pulpcitizen

Some magic skills are included: Intensity range Duration Multispell There are cermonial magic rules and so on. I didn't play RQ, so cannot comment for sources or changes. :thumb:

I have been dipping into this from time to time. By biggest gripe is that it was not re-edited to make it immediately (new) BRP compatible, in so far as terminology, and tying in character generation to the published BRP system.

More monograph goodness - excellent. :thumb: Sounds great. I will pick up a copy. Sorry, but good luck nonetheless. :thumb:

As soon as there are 2-4 books that I can order I'll get it (I just ordered all the most recently available books). :thumb:

A calibrated approach is interesting. Hmmm.

Oh the shame, the shame. EDITED now. Of course if you are allowed a skill of over 100(%), you may be allowed a skill of over 1005...

I have been pondering this quite a lot (probably more than is proportionate to the rule for a single power in a a book as big as BRP, but there you go...), and the issue gets more complex I feel when considered in tandem with other powers. If using Super Skill to boost Dodge (one of the nearest comparisons), then say for 20 points a character gains +200% of Dodge (assuming skills over 100% etc) - ususally more than enough to dodge several attacks with maxiumum possibility of success when combined with normal skill point allocation. Defense is better in that it works at full value, and Dodge (or Parry or whatever defenseive skill) is situation and circumstance-dependendent, so not as broadly useful. However Defense of 20% does not feel as useful as a Dodge of +200%, so one point/level seems too low. 100 points of Defense seems too high, so ultimately it seems to me that maybe neither is 'right', so I'd love to hear more about others 'something else' options.

Cool. I think this will make it easier for members to find information and ask questions that can hopefully be answered without those answers being as easily lost. :thumb:

I think there is difference between iconic rpg systems and iconic rpg settings, and therein is the rub in some ways. In some cases I think you are reflecting the mechanics as much as the setting when you highlight them, but in suggesting BRP as a stand-in you are not discussing setting replacemnt but game-mechanic replacement. There are a handful of iconic systems, and probably a few more iconic settings, and sometimes, just sometimes, the two come together, but BRP can't necessarily emulate them all.

Defense - 1% per level (p. 147) versus 5% per level (p. 151). The answer from Jason is the lower value, but I started a little debate on this. So perhaps for the purpose of the errata an asterisked type answer, maybe?

No problems. If I do I may expand it a little. :thumb: EDIT: done.

Any reasons for voting a particular way anyone?

The BRP book lists the Defense super power differntly in the main text and in the summary. Now I know there has been occasional consideration about this (link), but I though it worthy of a little more discussion. The errata answer appears to suggest that the 1% value per level is correct, but on further consideration I wonder if it should be the other version. For example if the opposite of reducing attack capability is defense capability (ie dodge or parry), then that can be increased at a cost of 10% per 1 point effectively. Yes those defenses suffer for culmulative penalties, and so are not exactly analagous, but it is a factor inconsidering balance I feel. Interestingly Agents of the Crown takes the 5% approach without making explicit clarification about which is felt to be the best value. Thoughts and opinions anyone?

As some may be aware (well at least three or four of you I guess ) I have been working on a super hero themed monograph - Covenant of Justice. It is a setting book rather than a 'how to' rules book (although there are new rules ideas in there). Writing had slowed down in the past couple of months due to real life stuff and, I suspect, something akin to writers block. Well things have resolved, and spurred on by seeing more monographs appear (I had a chill when Agents of the Crown popped up fearing that my opportunity may be gone, but that strangely drove me on, mainly because I see it - AotC - as a fine product in of itself which treads a different but similar path). The emails from Charlie and especially Dustin to check on progress have helped also. The point is that things are starting to come together. It has grown from an 8 chapter proposal to 11 discrete chapters. So far I have been helped by a few board members with peer advice (thanks to Michael and Rod, and cjbowser), and have commissioned some art from another (Terry - I am very happy with the first couple of pieces; great stuff). It has also been helpful that Sverre has graciously given me sub-forum space to use - thank you very much. So work continues. Six of the eleven chapters are in a draft layout awaiting some art and a couple of text box additions, and the remaining chapters are in various stages of completion (chapter 7 should be done today or tomorrow). The finishing line is starting to feel a little closer, thanks to the help I have had. For those able to access the CoJ subforum, please check in as there may be some new stuff to see in the next few days, and stuff I need to check out. If anyone else wants to offer peer review, then please PM me. To everyone else, I hope that before the end of the year their will be a new monograph in Chaosium's hands and I can only ask that we all support the monograph venture as a whole as much as possible, seeking out those books that spark our interest and maybe our imagination. :thumb:

Any fans of this type of setting who are also comic book fans may want to consider checking out a comic from a few years ago called Ruse, by Crossgen Publishing (now defunct). The first 12 issues are brilliant. Imagine Moonlighting meets Sherlock Holmes in a pseudo-Victorian setting. Great stuff with fantastic art.

