Thalaba

You're mixing your mythaphores, you know.

I don't remember what the text in either books says, but the chart showing specials and criticals in BGB is different, and demonstrates simpler rounding, that the chart in AHRQ3. That much I know. The BGB chart rounds up, which means the specials, criticals, and fumbles always change on increments of five percent of the skill. The RQ3 chart rounded to the nearest. We always rounded up when playing RQ3 in the past anyway, since it just made more sense and we didn't really want to refer to the chart. Now some of my players keep the BGB chart handy, though for the most part nobody needs to look at it anymore, as people have gotten a handle on that. There's no question that having only 1 degree of super-success at 10% is easier than having two at 5 and 20% repsectively. The trade-off is that you only have four degrees of success instead of five. Personally, I like having the five, despite being poor at head-math, because it leads to a wider range of possible outcomes. If you like the simplicity of 10%, go for it. If you prefer the granularity of 5/20%, use that instead. It's a no-brainer - there really isn't much to argue about here, IMO, since it's all about personal taste, like so many things in this system.

I'd probably be way into MRQ2 if I hadn't been spoiled by RQ3, too. Luckily I don't have to choose a single system - I now have more subsystems than I can shake a stick at to plug in here and wherever. I don't think this means what you think it means.

Not enough to keep it afloat, it seems. There's no such thing as 'best' or 'worst' when it comes to BRP mechanics - only things you like and things you like more and things you like less. Some games may have more things you like, others less. In five years, the things you like may well change. There is no 'one-true-wayism' in BRP derived games.

As it stands now, it requires having those books. It doesn't duplicate the content of them. But at this point I don't think Chaosium has commented on the final draft, so I suppose this is subject to change.

I only know what the new Magic books has in it from what Zomben said, but it sounds like a light reworking of the old RQ3 magic systems which were presented in the Basic Magic monograph. These are brought up to date to new rules in the gold book, but essentially unchanged. I know more about the Grimoire, as I was one of the playtesters. The Grimoire contains lists of new spells for all six magic systems (BRP Magic, BRP Sorcery, Spirit Magic, Divine Magic, Ritual, and Wizardry, as it is now called). It also contains many other things that expand on the systems, such as 'masteries' for the Magic system and familiar rules. In theory, it doesn't overlap on the Magic book at all, but expands on all the systems and provides some options. It also expands on the making of magic items and has some samples. I should caution that the Grimoire has been submitted to Chaosium as a monograph. To my knowledge it hasn't been reviewed and approved yet, so content is liable to change at this point.

Hey, that's great! No mention of a head-hunting game though...

As I already state, Loz left Mongoose a while ago. There has been rumour of Pete leaving for a while, now, too. I really don't think it's all tied up in a grand conspiracy. Can Pete share with us what he plans to do next? He mentioned being head hunted, and frankly that sounds like it might be a fun game concept!

Why suspicious? Loz hasn't been with Mongoose for a while now, as I understand it, and he's definitely qualified to write stuff for HQ. If anything, maybe he had a non-competition agreement with Mongoose or something that just ended and freed him to do this, but I wouldn't say there was anything 'suspicious' about it.

Aren't you glad they didn't pick 'Glyphmaster'?

Well, that'll end the confusion over which version of RQ is meant by 'RQ2' in forums, and start a whole new spell of confusion over which game is meant by 'Wayfarer'

We also don't have a problem with the RQ3 magic rules as written, but then we play pretty low powered games. Almost every objection I've seen comes from the point of view of campaigns with multiple skills over 100 and lots of magic matrices and bound spirits. Mind you, the rules allow for those things too - ideally you want your magic to work equally well at all levels.

Remember that in BRP all the creatures are statted using the same seven stats. The rage of those stats has to reflect the spectrum from cats to dragons. With respect to INT and SIZ it was felt that 2D6+6 better reflected the range of human potential compared to cats, halflings, and so on. If it bothers you, use 3D6 for those stats, if you like. Won't make a lot of difference in most games. Coming from BRP, there are a lot of things that seem weird about D&D, too!

There's also In Harm's Way, which is a percentage roll-under system, and so probably adaptable, and Beat to Quarters and Duty and Honour All good Napoleonic RPG references, but none are BRP.

