RosenMcStern

And if the Kaiju are here, can the superobots be far away? Certainly not. Here is the classic one, complete with weapons and pilot.

MAZINGER Z

[table]Stat||Melee|Ranged|Location|AP/HP

STR 160|DB 16d6|1–4 |1-3|Right Leg |50/39

CON | |5–8 |4-6|Left Leg |50/39

SIZ 115|HP 115|9–11 |8-10 |Abdomen |50/46

INT||12 |11-15 |Chest |50/46

POW 65|PP 65|13–15|16-17 |Right Arm |50/29

DEX||16–18 |18-19 |Left Arm |50/29

APP|Mov 120|19–20|20|Head|50/39[/table]

[table]Weapon |Damage |Range|Cost|Type

Brawl |1d3+16d6|close ||

Rocket Punch |15d6 |200 |1 PP| knockback

Photon Beam |10d6 |200 |1 PP| physical

Rust Hurricane |10d6 |50 |5 PP| corrosion

Navel Missile |20d6 |100 ||physical

Breast Fire |20d6 |60 |10 PP| heat[/table]

Armour: Super Alloy Z (50 pts).

Powers: Super characteristics (STR, CON, POW), Adaptation (Heat, Cold, Radiation, Electrical), Resistance (Physical 30, Heat 30, Cold 30, Radiation 30, Electrical 30, Corrosion 20), Leap 2. With attached Jet Scrander: Flight 400, Extra Energy 200.

Description of Powers:

Adaptation: when the superobot is hit by any form of radiating energy, such as heat, electricity or radiation, the pilot may be exposed to it, up to a maximum of 1/10 of the damage done to the mecha. Activation of the Adaptation power protects the pilot from this adverse effect.

Resistance: the superobot's armor protects it from the specified types of damage.

Leap: the superobot can leap up to the specified distance using its foot-mounted jump jets. This costs it 3PP.

Flight: the superobot can fly at the specified speed, but only when attached to its special flying harness (Jet Scrander). Attaching it requires usage of the Leap power and a successful Pilot (Mecha) roll. Flying costs 1 PP per round, but the Jet also stores a 200 PP reserve usable for this purpose only. The superobot can hover in the air and use all of its weapon while doing so, but it can only use certain weapons while flying at full speed. When the harness is attached, the superobot hit locations are those of a winged humanoid.

Description of Weapons: all weapons are fired using the pilot's Projection skill, except when the superobot is flying at full speed, in which case the roll is also limited but the pilot's Pilot (Spacecraft) skill.

Photon Beam: a basic, low energy cost weapons fired from the superobot's eyes. It does not do any special damage, but it can be used also when the superobot is flying at full speed.

Rocket Punch: The superobot's forearms detach and fly towards the enemy at incredible speed, propelled by a rocket device stored in the ankles. This attack does knockback on a special success. Damage and cost refer to launching one punch. Both punches can be used at once for double the power point cost, but each attack must be rolled separately. Punches reattach to the superobot's arms at the end of the Power Phase of the following round. This weapon can be used when the superobot is flying at full speed.

Rust Hurricane: The superobot blows a wind of ionized particles from its jaw, doing corrosion damage to its target. This attack is considered an area attack against anything below SIZ 30, and hits 1d6 hit locations instead of one if used against anything up to SIZ 100. The target armor is damaged first, then its hit points. Once the attack hits, the effect can be prolonged for the subsequent rounds at the basic PP cost, provided the target does not move and the superobot pilot succeeds in an Easy projection roll.

Navel Missile: This missile can be used at no power point cost. The superobot has two missiles stored in its torso.

Breast Fire: the superobot emits intense heat from its chest. This attack is considered an area attack against anything below SIZ 30, and hits 1d3 hit locations instead of one if used against anything up to SIZ 100. Once the attack hits, the effect can be prolonged for the subsequent rounds at the basic PP cost, provided the target does not move and the superobot pilot succeeds in an Easy projection roll.

Other weapons: Mazinger has used other weapons during its career, but they are not described here.

