mr_mitts

ASHES TO ASHES (hereon AtoA) is a novel and quirky idea for a fantasy setting. As it says at the beginning of the book itself, it's designed for GMs and players on the other side of the table would be better off knowing as little about the world as is possible to still play it - so we'll be trying to keep spoilers to a minimum here. Eschewing the general fantasy tropes, AtoA is a mix of post-apocalyptic and fantasy. Life is harsher than the usual Dark or Middle Age scenario, with characters thrown into a world where agriculture is limited, trade is non-existant and manufacture is mostly relegated to making clay pots. Metallurgy and other advances, by fair means and foul, have been sidelined by situations not understood by the average survivor of the cataclysm that robbed the world of its technology. So, what's good about AtoA? First off, it's an interesting spin on the norm. Life is rougher, tougher and nastier than most other settings, yet doesn't limit itself to doing so by ramping spellcasters or sword-wielders to superhuman levels. Instead, it's about surviving by one's wits and outside 'civilised' society. Within the first chapter we've got the reason life's so damn nasty (Spoilers: it's demons). Rather than actively killing and eating everything that moves, our villains are insidious, manipulative and generally Rather Bad Sorts, which is a nice change from the norm. The book is laced with black-and-white, public domain art, which is - unfortunately - somewhat of a let down. I'm led to believe that they were originally in colour; but the monochrome isn't a hindrance. More problematic are that they feel superfluous and interchangeable. The hodgepodge of styles and qualities give no feel for the setting (ranging, as they do, between the childish and the sublime) and is rather jarring. Even more odd is the thick attempt at humour that runs through the piece. This isn't to say it's unfunny (well, bits of it are funny...) but it makes no real sense within this dark, oppressive setting. I could have done without the atomic explosion photograph with its 'amusing' caption, but - hey - it ain't the end of the world (ho-ho). The new rules and skills are beneficial and make sense, and it's obvious that a lot of effort went into designing the world. So much so, in fact, that even an avowed anti-fantasyite like myself could enjoy what I was looking at. The scenarios, by and by, were passable. I'll play them, but there was nothing that jumped out at me and said "this is different." Not that this is a necessity, but I was hoping for something more gritty than slightly-more-convoluted-than-it-should-be kidnappings and other shenanigans. The layout of the book was fine, but I have to say that the fonts were sometimes uncomfortable reading, especially with the subheadings being nothing more than a bolded and underlined sentence. For all the effor that was put into the writing, I was a little disheartened at first by the lack of extravagance in the format - but that's a niggle rather than a complaint. It doesn't detract; it just doesn't add anything. I was happy, however, that an index was provided. Overall, starting at a base of 5, AtoA goes up the scale with a novel idea (not necessarily original, but definitely interesting) and a strong new play-style. What was lacking was the veneer to that fantasy world. I came away with the feeling that there was a whole world developed here, but only a fraction made it into print - and some of it was unnecessary. The scenarios didn't feel like what I'd been reading about earlier on, and the artwork and humour downplayed the gritty realism of the writing. This brings it down from a solid 8 to a middling 7. Overall, ASHES TO ASHES is a worthy first monograph to the BRP line. There's a lot in here, and I think a GM could get a lot out of it, especially the setting and the ideas behind it. Definitely a good buy if you want to see how fantasy-tropes can be twisted, but the self-referentially 'adult' qualities it mentions in the introduction crop up with surprising irregularity. With some new formatting, a rewrite and a full world provided, I would likely buy it as a proper, full-price setting - as it stands; fun but flawed.

Chaosium are famed for being a bit... how should we say?... "unhelpful" with their writers. I mean, I love them dearly (and platonically), but everytime I turn around on the RPG freelance market I hear scary stories about them. Thankfully I'm only in it for the kudos and the adoring fangirls... :confused: Dust to Dust sounds like a good supplement. I wrote a review that was probably a bit harsh on the layout, which seems like a serious case of printing-house errors rather than a concerted effort to make my eyes bleed (JOKE). But I'd really like to see how this supplement pans out, even if it resorts to a GORE self-publishing market. I wish you'd told us that the lands were meant to be the Sins though; I would have felt more in tune with how to use them if you'd put it in block capitals at the top. I got the absurdity aspect, and on second glance it's not as jarring as I first felt (printing them out helps too). Still, I preferred the writing to the artwork overall. Congrats and good luck!

How charming. Did you really write Berlin '61? As an aside, I heartily recommend Starship Troopers' setting, even if I also consider D20 a pile of doo-doo.

