pansophy

Hi folks, I was bored and updated the tool a bit. It now includes a lot of random tables and the Creature Crafter by Tom Pigeon. There's a Star System creation, weather tool, land/camp feature table, and so much more now. Here's a picture that should explain it a bit better: BRP Tool Please use the download links in the first post. As soon as the Download area of the forum will work again, I will put the files there.

I would love to attend, but TimZone could be a killer. When do you consider to start (time of day)?

Thanks Sarah 8-) You made my day!

Hi Sarah, Looking at the palace map, it would be cool if we could get a travellers description of the palace, how it looks like and what the main aspects are Just in case you are running low on ideas ...

No idea how OpenQuest works or differs to BRP, but it would be nice if somebody might point out what the main differences are.

Yep, me too.

hehehe, sounds good to me! post them comma separated and let have the community some fun

looks much better Page no. 2 feels a bit "unattended" and clean, looks like there is something missing on the top right of it. Also, I would remove the background box pictures on p2 (leave the skull) and use these horizontal and vertical dividers from p1. They look cool and would make the sheet look "unified" - but that's my opinion

There's a new version available that allows you to re-roll the Villain Traits individually (click the [/] buttons). Also it incorporates my Minion rules, so you get nice different Mooks every time. The results are interesting, I am very impressed myself. The NPC generator tool will be an ongoing thing. I will include some tables for loot, mundane things, weather, terrain features, maybe a world builder, a solar system creation tool, ship cargo, maybe a small adventure hook creation and some name tables. I will program these parts as I need them, so it will definitely take a while. That said, the NPC generator is the most complex part. The solar system creation might be complex as well, but I already did it in a spreadsheet - so it will be mainly conversion stuff. Simple tables are nothing special and can be done within 20 minutes. If anybody has an idea for a table he wants to see, simply post the table entries comma separated in this thread. I will include them in the next update then. The tool will be free of charge and I hope it will be a community effort to make it as good as it can be. Anybody can be part of it. I also like the idea it will be a BRP tool, since there are not many around for this rule set. So, let the "tables" be coming ...

Nice sheet, looks like you will have a hand full of new rules when it is finished Might be only my old eyes, but I would enjoy a bit more pace (2 to 3 points) between the skills, so the sheet is easier to read. The font is very fancy, so you want to give it space to show its art.

It depends on the setting and the mood of the adventure. I like mook rules as well, but I do not always use them. Most times I mix up some 'normal' NPCs with mooks, so the players never know if the 'harder NPCs are important or not.

Thanks for the good press I could also do a Linux version if there is any interest for it. The thing is programmed in RealBasic, a kind of Visual Basic. It can also cross-compile programs for the mentioned three platforms. @Al: no, I cannot post the tables. You would need to buy the "Ultimate Toolkit" to get them. Click on the "About" button and then on the picture showing the "Ultimate Toolbox". It will open a web browser directing you to the corresponding RPGnow site. Let me know if you are missing something in the program. I will see what I can do.

Hi folks, I did a small tool to create NPC's on the fly. Let me know what you think --- A generator for NPC according to BRP core rules. Randomly creates Characteristics, Traits and Features all from the creation rules. Villain section for traits included, to give a more decent overview of the NPC. MacVersion available as well. --- OSX NPC Creation Tool Windows NPC Creation Tool

impressive! Thanks for putting this up, it is a good idea mine! I also like the fact the adventures are RPG neutral and can be used for any rule set. Great!

I have to ask for one more thing: a rough time-line, "when did what happen", maybe just a chronological list with the key words like "Time of Snows", "Empire of Splendid Tlan", etc. So if you refer to a roughly time-frame, it is easy to look it up when it happened in the past. No dates are needed, but a chronological list of major times, empires, reigns, would be extremely helpful to make CoFE more accessible. Players keep asking "when was that?", "how old is it?", "was it before <event>" and such. A GM could easily fill in the gaps with this reference list

Thanks, Sarah! Excellent! Thanks a lot for that I like the way they are described, there is still enough room for interpretation - and a campaign plot 8-) Thanks!

Only for publishing new stuff. As I am only doing the BRP conversion and reprint/quote old books, it should still be Marc. But he will tell me, I guess. Not sure what Mongoose thinks of this, though. They might not like it ...

I'll see what I can do, but I use lots of text from the 2300AD books, so I will need Marc Millers OK for publishing it. i do not see why he should not allow me to republish the old stuff, especially when I look at the numbers of downloads for the first two books. It is easy to include a small, fast but decent enough world builder as well. Also, a creation pyramid for lifeforms can be included. Yes, why not. If people are interested, I will do that - for free, as always.

