HierophantX

I don't suppose there is any further word on when one can purchase this item?

We had this problem with my last group. Though I may be remembering a difference between 4th and 5th rather than 5th or 6th. I believe the issue was with how magic worked and how learning and using spells was resolved.

Right, so it's practically October! Ok, it's half-September yet, but still. I'm itching to get my electrons on this book! Never mind the new Merrie England...

I certainly wouldn't turn down a map of Bishoprics... in fact I was specifically hoping to find some!

Hey guys, does anyone have some good links for maps of the Baltic, Scandinavia, Poland or the Slavic frontier in the medieval period? I've found various maps online, but I'm wondering if there are better resources that aren't in English that Google missed. It might be cool to have a "Links to good Medieval Maps for Gaming Purposes" tab someplace, for game enhancement.

Works for Pendragon. Part of the high drama of the Punic Wars is the generational aspect with the Barca and Scipio families, with descendants of of veterans from the first war fighting in the last one.

So Amazon is saying Dec 31st. Is that the real deal or will we see pdf-versions sooner?

I guess my specific question pertains to the Land and People section of Merrie England. Almost 2 years ago, Simon, we were talking about how cool it would be to have a "Lord of the Isles" piece of the Merrie England setting and some of the interesting stories and characters associated with the period in northern England, Scotland and the islands. I'm just wondering if that stuff made it in? Also, how are the maps? My benchmark for awesome period maps is the Lionheart supplement from the Harn folks back before the Wall fell. But I'm wondering how much/if you expanded the cartography of the Merrie England setting.

By niche, what do you mean? What additional character types and regions of the Isles and Mainland are covered?

So, now we're going to have Merrie England in BRP format rather than MRQ. Cool. Out of respect I'll no doubt purchase this new version. But what about Stupor Mundi? Or is enough of Stupor Mundi in the new product to make redoing it redundant?

Actually that sounds alot like how a CoC adventure I played in went... only the GM didn't give the warning about becoming an NPC...

I liked the system of opposed traits from Pendragon for situations like this. Bravery becomes an attribute and you have to test. You succeed you get chances to increase your chance of success and with directed traits you gain a bonus towards certain social situations (like Fear: Elephants or +5 to Courage vs Elephants due to anti-elephant training).

Having been rather disturbingly close to wild elephants, one of whom was very angry, I'd say a SAN check may be in order! Now, a SAN check for ancient folk who'd not seen such a beast before... SAN check. But once they understand that it's just a really big bull with a grabby nose and throw enough pila and down he goes... I dunno. I mean how would that really be different with Deep Ones? Modern people, sure, but the less modern? Who might believe in goblins anyway or that a crazed polar bear with an infected head-wound is a Troll?

I'd prefer to play it all out as "psychological." In that everyone perceives these things to be so and whatever misfortunes manifested themselves would, naturally, be blamed on divine retribution. I find actual gods to be the least useful part of a religion.

Maybe not centuries of cruel torture per se, but certainly a loss of POW, some other characteristic and perhaps social consequences until propitiatory rites are performed... across the sea... at the sacred grove of Herakles on Tenedos...and you have to sacrifice your friend who you've unwittingly brought along... And, you only find out what you did wrong (and how to fix it) from an oracle who may have their own agenda....

From my recent re-read of the Iliad and my immense enjoyment of the Age of Bronze comic book, I've noticed a dynamic. Much like in MRQ2: Vikings the people basically live in fear of the Gods. - Religious practice seems to revolve around making sure the Gods are properly propitiated because if they aren't then we're cursed. - Much is made of persons who might not actually be a priest but know the appropriate rites for a certain occasion. - Certain persons are regarded as sacrosanct, harming them invokes a curse. This system of belief as depicted in the literature doesn't really lend itself to the "Cult" system ala RQ in my opinion. But it does seem like it would work nicely in the Religion system used by Simon and Paolo in Merrie England and Stupor Mundi. Namely: Treat the Gods like Saints are treated in Merrie England and Stupor Mundi. In Age of Bronze, for instance, even though the Achaeans and Wilusans are obviously of different cultures and they call their gods by different names, they don't regard eachothers gods as different. In Troy Zeus is referred to as "the Storm God" (he probably would have been Teshub of the Hittites) but the chief Trojan divinities are the Sun God (Apollo) and "the Goddess" who is basically described as Athena. So my thinking is that everyone has a piety in "belief in the Gods" but prays at specially designated altars to patron divinities, investing some of their POW in the War God's altar for certain blessings and some of their POW in the God of Healing's altar for those obvious benefits. Naturally, certain shrines or temples are associated with certain patrons and you shop for the appropriate blessings in the appropriate places. This would make alot of sense in terms of game mechanics for characters to be religiously obligated to make a pilgrimage to a very specific shrine to make an appropriate offering to remove a curse or atone for a desecration (much like is done multiple times in the Trojan War epics). thoughts?

wait... wha? I thought that was like 10 years ago and it never happened?

It's odd but I was unaware that there was a controversy. When I saw linen armor in the Warlords supplement I was like "Finally!" I'd been house-ruling such things for years. That Linothorax project at UW Green Bay makes me wish I had gone there instead of South Carolina for my Archaeology.

It's funny Claudius, because my introduction to Harnmaster rules was via a Call of Cthulhu game where the GM had grafted some of HM's combat and resolution mechanics. The graft was seamless.

Pete, I'm really happy with this book (so much so that I acquired both the pdf and hard-copy). What are your further plans for the title? In the course of compiling data for a campaign I'm working on (I feel like I am always working on something and never playing), I seem to be "needing" a gazeteer of the Roman World. Toward that end I'm starting to accumulate maps of various urbs and such and maps in general.

Considering what I'm up to at the moment game-wise Paul, I'd really be interested in looking at what you are doing for Zenobia. Sadly I never did anything on mainland Greece but try to get from Athens to the ferry terminal at Piraeus. But the rich red earth of Crete with mountains covered in olive trees was something else...

I think this Rohl guy is more old school than hippie peacenik new school.

Seriously.. this has pretty much dominated my idle thoughts since I read those words. I'm all reading up on the "New Chronology" and Shi'ite. You know, frankly the traditional chronology just didn't make sense in many ways and how the Minoans, Mycenaeans, Anatolians, and the rest are so many weird jigsaw pieces that don't fit... why didn't someone do this earlier? Maybe this forum isn't the place to hash out the whole old chronology/new chronology issue and I'm only a light-weight archaeo-nerd (2 digs, field school and a year of course-work, and it was mostly pre-contact Native American anyway) But still, there are fascinating things afoot that are changing our understanding of the period between the DNA, linguistics and archaeological record. Maybe there needs to be a BRP monograph on this "Heroic Age" and some essays need writing!

I've been fanatasizing about a "Heroic Age" campaign for some time but tying into current Archaeology, Genetics and Linguistics and perhaps more properly referring to it as a "Invasion of the Sea Peoples Era" campaign . Shiploads of reavers knocking over coastal settlements, looking for a new land to set themselves up. Incorporating the Trojan War into the broader context of the period like the sack of Ugarit and Egypts "troubles" with the Sea People.

I'm contemplating a BRP/CoC Invictus setting built around ancient Syracuse in the time of the 2nd Punic War (I might play around with the time of the story), with the writings of Archimedes (including plans for amazing devices), are the major McGuffin...