Kabuto Koji

[table]STR 13 |CON 15 |SIZ 12 |INT 17

POW 15 |DEX 15 |APP 15 |EDU 18

DB |+1d4 |HP |14

Move |10 |PP |15 [/table]

[table]Weapon|Skill|Damage

Brawl |60% |1d3+1d4

Energy Pistol |30% |(1d8) |

Energy Rifle |40% |(2d8) |[/table]

Skills: Dodge 65%, Drive (Car) 60%, Drive (Motorcycle) 75%, Listen 50%, Pilot (Mecha) 75%, Pilot (Spacecraft) 60%, Projection 70%, Repair (Electrical, Mechanical) 70%, Repair (Electronics) 60%, Ride (Horse) 50%, Science (Physics) 70%, Science (Astronomy) 50%, Spot 50%.

Notes: Koji is a hotheaded young man, and a bit of a bully, but he is also really brave, and totally loyal to his friends, and even to his rivals, for whom he would risk his life at any moment. Koji uses a small flying craft, the Hover Pilder or the Jet Pilder, to attach to Mazinger's head and control it.

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GREAT MAZINGER

[table]Characteristic | |Melee |Miss. |Location

STR 165 |DB 17d6 |1–4 |1-3 |Right Leg |50/42

CON - | |5–8 |4-6 |Left Leg |50/42

SIZ 125 |HP 125 |9–11 |8-10 |Abdomen |50/50

INT - | |12 |11-15 |Chest |50/50

POW 90 |PP 90 |13–15 |16-17 |Right Arm |50/32

DEX - | | 16–18 |18-19 |Left Arm |50/32

APP - |Mov 130 |19–20 | 20 |Head |50/42[/table]

[table]Weapon |Damage |Range |Cost |Type

Brawl |1d3+17d6 |close

Blade |2d10+17d6 |close |slashing

Blade (thrown) |2d10+17d3 |30 |impaling

Great Boomerang |1d20+17d3 |50 |slashing

Atomic Punch |18d6 |200 |1 PP

Hurricane |30d6 |50 |1 PP |knockback

Navel Missile |20d6 |100 |physical

Breast Fire |20d6 |60 |10 PP |heat

Thunder Beam |20d6 |100 |20 PP |electrical[/table]

Armour: Super Alloy Z.

Powers: Super characteristics (STR, POW), Adaptation (Heat, Cold, Radiation, Electrical), Resistance (Physical 50, Heat 30, Cold 30, Radiation 30, Electrical 30, Corrosion 20), Flight 3300.

Description of Powers:

Adaptation: when the superobot is hit by any form of radiating energy, such as heat, electricity or radiation, the pilot may be exposed to it, up to a maximum of 1/10 of the damage done to the mecha. Activation of the Adaptation power protects the pilot from this adverse effect.

Resistance: the superobot's armor protects it from the specified types of damage.

Alternate Form: the superobot can sprout wings from its back. When the wings are out, the superobot hit locations are those of a winged humanoid..

Flight: the superobot can fly at the specified speed, but only when in winged form. Flying costs 1 PP per five minutes. The superobot can hover in the air and use all of its weapon while doing so, but it can only use certain weapons while flying at full speed.

Description of Weapons: all weapons are fired using the pilot's Projection skill, except the swords and boomerang which use the pilot's Missile and Sword weapon skill. When the superobot is flying at full speed the skill roll is also limited but the pilot's Pilot (Spacecraft) skill.

Atomic Punch: The superobot's forearms detach and fly towards the enemy at incredible speed, propelled by a rocket device stored in the ankles. This attack does knockback on a special success. Damage and cost refer to launching one punch. Both punches can be used at once for double the power point cost, but each attack must be rolled separately. Punches reattach to the superobot's arms at the end of the Power Phase of the following round. This weapon can be used when the superobot is flying at full speed.

Hurricane: The superobot blows a powerful wing from its jaw, pushing back any enemy of SIZ lower than the rolled damage. This attack, however, cannot do any actual damage.

Navel Missile: This missile can be used at no power point cost. The superobot has ten missiles stored in its torso.

Breast Fire: the superobot emits intense heat from its chest. This attack is considered an area attack against anything below SIZ 30, and hits 1d3 hit locations instead of one if used against anything up to SIZ 100. Once the attack hits, the effect can be prolonged for the subsequent rounds at the basic PP cost, provided the target does not move and the superobot pilot succeeds in an Easy projection roll.

