soltakss

By the way, I tried the Critical/Special/Fumble Table in my game on Monday and it was very well received. Everyone used it and it sped up combat, more than I expected it to.

Apprentices do fail a lot of the time, though. They do something, show their boss who throws it away and asks them to do it again. That's the reason it takes longer - because they have to repeat the task until they succeed.

100 posts, hmmm, I'm only on 50, so I need another 50 posts ..... Can you spot the flaw, yet?

100 posts, hmmm, I'm only on 49, so I need another 51 posts .....

100 posts, hmmm, I'm only on 48, so I need another 52 posts .....

Hey, it's just like the Gloranthan Digest

What was this conversation about? I forget .....

I can't speak for D100 until I get the rulebook, but RQ always had the rule that someone zigzagging around halved the attack chance of anyone firing/throwing missiles at them. So, a master shot at 90% would still be halved to 45% by someone moving erratically. You could add modifiers of cover, poor visibility and so on and get a vastly reduced chance to hit, and all within the standard rules.

You could have a go with RQM and see how it goes, then see what D100 is like and see how that goes. I think you'll find D100 simpler in its basics, but perhaps the many optional rules might be a bit complicated. I wouldn't buy the rest of the Gloranthan material unless you want to play in a Second Age RQM Gloranthan campaign. They are quite expensive and do have problems. Prehistoric Europe makes a good campaign. I'm not that keen on Slaine, though, personally. Hit Locations are really easy to use, they become second nature after a while and don't slow the game down at all. I think it comes from the question "Where do I go now?" once you've reached 100%. Are there degrees of mastery? Is every very skilled person at the same skill level (100%)? Skills over 100% reflect that one master might be a lot better than another and also to determine relative skill levels of masters of different levels of ability.

Exactly. You only work it out when you need to or when it's close.

But, because BRP damage is random, this is taken care of. Just because something does 3D6 damage does not mean it automatically kills someone. It can do 3 damage as easily as 18. What happens on average is more important. Shoot 100 people in the chest with a .38 and see how many die immediately. Do the same again with a .22, a .45, a 12 bore(guage) and so on. It might be a bit messy but it would probably be worth it from a gaming-reasearch point of view.

(Un)fortunately, I am not a gun nut and don't know the ins and outs of all the different types of gun and how they would affect targets. The only thing I think of is a gut feeling of what would this gun do to a person and if it feels right. I'd group similar guns together, so all .38s do the same damage, all .45s do the same damage etc. Different ammo types might do extra damage or might penetrate armour better, so a dum-dum might do an extra D6 or an armour-piercing bullet might have the APs of protecting armour. But I wouldn't go much more complicated than that. Also, I don't see how being shot is any different to being stabbed or being crushed in terms of subsequent damage, bleeding or shock. If someone pops a bullet into me or a crossbow bolt, the results would be quite similar. I know I wouldn't much care for either.

Several reasons spring to mind. Some PCs don't have the STR/DEX to use certain weapons, so they use similar ones instead. One of my players has a PC with a low DEX who picked up Self Bow not Composite Bow. Some weapons are a lot more expensive than others. Some are heavier than others. Where money is short or ENC is important, these factors come into play. Some weapons are cultural. Lunars use Scimitars, Lunar enemies don't (in Glorantha). Vikings use Axes/Swords/Spears, Roman Legionaries don't use Axes, British Officers in the Zulu Wars wouldn't use a Spear and Shield. Some weapons have religious merit or connotation and may be favoured or not favoured by members of certain cults. So, Humakti use Swords, Babeester Gori use Axes, Thuggees use Garrottes and so on. Some weapons just aren't available. I've never been of the opinion that all weapons should be available everywhere. So, a phased plasma rifle might be in the rulebook, but that doesn't mean you should be able to pick one up anywhere. Similarly, composite bows should only really be available in areas with contact with those cultures that use composite bows. Some weapons are banned. Most Gloranthan cities ban the carrying of long weapons. Imagine walking through modern day London with a sub-machine gun (OK, Los Angeles shouldn't be a problem, though:) ). If certain weapons were banned, it might slow down their takeup. Some weapons are more suitable for certain situations. A thief, for example, might carry a knife rather than a dagger as it is less conspicuous, doesn't make him look like a killer and can be used to cut bread.

Whatever the reason is, one thing for sure - it's not because of some particular subrules about damage bonus, Strike Ranks, Hit Locations or anything else. Maybe it's too deadly, maybe it is too open, maybe it's not structured enough. Some things don't change. In any case, BRP/D100/RQ combined will never be as big as D&D/D20 and so what? They are two different games. It's like asking why Star Wars isn't as big as Star Trek?

