Harshax

While the trappings differ, Time Fugue is essentially super speed. So I would describe exactly so, but would add some limitations, such as requiring a full round of concentration to activate.

There's a fella over on the harnforum that uses all of our screen names to populate various incidental, minor, or on the fly major characters that his players meet.

I can't see the Infinite Improbability Drive, but that's probably because it was a silly idea.

this is the infinite improbability drive.

I * [3.0] Modifying the Universe

I think the weapon tables are just fine. Consider that your chance of impaling doubles when firing at a range equal to or less than your DEX, one shot one kill is very likely in many scenarios. Haven't looked at the rules for aiming or scopes, but I seem to recall more than one spot rule that increases your effective skill (and thereby your chance to impale).

I like the Savage Worlds approach to skill lists for most games I run:

Boating, Climbing, Dodging, Driving, Fighting, Gambling, Healing, Intimidation, Investigation, Knowledge, Lockpicking, Magic, Notice, Persuasion, Piloting, Repair, Riding, Shooting, Stealth, Streetwise, Survival, Swimming, Taunt, Throwing, Tracking

I've e-mailed him to see if he's interested!

Did you get a response yet?

Using my own suggestion, here is a Hill Giant. Slightly less awesome, but no more or less better than yours:

STR 25 -8 = 17 ~ 4d6+3 

CON 19 -4 = 15 ~ 4d6+1

SIZ = STR      ~ 6d6+4 [based off original STR]

INT 6          ~ 2d6-1

POW 7          ~ 2d6   [used CHA as POW]

DEX 8  +2      ~ 3d6

APP 7          ~ 2d6

Your file is shaping up rather nicely. It's a little difficult to come up with criticism, but I think I found one:

I don't like your SIZ results. They're a little wonky if you ask me. A Hill Giant has a SIZ range of 10 to 40, with an average height of 25? A midget Hill Giant is the same size as an average adult. That's kind of funny actually.

I think you should flatten the curve just a little. I see from your formula, that you are expressing SIZ directly from STR. I wonder if you subtracted the size bonuses from the Characteristics before you computed their BRP equivalent? A Large creature, IIRC, gets a +4 Bonus to STR, and a -2 Penalty to DEX.

In any case, SIZ is probably the most difficult Characteristic to convert formulaically, but like I said before, it looks like it is really coming together.

It sounds like each individual case has been decided sensibly. But it seems to me that having two methods is itself less playable than one, because you have to look up which it is each time, just to be sure.

I think Jason is saying something more along the lines of, "Trust your gut," not "Look something up."

Hmm, seems to me an issue with Editing. I'm sure we'll hear from Jason on this.

BRP/derivatives have bases resistance rolls against magic on either:

A) Active POW of caster vs. Passive POW of defender or

Active Power Points of caster vs. Passive Power Points of defender

Neither A or B were ever used in the same setting, as far as I know, and the choice of which to use is entirely up to the GM.

Option B tends for a grittier game.

Finally, one of the issues I had with my long running BRP and Stormbringer campaigns was that after a while, all the characters started to look the same. Since the characters lower skills advanced more quickly, they eventually ended up with all their skills in a similar range. So, I was thinking of making each character pick a number of skills that his character specialized in and give him a bonus to his advancement checks for those skills.

If you opt for the Easy/Moderate/Difficult skill categorization, you could keep characters on there toes by introducing a skill degradation mechanic.

When experience checks are rolled:

Every difficult skill, that did not receive an experience check during the session is automatically reduced by 1d4.

Every moderate skill, that did not receive an experience check during the session is automatically reduced by 1.

Easy skills do not degrade.

I awaited the release of this product when it was touted as a d20 game. Now that it is systemless, I definitely want to pick it up. Thanks for the link!

Do you have the book yet?

I ask, because you're actually describing one of the optional fate point mechanics.

I have the PDF, so I've only hopped around the file and slowly added bookmarks. I'll be buying the print soon. Glad to see it's in there.

I think also one of the key differences to how combat plays out and how lethal it is lies in the Attack vs Parry/Dodge mechanic.

Very insightful Sarah! Gold Star!

Another mechanic I intend to introduce is to allow a character to use POW to soak damage. This is in keeping with the definition of the characteristic, and expands its use nicely to something other than Magic Points and Magic Resistance. It adds a certain amount of critical decisions during dramatic tension too: 'Do I soak that damage only to succumb to some spell, or do I keep it in reserver for later?'

Oh, that one.

Well, I guess the term "comparative mythology" made it sound like there was more to it.

It was a surprisingly dense amount of information packed into 3 pages. Like cliff notes for a 100 level class.

Sorry for the renewed threadjack, but what particular chapter are you referring to? Where was that in?

I was refering to the Magic Book and Divine Magic, which had templates for deities: Sun God(ess), Earth God(ess), etc, and typical groupings of Benign, Neutral, and Malign pantheons of deities.

If someone doesn't beat me to it, I'll fire up one of my galaxy generators and post a map. Then we can carve up the galaxy and populate with all of our ideas.

Would that be ok?

There are a few things needed to attract more gamers (of any age).

Good Settings: Evocative, with great art, and is accessible to home brewed scenarios.

Prolific writers.

Third party support.

It was an unattractive mechanic on a couple grounds, though:

1. It required constant subtraction, since you had to deal with it on every attack;

2. It didn't work like any other skill, since it increased in a different way, and you split up the percentages among other attacks.

Honestly, it never looked like it belonged with the rest of the system. I think RQ3's general approach was a better way to go, there were just implimentation problems.