Great Boomerang: the superobot can detach its breast panel and use it as a thrown weapon at no power point cost. The Boomerang is back at the end of the following round. This weapon requires that the superobot has a functional arm, and ignores armor as normal on a critical hit.

Mazinger Blade: the superobot can sprout a sword from each of its hips during the Power phase of a round. This counts as a normal Ready Weapon actions, thus allowing it to attack at the pilot's DEX Rank minus five during the action phase of the round. The sword can be used as both a slashing and an impaling weapon in melee, and as an impaling weapon when thrown. The superobot can fight with two swords making an attack with each, but this requires a Difficult skill roll. When a sword is stuck in an impaled enemy's body, all attacks made with the Thunder Beam (see below) ignore electrical resistance.

Thunder Beam: The superobot calls lightning from the sky and directs it at the enemy with a finger. This weapon requires that the superobot has a functional arm. It strikes automatically the biggest hit location of the target, and if it reduces it to zero hit points, the target explodes.

Tsuruji Tetsuya

[table]STR 15 |CON 17 |SIZ 15 |INT 13

POW 17 |DEX 16 |APP 11 |EDU 13

D B |+1d4 |HP |16

Move |10 |PP |17 [/table]

[table]Weapon|Skill|Damage

Brawl |100% |1d3+1d4

Energy Pistol |90% |(1d8) |

Energy Rifle |90% |(2d8) |[/table]

Skills: Dodge 90%, Drive (Car) 50%, Drive (Motorcycle) 90%, Listen 70%, Martial Arts (Karate) 50%, Pilot (Mecha) 90%, Pilot (Spacecraft) 60%, Projection 90%, Repair (Electrical, Mechanical) 40%, Spot 50%, Weapon (Sword) 80%, Weapon (Missile) 80%.

Notes: Tetsuya never knew his actual family, and was raised by Doctor Kabuto to be a fighting machine. He is loyal and brave, but also a hothead. He usually overestimates his capacities to the point of jeopardizing his life and his mecha. Tetsuya uses a small flying craft, the Brain Condor, to attach to Mazinger's head and control it.

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KOOTETSU JEEG

[table]Stat||Melee|Ranged|Location|AP/HP

STR 165|DB 16d6|1–4 |1-3|Right Leg |40/40

CON | |5–8 |4-6|Left Leg |40/40

SIZ 120|HP 120|9–11 |8-10 |Abdomen |40/48

INT||12 |11-15 |Chest |40/48

POW 80|PP 80|13–15|16-17 |Right Arm |40/30

DEX||16–18 |18-19 |Left Arm |40/30

APP|Mov 110|19–20|20|Head|40/40[/table]

[table]Weapon |Damage |Range|Cost|Type

Brawl |1d3+13d6 |close

Dynamite Kick |1d6+18d6 |close

Jeeg Beam |5d6 |50 |1 PP

Magneto Ropes |grapple |50 |1 PP

Knuckle Bomber |15d6 |50 |1 PP |knockback

Spin Storm |20d6 |50 |5 PP

Magneto Pressure |20d6+13d6 |20 |20 PP |electrical

Mach Drill |30d6 |30 |5 PP |impaling

Jeeg Bazooka |40d6 |200 [/table]

Armour: Super Alloy (40).

Powers: Super characteristics (STR, POW), Resistance (Physical 40, Heat 30, Cold 30, Radiation 30, Electrical 30, Corrosion 20), Alternate Forms. With Mach Drill: Flight 2000, Extra Energy 100.

Description of Powers:

Resistance: the superobot's armor protects it from the specified types of damage.

Alternate Form: The superobot head is an alternate form of the pilot that connects magnetically to the body part. Even if destroyed, the superobot can regenerate from a new set of body parts. As long as the head is undamaged and it is supplied with new parts, it is undestructible. Alternate sets of body parts can be attached to the superobots, two of which are described here.

Description of Weapons: all weapons are fired using the pilot's Projection skill, except the brawl and kick.

