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I think the rationale was that a 2H Short Spear has less leverage than a 2H Long Spear and a Pike, so you get less force behind the blow. They also have smaller heads and thus make smaller holes. Certainly, a 2H Short Spear does more damage than a 1H Short Spear because you can get more purchase/leverage with two hands than one. Have you seen a pike? Nasty looking things they are.

A small knife will do 1D3 damage, on an impale it does 1D3+3, doing a maximum of 6 for a weedy person with no damage bonus. Using the Location subrules against an unarmed character with 5 hit points in the abdomen this can knock them down and kill them if they do not receive medical help. With a damage bonus it can even kill them outright in a single blow. Armour tends to help a bit, but even knives are still dangerous. On the point of damages for javelins etc, I still use RQ3 damage for most ancient weapons simply because they seem to be fairly balanced and reasonable. This applies both to Mongoose RQ and BRP. Not using locations means that damage is less effective, but using such substandard subrules means you get substandard effects. But, I am a RQ-Head and my biais is now showing.

How fickle people are. First it was "I won't buy anything from Mongoose because they are Evil Exploiters", now it's "I won't buy anything from Chaosium because they are Evil Exploiters". Let me let you in on a secret - all companies are Evil Exploiters. If a company has cashflow problems it will stop paying invoices, if a company can find a way out of paying anyone for anything then they will do so. People should take legal advice if they haven't been paid for services rendered, that's why laywers exist after all. Once you have accepted this and don't take things personally then things (like morals) become a lot easier. I haven't been burned by Chaosium so I don't have a personal grudge against them, if I had been then I would probably be justified in not trusting them. However, I can't take it personally when somebody else is affected - it just isn't personal to me. Whilst I feel for Loz, Jason and whoever else has not been paid or has had projects put on hold, this won't particularly affect my purchasing decisions. I will buy BRP products because they are BRP products, not because Chaosium are Angels or Devils - they are neither. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, of course, but I don't think that throwing our toys out of our prams over the fact that Chaosium don't seem to have a lot of business sense is going to achieve much.

We normally play that you declare a parry/dodge in response to opponents' declarations but you only roll it if it is necessary. So, if someone hits then you roll the parry, if someone misses and you use riposte/disarming/swordbreaking rules then you can roll a parry. If you fumble your parry or dodge then something bad should happen. This particular fumble is important if you are facing a number of opponents - one of the other attacks automatically hits. I'd hold it off and let the next attack in the same melee hit as you are not in a position to defend yourself properly. I'd also allow you to use a combat action to get rid of the fumble effect so that you can start again from scratch.

I'd just use the ones in the book, for convenience. It doesn't really matter either way - I'd be just as happy with one Hit Location chart, but it doesn't take long to include two sets of location values on a character sheet or NPC Sheet.

There's not much RQ material for Dragon Pass - most RQ material is for Prax/Pavis. As far as I can remember, the only RQ products for Dragon Pass are Snakepipe Hollow, Apple Lane/Rainbow Mounds and RQ Companion which covers the Holy Country. As frogspawner says, there is a lot more material on Dragon Pass for HeroQuest. Now, the HeroQuest system is not RQ/BRP but has enough in common that it is fairly easy to use for RQ, a lot easier to use than, say, D20 is. There is a lot of HeroQuest material out for Dragon Pass - The Sartar Rising series, Tarsh Exiles/Wintertop Fair, some of the Unspoken Word series, Tarsh in Flames, Moon Rites, Thunder Rebels and Storm Tribe. The Dragon Pass book is full of system-independent material that can be used with RQ with no problem at all. They have a lot of Gloranthan material and fit in fairly well together. The NPC stats are in HeroQuest terms but can be used for RQ without much problem, the cults are similar in structure to RQ cults and you can convert them on the fly or use Hero Wars Cults Conversion - Cults which has a number of cults converted to a RQ short form.

