Daxos232

A video for a new game just created by Wolfire.com called Desperate Gods. The cool thing about it is that it recreates playing a board game at a table with your friends. You have to use your mouse to move the pieces, pick up and flip a card, and even to roll the dice. Its open source so hopefully mods will come around for other games, like tabletop RPGs.

Found some more good examples. I thought of the old RPG computer games I used to play when I was younger, many of them have great music that I can still remember to this day. They cover a wide variety of situations.

Tavern 4 - YouTube NeverWinter Nights, this one is great, there are 3 more variations to this for different types of taverns and inns.

The BRP Quickstart rules look very promising, I like the scenarios at the end that cover a variety of settings.

I also stumbled upon RetroQuest D100 in the downloads section, along with its reference to GORE for magic, which sounds good as well. The RetroQuest also mentions some kind of RetroQuest Magic book of its own, but it does not appear to be in the downloads.

I might just use one of these three instead of crafting my own from scratch.

I think I remember the BRP 16 page booklet before. I might have found it in the downloads somewhere,

but I can't seem to find it now.

It would work good as a intro or for a quick rule reference, but historically,

gamers tend to move up to the full system, and the into booklets fade. Once

they get the basics down, the shift to the full system is fairly easy and the

added features make it worth it. Plus the mini versions don't have much support

if any.

That's true, the Microlite20 rules has had dozens of reinterpretations in its pdf download, but the forums

aren't that populated.

To keep from re-inventing the wheel, consider this former discussion:

Wow that's a good link, I have only read the first page so far but

I might be able to just use this. Thanks seneschal.

I'm not dismissing the idea at all; just noting that the effort involved is more

substantial than it might first appear. For that reason, its not something

that's on our list of priorities. Of course, if anyone out there wants to

take a stab at it, drop me a PM and we can talk further.

The idea really was just as a side project I wanted to work on, for myself and maybe to share.

I enjoy all those files that others have posted in the downloads section, and I

always wanted to contribute something. I'm going to take a stab at it, but I don't think

it will be Design Mechanism level quality, but we'll see.

There is a RPG rule system called "Microlite 20 Purest Essence" which takes the D&D ruleset and shrinks it down to 17 pages.

It does cut away quite a bit of content from the original but its a fully playable game, with simple, fast rules, in under 20 pages, which I think is really cool.

If your unfamiliar with it check it out, even if your not a fan of D&D its kinda cool that they were able to condense it so much.

I'm wondering if something similar could be created for RuneQuest. I always liked the RQ system, but when introducing it to new people I have found it hard to explain every detail and feature, and a little slow to get a game up and running with new characters.

I have been tossing ideas around in my head for awhile and I'm slowly starting to put some stuff down on paper.

MircoliteRQ

Characteristics

Strength(STR)

Dexterity(DEX)

Constitution(CON)

Size(SIZ)

Intelligence(INT)

Power(POW)

Charisma(CHA)

Common Skills

Athletics(DEX+STR)

Communication(INT+CHA)

Deception(DEX+INT)

Endurance(CONx2)

Focus(INT+POW)

Melee Combat(STR+DEX)

Ranged Combat(DEXx2)

Advanced Skills

Craft(DEX+INT)

Healing(DEX+INT)

Language(INT+CHA)

Lore(INTx2)

Ride/Drive(INT+POW)

Survival(CON+INT)

Streetwise(INT+CHA)

Mircolite20 reduces all the characteristics and skills of D&D to 3 (or 4 depending on version) characteristics and 4 skills.

I don't know if you could condense the skills in RQ quite like that but above is my first attempt. I don't know how more advanced subjects

like magic might be handled yet.

Any thoughts?

I like to use ambient sounds to give another way of bringing PCs into the setting or activity, besides descriptions with words.

Sounds of Winter - YouTube Winter woods

I'm sure you could find a few cool ambient outdoors tracks that would work for a western. I second Mankcam's suggestion for "The Man With No Name" tracks, those are perfect for westerns.

Combat is kind of difficult for me, most tracks get your blood pumping quick and it makes you excited but sometimes that conflicts with MRQ2 combat which can be a little bit slow sometimes with all the detail. I have found some slower kinds of stuff works better, especially if the combat will take longer than a few rounds or you need suspense or dread.

Nox Arcana - Eternal Champions - YouTube Also this Nox Arcana bands tends to have some useful tracks.

Now what I would really love to find (if anyone knows where I can find it) is some ambient tracks of a medieval/ancient battle. One with metal weapons clashing together, the thunder of horses, arrows whistling, and warhorns blasting. That would be cool to have.

Have a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. May all your stockings be filled with dice!

So far what I've read is great Rosen. I like your combat system, and what you did with Strike Ranks. The Traits feature is great. I know you want to call them something but I cannot think of any suggestions, "Traits" just seems to fit.

I look forward to powers and the finalized rules, I think its pretty good so far.

You could use Filzip, it is small, reliable and - best of all - completely free:

Thank you Rust. I've been using WinZip, but you can only unzip 30 files before it forces you to buy the full version.

I will definitely take a thorough look at this and let you what I think McStern. Thank you for sharing.