Knuckle Bomber: The superobot's hands detach and fly towards the enemy at incredible speed, propelled by a rocket device stored in the wrists. This attack does knockback on a special success. Both punches must be launched at once. A new set of hands regrow from the wrists at the end of the Power Phase of the following round.

Dynamite Kick: The superobot leaps and hits its target with a flying kick, increasing its damage bonus by half against.

Magneto Ropes: The superobot chest emits four energy lassos with a total STR of 200 and 50 armor points that can entangle the enemy.

Jeeg Beam: The superobot emits energy beams from the eyes. This attack can be used by the detached head, too.

Magneto Pressure: the superobot emits a powerful magnetic field that engulfs its target and then attempts to grapple it. If the target's STR is overcome by the superobot's POW+STR the target cannot move or react, and damage is done to the target's biggest hit location. Damage is done starting on the second round of grappling and is cumulative each round if the target cannot break free, until the target explodes.

Spin Storm: the superobot emits a powerful energy stream from its navel.

Mach Drill: the superobot can detach its forearms and attach two rocket-shaped boosters to its arms. These boosters allow it to fly at a cost of 1 PP per round, but have an additional storage of 100 PP that can be used for this purpose only. The drills on the booster heads allow Jeeg to move underground at walks speed, too. The superobot can also shoot them as thrown weapons, exploiting the drill rocket speed and their drill warheds. The mach drills do not come back if thrown.

Jeeg Bazooka: the superobot can detach its right forearm and replace it with a huge rocket launcher. This artillery weapon does an incredible amount of damage and has 12 shots.

Shiba Hiroshi

[table]STR 13 |CON - |SIZ 15 |INT 12

POW 13 |DEX 13 |APP 13 |EDU 10

DB |+1d4 |HP |15

MOV |10 |PP |33 [/table]

[table]Weapon |Skill |Damage

Brawl |60% |1d3+1d4

Sword |30% |1d8+1+1d4 [/table]

Skills: Dodge 50%, Drive (Car) 150%, Drive (Motorcycle) 100%, Listen 40%, Repair (Electrical, Mechanical) 70%, Spot 50%.

Special: Alternate Form (Cyborg), Alternate Form (Mecha Head), Armor (Concussion) 20, Extra Power Points 20.

Notes: Hiroshi was transformed into a cyborg by his father when he was a baby. An ancient item of power from an inhuman civilization, the Yamatai Bronze Bell, was embedded into his body to fuel his superhuman capabilities and prepare him to fight against the return of the bell's creators. His invulnerability is active also when he is not in his alternate forms. Hiroshi is rather a never-do-well, and needs someone else's guidance to put his courage and strengh to good use.

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UFO ROBOT GRENDIZER

[table]Stat||Melee|Ranged|Location|AP/HP

STR 188|DB 19d6|1–4 |1-3|Right Leg |70/43

CON | |5–8 |4-6|Left Leg |70/43

SIZ 138|HP 138|9–11 |8-10 |Abdomen |70/56

INT||12 |11-15 |Chest |70/56

POW 180|PP 180|13–15|16-17 |Right Arm |70/35

DEX||16–18 |18-19 |Left Arm |70/35

APP|Mov 330|19–20|20|Head|70/43[/table]

[table]Weapon |Damage |Range|Cost|Type

Brawl |1d3+19d6 |close

Hand Beam |5d6 |50 |1 PP| 2 shots

Dizer Beam |10d6 |200 |1 PP

Antigrav Beam |40d6 |30 |1 PP |knockback

Screw Crusher Punch |15d10 |200 |1 PP

Space Thunder |20d10 |200 |20 PP |electrical

Shoulder Boomerangs |2d20 |30 |10 PP |special

Double Harken |2d20+19d6 |close |10 PP |special

Double Harken, th. |2d20+19d3 |30 |10 PP |special[/table]

Armour: Space Alloy Gren.

Powers: Super characteristics (STR, POW), Adaptation (Heat, Cold, Radiation, Electrical), Resistance (Physical 70, Heat 40, Cold 50, Radiation 40, Electrical 40, Corrosion 30), Leap 10. With Spazer: Flight 7500.

Description of Powers:

Resistance: the superobot's armor protects it from the specified types of damage.

