DiracSquid

Because of the variability of it all, it's difficult to predict just were things will go. I'm beginning to think that I'll have to put some manner of leash on it to make sure it doesn't just fall apart under it's own weight. The more I think about your example, the more I realize that there probably areas that could easily be shaved down a notch. For instance, it's very possible that they'd need to research something - but it's highly doubtful that it will ever go to the magnitude of, say, Call of Cthulhu? Perhaps certain skills could be compensated for by Characteristic roles? Toward the back of the BRP Manual, there's that list of equivalent skills from the various games. I was toying with the idea of something along those lines, grouping like skills together for ease. Though now that I'm looking at their list - it doesn't seem too bad at all as it is. It may only need minor tweaking before it fits. As for Fractured Hopes; I've actually just recently ordered it during Chaosium's Halloween sale. When I read the description for it, it sounded as though it could prove quite helpful indeed. I personally prefer the physical copies, so unfortunately I've still to wait for its arrival before I can start picking at it. But I'm sorry - I sort of jumped the gun on the incompatibility assumptions there. Thinking about it, I'm inclined to believe that having strong PCs may not be a bad thing at all for my gang. If nothing else, it would give me an excuse to do some ridiculous things and have some scary-scale combat situations. Above all, I think I have to remember that the purpose is to have fun with my friends - So I have to remember what sorts of things will get their blood pumping more. Whew. This is a long one. Sorry for that - Just bare with me a little more. Shouldn't be too much longer. As for the player characters, which starts dipping into a bit of what rust spoke of - I'm not 100% certain just yet. At least one of my players expressed interest in being fully of that world, but the others don't have too much of an idea just yet. I think if they're given the option of being regular people pulled into it - it may make the overwhelming scale easier for them to handle. That is, it'd be easier for them simply to make a typical human character. Initially I had thought about using two separate character sheets for such an occasion, so there would have been a different batch of skills there. But, I haven't actually decided on that just yet. But rust's idea of using the contrast between the NPCs and the typical PCs as something of skill experiment interests me quite a bit. It seems that a lot of times, I have an issue sort of committing to a singular formula. Getting to test them out behind the scenes may be a perfect way to help decide which route to take. The typical folk becoming more local isn't too far from certain ideas I was toying with. Actually, I had been thinking of using the Sanity system in the form of an experimental concept called Awareness. In my first musings, characters who were from "normal" worlds would start out 'Aware,' which means they would start to take sanity loss after a while should they come in contact with too much oddity. But also, that residents of that strange dimension could also become aware if exposed to certain things. From time to time, a non-typical person would begin to have flashes of ideas or fragments of thought that tell them something isn't quite right with their world. If they piece together the truth that their existence is nothing more than a cosmic accident, then they too become aware and subject to sanity damage. If this idea is to be used, then it's likely that many of the villains act out the way they do because they've gained awareness and can't quite handle it - This leads them to do terrible things, often in a quest for power. Some may even seek to break out of their world and take up residence elsewhere. Of course, it was all just theoretical - I haven't quite made up my mind about any of it. Oh my. I'm sorry, this is quite the mess I've typed up. I want to thank you both again for being so helpful!

