Tywyll

One of the things I NEVER understood, if your physical attributes are limited to 21 (human limit) but yet you also can't increase your attribute above the highest of your Str, Con, or Siz rolled at character creation.... how can ANY human get to a 21? Speaking specifically of RQ here. If the answer is 'magic', then I'd argue that such would allow you to overcome maximums.

I know some of you probably think that I and this project have fallen off the earth, but the manuscript is nearly finished and I'm already pulling in lots of amazing art to make it look fantastic. I'm toying with the 'back cover blurb' and this is what I've come up with so far: In the pages of this Grimoire, you will find many new and exciting ways to expand the power of magic within your campaigns. Regardless of which magic system you choose to use, Grimoire has something for them all! Divine Magic-New miracles for many different faiths. Magic-New spells for magicians to master, as well as a guide to converting spells from other Basic Roleplaying power systems to Magic. Additonally, rules for Masteries and Grand Masteries, skills that allow master magicians and archmages to manipulate magic in potent and diverse ways. Spirit Magic-A plethora of new spells. Sorcery-New spells that highlight the often dark nature of Sorcery and those that use it. Also, some new ritual spells that can increase the power of any Sorcerer willing to learn them. Basic Magic Sorcery-Extra spells to expand the Sorcerer’s repertoire, as well as new sorcery skills that allow sorcerers even greater ability to fine tune their magic. Ritual Magic-A completely new method for using and casting Ritual Magic that is compatible with all Basic Roleplaying magic systems, and can be used alongside the system presented in Basic Magic. And what’s the point of a ritual system without tons of new rituals? Absolutely none! So Grimoire comes stocked with a large selection of rituals to suit any style of campaign, from the dark and gritty to epic high fantasy. Enchanted Items-Using the rules presented in this book and Basic Magic, Grimoire provides a catalog of useful enchanted objects, from the petty to the most potent of artifacts. All are listed with costs of their creation, in case a truly ambitious ritualist wished to build their own, or a gamemaster wanted to make sure they appear with the rarity, and are treated with the respect, they deserve.

Yeah, but I think that hits the nail on the head. Robert E. Howard's fantasy characters don't go insane upon seeing the otherwise mindblasting horrors that are, essentially, cthulean monsters with their serial numbers filed off. Sanity within CoC is a function of modern society mired in its civilized delusions. If anything, it gives credance to the Howard idea that civilization breeds weakness. In a world where people accept monsters (even non-cthulhu ones) and a reality that is malleable to will through magic, there is a lot more that they could accept. But, there are plenty of other ways to make them scary, as Thalaba pointed out, without needing Sanity. Ditto with the Warhammer world.

Honestly, it sounds like you are going for the feel of Warhammer Fantasy, but with Cthulhu replacing the Gods of Chaos. That too is a doomed world, though it has evil gods and good gods, due to damages to reality long passed, they are all doomed to eventually fall before the inevitable tide of chaos. All battles are merely stop-gap efforts to hold back the tide and let people live for another day. I'd recommend you look to that for ideas. I'd also not recommend using sanity in a fantasy environ unless it was really, really low fantasy (no non-humans) and even then I'd drastically cut the amounts lossed for even the most horrible things.

Wow! Thanks for the quick responses and suggestions, there are some great ideas in here! Their awesomeness makes me embarrassed to say the following... What I was hoping to find was a pre-made adventure (like a CoC module/adventure, or really even one for another system) because I don't think I will have the time to flesh any of these ideas out well enough before the next session I have to run. Failing that, I can probably run with one of the above, its just the copious amounts of NPCs I didn't really want to come up with...

I'm running a game right now with some steampunk elements. I need an adventure (preferably a one-shot) that takes place entirely on a mode of transport (i.e. something difficult for the characters to leave... in the game I'm running its an airship, but in the actual module a train, airplane, ship, or zeppelin would work). Nothing long and involved, but something that could be done over no more than a couple of sessions would be best. Supernatural elements are totally ok. Any recommendations?

See this is something I don't get. Why roll a Str vs anything? If they character is strong enough to lift the dwarf, he is strong enough to lift the dwarf. Their shouldn't be a roll, unless some other factor is involved (IMO). I really don't like attribute resistance checks for situations like this, unless there is some seriously dramatic reason for it.

Believe me, I would love nothing more than to see Grimoire make it into a physical book format. That would make me jump for joy, but ultimately that's up to Chaosium (and how many copies I sell I suppose).

To be fair, I think the Dragonborn have a great deal more than 'being big' and spouting a breath weapon, especially if you take their various feats into account (which can grant them heightened senses, or the ability to change how their breath works). One thing BRP doesn't model well is learning a 'special ability' that is not skill based. That would be the hard part of modeling the DB and keeping their neat abilities.

I know I've been silent for ages, but I have been working. I think I'm finished with the draft of Grimoire. Most of its sections are finished, only a couple still need feedback/editing. I wrote a bit last night and then realized that was it, I was finished with the easy part. Now comes some serious editing and then waiting for Chaosium to review it before I do the layout and artwork. So, hopefully not long now.

I'm working on a Magic Monograph that will, aside from containing lots of new spells, feature many more enchantment effects for would be enchanters. Nothing akin to the 'make anything you'd like' approach of 3.X DnD, but certainly offering greater flexibility to enchanter/artificers.