Adaptation: when the superobot is hit by any form of radiating energy, such as heat, electricity or radiation, the pilot may be exposed to it, up to a maximum of 1/10 of the damage done to the mecha. Activation of the Adaptation power protects the pilot from this adverse effect.

Leap: the superobot can leap up to the specified distance using its foot-mounted jump jets. This costs it 3PP.

Alternate Form: The superobot is normally stored in a space saucer called the Spazer. While in this form the superobot cannot use some of its weapons, but can fly and travel in space, as well as use the Spazer weapons.

Description of Weapons: all weapons are fired using the pilot's Projection skill, except the brawl and Double Harken that use the appropriate melee skill (70% for Daisuke).

Screw crusher punch: The superobot's forearms detach and fly towards the enemy, spinning at incredible speed, after projecting forward a crown of sharp blades. This is a perforating attack and does not do knockback on a special success. Both punches can be launched at once. The forearms reattach at the end of the Power Phase of the following round.

Hanjuuryoku (anti-grav) beam: The superobot projects a force beam from its chest that knocks back and lifts from the ground its target. This weapon cannot do actual damage and cannot be used from Spazer.

Hand beams: The superobot's hands project beams of low-power energy, useful against smaller targets.

Dizer beam: The superobot emits energy beams from its eyes.

Space Thunder: the superobot emits a powerful stream of electricity from its horns. This weapon cannot be used underground or underwater, but is extremely effective in space.

Shoulder boomerangs: the superobot shoots two blades of solid energy from its shoulders. Due to the semi-material nature of the blades, the target is protected by the lower value between half of its physical armor or its electrical armor. Each boomerang attack is rolled separately. The boomerangs reattach to the shoulders at the end of the power phase of the subsequent round. This weapon cannot be used from Spazer.

Double Harken: the superobot can attach its shoulder blades of solid energy to a haft and use them as a scythe-like, double-bladed melee weapon. Due to the semi-material nature of the blades, the target is protected by the lower value between half of its physical armor or its electrical armor. The Harken can also be thrown. The PP cost is paid only to activate the weapon, which counts as a standard weapon readying action: each round of subsequent usage costs Grendizer no PP.

Umon Daisuke (Duke Fleed)

[table]STR 21 |CON 9 |SIZ 14 |INT 16

POW 25 |DEX 23 |APP 18 |EDU 30

DB |+1d6 |HP |12

Move |30 |PP |25 [/table]

[table]Weapon|Skill|Damage

Brawl |65% |1d3+1d4

Energy Pistol |70% |(1d8) |

Energy Rifle |80% |(2d8) |[/table]

Skills: Command 40%, Dodge 50%, Drive (Motorcycle) 75%, Insight 90%, Knowledge (Animals) 50%, Listen 80%, Pilot (Mecha) 75%, Pilot (Spacecraft) 90%, Projection 75%, Repair (Electrical, Mechanical, Electronics) 70%, Repair (Quantum) 60%, Ride (Horse) 70%, Science (Physics) 90%, Science (Planetology) 90%, Science (Astronomy) 90%, Spot 90%, Weapon (Harken) 70%.

Powers: Intuition 50%, Leap 10, Super Speed.

Notes: Duke Fleed was the heir to the throne of a faraway planet in the Southern Cross constellation, but his home was ransacked by an enemy planet and he fled to Earth, where he pretends to be Professor Umon's son, Daisuke. He brought Grendizer, his people's greatest weapon, with him. Duke is a very kind and peace-loving person who will never pick up a fight if there is another way to settle a matter. He suffers from a radiation wound, taken when his homeworld was invaded, that undermines his health. Like all people of his race, Daisuke has limited psionic capabilities, as well as increased strength and the ability to make giant leaps and move at a speed that is impossible to humans due to the heavier gravity of his homeworld.P.S.: Nagai-san, please address all suits for copyright infringement to me and not to Trif.

Two attacks per second with your greatsword - and there are still people that call it realistic. Now it is clear that the actual time expended by two kendo combatants actually exchanging blows is possibly one second, but in GURPS the entire combat lasts a handful of seconds, which does not happen so often in the real world.

For automatic weapons, I think that a character should be able to empty his ammo load in one round or so. There are rules for automatic weapons in CoC that can be adapted. Or you may have Volley fire work every DEX rank instead of every five with some weapons.