Were people bitching? I didn't see that. I saw that people were concerned that BRP was already dying due to the non-publication of source material, but that's a different thing, isn't it? Were they? Again, I can't remember anyone saying that. But, if the supplements have already been written and submitted and are not being released, then where is the delay? Mongoose seem to be churning out product at a fast rate ...

Because it makes money and is pretty much guaranteed to make money.

Well, that's not strictly true. In Glorantha there is the cult of Uleria, one face of which is Goddess of Carnal Love, and many of her members are courtesans. However, there are many other courtesan goddesses whose worshippers are courtesans and there are other courtesans who do not worship a courtesan goddess. But, in a setting like Glorantha you are going to get certain professions being dominated by members of certain cults in certain areas. So, Blacksmiths in Sartar will normally belong to the Gustbran cult but those in troll areas will belong to a subcult of Lodril. This is because these cults provide useful magic that helps people in the profession and anyone else will be at a disadvantage, also many professions are very conservative in nature, often passing from father to son or mother to daughter and generally they follow the same worship patterns. In a medieval Guild-setting you might get a similar efect where anyone in a particular profession must belong to a particular Guild. It is probably more restrictive than the Glorantha-style model.

Litter away!

Would they learn specific spells that are taught by their School/Guild? Presumably you can get magical items to support them (Spellbooks, Matrices, PP Stores). I'd go with Fumbles causing damage as the energy is channelled through the body whereas Failures simply mean you don't get hold of the energy properly and can't use it. Would you have a single Channelling skill, a single skill per deity or s skill for each spell? Having a single skill to represent the ability to channel energy might be easier and might allow them to become proficient quickly. Having a skill per deity slows progression down but means that someone who is good at casting one deity's spells is going to be fairly powerful. Presumably you have a spell list for each deity. Do they learn the spells or can they call on the power of the deity and manifest that power as any one of a number of spells? I'd go with Fumble = Damage/Bad Effect, Failure = Lose full PP but spell doesn't work, Success = Normal spell effect, Special = Extra Spell Effect, Critical = 1 PP cost and Extra Spell Effect. Formulaic casters can still fumble - you say the formula wrong and target someone else, or you have a strange effect. That sounds reasonable, although I wouldn't put any rules restrictions on either being a Channeller or Formulaic Wizard - it is always better to have cultural reasons rather than rule reasons. I'd be drawn to a Channeller, but the Formulaic Wizards look interesting.

I can't understand that, although I have seen the arguments. GORE is a good halfway house for those who cannot stomach Mongoose RQ but want some supplements to use. I prefer RQM, but there is some good stuff in GORE. There's a big difference between knocking something up in half an hour for a forum and producing a fully-fledged supplement. It took me 3-4 months to write some things for Mythic Russia's Birchbark Chronicles (BBC1) and that didn't involve layout, artwork or editing. Most of us don't have the time to do that. Also, there isn't much incentive to write things for BRP if nothing else is coming out. I don't much care for the licencing side of things, either. So, Chaosium will be stuck with a few supplements and RQM will be getting a lot of Third Party OGL supplements. As long as Chaosium stick with the Monograph mentality, and struggle with bringing those out, I can't see things improving.

Thanks for the quick reply. That's interesting. That's the way to go with fanzines, then. That's what I was looking at, then. It looks like a fanzine is the easiest way to do things. Sounds good to me, I prefer things plain as well, so that wouldn't be a problem. Hmmm, that's not ideal, but if people want hard-copy that wouldn't be my problem. Thanks for all the info. It makes producing something a lot easier than I first thought. Now, all I need to do is to learn how to write, how to do layout and where to get some half-decent artwork.

As a matter of interest, Nick, how much does it cost to set something up at Lulu? I glanced at the costs for self-publication but I couldn't work out how they worked. So, for example, roughly what was the ballpark cost of setting up Uncounted Worlds # 1? Presumably, the cost included the ISSN Numbers and the online store entry. The reason I am asking is that I am vaguely thinking of doing something for RQM that is BRP compatible, but I can't afford to spend much on setup.