I'm interested in doing it, but I'm curious as to how they want it done. Has anyone on the forum won the last couple of Halloween Horror monographs? And if they did, were they meant to be one-shots or suitable of slotting into campaigns? I ask, because a BRP scenario is far more non-linear when it comes to setting than BRP...

Looks a bit Warhammer 40k to me. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing... just... superfluous? (Or am I clutching at straws?)

Here's GURPS-to-CoC rules. NEMESIS has conversion rules for ORE-to-COC, and D20 is readily converted to CoC. I also remember seeing a Tri-Stat-to-CoC conversion out there, but I'll have to look for it, and InSpectres did a really rather fun CoC "conversion." Well; setting. Sort of...

Secrets of Japan was never really up to snuff for a Call of Cthulhu campaign, but you've reminded me how much fun it would make as a BRP campaign, with stomping kaiju, fuku-clad super-powered schoolgirls and rampant not-so-subtle allusions to Yankee supremest arrogance... :thumb:

One of the things we're trying to move away from is the swordfighting aspect. Of course, characters can swash their buckles with impunity, but the age of Three Musketeers type combat has been surpassed by the flintlock. Duelling's in there, though, and sword-fighting has its place, but the musket has become weapon de rigueur. Carl Maria von Weber's Der Freischuetz, though written much later, and Peter Will's Horrid Mysteries: A Story From the German Of The Marquis Of Grosse are more the style we're aiming for (with a bit of Gilliam's movie Brothers Grimm), although Munchausen's definitely been dipped into a few times. It's an analogous Earth. The world map is very different, but the general qualities of the nations should allow people to transplant it to real-world maps if they so desire. So, for example, the setting's main nation of Liberté is a (very different) version of Revolutionary France; you can use the map provided or simply transfer it to France. The nation they're fighting is a (very different) Germany, and can easily be overlaid onto our own world's Germany. Because we can't provide maps for every nation, GMs can put as much personal effort into making the world work as they want or simply slap it onto a map they find. We'll provide a rough approximation for which countries can overlay where. Class isn't really an issue anymore, because the Revolution's abolished it within the main setting nation. Magic is uncommon and is half-superstition and half-believed in by the general population. Witch-hunters (sanctioned and not) are definitely a character occupation, mainly because they give a lot of leeway for travel.

The word "abyss" was really used to distinguish it from a rose-tinted viewpoint of science: it's a world where order's collapsing, science is outpacing itself, religion is obsolescent and the common man is supersceded by burgeoning industry. A worm's eye, prole viewpoint, really. More like Sleepy Hollow meets Brotherhood of the Wolf during the French Revolution. True, it's not really Enlightenment (it's a bit dark for that), but the world's teetering on the edge between a new rational order and plunging into chaos much like our own late-18th century. War, politics, and colonisation are the main themes, with strong emphasis on characters (and players) selling their souls, beliefs or friends out for survival or a greater good. Rather than working together for a common goal, each scenario has various 'solutions' - many mutually exclusive - that force the characters to act in their own best interests; be it for the state, their religion, their personal furtherance, or simply survival in a society where the Revolution will cut your head off for stealing a loaf of bread (or selling a loaf of bread for an unregulated price. Or complaining about the price of bread. Or...). Chaosium's got it filed under Fantastical Baroque at the moment, although it hasn't got an actual name yet. ETA is (hopefully) end of this month, but little later than that if August goes too quickly.

I'm currently writing my second monograph, and whereas the first was (predominantly) Call of Cthulhu, this one is strictly BRP. It's a fantasy setting, where instead of the usual mediaeval or Renaissance society, the world is plunging deep into the abyss of a 1790s Enlightenment-type revolution. A world of paranoia, muskets and guilliotines sitting uncomfortably alongside ghosts, wyverns and alchemical magicks. Tentatively (nothing's set in stone), we've crafted a world, new skills, some 30 new occupations, a system for martial arts, a new magic system and other assortments, including a few ideas for bringing mass-combat (naval and land) to the table. However, what we'd like to gauge is whether people are actually interested in the idea of an Enlightenment-era fantasy and if there's anything non-specific that you'd like to see. We say 'non-specific' because, if we include it in the book, we don't want to be accused of theft (unless you specifically don't mind us picking your brains clear of your best ideas). Sorry if it's a bit vague, but any opinions, ideas, etc. would be great! Thanks, Mr Mitts

I'm the author of Kingdom of the Blind and that hasn't been uploaded to the monograph section properly. I haven't heard anything about a BRP monograph with a name similar, although I believe there's a new BRP book out later this month (no idea what it's on) which may well be this mysterious Blind King's Hill. Otherwise I think there might have been some crossed wires with mine.