Simlasa

I like the idea of a cruel empire haunted by its past... I'm not clear on the view from the ground though... what sorts of people live there and what they'd get up to... what their immediate concerns would be, unless they lived near the area the sorcerer's influence is infecting.

I'm missing something... if the target is 'actively defending' then the attack is opposed... yes? The target can parry or dodge. Or do you mean something like the target being busy fending off other attacks... leaving him open/unaware to an attack from his flank?

I don't know the official answer... but if the target is just standing there, not dodging/blocking... a sleeping baby... I wouldn't ask for an attack roll. Unless some other factor is present to make the attack difficult.

From what I've read, the guy had health issues... which I've seen corroborated by some folks who have been in contact with him, but none gave specifics.

I wasn't a backer so I know nothing of the current state of things regarding those folks getting their copies. I'd heard they had received some PDFs but I don't know how those compare to the version that's now for sale. I'd hope there would eventually be a print version, but I'm skeptical of the quality of POD even for smaller books through DTRPG.

I'm not sure this goes here or not... but I heard the game is based on Openquest rather than CoC... Anyway, Raiders of R'lyeh is finally out for purchase in PDF form. It's huge and looks great. http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/209168/Raiders-of-Rlyeh-Gamemasters-Guide--Core-Rules?affiliate_id=10748 It's aimed at Edwardian era horror adventures. It swings in a more action-adventure mode than old CoC... and has rules more in line with Openquest. It's been a long time coming and I'm kind of excited to finally get the chance to read it.

They seem not too dissimilar in favoring characters with higher skill. But I prefer having some method to purposefully boost my success (taking time to aim and getting a bonus to hit) vs. just relying on luck. Something to distinguish a sniper setting up for a careful shot, vs. same sniper having to quickly pull off an unprepared attack.

What don't you like about the aiming rules? An additional 7% to skill for each 5 dex ranks spent, IIRC... or do you mean 'called shots'... as in trying to hit a specific body location?

I agree. I think there are legit reasons for wanting to adapt one from the other, such as to more fully explore a setting or to get a fuller sensory experience, but you have to be clear what you are seeking and what you are giving up.

I played a LOT of Ghosts & Goblins (and its sequel) back in the day. I could see building a scenario/setting based on it and similar games (like Castlevania and Mystic Defender and... lots of stuff) but so much of the feel of those is the music and the graphics and the frantic gameplay... I'd want to focus on what other elements make Ghosts & Goblins memorable/unique and I don't think there is much except maybe the boss monsters. Without its visual/audio G&G is pretty much just vanilla fantasy with near constant frenetic combat. Mythras Classic Fantasy would be a way to go, map out the areas and stat the monsters/bosses... but I'm not sure how much it, or any TTRPG, would be recognizable as the original. Could still be a lot of fun though. Most TTRPGs I like make combat fairly deadly... and there are no respawn points (though you could make up a rule for them). It's usually wise to avoid violence, negotiate, or make sure you have a decidedly upper hand in combat. So already, that feels different than G&G, because I would be sneaking through that graveyard as much as possible... or trying to find a way to avoid it entirely. Hopefully, there'd be more than one path to take... because you can't make deals with those zombies. Despite being fun in video games I do think that constant ongoing combat in a TTRPG can get boring. Either it is dangerous and you'd quickly end up dead/captured/turned into a zombie... or it's of no consequence and just becomes tedious. It's better to use combat as a spice rather than a main course in TTRPGs, IMO. But again, that sets them apart from arcade games (skirmish wargames would be a different matter and might be a better fit). Also, the combat in G&G is pretty simple... it just depends on running/jumping/shooting with whatever weapon you have active, and that isn't always something you can control (I'm not sure how I'd go about recreating the G&G weapons... they're pretty much guns with unlimited ammo). Combat in Mythras has a lot more options to it, and while it can be pretty quick once you have practice it will still feel a lot different than G&G. G&G (like most arcade games) is a pretty simple (not easy) game in terms of setting elements and what it sets out to do. Mythras/Classic Fantasy has a lot of details you wouldn't necessarily need... cults and skills and whatnot. Unless you were going to create a wider setting for it I think you might be better served by some basic D&D clone or maybe a flavor of Savage Worlds.

I think if I wanted something like 'feats' in Magic World I'd look to Mythras and its Combat Maneuvres... or DCC and its Mighty Deeds mechanic. I'd kind of rather avoid a menu though... just encourage trying odd things and have some consistent way to adjudicating them.

Well, then I'm happy to be mistaken! I'd thought the rulebook was only available as PDF at this point and that we'd be seeing nothing new for it.

Happily, there are other measures than 'a game system to start with'. GURPS has similar issues... magnified by a hundred... but it's still a great system. Still, I made my way through the quagmire that was AD&D 1e as my first RPG experience... ran it (kinda) by those rules and had a degree of success. BRP goldbook is a pane of crystal compared to that thing.

I was listening to a slew of Zothique and Hyperborean audio tales over the weekend and while my first choice for putting those in RPG form would be Magic World (Stormbringer) it seems like Mythras would be the likely runner-up. It's questionable if those aren't in public domain anyway... despite Arkham House wanting to claim they own it.

A great rulebook, yep. Too bad Chaosium no longer supports it.

I didn't know that existed. I like Godlike, or at least its setting... so having it for 6e could/would be a boon!

The thing that befuddles me most, is the complex arrangement of nobility, family, factions, etc... interconnected across Europe. Having grown up in the U.S. it's something I have no intuition about... no faculty for making up anything that would feel even vaguely authentic or plausible.

Maybe something related to the links in the OP now going nowhere?

Thanks for links. One movie I've turned up is a comedy, The Emperor And The Golem. I think comedies can be helpful for getting at the broader strokes.

Cool! The backstory sounds quite tragic... a bit like Citizen Kane.

So I got the first installment of the Clockwork of Orange campaign last week and I've been reading it through. It does have a good chunk of historical and quasi-historical detail, but I'm finding that 17th century Germany isn't a setting/era that I quite 'get'... yet. I'm not at all sure what the 'tropes' are. Like, I can riff on the 'Wild West' and vaguely medieval England all day long... but the Holy Roman Empire isn't something I've got a visual or fictional mental reference library for. Names and places are things I have to look up to get anything close to authentic in atmosphere. Any suggestions for literature, movies, comics... or entertaining historical overviews of the setting?

Trail of Cthulhu, Silent Legions, Stealing Cthulhu... all good suggestions.

I'd always assumed that sort of thing was covered by POW already... that POW is a combination of presence and willpower... seeing as it powers (directly or indirectly) magic and is what you fight off spirit possession and mind domination with.

I think you misunderstand my stance. I am fine with the Player attempting a bit of roleplay, then falling back on a skill (Bargain) or a stat (APP) to determine outcome. Simple and fast and good enough for most any situation. I'm not god's gift to character acting either... but I do think the Player should at least give it a shot, interact a bit. No need for an entire social combat system for dealing with the common stuff and I prefer to get as much of that stuff done with verbal interaction as is reasonable. But I will stand by my previous notion that if someone at the table is really THAT shy, and isn't going to even attempt to come out of their shell... why play such a social game that's just going to foreground that? There are plenty of nice RPG-ish boardgames than will let them just roll dice for everything. It's not like boardgames are somehow 'lesser'... but they generally don't require much acting/talking (except for party games and stuff like Diplomacy).