It is unfortunate that BRP hasn't been supported as well as it might. Rven though the BRP rules are very good, it will die as a system unless it has support and new supplements. Sure, there are some PDF Monographs available, but when are we going to see them in shops? Who knows. I know that Chaosium are a small company and that the current financial situation makes things difficult. If you compare them with Issaries/Moon Design then their output is similar, Chaosium's is actually slightly better if you count PDFs. However, if you compare them with their most natural rival, RQM has had 41 publications in under 2 1/2 years, so 16 publications per year, over 1 a month. I've heard all the arguments before - Chaosium is a small company, they rely on freelancers to write things for them, they have to concentrate on CoC, money is tight, resources are tight and so on, ad nauseum. I've also heard the argument that if we want supplements, we should help and write things, but most of us don't have the time, talent or inclination to do so. I don't ask people to write Warehousing or Call Centre software, so why should I be expected to write roleplaying supplements? It all seems to be a cop-out to me. So, well done Jason, on getting BRP out and well done all those who have written for Monographs and fanzines, but not well done at all for Chaosium who should know better.

Bluntly, BRP needs more spells. The ones in the rulebook are OK, as far as they go, but they don't make up a consistent whole. Look at the nearest rival to BRP - RQM has masses and masses of spells over a number of books. Spellbook has hundreds of spells, other supplements have many spells. What does BRP have in addition to the rulebook? Nothing. So, it would be great if people made spells up and published them here.

It looks pretty good and the price for a Free Download is excellent - even £2.45 for a printed copy is reasonable for a 50+ page fanzine. I skipped through the articles and they look fine to me. I'm surprised you haven't anything linked to your BRP SciFi Monograph, perhaps in Issue 2. Personally, I've no problems with the artwork - I am more interested in the text. There were some nice-looking maps, which is always good. I'd have preferred the pictures/maps to be with a white background, but that's because I like a simple, clean style. It even has a paraphrased speech by Londo Molari, perhaps the best character in any SciFi TV series, so that can't be bad either. So, well done. It's good to see some support for BRP. When is Issue 2 coming out?

Looking at the story, I can well imagine how you run through characters First of all, the biggest mistake you made was to back-pedal. Never admit that you lied, in this situation, instead build bigger and bigger lies until you can wriggle out. You probably have more than 2 choices. First of all, unless she is completely kill-crazed it's unlikely that she would kill you for this, especially after dragging you back to town. She'd probably humiliate you and destroy your reputation, but that's about it. If you had managed to seduce her then perhaps she would be more annoyed. Since you seem to have the gift of the gab, perghaps you could talk your way out of a full apology or try to persuade her that she misunderstood you earlier. Trying to become Deathgrip the Mighty is all very well, but it may take some time. If it takes a couple of years then you will have a scenario arc that you can play with. If I were doing this then I'd find out any myths about Heroes who killed bears, especially as infants, then I'd try and find out where they are worshipped, what they did, find their holy places and study their story. On the Heroplane you could then use their story to define how you become Deathgrip the Mighty. So, for example, if you found a story about an Orlanthi Hero called Bearbane who was attacked as an infant by a bear but managed to kill it with his mother's necklace and another story of Bearhood a Hero who killed a bear and skinned it, turning its skin into a hood. On your HeroQuest you could use parts of both stories to kill a bear, perhaps using a rope rather than your mother's necklace, then skinning that bear and turning its skin into a cloak. Above all, be inventive. There's no point starting a HeroQuest thinking "I can't do this, I can't do that, this is the only way that will work". Instead think "I can take this bit from here, this bit from there, mix them up and try this, if that doesn't work I'll try something else". If the GM doesn't have any stories, then make them up and prsent them as some background. Say that you have done some research and this is what you have found. As long as they are reasonable he should at least give you the benefit of the doubt. Since you have set Aldel as being a boaster and a charmer then use that in the HeroQuest. Seduce someone in order to get their help. Steal things that could help you. Talk your way out of things. Play on your strengths. Above all, be confident and assume that things will work out in the end. Also, I'd take the other party members to the other tula and try to kill one of the dinosaurs. After all, how hard can that be? If you prepare beforehand then you can tip the scales to your advantage. Does the Godlearner have any magic he could use? What about the barbarian? Can you borrow any magical items to help you? What about asking Orlanth for help? After all, Boasting is an Orlanthi tradition and all you did was exagerrated a few things, perfectly acceptable to Orlanthi. If you GM has said that skills below 90% don't count on the HeroPlane (not the way I'd do it, but I'm not your GM and wouldn't want to undermine him) and all your skills are well below 90% then you need a way to boost your skills. Can you borrow a matrix or learn some skill-boosting spells? Can you add the 40% Versatility to only one skill or is it a changeable thing? If you can cast it on Influence, Prerception or Stealth then you can have 90% in all those skills, which would be useful on a HeroQuest. If the GM only allowed it to be used on one skill then I'd choose Influence as it fits in well with your character. 1. Don't panic otherwise you might as well throw aweay the character. 2. Be positive, don't be negative. 3. Come up with alternatives for the GM to play with - a scenario is as much about the players.PCs as it is about the GM/NPCs. 4. Be creative - something that the GM thinks "that's a clever/good idea" is more likely to work than something mundane. 5. Don't assume that combat ios always the answer - you are a charismatic thief not a hulky barbarian, use that fact. 6. Don't give up - if you struggle to the end the chances are that the GM will give you an out of some kind. I hope that helps a bit.

