RosenMcStern

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)

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.

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.

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.

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.

Main gauches and sais are daggers, and they were designed to parry swords. It can be done. Though I would give a penalty to a mere knife parrying a sword. Dagger parrying another dagger is not difficult. Fist parrying kick is not difficult. Hoplite shield parrying maul is not difficult. Another possible spot rule would be "Only shields can parry charges."

Simple and appropriate. This is what I do in MRQ. In BRP I would rather go with a Difficult parry (halve skill) to be more consistent with the rest of the rules. But that is just a minor detail. Maybe this could become an optional rule in BRP 1.1.

More spells are coming, but these will be Glorantha-specific. We are currently discussing "how to cast Divine Magic" and other themes so some details could change in future versions.

I have put online a first draft of the magic conversion rules from MRQ to BRP, aimed at Glorantha in particular but usable in almost every setting. They allow using the spells in MRQ and the MRQ Companion in Glorantha Third Age and, above all, with BRP. Alephtar Games

Does he pay you well? I suppose the salary is in POW points rather than money. With all that souls he gets... >:-> The point here was about what to advise to new players who wished to try a game they had never tried before. Pointing out in what a previous edition was superior does no damage. I was talking about games, not senseless waste of vegetable life.

It is not a matter of how expensive or hard it is to find a copy. Just imagine a world in which all gamers interested in d20 go to the shop and buy that shiny new cra --- er, games, and all gamers interested in d100 go to ebay and compete for the last few existing copies of RQ1/2/3 (which would raise the price well above the two pounds per copy located by Frogspawner). In ecological terms, which of the two species is more likely to survive and thrive?

Parrying has nothing to do with the closing rules in this case. It is weapon momentum, not length, that makes a parry difficult. A thrust with a long spear is not stronger than a thrust with a katana, both are two-handed weapons (except that a katana is rarely used to thrust). And you can parry a Katana with a sai. A halberd or maul is another story. You simply cannot block a 4-5 feet long swinging weapon with anything but a large shield, you must deflect it with a well placed sidesweep or better feint against your opponent the moment he strikes and make him miss. When we discussed this on the other forum, all members with actual combat experience stated it _is_ possible if you are skilled enough. One of the forumers reported having actually done it (although you will not find many actual reports - if you miss the parry you will be hurt, no matter how stuffed the weapons are). So the point is - yes, possible but it takes a master or a very lucky shot. I would give it a -40 in MRQ and halve the skill in BRP.

Yuck! And I was thinking to have made a mistake by not revealing the Truth about Ezzelino DaRomano. :shocked:

Some spells are broken (Spirit Block and 5-6 sorcery spells) and the average explanation is more ambiguous than RQ2/3, since the Mongoose writers tend to favour brilliant writing over "dry but effective" game jargon. But the average Mongoose spell is nice and usable. There are more mistakes in both Cult of Glorantha books (written by a Glorantha veteran, Jeff K, and ravaged by the editor) and the Spellbook (not Gloranthan, but useful), but if you check the spells for possible inconsistencies before allowing them you will be able to use 95% of them, and they are nice - really nice. The Divine Magic system is interesting, but the concept of Dedicated POW is too restrictive. Most old schoolers simply do not use it. It works fine in low magic settings like Stupor Mundi, though: my last battle in the playtest saw beginning player characters casting a lot of Divine Magic. I put a smiley to assure you that you were not. Some polls are still open. The ones I have already closed were so clearly decided that they could not be influenced by your vote alone. In general, I will give options for almost everything, hoping that everyone likes at least one of the options. So join, vote and contribute!