In RQ / Burp a strike is not one swing of the sword it includes fients, dancing around and all that other crap.

Burp?

Having tried it for awhile now, the new BRP idea of MA doubling damage by any weapon (previously it was just natural weaponry, IIRC) seems a bit off to me. For Fist attacks, doubling damage addressed the problem of a d3 not being able to get through any sigificant armour. But having widened it to any weapon makes MA skill a bit too important (especially now most specials don't do double damage anymore).

Your comment is absolutely sensible. However, the idea behind the new Martial Arts is that there should not be a MA skill for any type of weapons. Schools that teach how to strike incredibly hard with a weapon should be rather rare if not unique. Real world examples should be limited to weapons that are especially crafted for ease of use, like rapiers or folded blades. There should not be any MA skill for axes or greatswords, at least in a realistic setting.

You want a more exoteric example of a MA school? Well, think of the Lunar Hell Sisters and their special Mace attacks from horseback: this attack is extremely deadly, but only a handful of selected witch warriors know its secret. And do not even hope to learn it if you are not a Hell Sister.

Martial Arts giving extra attacks, rather than extra damage - I like this better. Maybe the 5 SR delay could be less for natural weapons, giving them an advantage and restoring their link with MA.

This could be a different school of Martial Arts, that enhances speed instead of strength. It is not forbidden by the rules, just not the standard effect.

Now, a person training karate will probably be a better fighter than most people who don't train a martial art, but will he be better than a streetfighter with extensive fight experience?

No, or at least not necessarily. A person with trained only in dojos might be unprepared for a real fight.

And I don't think his strikes will be twice as hard either.

Here you are wrong. A streetfighter can possibly overwhelm a karate black belt with less "actual combat" experience than him, but can he kill with a single blow? Can he break items with his bare hands? All these are techniques taught to martial artists, but certainly not learned in street brawls.

So yes, there is a difference between martial arts and high levels in combat skills.

So, in answer to your question: yes, a sufficiently talented viking warrior could exist who could take out Musashi and we should allow not place barriers in the way of that.

No doubt, although I suppose a viking master of the sword would rather use berserking techniques to ignore pain. And the legend grown about the samurais (or the Bogatyrs, FWIW) has increased the hype about their skills. But I am yet unconvinced that simply going up in skill is the equivalent of being taught special techniques that it took generations to develop. When you are 90% or more in a weapon skill, you have a 5% chance to hit the weakest possible spot in your opponent's body and armor, that is your critical hit chance. What is the need to overcomplicate the thing and say that you also start a new skill at 10% that doubles your damage?

Note that setting the 90% skill as the requirement for entering the dojo that teaches a skill that doubles your damage is an entirely different thing. I think this is the exact opposite of the split-attack technique: it does not come with basic training, you need a master to learn it (or you need to be Musashi and discover the techniques yourself )

Why would that be? Swords were important weapons in many cultures so I don't see any reason to limit availability of martial arts based on them anywhere that they are in relatively common use.

Should a Viking warrior with a longsword have the same effectiveness as Miyamoto Musashi? I do not think so. Common use and mastery are not the same as knowing secret techniques. And martial arts is the latter, not simply "being very clever at using that weapon".

Note that a seasoned viking warrior with a longsword can still make mincemeat of dozens of inferior opponents. He simply is not Musashi

I will look at these. I know about the "skills over 100%" - I've been an RQ guy for 20+ years. But that isn't a "skill," per se - it's more like an effect - if you're at 100%, you can do it. I'm thinking more of an actual, specific "Fight Multiple Guys At Once" skill - that one could train and develop in. Or maybe having such a skill is a bad idea. I don't know yet. I think everyone here as interesting suggestions, and worth thinking about.

I cannot see any self respecting master fighter not training in combat against multiple opponents. When you reach a certain level of expertise, you are certainly training in fighting against multiple opponents. So I think this skill is in fact only a side effect of becoming more proficient in combat techniques, and the current splitting rules already represent this.

One possible option could be allowing characters to split attacks when they are above 90%, or 80%, or whatever the GM sees fit to make the game interesting.