A wiki on British geographical terminology: link Yes I know it is wikipedia, but it helps for clarification.

Done. :thumb:

Okay, since I asked for this subforum (:thumb:) I'll start! I have been keeping up with buying pretty much every available BRP monograph available, and lately the rate of publication seems to have stepped up. Agents of the Crown (Victorian superheroes in service of the british government) came out of nowhere for me - I had no knowledge of it before seeing a post on the author's blog (Scott Pyle is the man behind Superfigs and Supersystem). As soon as I saw the note I hopped over to Chaosium's store and picked up the few books I had not yet purchased, and lo and behold AotC arrived earlier this week. My immediate thoughts were that this is one of the most polished of the BRP monograph books in terms of immediate appearance (although more on that later), and in all it is generally nicely done. The choice of watermark/background art on the text pages may not be to everyone's tastes, but I feel it sets the book apart and nicely compensates for a scarcity of art. The text is nicely written in my mind - economical and clear. It isn't over-wordy and the setting is pretty clearly defined, based on a simple core premise (the existence of superhumans - aether-men - resulting from a confluence of events). This allows the author to define what the setting is about, which is adventures in the mold of graphic novels such as Gotham by Gaslight and League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (and as a side note - I actually enjoyed that movie ), as well as Victorian prose such as the Invisible Man, Dracula, the War of the Worlds, the Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and more besides. Threats come from many quarters - competing nations involved in the Great Race, hostile peoples indigenous to locales laid claim to by the British Empire, home-grown aether-men of a criminal bent, supernatural creatures stalking the night, murderous figures preying through foggy streets, and even foes from another world. In all the book takes a very action-adventure focused approach I feel, although mysteries would sit just as easily alongside those types of scenarios, so there are lots of campaign opportunites present. The book even offers sample characters and an introductory adventure so is a nicely rounded package. There is arguably more depth that could be added to some areas, howvere that may have potentially detracted from the focus of the book - the thrilling adventures of aether-men in service of Her Majesty, so to my mind Scott has pitched it right. I do have a few quibbles, however. Firstly is that within the printed text there are numerous dagger etxt symbols for no apparent reason. In addition there are a number of instances where text is bracketed by 'i' which suggests a problem in translation to pdf or other format, or that proof-reading could have been better. Another quibble is the interchange of use or reference to England when it should be Great Britain or more specifically the United Kingdom (or indeed the United Kingdom of Great Britain, but that came much later than the setting). My last major quibble is that I would have liked more art as it is mostly loaded towrds the front of the book (maps aside). Those (generally minor) concerns aside, I really enjoyed the book and whole-heartedly recommend it, especially to caeman, but then I believe he has bought his copy already. Now if we can just get Scott to sign up and talk a little about his baby, that would be great.

Thank you, oh beetley one.:thumb: I note the 'reserved' posts - do you want us to hold off on posting in this section? Is it worth announcing on the main section when you would like for us to start posting about published monographs in the dedicated section? Leon.

One of the reasons I favour the skill category bonuses is to emphasize the utility of (almost) all the attributes (although DEX and INT remain pre-eminent of course). It is only a small effect but it underscores that there are benefits to be had from a good attribute score in any area.

Sounds novel. Interesting concept about the burning skies. Is this something you are aiming to try to get published (I really don't know what limits there are to publishing material for HARP)?

Two products in that list grab my eye especially: looks good.

M&M is very simple when you get used to it as it is essentially based around a single mechanic. I would rank it just behind MEGS as a supers system. Not that I am saying that BRP can't be used to run supers games, just perhaps not at the scales of power that some other systems allow. In fact I feel that BRP is perfect for a particular type of supers game.... As for specific resources for conversions, at the end of the day they will be one person's interpretation of the capabilities of a character, so any write-ups may not be perfect translations anyway.

It isn't such a significant discrepancy, is it? As long as players and gamemaster share a common understanding of what is intended all is good, isn't it?

Other possible confusion could be the (now out of print) Brave New World from Pinnacle games (supers).