It is true that BRP does not offer much for SciFi. But, it is also true, that for our group there is currently no good SciFi RPG out there that suits our style. They are either too simplistic, their settings are not appealing or they are too rules-heavy. A nice SciFi BRP book addressing vehicles, equipment and starships would be something many people would spend money on, that is for sure. First problem is: many people have different opinions what SciFi is. If we could say that e.g. Classic Traveller by Mongoose is a basis for generic SciFi, we could build up on this. I personally have finished a document about equipment and vehicles for the 2300AD BRP setting, but I hesitate to make it public for different reasons. One is that it might be seen "outdated" as it only addresses a low tech, hardish SciFi technology, where all the Space Opera goodies are missing. An other reason is that there are no rules for creating equipment and vehicles included. I "could" include these based on my conversion tables and formulas, but I "know" there are loopholes and these design rules need a GM to overlook the created stuff so it won't be over the top. Doing a book about "generic" SciFi is a lot of thought and work and will look -IMHO- very similar to the Traveller rule book. And then, I can simply use that (or different GURPS books) and convert stuff over. Which takes a minimum of time and I can spend my resources on the story, rather than fiddling with details. @Atgxtg: you got me wrong, I do not like High Fantasy at all. And I do not like any "Powers" in my games, except Mutations. And this is a part of BRP that feels incomplete as well - out of the box. But as BRP is a toolbox, it is OK and it is easy to build on the stuff that is already there. Anyway, this thread is no longer about Attacks and House rules ... we should create a new one.

To an extend all Technology in a SciFi setting is generic. The Tech Level only defines how small things are and how more advanced some things are. A First Aid kit will still do the same at all Tech levels. So will a weapon. You simply need to change the name and maybe add some fluff how it works. The major problem with SciFi is, it cannot be generic. Some people want magic in it, others a hard SciFi setting, and then some want Space Opera where everything is over the top. Generic can only be "generic" to a point. The rest is fluff which has to be added by the GM. So, yes, when you use O:U as a core (there is NO setting in the book), you can easily create an other setting with it's help. It is mostly generic. Rename the races, add something to it - done! It's not that hard. If you say there is not much available you can play right out of the box: I agree. There are a hand full of settings available, some out-of-print, and they do not cover all types of styles. But it is still more than in 1980, where ONE book of Star Frontiers gave you the frame for a whole world ... sure, time has moved on, but saying BRP does not offer enough out of the box for SciFi is not right. It offers the framework, and the GM has to add to it. I never had any problem with "things are not defined" when running a BRP SciFi setting. Mostly the players came up with stuff they are looking for, and I simply allowed them to look for that. After finding it, we jotted down some outlines how it works and what is special about it, and then moved on. Each player had a different perception of the setting anyway ... Sometimes I think people feel constricted by "what is printed down" and fail to use their imagination for what "is not in the book". I do not want to offend anybody with this, but in a world where you can buy well thought out settings with a dozen of setting books, this simply limits our imagination and we forget to use it, we forget to be creative. For BRP, in my opinion, the rules are there, all that is missing is a bit of fluff which can be created on the fly. Biggest problem is a good setting that sets the frame. There is no big picture that people can imagine and later work out the details by themselves. Even in the original three Star Wars movies technology is not well thought out - it is simply there and after the movies made a fan base, people sat down and tried to explain the underlying technology. But for the movie, stuff simply worked and fulfilled a purpose. No need for details. These days everybody is using the Internet, but nobody really knows how it works in detail. And there is no need for it. Use it, move on with the story - that's important. In a Fantasy setting this works and nobody complains. You just say "the machine is run by magic" and all is good. No questions. No explanations. But when running a SciFi setting, people come up with "my character should know how this works in detail". Fact is: No. He knows how to use it, but not how it is created. He might know how to fix it, which parts do what, but he will not have a clue how it works in detail. Anyone trying to proof me wrong explain me the function of a finger print scanner in detail. Or a bluetooth dongle. What I want to say: come up with a setting, frame it and leave the details to the players. They decide how the world looks like and functions on a tech level. Create a plot, move along, keep flying. Yes, no vehicle rules and stuff for starships. Use boardgames for that if you feel the need. It's a nice break from RPG's anyway.

Don't know. I find the Operation Ulysses adventure is pretty enough to provide needed SciFi equipment. p131-154 covers equipment, guns & vehicles. From there on you find many different species a PC can play until the chapter ends on p177. To me this is a lot and can keep me going for a long time. True, ONE Monograph is nothing compared to the many Fantasy stuff that is around, but I find it very exhaustive. Yes, no starships, no tanks, etc. but these are plot devices anyway or are on a different sheet altogether. BTW: is the person who wrote that monograph active on the forum ? @Atgxtg: what's the status of your vehicle construction kit that you had in planning? That would be a further step towards SciFi support for BRP.

I use the CoFE rules. You have a wealth level and there is a table in the book that tells you how much "Cash" you get for that (even on a monthly income). That way you can use both economics and it is really easy to handle. Sometimes it is better to use hard cash, sometimes the wealth level describes things better. Generally I do not like a cash system as it bogs down some games to be penny-counting unnecessary complicating dull session time. And I do not like to haggle about 10 "cash" when the object is worth 1000 cash. Unnecessary as it does not add anything to the story.

I guess it depends on the setting and wether you use the option of splitting Attacks and Parries. Generally I would use the weapon skill to parry the incoming blow in most post-1800 games. In medieval or High Fantasy settings I would split Attacks and Parries (p 191 BGB) and this is where the Parry skill comes in. Otherwise it is ignored.

Hi Zit, "Sandbox" is a setting/adventure/campaign where nothing is defined or only loosely plotted out, but nothing in detail is there. Have a look at p281 Big Golden Book "Sandbox Worlds" Cheers!

Finally Sci-Fi. Sounds good to me!