Woroshi is certainly a master in his swordsmanship with his 120% skill. He can fight and defeat multiple opponents easily. He does not need to study and increase an additional skill to fight multiple opponents: all master swordsmen receive this as training when they reach a good level in their skill score.

However, Musashi is not only a master of sword combat with 120%+, but also knows the secret techniques taught by his school (well, actually Musashi was a school himself), which allow him to use his katana in ways even a master swordsman would not suspect. And this is represented by the Martial Arts skill (formerly Ki skills). Note that very few cultures should have access to Martial Arts techniques for swords.

Whilst Myamoto with Melee (Sword) 200% can either hit one target for 2d10+1+db or upto 4 targets each for 1d10+1+db

The remarkable feats of Miyamoto Musashi (I just bought an illustrated book with a picture of him killing a whale with his katana - how delightful, except for the fact that I love whales almost as much as I love Musashi) are best handled in BRP by allowing him to be a master of the Martial Arts (Kenjutsu) skill rather than introducing new options than have the same effect.

Both history and fantasy are nice to play with BRP. Do not forget to download the Hounds of Adranos free PDF from the download section of this site. It can be used as an add-on for the two adventures you'll find in Stupor Mundi.

There is also a new product for the Mythic Russia line available now from Lulu, the Birchbark Chronicles. It features the Mongol Golden Horde and a scenario written by Soltakss. This can provide additional materials for your Fantasy Europe campaign.

Stupor Mundi was written before the new BRP was made generally available, so it is truly a Mongoose RQ setting. However, it was originally designed for RQ3, which is very, very close to BRP, so you will not have any problem playing it with BRP. Look at the conversion rules for Divine Magic that are on the stupormundi-rpg.com web site (in the Glorantha section), and you'll easily adapt all the divine magic from MRQ that is in Stupor Mundi to BRP. Sorcery needs even less adaptations, and there is no Rune Magic in the basic SM setting.

So yes, all you need is BRP, the open game portion of Mongoose RuneQuest, and some people who like playing d100 :thumb:

(Although the non-open parts of MRQ are worth having, too)

If the purpose is to limit the spellcaster's magic repertoire in the interest of game balance, I ask: Isn't the use of power points and skill points sufficient to provide such balance? If the spellcaster wants to cast a particularly powerful Blast spell, he does so at the risk of running out of power points with which to cast other spells, and his chance of success is dependent on how many skill points he has devoted to that spell.

First of all, anyone having played BRP games long enough knows that player characters end up having wagonloads of power batteries. Power Points are a good alternative to spell memorization, but they are not the final solution for balance.

Moreover, the INT limit represents also the fact that the wizard is continually practicing his spells to keep them "ready to cast", so he cannot do so with an unlimited number of spells. In any case, this is better than the awful "You cannot cast the spell more than X times because you have not memorized enough castings of it" that is in That Other Game.

If you have time, try using the RuneQuest Sorcery, too. It needs some fixes that you can find on the Wiki but it provides more fun.

1) You cannot attack and defend(this also would include dodging) on the same SR with the same weapon.

2) Attempts at parrying without the use of a shield, suitable parrying weapon, or a longer reach weapon are Difficult (and no parrying rhinos...)

3) Shields are able to take more abuse than a melee weapon.

I see no reason why you shouldn't be able to dodge and attack contemporarily if you do not have two weapons. Also note that if you use DEX ranks, a clever fighter with two weapons can delay its action until his opponent with one weapon only strikes by simply stating "I counterattack on the DEX rank he attack", and gone is the one-weapon-user ability to parry. So it makes sense even without strike ranks. This simulates the manoeuver in which a fighter engages his foe's weapon with a parrying weapon or shield and finishes him off with the other weapon as he cannot use his single weapon to parry in that precise instant.

Months ago we discussed something about usage of a main gauche in combat on the mongoose forum, and Pete Nash explained he is particularly fond of such tactics.

The other options are viable too.

Not knowing a thing about Blocking, an average Joe could probably defend better than 15% with a bar stool.

I would go with the base 25% of a club, if the character is strong enough to wield a bar stool as a weapon. But the average Joe could also Dodge at DEX x 2 which is not that bad.

