on Earth to aide mankind but somehow forgot who they were and much of what they are capable of? Forgot their core mission? Maybe there's something about Grimms that draws them toward professions in things like law enforcement and emergency services? I'm guessing at one time they worked within the Inquisition and other such things... not entirely heroic... so they're shades of gray... but it's like they have an inner sense that they need to help, somehow. Even if they end up helping questionable forces. Which brings to mind nasty stuff like Grimm working under the Nazis... hunting according to that twisted worldview. Sorry I'm rambling about stuff that might only tangentially come up in a game...

Trubel didn't have any noticeable powers, as of last time I watched the show. She's a good fighter though... and has various skills and knowledge born out of living as she had been... and now various powerful contacts she can call on. I don't recall any mention of Nick's mom particular powers either... though she might have and it just never came up. I guess you'd have to decide whether you'd want to have them available or leave them as a rare occurence.

I'd favor having that in addition to them being an accidental result of extreme stress. So, perhaps, some form of ritual meant to induce the same sort of situation in a controlled/methodical way. Kind of like G. Gordon Liddy eating rats and holding his hand over a flame... and I think that a new Grimm would need to be clued into these potentials somehow, as Matt E. mentions... finding other Grimm to train you or some cache of Grimm lore with tutorials. This is kind of reminding me of the Spook's Apprentice books.

It might also be relevant to point out the Nick the Grimm is not the average Grimm... his powers came to him after disabling attacks by creatures and his trailer full of weapons and lore isn't necessarily standard Grimm equipment either. Players might not start off with access to all that stuff. Maybe cobble up some mechanism for gaining powers as a result of wounds? Nick gained super hearing after losing his eyesight. Maybe there's a loose network of Grimm's that can be contacted for some information, but also presents potential conflict. Maybe even something like the Trubel character, who has no clue what's going on... just that she keeps seeing monsters and feels she might be going insane. She's got no trailer, no guidance, no real powers. Also, obviously, the Grimm's generally have NOT been buddies with Wesen the way Nick is on the show... as seen by the initial reaction of just about every Wesen character on the show when they first realize what Nick is. A Grimm PC is a bit like Judge Dredd who finds a warm place in his heart for 'perps and muties'. I might toss in one or two grizzled old NPC Grimm to contrast what I assume the PC Grimm would want to play like. Or maybe a quick visit to the bad-old-days to show where Grimm get their horrifying reputation (or play a short campaign where all the Players are merciless Grimm, hunting down the ancestors of innocent characters like Bud and Rosalie).

From what I recall of the magic and powers on the show they're kinda all over the place. The Grimm has abilities that seem a bit like the Mythras Mysticism... improved strength, reflexes, sight, smell. The Hexenbeasts can cast complicated ritual spells, but they also do stuff that seems more like psionics... throwing stuff and people around at will. Some of the other Wesen have innate powers than can poison or stun or whatnot. Then there's all the herbalism stuff with Rosalie and her spice shop... mixing up magical concoctions for whatever problem comes up... though usually having to research in her books. She's sort of like the good witch to the bad witch of the Hexenbeasts. There are a few other weird critters that aren't really Wesen or Grim... like La Llorona. Would the Players want a more localized policework and 'monster of the week' type campaign as seen in the earlier seasons of the show? Or more of the politics and faction intrigue that's been looming larger in later seasons?

A quick look turned up a fan wiki for the show: http://grimm.wikia.com/wiki/Aunt_Marie's_Book_of_Lore My cousin got me watching Grimm a while back and I've pondered how I might do the Wesen in a game. They're not exactly monsters in human disguises, they're more like the hereditary werewolves and shapeshifters on True Blood... dual natured. Maybe some sort of familial spirit bond. It's been shown that the creature aspect can be suppressed, removed or shared. The transformations are mostly at will but there is a degree to which they're not. The show is pretty clunky/silly at times but the folklore/background (like with Supernatural) suggest a lot of interesting stuff that could make for fun roleplaying.

Nothing else for it that I know of. As it is I thought Astounding Adventures was pretty lacking. At two pages the overview of the source material is short and not very wide or deep... I think there are more references to Sky Captain and The Rocketeer than there are actual period heroes such as The Shadow and The Spider. When he brings up radio shows the author makes no mention at all of 'I Love A Mystery'... despite it being a perfect archetype for the sort of adventuring party this book is designed for. There's a timeline section that seems no more RPG-related than what a GM could quickly grab off of Wikipedia. It's all woefully insufficient for anyone not already familiar with the subject matter... similar to how I felt about Atomic-age Cthulhu. Maybe I've just been spoiled by GURPS sourcebooks...

Most of those sound fun to me, I might steer clear of the 'topical' ones. But some people, even 'adult' people, like the looting tombs and killing orcs schtick... there's a guy in our group who pretty much only engages for combat. So for his sake I'd look at your plot suggestions and work in reasons for a visit to some old ruins, or an altercation with some orcs/beastmen/bandits/mutants. Does Mongoose really have some rule mandating 'loot and scoot' adventures? I haven't read anything but the stuff in their Elric books and those weren't mere dungeon crawls.

Yeah, I'm not sure what things the OP is referring to. IME 'adult adventures' happen when there are adults at the table playing them.

I'm thinking of a guy I saw get taken down by bolos. Maybe it depends on your definition of 'attack'. He's not going to have a full range of movement/maneuver... he could lash out if you got close to him, but it's not his full on normal attack. It's going to be somewhat improvised and desperate. Attacks on him should benefit. To me it's for the GM to adjudicate... depending on the specifics of what entangled the character, what weapon he has, did he fall down... various things. Maybe a critical ensnares his weapon arm, neck, or legs (which can then be pulled out from under him). Snared up in the webbing of a giant spider or the tongue of a giant frog... maybe no attack at all.