I bought this but haven't read it yet (so have no idea how good it is): http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lords-Avaris-David-Rohl/dp/0712677623 "The Lords of Avaris is one man’s journey in search of the legendary origins of the Western World. Our story begins in a small rock-cut tomb below the desolate ruin-mound of Jericho in the Jordan Valley. This is the start of an epic journey of discovery, in the Homeric mould, which ranges across the ancient lands and archaeological sites of the Mediterranean. From Joshua’s Jericho to Romulus’ Rome, the true chronicle of our pre-Christian past is uncovered revealing an extraordinary historical picture, previously unimagined by scholars. The epic legends of the West, which permeate the writings of Greece and Rome, appear to have been based on the exploits of genuine historical figures and actual events. There really was an ‘Heroic Age’ of brazen-clad warriors, the last of which fought before the walls of Troy, just as described in Homer’s Iliad. At the beginning of the Middle Bronze Age – two thousand years before the assassination of Julius Caesar in the Roman Senate – a new people appeared on the stage of history to join the great civilisations of Mesopotamia and Egypt. These ‘Indo-European’-speaking tribes were chariot-riding warriors from the northern mountains and plains. They became the Hittites, the Aryan kings of Mitanni, the Vedic heroes of the Indus, and the founders of the later empires of Greece, Persia and Rome. They had many legendary names – the Divine Pelasgians of Greece, the Luwians of Troy and western Anatolia, the Rephaim and Anakim of the Bible, and the Hyksos rulers of Avaris who suppressed Egypt for generations. Their heroes and heroines are legionary: Inachus, mythical king of Argos in the Peloponnese; his daughter the beautiful Princess Io who married an Egyptian pharaoh; Danaus, the Hyksos ruler who, fleeing from Egypt to Greece, founded the Mycenaean dynasty which culminated in Agamemnon’s ill-fated Trojan War; Cadmus, the bringer of writing to the West; Minos, the Cretan high-king of Knossos who built the infamous Labyrinth; Mopsus, warrior and sage who led a vast Greek, Philistine and Anatolian army into the Levant in a daring attempt to seize Egypt in the time of Ramesses III. All these, and more, are the stuff of legend – but The Lords of Avaris reveals these Classical heroes as flesh-and-blood characters from our ancestral past."

Warlords of Alexander is the closest you'll come in BRP. Sadly, there's no Homeric Greek BRP game or document that I've seen. Even Simon's RQ Alternate Earth Group doesn't have one. Looking outside of BRP, there's Agon (http://www.agon-rpg.com/) which I think is a smashing, light game.

That's pretty cool, Steve. Thanks for sharing! Are you using any particular historical model for the designing of cities? What I mean by that is, if we follow your method, will we end up with basicaly a medieval city, a modern city, or neither?

You mean like this? http://basicroleplaying.com/showthread.php/2135-Mixing-MRQ2-Combat-Manoeuvres-and-RQ3-Strike-Ranks?highlight=mrq2+combat+manoeuvres

No need to apologize - a great many people tinker with BRP - it's very tinkerable. I'd recommend running a full game of it as written first, though, so you have a better understanding of why you're changing things and what the result will be. The ways of Chaosium are inscrutable even to their most loyal supporters, I'm afraid. Well, speaking for me and my group - because static defenses are b-o-r-i-n-g! To each their own, of course. Firstly, BRP is, at its heart, a roll-under system. Rolling higher than the target number for attacks and lower than the target number to resolve other skills will be counter-intuitive, at best. Secondly, the attacker's weapon skill doesn't seem to factor into your equation. Does this mean someone with a low skill needs to roll over 35% just the same as someone with a high skill? RQ3 (written by Chaosium but published by Avalon Hill) is probably the most compatible with BRP Big Gold Book, but all versions, including the Mongoose versions, are generally compatible. RQ2 might be the most interesting for you, because it had a static defense, if I recall. There are some people working on a fan project re-creation of RQ2. Someone will come along sooner or later and give you a link to that, I'm sure.

Qué?

I'd get that! I'd ask for a synopsis, but I see you can't hide from your players here...