In my game, we use the following guidelines: Dead if you've gone your full HPs negative or a vital hit location has been reduced to the location's full HPs negative or below. So, someone with 14Hp dies when he reaches -14HP. Someone with 6 HP in the head, chest or abdomen dies when he reaches -6 in those locations. Anyone reduced to 0 HP or below is unconcious and loses 1 HP per round until they die, if they have a bleeding wound. Any healable wound can be healed after death for resurrection purposes. People can be resurrected as long as they are above the death threshold, even if they would be still injured afterwards, but it's best to heal people fully, just in case. I like the (CON - Negative HPs)x5% chance of surviving each round and I might introduce that. We played with strict 0HP=death, -6 vital location=death in RQ2 and had a massively fatal game. Since we were all Rune Lords and had access to Chalana Arroy Priestesses, we could always get out of it, but that seems too excessive for me these days. We had one scenario where around 8 PCs died in the random encounters before the scenario had properly started, and these weren't wimpy Rune Lord Priests by any means, they were tough! So, since then, I've tried to tone down the deathcount.

The trouble with writing down specials and criticals on the character sheet is that they need recalculating whenever you have any modifiers due to circumstances or spells. But, yes, for speed in normal combat it's a good idea, but you have to be able to calculate the chances to write them down ....

But, most of the time you don't need to calculate specials and criticals. If I have 70% skill and roll a 50 it's obvious it's a normal hit. If I roll 01 then I have criticalled, no need to work it out. If I roll 02-06 then I need to work out if it is a special or critical. If I roll under 20 then I need to work out if it's a special or normal roll. Other than that, there's no need to work out the chances beforehand. In any case, here's a quick list of skills and their special (20%), critical (5%) and fumble chance. I've based it on RQ3 calculations as I don't have the BRP method to hand. I've also ignored success and failure chances as they should be easy to calculate. Just print it out and hey presto you don't need to do any maths at all. Range Critical Special Fumble -------- -------- -------- -------- 1-7 1 96-100 8-12 1 2 96-100 13-17 1 2-3 96-100 18-22 1 2-4 96-100 23-27 1 2-5 96-100 28-29 1 2-6 96-100 30-30 1-2 3-6 96-100 31-32 1-2 3-6 97-100 33-37 1-2 3-7 97-100 38-42 1-2 3-8 97-100 43-47 1-2 3-9 97-100 48-49 1-2 3-10 97-100 50-50 1-3 4-10 97-100 51-52 1-3 4-10 98-100 53-57 1-3 4-11 98-100 58-62 1-3 4-12 98-100 63-67 1-3 4-13 98-100 68-69 1-3 4-14 98-100 70-70 1-4 5-14 98-100 71-72 1-4 5-14 99-100 73-77 1-4 5-15 99-100 78-82 1-4 5-16 99-100 83-87 1-4 5-17 99-100 88-89 1-4 5-18 99-100 90-90 1-5 6-18 99-100 91-92 1-5 6-18 100 93-97 1-5 6-19 100 98-102 1-5 6-20 100 103-107 1-5 6-21 100 108-109 1-5 6-22 100 110-112 1-6 7-22 100 113-117 1-6 7-23 100 118-122 1-6 7-24 100 123-127 1-6 7-25 100 128-129 1-6 7-26 100 130-132 1-7 8-26 100 133-137 1-7 8-27 100 138-142 1-7 8-28 100 143-147 1-7 8-29 100 148-149 1-7 8-30 100 150-152 1-8 9-30 100 153-157 1-8 9-31 100 158-162 1-8 9-32 100 163-167 1-8 9-33 100 168-169 1-8 9-34 100 170-172 1-9 10-34 100 173-177 1-9 10-35 100 178-182 1-9 10-36 100 183-187 1-9 10-37 100 188-189 1-9 10-38 100 190-192 1-10 11-38 100 193-197 1-10 11-39 100 198-202 1-10 11-40 100 203-207 1-10 11-41 100 208-209 1-10 11-42 100 210-212 1-11 12-42 100 213-217 1-11 12-43 100 218-222 1-11 12-44 100 223-227 1-11 12-45 100 228-229 1-11 12-46 100 230-232 1-12 13-46 100 233-237 1-12 13-47 100 238-242 1-12 13-48 100 243-247 1-12 13-49 100 248-249 1-12 13-50 100 250-252 1-13 14-50 100 253-257 1-13 14-51 100 258-262 1-13 14-52 100 263-267 1-13 14-53 100 268-269 1-13 14-54 100 270-272 1-14 15-54 100 273-277 1-14 15-55 100 278-282 1-14 15-56 100 283-287 1-14 15-57 100 288-289 1-14 15-58 100 290-292 1-15 16-58 100 293-297 1-15 16-59 100 298-302 1-15 16-60 100 303-307 1-15 16-61 100 308-309 1-15 16-62 100 310-312 1-16 17-62 100 313-317 1-16 17-63 100 318-322 1-16 17-64 100 323-327 1-16 17-65 100 328-329 1-16 17-66 100 330-332 1-17 18-66 100 333-337 1-17 18-67 100 338-342 1-17 18-68 100 343-347 1-17 18-69 100 348-349 1-17 18-70 100 350-352 1-18 19-70 100 353-357 1-18 19-71 100 358-362 1-18 19-72 100 363-367 1-18 19-73 100 368-369 1-18 19-74 100 370-372 1-19 20-74 100 373-377 1-19 20-75 100 378-382 1-19 20-76 100 383-387 1-19 20-77 100 388-389 1-19 20-78 100 390-392 1-20 21-78 100 393-397 1-20 21-79 100 398-402 1-20 21-80 100 403-407 1-20 21-81 100 408-409 1-20 21-82 100 410-412 1-21 22-82 100 413-417 1-21 22-83 100 418-422 1-21 22-84 100 423-427 1-21 22-85 100 428-429 1-21 22-86 100 430-432 1-22 23-86 100 433-437 1-22 23-87 100 438-442 1-22 23-88 100 443-447 1-22 23-89 100 448-449 1-22 23-90 100 450-452 1-23 24-90 100 453-457 1-23 24-91 100 458-462 1-23 24-92 100 463-467 1-23 24-93 100 468-469 1-23 24-94 100 470-472 1-24 25-94 100 473-489 1-24 25-95 100 490-500 1-25 26-95 100