Hmm, I usually (in MRQ) do not use different skills for parry and block. I simply use different mechanics: opposed roll and all-or-nothing for parries (you deflect the blow with your weapon/shield), and unopposed roll and Armor Points for blocks (you interpose the weapon - if the blow is too strong, OUCH!). Obviously blocks are better used with shields, given the low APs of weapons in RQ. Having two separate skills is an idea I do not like: the less the skills, the better.

1. Not me, although we played an "X-Com" game with RQ rules years ago and it worked.

2. There are some, and examples about how to chreate your own combat mechas using superpowers-

3. IIRC, no. Like in many other systems, it must be houseruled.

4. Some injuries can cripple you, especially if you use hit locations (3 HP to the arm and it goes limp).

5. Rather easy.

6. Do not know the other examples

7. There is a good selection of monsters from various genres: aliens, dragons, zombies, dimensional creatures etc.

Brilliant? No, it's just the official errata for RuneQuest edition 3 by Chaosium.

The shield user would suffer knockout, rather. The shield may not break, but the wielder's bones would.

No system is thoroughly realistic. Both models have their advantages and weaknesses, it is just a matter of what kind of unrealism bugs you most.

As for using armor/hit points for parries: this is how it is usually handled in RQ (both old Chaosium and Mongoose) but it has its disadvantages, too. A sturdy weapon is not necessarily better for parrying. I use a mixed system in MRQ (APs for shields, all-or-nothing for weapons) but it introduces complications. Moreover, using APs for parries with the huge values given in BRP means you could possibly parry a rhino with your hoplite shield, which is ludicrous.

As for the advantages of using shields, the point is that the rules in BRP do not give you any real advantages for using two weapons. This is one of the few flaws in the system: a person with two weapons, or a weapon and a shield, has an advantage against one with one weapon only in real combat. Add the option "You cannot attack and parry in the same DEX Rank or Strike Rank with the same weapon" and you have a use for your secondary weapon or shield.

Finally, the main use of shields is not dungeon crawling. Shields were used in large formations to block missiles or make shield walls, not to go adventuring. The Japanese did not use shields at all. So it is perfectly realistic to use shields only when you expect missile fire, i.e. in open battles.

Got it 45 minutes ago. It is wonderful. Wish they had published it in this format 20 years ago. But I am still happy I have it now. :thumb:

Unfortunately, there is also a missile hit location table, and other humanoids who could be using this kind of armor and do not have the same even distribution of area between the lower and upper parts of their limbs. Having been using this sort of armor for the last fifteen years or so, don't you think I had thought of such a solution myself? Nice idea, but things are not so simple.

I am rather fond of having two versions of chainmail, the long sleeved one and the short sleeved one, with the additional variation of not using trews under the skirt, thus leaving the distal part of the limbs covered by cloth or leather only. According to various history sourcebooks, as well as the armor crafters for LARPs, the short-sleeved, trew-less versions were fairly common. The stats for these variants, that made up most armors used in Europe till the 13th century, are present in Stupor Mundi.

Of course you have a problem there, because the hit location system does not allw you to determine if you have hit, say, the leg or the thigh, you do not know whether the target is protected by mail or by leather. Not wanting to make an additional roll, in this case I use the average system suggested above, for a total protection of 3 on limbs instead of 5 (would be 5 instead of 7 in BRP which has higher armor values).

My copy shipped from the UK yesterday. Last time I shopped with Amazon UK it took less than a week to cross Europe, so I think I'll have the physical book next week.

I have used weapon/shield AP's for a great many years, and used the all or nothing parry for a relatively short time. In that short time it is my personal experience that many more perceived reality problems arise using all or nothing parry.

This is absolutely true. But I think the real problem arises from the fact that APs in RQ3 were a mix of parrying capabilities and actual toughness of weapon. You can still have a rather realistic value for "Parry points" for weapons, but this does not necessarily coincide with weapon toughness. A quarterstaff is not tough, but it is a good parrying weapon.

Plus the all or nothing parry in MRQ also suffers the problems due to the infamous "critical parry that is less effective than a normal parry". Another unfortunate situation that usually occurs when fighting trollkin in a dark cave in Ralios.