rsanford

Hey Chris! I don’t comment much but I wanted to tell you I love your stuff and I am taking notes in preparation for my first “Greece” game! Keep up the good work!

Wow - incredible work. This is an insta-buy for me!

On 6/22/2022 at 5:33 AM, albesias said:

In a few weeks I will run a game at a local convention. The scenario is about two-bit mobsters in an unexpected situation in 1963 USA, and I put together several basic roleplaying rules for the occasion. It’s streamlined BRP, a 90% BGB. I’ve just added reputation, similar to RQG, nerve, a variation from sanityrule, and passions, to enhance the mafia setting flavour (The irishman, the godfather, a touch of Tarantino’s Jackie Brown, that kind of stuff)

It was funny as hell putting together the caracther sheet in a italian restaurant menu fashion.

fichacapo2.pdf 120.75 kB · 22 downloads

I can’t read Italian but i find it amusing that the character sheet looks like a restaurant menu! Have fun!

I don’t have any pre-gen pulp characters in PDF, but if worst came to worst you could generate them on the Dhole’s House…

Hi all,

Thanks @g33kfor paging me. I enjoy talking about freeform magic in BRP. 
 

But first let me caution this is going to be a shortish post as I’m in Maui on vacation and my wife is going to want to do the late night swim in a little while. So maybe a few observations:

1 - I’m not an Ars Magica player but I get the feeing that sladethesniper would benefit from an Ars-like system, modified to support rituals like described in the Enlightened Magic book.

2 - The homebrew rules located on this site called “The Second Way (TSW)” does much of what your describing but in a slightly different way. In its latest version TSW supports a skill roll to cast a spell, but it’s a general Wizardry skill and not a skill for a type of magic. However TSW leverages nearly the exact same techniques and forms described in Ars (called glyphs and spheres) such a that a wizard can fairly easily cast a spell with the glyphs and spheres they possess but struggle with spells that require glyphs and spheres that they don’t possess. The difficulty in casting spells with unknown glyphs and spheres is driven by two elements.

a - the costs in mps for a spell that the caster doesn’t have the prerequisite glyphs and spheres is high and often prohibitively so. It doesn’t matter what the skill roll is if the wizard doesn’t have the juice to power strange spells.

b - for the skill roll to succeed (assuming you have the juice) you have to roll the wizardry skill minus the prohibitive cost of doing strange magic (see a above) exactly as Slade described it.

The result is much as Slade described it but in TSW the variety in glyphs and spheres replaces the need for multiple specialty skills (like life or time magic).

3 - I think Slades approach is workable but if you don’t use TSW ultimately you are going to have to define in detail the costs of attributes like the number of targets, area of affect, range, mass, damage, etc. If it comes to that you might consider just downloading TSW and using its definitions assuming your okay with definitions that give wizards very high, nearly game breaking power (like I envision Ars offering).

4. Having the GM decide on when a spell seems outlandish or ill thought out seems problematic to me and my group. When my group helped me nail down the rules of TSW (particularly attributes like range, mass, etc) they wanted it all in black in white specifying what could and could not be done. These clear definitions (that didn’t require GM input) made the sessions more fun as the players we’re often forced to get extremely creative on creating spells that did what they want but met all restrictions. Whether you use TSW or not I think clearly defining the “limits” and costs is important.

5. If you allow wizards to tap other characters for their MPs, I recommend as G33 said requiring the donor to make his wizardry roll. And if the donor fumbles BAD things will happen. So sure, the party wizard can tap 200 MPs from 40 wizards but the odds of someone fumbling become more and more likely as donors are increased.

6. And when I say BAD, I mean BAD. Fumbled spell results should range from things that make the wizard hard to play (maybe the wizard permanently takes on the shape of a preying mantis) to things that can compromise the campaign (if a lot of MPs are in play). So instead of taking the shape of a praying mantis the caster rips a hole in space time and now the whole world is getting sucked in. Now they have to fix it…

Okay more tomorrow

Thank you! I will order it today!

* correction I will order it next week. I just realized we are going on vacation Friday and I don’t want I sitting outside that long.

Hi all,

Does Chaosium print its Children of Fear book via Offset Press? If not where is the best place to get the best quality book (Chaosium, DriveThruRPG or maybe Lulu?)?

Any help is appreciated!

Ronnie

I don’t know the answer but this would be awesome!