Firstly, thank you both so much for the insight! You've already been a great help to me. Seems the thing I need the most is just a point in the right direction. Honestly, I hadn't even thought about sorting out the actual world and it's contents first. Thinking about it now - that actually seems like a great place to start for the aforementioned reasons. Unfortunately I've let the project stagnate for a couple of weeks, so I can't fully recall all of the trouble spots I had come across. It's sort of hard for me to explain the project. In truth - the whole thing is something of a mess. But the important thing is that the mess fits the source material perfectly. haha. Because it is such a mess, it'll be difficult at times to weed out unneeded skills simply because the game world is an impossible mesh of everything. You see, it takes place in a world which is near-literally a cosmic sewer. Various creative energies leftover from all corners of the multiverse have converged and manifested as something of an accidental world. The result is a surrealistic land with little rhyme or reason. There are all sorts of ridiculous occurrences, strange people, stranger creatures, and curious habits. To a normal bloke, it'd be like some mixed up dream - but it all makes sense to the people of that world because they've no idea just how strange it all is. This pretty much gives me an in-universe excuse to do just about anything and get away with it. Nobody in my group of players is really hardcore about roleplaying games, so I think that taking things a bit looser will do us all a world of good. The story itself will be taken very seriously, but I don't want to alienate the gang by bogging them down with a strict adherence to the nitty gritty. Also, I think if I try to take the system too seriously - I'll likely go crazy trying to compensate for so much peculiarity. In a normal game, I'd follow them as closely as I could - but given the nature of the project, it may be easier to just let some things slide here and there. That being said, I remember I wanted the point based character creation to give them a better control over who they play. I was thinking about using the total HP rules, but I was also thinking about the locational damage system. Now that you've mentioned their potential incompatibility, I'm just not sure what to do with it. I don't think I ever concluded what campaign level, but I do recall that I was looking at the level just above normal. I also remember being a touch discontented with the magic provided in the main BRP manual, but I can't seem to recall the specifics on why. I do happen to own the BRP Magic monograph, so I'll have to look through that one again before I make any decisions. Unfortunately I don't have much time at the moment, otherwise I'd grab the manual and actually look through it again to jog my memory. Once I've a moment to look through them one more time, I'm sure I'll come back with questions of compatibility and balance. But thank you all so much for the time!

Hello all! So, I'm planning a sort of hand-tailored BRP game. It's a personal project that essentially revitalizes a lot of the goofy things I came up with in my younger years. Nothing monograph worthy by far - Really just an excuse to tell some bizarre stories of mine. But anyway - I've been looking at the BRP book and trying to figure out which rules suit me best, but I'm sort of at a loss on where to start. So I'm wondering, for those who come up with their own customized games and scenarios and whatnot, where do you typically begin? There are a plethora of optional rule variations in there - So is it best to look through and decide which ones fit the best and then design the materials around it? Or is there a better way to go about it? It may be a silly question, but I can't help but feel just a touch overwhelmed - I have a habit of getting ahead of myself. Any assistance at all would be most appreciated. Thanks for the time if nothing else!

I'm very sorry to say that I don't understand the problem. Yes, characteristics are supposed to be high, Skills are supposed to be high, but the roles are supposed to be low. Simply put, that's just the way it is - why does it have to fit the convention of other games? I imagine it's for the sake of simplicity - it would mean a little extra bit of work and calculation to set up the reverse. Now, this is just me talking, but it feels to me that it would belie the easygoing nature of BRP if you had to figure out that sort of thing. I'm sure it's easier for somebody better at mathematics and the like, but again - that simplicity is what makes BRP great, at least in my eyes. I don't know, sir. I understand where you're coming from at a basic level - but all in all I can't help but wonder if maybe you aren't over-thinking it. Give it a try and I'm sure you'll have no problems.

Okay. I was pretty sure that's what you had implied - but I figured I'd better make certain. Thanks a bundle for all the help! I purchased the Basic Magic/Creature a little while back - now all I have to do is get my hands on the Bestiary and I suppose I'll be set for the pre-mongoose days. I don't suppose there are any other RuneQuest monster books? I'm really quite the sucker for them, even if I never use them.

To Thalaba and Mechashef; I'm sorry - I suppose that's more my fault then yours. You see, I'm still very knew to the scene and I really don't know much about RuneQuest, past or present. The only thing I really did know was that they share some common ancestry so I figured it wouldn't be too hard to convert them - But with these things, I can never be too sure. But thank you for alerting me to the free download - that is actually incredibly helpful. I'm not opposed to doing a bit of work for it, part of me loves tinkering with them like that anyway. And thank you, DirkD, for the conversion notes. That should also prove very helpful! Now, correct me if I'm wrong - But regarding the Basic Magic and Basic Creature books that came out recently, aren't they reiterations from RQ3? And on that subject, are the creatures included in the Gloranthan Bestiary book straight-usable for BRP, or do they require that same slight tweaking of names and different skills? I just need to be sure, otherwise I end up thinking about it too much and driving myself crazy.