I've finally finished reading Rubble and Ruin. I really enjoyed it - I think you've captured this particular near future vision really well. Here's a micro-review: What was well done: Well, most of it really. For a monograph, the layout, writing, and editing were very good. The illustrations, too (way to go Puck!). I like the added detail in car creation and firearms especially. The adventures looked fun, too. What needed work: The only issue I really had was in understanding some of the concepts at first (such as the concept of 'risk'). I thought they could have been better explained, but in particular the tables that went with these explanations needed to be labeled better. I did eventually answer my own questions and figure these things out, but just a few additional words would have helped, I think. What I wanted more of: Adventures, I think. When I got to the end of the book, I wished it wasn't over so soon! I would have liked to have seen another one or two adventures - and preferably something with a darker edge to them that evoked the 'world gone mad with killing' monicker. Maybe that's something to think about for a future monograph.

Here's a sample magic item trio I made for one of the characters in our last RQ campaign. This particular character comes from a large and decadent city. It's politically divided by factions, each of which worships one of the many decadent gods of the city. This character was an agent (spy) for the house of Suzur, the Mandible King. I didn't use any system for creating them - just instinct to get the power right. They worked out great in play. The Red Beetle was used to take out a key bad guy just when the battle seemed lost. SUZUR'S BEETLES These three small stone balls (about ½” diameter) appear to be made of stone and carved into the shapes of round beetles. These appear to have been worn smooth by the touch of many hands over the years. The Red Beetle is a sling stone with a magical effect on it. It must be activated to use it by spending 1MP. The user can choose to deactivate it at any time. Once activated, it must be held in the hand and shown its target for one full melee round, after which time it has ‘acquired’ its target. The target will stay acquired as long as the user has the MP to keep the Beetle active (1MP per round). As long as he has the MP to maintain the activation, he need not do anything further with the beetle until he is ready to use it. To use the beetle, it must be loaded into a sling and launched at the acquired target. Once launched it will hit the target unfailingly in the head, provided it can gain access to that target. It can manoeuvre around corners and find the target at nearly any distance, but it cannot break through doors or walls to find the target (it may enter through windows, though). Once launched, the connection with the user is broken, however the spending of 1MP will give the user a POWx5% chance of finding it if it lies within 100M. If this roll is fumbled, the little stone Beetle has been shattered by the impact. The Purple Beetle is a spying tool. Like the Red Beetle, the user must activate the beetle by spending 1MP, at which time he will be able to see out of the Beetle’s eyes as if they were his own. The user must then spend a full round acquiring the target that the user wishes to spy upon. Once this is done, the beetle will discretely follow the target, flying in a rather ungainly fashion, at a speed of up to 60M/round until the user runs out of MP, at which point it will fall to the ground again, inert. The Purple Beetle can be recalled at any time while it is still active. It will then return to the user by the same path it took in the outward journey, and at the same pace. Thus if the user wants to regain the Beetle easily, he must reserve at least half of his MP for the return journey. Of course, if the beetle does not return, the user who is paying attention will be able to find the inert Beetle once again by going to the location where it ceased activation and conducting a search of the ground. The Black Beetle, when activated, will emit a beam of lantern strength light from its face that only the user can see. The user must activate the Beetle and maintain the activation as per the same method as the other two beetles. This Beetle does not fly, so the user must hold it and aim it with his hand. If the Beetle should fall to the ground there is a small chance (POWx1%) that it will continue to point in a useful random direction. Note that the Black Beetle does not emit any actual light - it merely allows the user to see as if it were emitting lantern light. This benefit does not extend to others who may be standing nearby.

Here's a little feel good story for you: I've mentioned the players in my campaign before, and how all of them were new to BRP/RQ before our last campaign. One of them in particular is relatively new to roleplaying, having done it for about 4 years now. Besides our RQ game, he's played WFRP 2nd, Vampire, and D&D4. Last night he e-mailed me to ask for a blank copy of the character sheet we use for our game. He said we wants to run a game for some friends. When I promped him further, he said he's going to introduce two of his friends to roleplaying. He wants to use the Warhammer world but the BRP system because he finds it less restrictive than WFRP. Quote: "On top of that this will be the first real game for my players so i want them to see a pretty damn good system." And so the wheel turns...

The Grimoire, if it ever gets out of layout stage, has several examples. The Basic Magic monograph should have the tools for creating them in the enchantments section. A thread for people to post their made up magic items would be a good idea. It's been a while since we had good 'show us your ____' thread around here. Which magic system(s) are you using for your game?