@colinabrett can you help?

Welcome to the madness Syssiah! Glad to have you here!

Welcom Pyram King! And I don't think you will regret choosing BRP!

On 2/24/2022 at 10:41 AM, AlHazred said:

Oh, Hell Yes... Now, if only I could get them to do a set of props for "The Haunting."

I don’t know how they compare to HPHLS but you can get The Haunting props on DriveThruRPG at https://www.drivethrurpg.com/m/product/349979. They’re are other competing products on DriveThruRPG also, but I found these to be the cream of the crop. Recommended!

* One clarification this product comprises digital files that need to be printed out and thus, unless you do something special, will not look weathered, torn or stained. I just realized that’s probably what distinguishes HPHLS. Since I play online with discord all I need is digital files but others may need more!

Really looking forward to this!

15 minutes ago, svensson said:

Global War on Terror, the US term for everything our military has been up to since 9/11. Also called by their operational initials 'OEF' for Operation Enduring Freedom, etc. when referring to specific portions of the whole effort.

Ahh - thanks!

You know, I think Mongoose did a RuneQuest Newton book. Has anyone seen it? Is it any good?

5 hours ago, svensson said:

I liked Night Blow a lot, and converted it to PF1 [which was some effort, especially as you got later in the game]. For one thing, 'Look, Mom! No Drow!' For another, my favorite TSR /WotC milieu is Greyhawk [cuz I'm old, that's why!] and I plugged TNB into that setting. And I also really liked TNB for having one of the premises of RQG in it... the adventurers are PART of society, not separate from it.

I also really like the al'Qadim setting, but the mythological Arabian Nights thing hasn't been a real thing in the US since 9/11, for obvious reasons. I live in an area with a lot of veterans, and a correspondingly large number of GWOT vets, and there are still some hard feelings.

GWOT?

On 3/2/2022 at 4:03 PM, Bill the barbarian said:

And me, I rarely criticize Chaosium, but I did just buy the BGB, hard copy and PDF. It has finally been delivered and it looks lovely, but....

I’ve had the BGB (in hardback no less) since 2015. It and my two copies of Magic World are my most heavily used books though an honorable mention also goes to Delta Green

Oooh, a topic I have been investigating myself lately. Here are a few of my favorites (in no particular order):

The Teeth of Gwahlur (Conan)

D&D adaption of Robert E. Howard story. The party hears about the legendary Jewels of Gwahlur and have travelled to the mythic kingdom of Kush to see if they can get them. However, the players are not the only party to seek the treasure. Story involves overland travel, travel to a mythical country, ancient city, natural dangers combat and investigation skills. I really like this one and it’s east to adapt to BRP or Magic World. It’s also free, get it here -> https://hyboria.xoth.net/adventures/wc_The_Teeth_of_Gwahlur.pdf. Will probably need to use heroic hitpoints to make this work.

Reality Check (D20 Modern)

A young reporter has gone missing while investigating a strange industrial facility in the mountains. What happened to her, and what does the mysterious company called UberCorp have to do with her disappearance? This is a really good adventure including both investigation and combat aspects well suited to a Fringeworthy or SG1 type game plus it’s easy to adapt to BRP or Magic World. A couple of caveats though… This is the first part of a planned eight sessions and the other sessions will never come (because D20 Modern is canceled). However, the adventure is complete unto itself so you won’t have any troubles there. For best results GM to should read the web supplement Project Javelin: A Campaign Primer which is a setting describing cross-dimensional, technically advanced NAZIS. It’s free but not particularly easy to find (I think it’s on the wayback machine) but I can email it to you if desired.

Foul Weather (D20 Modern)

Four years ago, the I.S.S Beagle was sent out to chart a habitable planet in the 14 Herculis system but after 3 months the ship ceased communications with earth. Two years ago, Robert Ender, Owner of the salvage ship End’s Run arrived at 14 Herculis and set out to salvage I.S.S Beagle; Earth soon lost communications with him as well. Now your ship has been dispatched to find out what happened and to rescue any survivors. Lots of room for social conflict and combat with just a little bit of investigation. This adventure does require skills for zero-g combat, vac-suit, navigation, computers, and weaponry. I used straight BRP and just added a sci-fi skill set but it might be best to use either M-Space or World’s Beyond. Free but hard to find on the archive. PM me if you want it.