Hello all, I've a small question. Rather then give some drawn out introduction, I'll cut to the thick of it. Would the RuneQuest books, specifically the two monster books, be compatible with the rules of the BRP manual? That is, could I insert those monsters into a custom game with little to no conversion trouble? I apologize if this is a silly question, but I figured I'd ask before I go spending money on something useless.

Hey, I understand completely - I just figured I'd take a shot. I hope I wasn't being pushy or anything, I'm just a little too excited. In any event, I'm really looking forward to it!

If I could ever fall in love with an abstract conceptualization - it'd be this topic. This news comes as one of the most beautiful things I could have hoped to hear. I eagerly await this gem! But uh, I don't suppose there are any plans to dip into Gunbuster while your at it?

Well, to be honest - I sort of figured that it'd be incredibly difficult to convert it. Like I said, I just recall somebody talking about it and figured I'd give it a shot. In any event - I do thank you for the assistance. I suppose it shouldn't be too bad. I may not be the most knowledgeable bloke when it comes to Warhammer - but I have some friends who are. Thanks again, though!

Oh yes! I've been there off and on, though I confess I probably haven't used its resources quite as much as I should. It seems like a great place for information - I fully intend to start poking around there once I get my Call of Cthulhu game back on course. Thank you for the recommendation though! And thank you, soltakss, for an unexpectedly extensive though delightful reply! Unfortunately, due to horrible scheduling and my own lack of preparations - our games tend to be pretty infrequent. Though a friend of mine recently invited me to a weekly Call of Cthulhu game that'll be starting up soon. It'll be my first time just getting to be an investigator, and I'm really looking forward to it. I figure it'll be a terrific learning experience, getting to see how somebody with more practice runs the game. I live somewhere near Philadelphia, in a place that's sort of lacking a gamer's spirit. Honestly, I'm not really sure about conventions - Since I'm still pretty new, I haven't really checked around for events that I could get out to. But I'm very intrigued by the notion of playing by email. I'm very curious as to how that works out - it sort of sounds like it may be a nice way to keep up with games when we can't schedule something properly. I must thank you both for such kindness. Honestly, I'm sort of surprised - I'm not used to forums being so darn nice to newcomers.

Hello all, I was a bit curious to know if anyone happened to have any information regarding a conversion for Dark Heresy. I came into ownership of one of the books and I'd love to throw some of the monsters into a game I'm planning. I remember seeing a thread somewhere on here that sort of implied that it exists somewhere, but it was never included therein. So I figured I'd take a shot in the dark and see if anyone had it on hand. Sorry for the trouble mates, and thank you for your time!

Well hello, all! I have to say that I'm a bit intimidated here, seeing how well versed most of you folk are. Much to my own dismay, I'm quite the neophyte when it comes to gaming though I've always had an interest for it. My earliest game experience was a brief play of Rifts as a child, though it never went anywhere. After that, I was roped into a few sessions of D&D here and there through the years. Eventually I founded a love interest for the works of H.P. Lovecraft, so I quickly turned to Call of Cthulhu - which I occasionally attempt to run with a group of friends who aren't really into this brand of gaming as a general rule. But they're pleasantly receptive. Of course, the hardest part is that I don't know many people who ARE into these things, so there aren't many places I can turn to for help. I'm pretty sure I've got the basics, but I'm also pretty positive that I'm lacking a lot as a GM. Of course this fact hasn't stopped me from trying to put together a fairly silly personal project of mine - which is what largely brings me here. Compared to the times I've played D&D, I much prefer the feel of BRP and I adore just how malleable it is. So I figured this would be the best place to go to improve my tactics and scrounge up whatever neat things I can to help me out. I may be bad at it now, but I'm hoping to get better and keep it up till I'm good and dead! I've certainly prattled on enough - I look forward to my stay here!