dragonewt

Can a character enhance this by ensuring that their ancestral graves/tomb are in a geomantically auspicious location (Conversely, move your opponents' ancestor bodies to a geomantically bad location)? The original concept of mana (as defined in the context of Polynesian cultures) is the same as well. This is why I have liked the POW stat (especially as used in the original RQ2). It represents a character's "influence" on the world - charisma, will, power, social status, control, "luck", and presence. To me, POW is a good equivalence to Polynesian mana. For comparison, characters with a high Qi (Ki) also carry an aura of social control. Personal energy, will and influence. A variation is that people are awed by those who have a firm control of themselves and destinies. Eg: those with good kung fu (In the true sense of the word; good at tea making or programming, not just martial skill).

I agree with the use of a variation of the Allegiance mechanic. Remember, reputation is relative to the perception of individuals and the expectations of the society (or sub-society) of the time and location. And so the rule would need to be able to take this into account (perhaps similar to the original RQ2 use of Charisma, where a simplified subtraction of 10 from CHA was made when dealing with different races and cultures). In one society, a (known and/or demonstrated) high proficiency in mathematics might earn social benefit. However, this same reputation might not count in a society where (perceived) family standing and 'boys club' associations are valued. A matrix of skills, social values, personal values and backgrounds would be required (account for mixed societies and values). Social skills such as 'liar', 'manipulator', 'orator', 'self promoter' or 'con-man' might also be required or could be used to substitute for earned fame. A two stage mechanic could be: Fame is only a measure of what is known (assumed) about what you have done or can do (whether you have really done it or not). The response to this fame is then based on the values of the societies or individuals that are being interacted with, compared with the degree of perceived 'fame'. Food for thought:

This will be a Twilight RPG expansion: "Twilight Emo - At the Sword's Edge" (AKA: "Blade"). Edit: On a tangent, here is a fan paradox for you: "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" vs "Twilight" - Maybe similar to the paradox of Star Wars storm troopers shooting Star Trek red shirts.

Who wants to do "Twilight - The RPG"? Joking aside, with the right approach and a license from the Twilight creator, it might be quite profitable. I was thinking that a game system like Cortex or Savage Worlds would be a more suitable for the Twilight fan demographic. However, seeing how well BRP works with CoC and the type of people who like to play BRP CoC (more focus on story, less on mechanics), then BRP could be a good match for Twilight. Food for thought.

A BRP version of the Kerberos Club (or something similar) would be interesting (although it would be a touch similar to Cthulhu by Gaslight combined with Super World). The setting was written for O.R.E, and a conversion has already been done for Savage Worlds. The key point to note; the way the material is written and presented helps to uniquely define the feel of this mixing of genres.

However, CoC was a completely new and mostly untried RPG genre that had not been played before (especially in the main-stream). CoC was one of those possible failures that took a risk, competed with contemporary Space Opera and Dungeoneering RPG settings, and defined its own popular arch-typical genre in the RPG mind-set (as well as expanding on the pre-existing CoC literature). Is it possible that this type of success can be repeated?

Is this how Call of Cthulhu established itself?

It could be possible that with enough of a critical mass of BRP/D100/MRQ products, that these systems will gain in general popularity because they offer one core system (d100), with many options, choices and backgrounds to choose and combine. I am interested to see how Chaosium's move to use RPGNow will affect the visibility of BRP. If customers can now immediately see that all of the BRP/MRQ/D100 products belong to the same family and that these provide a large and varied range of choices, then there might be a new up-take. BRP has now changed from a small niche system that was only available via a small web site that could be found if you already knew what you were looking for. Visibility and scope is the key. I only just revisited White Dwarf magazine from 1997 to 1986. A a continued and consistent stream of articles and advertising for RQ, CoC, Elric and other Chaosium products was present. This would have captured a sizable mind-share.

I have been doing this for a while. This includes analysing essences and key concepts to derive modular ideas, then combining them in a way where they elegantly combine to make a fluid system that can be easily changed and tweaked (and debugged). Example break downs include: Stat ranges: 1-5 (Most "modern" systems), or 1-10, or 1-20. Stat types: Fixed value, single dice, dice pool, percentile, etc... Skill heavy vs Stat heavy. Roll-over vs Roll under. Criticals/Fumbles either by number rolled on dice, or by degree a target number has been exceeded or failed. Stat/skill types and relationship of stats (Eg: Fudge style vs Fixed attributes+skills). Nature of fixed stats used and how they combine concepts and relate to others (including derived stats) - I like POW, but this could be split or recombined (eg: Luck, Will, Mana and Charisma). Modifiers and how to handle, eg: improving a skill with extra time, but defining limits, and how a failed skill can be repeated. Story-teller vs crunch. Types of task resolution. etc... The goal is to have a single fluid system that can scale and be tweaked to many peoples' tastes, using one system, without being a "bolt-on" monster (such as Fuzion). Goldylocks will let me know when it is "just right".

Speaking of the Slimestone Gorp, here is some interesting reading I rediscovered (full content via this link):

Jeff's Russell's Starship Dimensions site assumes Godzilla to be about 100 meters tall - See bottom of the 1x Page. I am interested to see a SIZ chart that covers everything on the Starship Dimensions site. Having played HERO, and benefited from its Mass/Strength chart at these scales, it would be good to see one for BRP where Super Heroes meet Kaiju meet Mecha meet Starships (all in the same single battle).