Simple Quest is at http://www.d101games.co.uk/simplequest.html and should be coming out fairly soon. It looks to be a cross between RQM and BRP.

BRP Car Wars. Now, that would be something ......

Luck Rolls are useful in a last-ditch situation. But, we use Hero Points as well to enable the players to take control of their PCs' lives. One example we had last week used both Luck Rolls and Hero Points. A Storm Bull went into a room containing a Basilisk. He failed his Sense Chaos and used a Hero Point to reroll it after a bit of hinting, but failed again. He then failed a Scan to see the basilisk, failed a Listen to hear it, failed a Luck Roll to spot it before it glared and then his POW was overcome by the low-POW basilisk, so he used another Hero Point to make the basilisk reroll the POW vs POW roll. None of it was his fault, he just failed 5 skills that were between 60% and 70%. I never fudge dice rolls, but I try to give PCs the chance to get out of problems themselves. The same PC (he is unlucky) fought the Avatar of Chaos in the Eternal Battle and failed his parry, used a hero point, failed again and had his abdomen ripped out, but a good DI to Storm Bull fixed that one ..... Well, that's just tough. A PC almost put the skull of a chaos hero on her head as a helmet, despite warnings that it had residual POW and sensed as chaotic. Had she done so, she would have been possessed and the player would have lost his PC until something cured her. Some things just happen.

The trouble with games without GMs is that sooner or later they will meet someone who isn't part of the party or a player character and they need someone who is independant to take control of that character. That's what a GM is for, to play the parts of all the other people in the world. Railroading has its part to play in a game, but can be counter-productive. Players often like their freedom to choose what they can do in a game. They want to go off and kill the chap who insulted them in a bar. They want to court the woman they met in a random encounter. They want to set up a caravan to trade with a nearby town. All well and good. However, it can be taken to extremes. I've been in several games where the players have complained that they have been forced to do scenario after scenario with no input into the game. When given the choice and asked "OK, what do you want to do?" invariably, the result is a lot of slack-jaws and faffing about as they desperately struggle to decide anything. Having said that, I've played in a number of scenarios where the players have boycotted certain parts of the scenarios. I've also had memorable scenarios where the players have dictated the scenario, what happened, where they went and what they did, with the GM following along like a lost puppy. A GM has his place and can be very useful in directing a game, controlling what happens and speeding the game up. But, there are times where the GM can sit back and let the PCs fight amongst themselves, plot amongst themselves and have a good session with minimal GM input. I played The Pool once and it was terrible. I couldn't get into it at all. I've also played narrative games where there was very little dice-rolling and I didn't like them much. I liken them to the games we used to play when we were little - "make believe" games - where my brothers and I would tell a story with characters who did things in the story. All very nice, but no substance. Sometimes you need risk, danger and threats to make a game exciting.

CoC has no hit locations, as I recall, so you have to kill an elephant on total hits. RQ has hit locations and an elephant would have 1/3 of its hit points in its head, so a 60HP elephant has 20HP in the head. Add 6 point skin, or whatever, and an impale with 3D6+4 would do 3D6+26, which is more than enough to take an elephant down. I play RQ and don't like CoC, so I am biased, but having hit locations makes combat more reasonable to me.

RQ2 had 7 for every D6, with additions of 3 or more having + 1. So, 2D6+6 and 3D6 gave a max of 21, 3D6+3 gave a maximum of 25. RQ3 made it even easier with max rollable + min rollable. So, 3D6 has a max of 21, 2D6+6 a max of 26, 3D6+3 a max of 27 and so on. I always thought that SIZ = weight in stones worked fairly well for most humans. Also, SIZ=dress size (UK) for females gives a rough idea of how big a woman is.

Which the players in my RQ3 game absolutely love. There'd be a riot if I took them out again.

A Paladin being the chief of an orc clan. That's the kind of messing about with stereotypes I like to see.