Trail of the Gold Spike (Justice Inc)

The Gold Spike Mining Company is under siege by a mysterious mastermind known as the Condor. The Condor has arranged several accidents and mishaps for the company, with the intent of forcing management to abandon the site. Truly awesome and excellent pulp adventure in the vein of Doc Savage. Has potential for players to be straffed by biplanes, fly biplanes, fight on conveyor belts leading to a furnace. Features the "pale" ones and a Condor hideout. Costs $5.00 on DrivethruRPG but absolutely worth it. https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/257102/Trail-of-the-Gold-Spike-3rd-Edition. Note you will need to pulp up your BRP or Magic World game with heroic hitpoints, a modern skill set and luck points.

Frozen City of Terror (Hollow Earth Expedition, Perils of the Surface World)

It’s 1936 and an expedition to the south pole looking for an Atlantean artifact goes silent. Are the NAZIs responsible or has something else gone wrong? Investigators will trek across the south pole to ultimately uncover an ancient city and terrors. I think this is only available in print but the whole book is good. The plot is combat and adrenaline intensive I used Call of Cthulhu for the base. You are going to need heroic hit points and luck.

PX Poker Night (Delta Green)

Not sure if you are including Delta Green as BRP but regardless you should look this scenario up. You play lowly Air Force non-commissioned officers living on Platte AFB in Nebraska and decommissioning old aircraft, when aliens come to call – and the government is behind it. Short but super fun adventure. Free on DrivethruRPG https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/112460/Delta-Green-PX-Poker-Night.

Massacre on Cass Avenue (Bureau 13)

Nearly forgot this one but it would have been a shame because it's the finest monster of the week type scenario that I know of. This scenario begins with the Bureau alerting the party to a potential vampire attack in Detroit. That turns out to be true but there is so much more than that going on. The party must find the source of the sudden influx of all types of monsters and stop it at the source. This is a pure investigation scenario as attempts to deal with the supernatural with violence will likely lead to failure. Easily suited to any BRP game as long as it has a mechanism for sanity so perhaps Call of Cthulhu or Delta Green. We used Delta Green with great results, much better than the Tri-Tac system that Bureau 13 normally uses. You can find Hellsnight here -> https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/291226/Bureau-13-Stalking-the-Night-Fantastic--Hellsnight. Easily worth $9 or $10.

22 minutes ago, Dr_Zarnak said:

I adapted a nice little Dark Matter mystery, “London Calling”, for a Cthulhu Now campaign. 

Ooooh, could you tell us a little about it? I love x-files type stuff!

Oh I’m sorry Ragr, I didn’t initially pay attention to who posted this. However I don’t think I can as I expect to start a new contract soon. Good luck finding someone though!

What time zone?

34 minutes ago, Zenith Comics Presents... said:

Beam Me Up!

So I am back lol

Looks like this is happening, should I post my stuff here as I go? Who wants to see me hack a BRP Star Trek system together?

Cheers!

I’d be happy to see you hack it though Worlds Beyond is now back in production from, I think, Précis Media. Also you might want to see if you can find BRP Space the predecessors to M-Space.

2 hours ago, Heroquestelf said:

Given your knowledge of Call of Cthulhu games, I was wondering if you could offer me some advice. I'm trying to find a good jungle based "Lost World"/"Indiana Jones" type adventure for my Pulp Cthulhu game. Are there any published modules that would fit this description?

You didn't ask for this, but it strikes me that the pulp genre probably has a lot of games that meet your description that could easily be adapted to Pulp Cthulhu (with a little bit of work). First among these would be Steven Long's Inner Earth for Pulp Hero but there is also Lost World Tales for Daredevil Games. Lastly there is Castaways on the Inner Seas for Hollow Earth Expedition (HEX). Actually there is probably several applicable HEX scenarios since that is what the game focuses on.

42 minutes ago, Heroquestelf said:

Given your knowledge of Call of Cthulhu games, I was wondering if you could offer me some advice. I'm trying to find a good jungle based "Lost World"/"Indiana Jones" type adventure for my Pulp Cthulhu game. Are there any published modules that would fit this description?

I haven’t read it but Pagan published Mysteries of Mesoamerica that has 4 scenarios that might include jungles. See https://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/15/15691.phtml

They released the Magic World core rules book and one supplement called Advanced Sorcery.