I see your Crimson Xoar from Stormbringer and raise you a Gloranthan Slimestone Gorp (SIZ=10000).

I want to see: Godzilla vs. Gloranthan Crimson Bat. Batman vs. Gloranthan Crimson Bat. Superman vs. Gloranthan Crimson Bat. Ultraman vs. Gloranthan Crimson Bat. Duke Nukem vs. Gloranthan Crimson Bat. FYI, The SIZ of the Gloranthan Crimson Bat, depending on the source, is: Cult Compendium (Moon Design Publication): 180 MRQ1 Monsters: 114 Elder Secrets: 204 Elder Secrets rates the Mother of all Monsters at SIZ 2555 (two thousand five hundred and fifty five). Any challengers? PS: Of course Chuck Norris would beat them all, with a single round-house kick to the head.

Provide a world and background that catches and holds the imagination and desires of the majority of the role-playing public. The use of good, imaginative, unique and defining artwork also helps to create the feel of a world. Additionally, the new popular "world" needs to be matched by game mechanics that meet the needs of the people attracted to that type of work (degree of complexity, speed of reward, feeling of control and understanding). Think of what made the likes of "Greyhawk", "Spelljammer", "Harry Potter" and (dare I say it) "Twilight" popular and engaging (for the masses). Hmmm, Vivamort with sparkles -

What is the correct SIZ of the Crimson Bat?

I have a copy of RQII in my hands here. It is still real. Even if it was printed in 1980.

Would this mean that the opponent is taken down to the ground as a result of a successful wrestle contest? Does this instance of the "wrestle" skill imply Greco-Roman wrestling? Edit: Not wanting to push things too far; the meaning of that emoticon seems different for some reason.

The "Death Touch", "Quivering Palm" and "Finger of Death" skills are now obsolete. Watch out for the "Proctological Thumb".

I see this discussion on occasion blurring two points: - How to avoid being grappled, held, pinned; in the first instance. - How to break the grapple, hold, pin, lock; in the second instance. I think we need to clearly separate the two. In the second instance, it is true, once in a completely successful BJJ/Judo hold, it is very hard to break free, unless there is excessive strength and size (think Gloranthan Dark Troll held by a human), or skill. But breaking free from a completed lock/hold, even the best skill will usually not help. Does a "grapple" skill contest success result in an immediate "unbreakable success", or should several rolls be required to achieve this? Also I would be inclined to use a formula that involves the STR of the opponent being divided by a factor based on the success of the grapple (and style) (modified by size [leverage or harder to get a hold on]), and then add or augment the "grappling break free" skill with this value for the defender. With human vs human, there would not be much variation, but it would be a scalable solution. How have people handled this in BRP battles involving multiple combatants and someone grapples another to the ground (BJJ style)? If this were Aikido or something using qinna (such as Eagle Claw) the "grappler" would be using a lock and most likely be standing, and so would have the option to let go to defend, possibly choosing to snap the joint (or roll away with a soggy arm ). Food for thought: On the point of "striker" vs "grappler"; the argument of "how do you break out of a good lock when you start in a held position", could be compared to "how to to continue when the defender starts with a broken throat".

Ju-jitsu and aikido are different in attitude to BJJ and judo. BJJ is mainly ground and pound. In my view BJJ should be called Brazilian Judo (with a focus on ground fighting). Ju-jitsu maintains the martial aspects (breaking things, strikes to critical points) and hence is more "survival" oriented. Aikido does not focus on going to the ground, but on controlling a person without grappling (in the western sense of the word), similar to qinna. Regarding being in a "grapple ready position", any good fighter should always be in a position of balance. As soon as you leave an opening, any good grappler will go for it. How could you simulate this in BRP?

Here is a Sci-Fi battle waiting to be done with BRP: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnTHypbLlkE. You know you want to.

The example I gave earlier regarding hitting left side of the head then the right, could be done be a result of the defender parrying the first hit. The resulting second strike would then be difficult to parry. However, this second strike would be the result of the attacker responding to circumstances, and not a premeditated decision to "split my attack before rolling the dice". Are there any rules that allow a flow-on effect for a good roll for high skills? For example, if an attacker rolled well (under half of their skill) even if parried, then they would get a second flow-through strike at half their attack skill. This approach would provide a benefit for a high skill and do away with an almost artificial pre-roll decision. A pre-roll decision should be more like "I attack hard with little regard for defense" or "I attack defensively", with the appropriate modification to rolls of the dice (attack, defense and other factors like movement). If the melee combat of a round is "a series of multiple exchanges", then the extra attacks would be a speedier set of actions at the cost of accuracy, within physical limitations (so as to exclude multiple bow or missile shots). Although in a more fantastic setting there are examples from movies where multiple arrows are fired in one shot (A Touch of Zen), or with auto-fire frenzy (Crow the Elf from "Hawk the Slayer"). Edit: I forgot about the crossbow... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6g2kF3e6ng.

I always considered that the "double attack" was more of a double strike within one attack, and hence not really two full whole attacks. For example, with a sword hit to the left of the opponent's head, after a flick of the wrist, hitting the right side of the head (without needing to bring the arm back for another full attack). Maybe this is what the original authors had in mind. However this could possibly be seen more as a follow-on attack or something very loosely similar to a riposte.

On that topic, some are well prepared: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VP9M4iR8TQ. For continued discussion of the overall topic, here is a perspective that could be considered: Discussion.

Eye gouge. Are we fighting for our life, or just doing a sport?