Aliens: "But, we gave you vast power!" Humans: "Now, we are all-powerful wah-ha-ha-ha!" Aliens: "But, we gave you vast power!" Humans: "Thanks a lot. Now, what was it you wanted again?!" Aliens: "But, we gave you vast power!" Humans: "Thanks, now, lick the dirt off our shoes."

Have you seen the Stupor Mundi game? It is set in 14th Century Medieval Europe and focusses on the Holy Roman Empire. It's for RQM but is pretty compatible with any version of RQ and BRP. I wouldn't use BRP magic for divine-style magic. It doesn't seem to fit right, to me. I'd use a version of RQ magic instead, using Divine Magic as Blessings with Common Divine Magic coming from the religion itself (Christianity, Islam, Judaism) and Special Divine Magic coming from Worship of Saints, Reading/Understanding of Books or Consorting With Demons.

Yes, they are similar enough to be used with virtually no conversion. I hadn't noticed the big difference in Structure Points - I assumed it was because these are big ships. I'd assume so. It doesn't say in the Ships chapter and I didn't have time to look through the whole book, unfortunately. By the way, Pirates is an excellent book and well worth buying if you want to run a sailing campaign.

That's why RQ3 had a table showing the critical/special/fumble chances for skills up to 100%. It's an easy matter to do a table for skills up to 200% or higher.