You forgot:

3. And you could Teach it, which complicated #2.

4. It always worked. In a world of probability mechanics, an always working concept is very out of place. (I'm nitpicking, you kind of mention that, but you didn't number it. )

Same here, on all three (or is it four?) counts.

Ditto. But I salvaged Defence, making it similar to Dodge but usable all the time and increased only by role-playing. (My GM-awarded alternative to Hero Points. Yes it's an über-stat, and everyone wants it - so they have to role-play. That's the name of the game! )

Clever! Not as versatile, but clever still. Kudos!

I recommend RQ2 because it is the best place to start (though by all means progress to BRP later).

I just searched ebay for "runequest" and found this: RuneQuest RPG Book (RQ2). £2.99, 2 days to go - no bids! (OK, it's UK, but can it be much rarer in the US?) They usually go for a tenner or less. Easy to find, cheaper than new product... isn't that helpful enough?

PS: Seller will post worldwide - go for it!

much rarer, yes. To this day, I am surprised by GDW editions of RQ. When I was a completist [yes, I mean both kinds], I would happily have bid to my hearts content, even though I already own Chaosium's RQ2. I have a sizable RQ collection, and while I will agree that some of it is superior to the current MRQ/BRP offerings, I am partially speaking from a nostalgic POV. It's hard for BRP to compare to RQ3, because I've been using it for a long, long time. That said, I'm not going to talk about my ex on my first date. Get it?

BRP is superior in a number of ways. It is the Heinz 57 of d100 gaming. Want strike ranks? It's in there. Want Major Wounds? It's in there. Want Psionics? It's in there. BRP offers an incredible amount of core and modular material for your gaming dollar. 3rd Edition D&D, and now 4th, sold for three times what BRP cost and you still don't get Psionics until you buy another book!

Sure BRP is missing RQ3's more complex Spirit/Divine/Sorcery system. It doesn't have the comparative mythology chapter, or the introductory Glorantha chapter, or the larger RQ3 bestiary, but it doesn't need that. BRP is more than RQ could be, precisely because it isn't trying to be a Glorantha RPG. This is a two edged sword. Lacking a setting, BRP can't have those details that RQ3 had. On the other hand, BRP provides a huge range of gaming possibilities.

Now take the OP into mind. He's coming from a CoC background. Assuming he has the core book, that means he could have run a game in three different time periods, ranging from turn of the century to modern. BRP offers him the opportunity to play in all the time periods, including the ones that don't exist: fantasy, supers, scifi. RQ1/2/3 supports fantasy only. On top of that, all the genres are mechanically consistent in BRP, so if he wants to mix them, or play a time travel game, or even a Million Spheres game, he can do that with little effort.

So even though I love my RQ2/3, I still say BRP is the place to be.

Would you like another glass of wine, baby?

My copy of "Shock" should be crossing the Atlantic right now (not by ship,

I hope ...), so I do not quite know what to write ...

I don't know if I'm using the term correctly either. What I got from the review of Shock and from the author's website, is that a good SF challenges the norm. It asks "what if's", and models a session, scenario, or setting around that what if, and takes them to its logical conclusion.

That's all I'm doing, is asking a lot of what if questions.

I was thinking how I could mix different powers in the same fantasy campaign, and would like some discussion on the topic. I'm a RQ3 veteran, so that's my focus.

Magic is the closest to RQ Sorcery, specifically with spells being skills, and being able to increase the intensity of spells. It isn't nearly as detailed (intensity, duration, range, etc), but it is kind of close.

Sorcery is closest to RQ Divine Magic. Spells always work, and there are spot rules for contacting higher powers, but none regarding POW sacrifice or other suggestions to mix these two systems in the same setting.

There is an obvious overlap in powers between the two system, with few being unique to one or the other.

Asserting that I don't want to mirror RQ3 design exactly, I have concluded; however foolishly; that the most significant different between the systems is Skill Rolls vs. Always Works. While Sorcery doesn't not have the upper limit of being able to pump spells up to 1/2 INT, it is no stretch of the imagination to extend the system beyond its 1 - 3 levels Stormbringer roots.

Assuming I have not missed a vulgar difference between the two systems, would it be appealing to play with the one Magic System, but offer an option that characters could sacrifice permanent POW to an Arch Magi or God and gain the sorcerous ability to cast the spell with 100% success?

Since the goal was to create a colony, the rising empire did not provide the new horizon with the proper equipment to develop space flight independently, thus ensuring dependence on the home empire, it may be that humans are a vibrant but minor populace among a larger empire.

So the first shock is:

'What if Humans are not the most important creatures in the galaxy' - at least from the perspective of citizens in the new empire.

Second shock:

'What happens when these humans come into contact with a culture where humans are the most important creatures in the galaxy (the old empire).'

Third shock:

'The new horizon humans have some superiority over their "ancestors". Maybe close proximity to alien cultures have allowed them to evolve culturally or technologically in a way that was superior to the old empire. Would humans from the frontier pose react compassionately, or seize upon a moment of weakness when they first come into contact with the old empire. How would the predominant culture/species of the frontier empire react?'

We can account for a huge human population growth over a period of centuries by suggesting that the sleeping colonists went about making the world infrastructure, while the facilities produced test-tube babies from a huge bank of genetic material to ensure bio-diversity.

Since the goal was to create a colony, the rising empire did not provide the new horizon with the proper equipment to develop space flight independently, thus ensuring dependence on the home empire, it may be that humans are a vibrant but minor populace among a larger empire.