Mugen

Almost eveything in D&D4 design sounds as bad RPG system design to me and a step backwards when compared to D&D3 evolutions. The idea of "Per encounter" or "Per day" powers or the use of character level in the core mechanism of the game simply don't sound right to me when used in RPG system design because it is so artificial. Using Magic Points is amuch better way to handle But the fact is, reading preview characters descriptions of the first scenario here makes me want to read or even play the game, and I understand why they did it this way.

Really ? I had the following RuneQuest 3 references in mind : A 1-point spirit magic spell deals 1d3 damage. A 3-points divine magic spell (which means 3 POW were sacrified to learn this spell) deals 3d6 damage. In Sandy Petersen's Sorcery rules, a X intensity spell deals "1dX" damage. Yes, Firearrow and Fireblade have a higher damage/MP ratio, but they require a weapon to be effective. Our references are very different

Isn't it redundant to add Magic category PLUS Magery if Magery and Magic category are functions of POW ? I also think fatigue costs should be doubled to adequate MP costs. I mean, casting a firebolt that deals 3d6 damage to a target with a 3 MPs expanse doesn't seem right to me, and most GURPS fatigue costs 1 to 4 fatigue points as far as I remember.

Note that the SPQR mentionned above use static damage bonus as an option. Another way to change the system would be to use the same method than in GURPS or Pendragon : Have a base random damage function of (STR+SIZ) and add or substract a value depending on the weapon.

"Selenim" Only available in french, as far as I know...

I would be very pleased to know the differences between french and US versions of Nephilim. Does anyone know what are those differences ? I remember I really liked the system for Selenim magic. Those were "Black Moon" Ka nephilim that were deprived of their other ka elements. The supplement that described them was truly excellent. Basically, Selenim were "Ka sun" vampires and necromancers, with the power to build mystical, stronger images of themselves and "pocket realms" in Black moon ka fields. They also had their own versions of summoning and Sorcery, but I don't recall them accurately.

This is the conclusion I reached about Legend of the Five Rings, in which 7 qualities essential for a samurai are listed, but rules only use one monolythic "Honor", whose signification depends on one's view on the subject.

You can find those here : Sandy Petersen's Sorcery Rules Or there : Index of /aluban/documents

As far as I'm concerned, I think Sandy Petersen did a great job in solving some of the major problems in RQ3's Sorcery. First, the maximum number of MP you can invest in one art is limited by your skill level divided by 10, and not your Free INT. There is a global limit to the number of spells you can keep active. It is not possible to have all your spells active at once at Intensity equal to Free INT. The total levels of Arts you hold cannot exceed your Presence, whose value depends on Vows taken. This is very Glorantha-oriented, and one may wish to use INT+POW as a value for Presence in other settings. An art is basically a manipulation skill. You can find major Arts (Range, Intensity, Multispell) and minor arts. Duration doesn't exist as such anymore. Spells that are not instant and don't need to concentrate on them are permanent as long as you don't end them. But the most spells you held, the lesser your Presence is. Minor Arts are lesser manipulation skills. For instance, Speed allows you to cast your spell faster, but increase the Presence and MP cost. There are. Sandy Petersen introduced in this version spells like Evoke (Energy) that are meant to re-create Fireballs, Thunderbolts and other Icebolts.

I plan on using the preliminary experience (background/profession/free points) part of MRQ in my next BRP session, with significantly higher base %iles. I also adopted the "high roll wins" resolution method. As for the magic systems, I already have my own system, based on a simplified version of Sandy Petersen's Sorcery and Enchantment rules.

I think a purely random method for generating a hit location is not a good thing. I'd take into consideration the player's description, and adjust the outcome according to the attack level of success and the damage taken. For instance, if a player says "I aim the head", rolls a normal success and deals 1 point of damage, I'd describe he hit his opponent's shoulder, or arm if he has made a parry. I'd only keep track of a wound locations in case of a major wound.

Exalted v2 (among others...) have an interesting way of handling combat without rounds. It is quite similar to RQ2/3's Strike Ranks, but without round limits to Strike ranks. Each action have a different initiative value, which is in fact the number of "ticks" you must wait before your next action. In Exalted v2 logic, a 2-handed weapon will be slow and therefore have an initiative of 6 whereas a 1-handed weapon will have an initiative of 4. So, if you begin attacking at tick 0 and don't do anything but attack, you will strike at ticks 4, 8, 12 with a 1-handed weapon, and ticks 6, 12, 18 with a 2-handed sword. Note that this system may be cumbersome if some intelligent bookkeeping method is not used. Note also that attack speeds should not be too closely tied on one's stats to avoid skilled dagger users with high DEX attacking each tick...

You could use a smaller number of skills instead of 1 skill for each spell. For instance, you could have the following list of skills (to be modified according to your game world): *Dark magic *Elemental magic *Life magic *Mental magic *Spirit magic *Enchanting Once you've learnt an spell of a specific type, you will roll under the corresponding magic skill to cast it.

Hello all, My name is Alban de Rostolan and I was born in July 1975. I had my first experience with Roleplaying games at 9, but really became a roleplayer 2 years later. The first roleplaying game I read is the "Moldvay" basic D&D box, but I quickly switched to AD&D (1st edition). At 12 I discovered StormBringer, and my world changed. I had no idea before that a game without classes and levels or with a logical and "realistic" experience system could exist. My second shock was with RuneQuest 3, which not only more complex than StormBringer, but also much more consistant. I played a lot of RuneQuest (in Glorantha or not), StormBringer, Call of Cthulhu, Hawkmoon, and read ElfQuest and Nephilim (1st and 2nd french editions). I was also in the playtest group of MRQ. Nowadays, I tend to use my homebrew version of BRP rather than any published versions. It is a mix of every rules I liked in the BRP games I read (basic skill %iles are drawn from Nephilim 2, preliminary experiend is from MRQ, combat is a mix of RQ3, MRQ and Elric!, etc.) Mugen