I don't think any of these present a problem: POW 16 too high? Drop it to 14, or 12, or whatever floats your boat (or scrap entirely). EVIL spells? Relagate to EVIL Gods. Make a few good ones, or turn the evil ones on their ear and your good. Weapon (and armor) spells lame? Drop the 'only bonus up to max damage'. Alternatively, make them work like all the other buff spells in BRP (1 pp=+5%/+1 Damage/1 Armor). Done. The BRP Sorcery rules are just a setting based alternative version of Battle/Spirit Magic, so tweaking your requirements to fit your setting a bit is not that difficult.

There was a month delay that kind of killed my momentum, but as of this weekend I got back into the swing of things. I'm getting some great feedback from my playtesters and the product will be immeasurably better for it. Sadly, it won't be finished as quickly as I had originally hoped. But it is still alive!

Thanks for the encouragement! Its not what I was planning on writing, but at least I'll salvage something good from the original project and hopefully it will be full of awesome win. As to new blurb.... Grimoire (working title) Within the pages of this tome are the formulas for a plethora of new spells to satisfy your most voracious spell-slingers. Wizardry and Sorcery are treated to a multitude of new magics, while additional spells are included for several of the magic systems contained in Basic Magic. In addition, new Ritual magic, as well as new Ritual rules, are included that work with all the existing systems. 30K wordcount (48+ pages) Estimated time of submission to Chaosium-2 months depending on playtest and revisions

Ok, after long back and forth with Dustin and Charlie, some of my Mono has been salvaged though the overall idea behind it is completely different from where it started. I've stripped out the spells and rituals from my previous write up and now I need people who would be interested in playtesting them (and the rest after I've finished writing it). If you are interested in trying some new spells in your campaign, or just giving it a read through and providing feedback, please PM me. I will probably start with a small group and see how it goes from there, possibly opening it up more if there is interest/need.

Or, to keep it more in line with normal skills: d100+Skill (or Statx5%) vs Same Highest Wins You'd just have to reverse Specials and Criticals and Fumbles to the high end. Hummm....

First, I don't have any antipathy for the idea. I firmly support the idea of Hero Points ala MRQ. So please don't put words in my mouth. My opinion has no influence on whether or not the mechanic makes sense. No, the illogical nature of the effects of the mechanic (specifically its interrelation with several other mechanics) is what makes it less logical. The 'reality' that the game mechanic is, in all other areas of the system, trying to model makes it less logical and inappropriate to most settings. Or to put it another way since you didn't address my concerns with this response, I'll restate them: 1) How does one (a person, the character rather than the player) 'choose to be lucky'? 2) Why do lucky people risk passing out? BRP is fundamentally simulationist, and is probably the first real simulationist system. Hero Points in MRQ makes no bones about the fact that they are narrative controls given over to the hands of the player to do as they see fit. This mechanic, which posits itself halfway in between simulation and narrativism due to those interrelated mechanics, loses any since of internal logic because it tries to straddle those two styles of play without providing a plausible justification for how or why it works the way it does (i.e. it fails to answer the above two questions).

I don't agree. Fate points ala how they are used in BRP are a metagame mechanic. The player is allowed to choose how lucky the PC is, and nothing the PC does has any effect one way or the other. Character's cannot, in most settings, make a conscious choice to 'Ride their luck' and have it effect reality ("I'm going to luckily kill this villain now!"). Therefore the idea that choosing to do so weakens their resistance to magic doesn't hold up. Which is why its odd if you don't decouple pp and fate points... for one, mages shouldn't be less lucky than anyone else (though I realize the mechanic was created expressly to give non-mages something to do with pp) and its strange that someone is /really lucky/ and then passes out. The only time it makes sense for fate points to weaken one's resistance to powers is if magic were somehow tied to fate/luck and that everyone in the setting has some unconscious ability to manipulate reality. That, in itself, could be a really cool setting, but is hardly the default. While I applaud the idea of fate points, I think their implementation needs some work.

Which to me makes even less sense... Why does 'being lucky' make you more susceptible to magic/insanity/woojoo?

LOL! Good point. Maybe I'll have 'additional cult magic' in the Divine Monograph. :happy:

First off, thanks! :party: I'm mostly porting spells over 'as is'. I think that most of the power systems in the BRP book have their own internal consistency, so I didn't try to bounce off of them or use them as a rubric too much (look at Enhance Attribue in Wizardry, 1 point per pp, versus the Sorcery versions where its 3 att points per pp!). I think I tinkered with a few spells slightly, but mostly I left them alone. I did add a bunch of new stuff which I kept along the same lines as the existing RQ spells. I will probably upset some of the grognards with some of the additions I've brought in, but ah well. I wasn't trying to recreate Gloranthan magic. And those 'non-canon' spells are easily dropped. In fact, my biggest temptation is to keep going back and adding more spells! But if I do that though I'll never get it published!

77 pages, 40858 words. Its in the can. Now I just need to edit it. :eek:

Its been awhile since I looked at that group. I'll go check on it, as soon as yahoogroups stops being full of fail. Is there anything specific you'd suggest I check out?

See, personally I think that is the way it ought to be. Spirits, ghosts, undead... those sorts of things might attack 'current power points'. There is a certain sense to that that rings true for me. It also adds to their fear factor. But your average spell slinging I don't think should reduce the effectiveness of your caster. Though I agree with you on letting ppvpp give checks!

Yeah, I feel that way too. And I guess when I've been playing without using Fatigue for so long (CoC and Stormbringer) it didn't seem fair that warriors don't tire from lugging heavy metal armor and weapons into combat all day, but mages, who already can't cast much to begin with, wuss out so quickly.