Brigantine Hull: 4 Structure Points: 250 Seaworthiness: 15 Length: 100ft Draft: 15ft Capacity: 100 tons Crew: 30/60/120 Speed: +0 Weapons Fore: None Aft: Four 18-Pounders (4D8 each) Broadside: Ten 18-Pounders (4D8 each) Skill: Shiphandling +0% Corvette Hull: 4 Structure Points: 150 Seaworthiness: 18 Length: 60 ft Draft: 10 ft Capacity: 40 tons Crew: 15/50/80 Speed: +6 feet/+1 knot Weapons Fore: Two 9-Pounders (4D6 each) Broadside: Eight 18-Pounders (4D8 each) Skill: Shiphandling +0% Frigate Hull: 5 Structure Points: 180 Seaworthiness: 20 Length: 90 ft Draft: 10 ft Capacity: 80 tons Crew: 20/60/120 Speed: +12 feet/2 knots Weapons Fore: Two 9-Pounders (4D6 each) Aft: Two 9-Pounders (4D6 each) Broadside: Ten 18-Pounders (4D8 each) Skill: Shiphandling +10% Galleon Hull: 5 Structure Points: 300 Seaworthiness: 20 Length: 200 ft Draft: 30 ft Capacity: 250 tons Crew: 80/160/320 Speed: -18 ft/-3 tons Weapons Fore: Four 18-Pounders (4D8 each) Aft: Eight 18-Pounders (4D8 each) Broadside: Sixteen 18-Pounders (4D8 each), Sixteen 24-Pounders (4D10 each) Skill: Shiphandling -10% Warship Hull: 5 Structure Points: 250 Seaworthiness: 20 Length: 150 ft Draft: 30 ft Capacity: 100 tons Crew: 30/120/200 Speed: +12 ft/+2 knots Weapons Fore: Four 9-Pounders (4D6 each) Aft: Four 9-Pounders (4D6 each) Broadside: Twenty 18-Pounders (4D8 each) Skill: Shiphandling +10% Structure Points: These are a ship's hit points. Damage to these represents damage to the integrity of the ship itself and ships do not heal of their own accord. Seaworthiness: The ability of the ship to stand up to the rigours of sailing. All ships must underdo frequent maintenance in order to keep their Seaworthiness from deteriorating. Length: The distance from bow to stern Draft: The depth of water needed for the ship to operate successfully and avoid running aground. Capacity: This indicates the cargo capacity of the ship in tons. This number reflects the ship's cargo capacity in addition to the ship's rigging, crew, provisions and so forth. Crew: The first number is the minimum needed ro sail the ship without penalty. The second is the average number of crew on board such a ship. The last number is the maximum number of people such a ship can carry (+10% to Shiphandling and crew checks). A vessel can be sailed with as little as one-third the minimum crew - this is called a skeleton crew (-20% to Shiphandling and crew checks). More commonly a captured vessel is given a two-thirds minimum crew, called a Prize Crew (-10% to Shiphandling and crew checks). Speed: For rowed vessels this lists the speed the ship travels per Crew Combat Round (30 seconds/6 Normal Rounds) or per twelve hour period. For sailed vessels, a modifier is listed describing how much faster or slower than average the vessel goes. Weapons: The weapons carried on the ship. Skill: Every ship has its own peculiarities and each design presents different challenges. This denotes which skill is used when operating the ship (normally Shiphandling or Boating). When the captain is called upon to use a skill then this modifier is given in addition to any other that the GM may decide is necessary.

Traditionally, uplifiting gives intelligence to an unintelligent species. However, in this case it would mean improving the species or giving the species something it didn't have before. In the background for the setting, the aliens want powerful warriors and are uplifitng humans to become super-soldiers. So, that probably doesn't make them more like the aliens, unless they have super-powers themselves. They didn't produce gods because that wasn't part of the story. Introducing SuperPowers doesn't make people into gods, unless they have very major powers. What it does do is make them different. Where creatures are uplifted and become telepathic, are they gods? No, but they are more powerful in some ways than humans. In this case, they want soldiers to help them fight in an alien war. In other cases they might want other things. Perhaps they like blue hair and breed in a strain of blue-haired people. You could get selected breeding programmes that produce distinct sub-breeds of human. You could uplift to get adaptations to different environments etc. Pretty much whatever you want. Humans don't always Uplift to make creatures more human. Sure, cat-people and dog-people become more humanoid but dolphin-people wouldn't. Similarly, aliens might want humans for certain tasks which would mean they are not made more like the aliens themselves. What of they found oxygen poisonous and wanted a slave race that could work in oxygen rich atmospeheres? They would create humans that would be more oxygen-tolerant and that would be a lot less like the aliens.

If you want a sailing supplement then look at RQ Pirates - Ahar! It's very good indeed and is very compatible with BRP.