I am very interested to read it, but cannot open it. Zip files are the bane of my exsistence. Is it available elsewhere in another file format?

I certainly hope they edit it to clarify some things. A lot of it I understood but some things, like the combat system, were unclear and needed better examples. A GM screen to go with it is a cool idea.

So far it sounds like a good start.

After reading all the posts I can say I'm interested in GlyphMaster, I would like to know what RQ was like back in the day. However I don't think I would use the system extensively, its the age and history of the system that draws me, kind of like when I picked up the AD&D core books. I've never used them for gameplay(some of the rules were ridiculously complicated to me) but they are good reads.

soltakss

I wouldn't go out of my way to read them, but I sometimes enjoy them, mainly as ideas for scenarios.

However, I don't particularly enjoy the "and then I rolled a 10" style.

Same for me.

rust

I have to admit that I rarely read descriptions of actual games, most of the few examples I tried to read where not really interesting and tended towards a "Look how great my character is" writing style.

Most of the descriptions I've read are also along that style.

However I think Thalaba has a good idea. Actual play threads would help spread ideas and give useful examples, whatever style they are written in. Its the closest you could get to actually being at another GM's table to experience their play style. I will contribute my play threads if the idea is carried out.

Does anyone know of, or where I could find, a good free urban adventure to run? My group and I play MRQ2 with no specific setting, so I can adjust the details if need be.

Daxos, you asked about my previous RPG experience, and how long I have to develop the campaign before the game begins. I've been playing RPGs since the late 70s.

As far as urgency goes, I have the luxury of time. I'm running an ongoing original D&D campaign, so my group is already gaming and there's no pressure. No one is waiting on me.

Lol, with 30 years of experience, and plenty of time, BRP should be no problem.

I'm also intrigued by the fact that it has more detailed rules for Allegiances, since I've been thinking about a Liberty vs. Domination dichotomy (similar, but not quite the same thing as Chaos vs. Law).

I think that sounds pretty good, and I hope it turns out well. It'd be nice to see something new compared to the old, "Good vs. Evil" and, "Law vs. Chaos" philosophies.

I live in the US, and unfortunately I never see anything by Chaosium. I went to a games store in Lansing, MI, but they only had 2 books for old MRQ1. I talked with the owner a bit and he said he used to get some Chaosium and Mongoose stuff but no one wanted them, so he stopped getting them.

I mostly see 4th edition and maybe PathFinder.

Philotomy, I think an important factor to consider would be your own previous experience. How long have you been playing tabletop RPGs? And how long have you played BRP, and how familiar are you with it?

I ask this because I myself just got into tabletop RPGs a year ago and started with BRP. It was very difficult for me, and I switched to MRQ2, which is better for beginners. Its already set to go as is. With BRP you will have to put some things together and you have many choices to tweak your game with.

Another factor is time, when is your group getting together to play? If its very soon you may not have the time to make your setting with BRP. But if you do, you will find BRP is a very customizable and rewarding system. And no one says you can't convert to BRP later if you use MRQ2 first.

Sounds Awesome. How did you handle the PCs being 'half demons'? Did you come up with this on your own, or is it from an MRQ book like Deus Vult?

Well my PCs are used to D&D style half demons so I made them like that. There isn't that much to them though, they get +2 to CHA and "Blood Hunt" which gives +10% to attack against any opponent whose got a Serious or Major Wound. The half celestial aren't that special either.

When I make my own "ancient bronze age/fantasy" setting I intend to buy more books for MRQ2 to help flesh it out. I'll make some custom races and try to have them more unique. I like Tolkien style settings/races, but for mine, I'm going to try to be different.

I had no idea you've only been RPing for one year. Definitely BRP is a daunting product for a new-comer. Most of us here have used it in more than one form from previously published games, so we can use BRP like putty to build what we want. But for newbies that's pretty tough.

Yeah I was wasting a lot of time for a while. I like MRQ2, its much better than MRQ1. However BRP is really good, I like how its rules are closer to the original RQ. I want to use BRP for a scifi or Fall Out like setting sometime in the future.

I'm also looking at the rules options. I'm really interested in MRQ2's combat manoeuvres, but I don't want to run MRQ2 wholesale because I like strike ranks too much. So I'm thinking about how to meld them.

I think that is a worthy endeavor. I liked the Strike Ranks from BRP too, but MRQ2's combat maneuvers are pretty sweet, my PCs love them and they understand them better. I would really like to see what you come up with for that.

Until then, we're playing the D&D4 dungeon crawl that was voted second. It's my first experience with 4th Ed. D&D, and we've only had one session so far, so I'm still learning the ropes of it.

I've PCed 4th Edition about 8 or 9 times with two different groups. One group is close knit and very loyal to the franchise. I've enjoyed the experience each time, but the rules are pretty thick. Some are good, others are bad, and (in my opinion) there's too many of them. I hope they scale down when they come up with 5th Edition.

I'm mostly a player these days,

I envy you. I'm the GM for my group, and no one else is likely to volunteer for the job. I want to PC a game, but being GM is rewarding.

I just started playing tabletop RPGs last august of 09. I picked up BRP, then MRQ1. I GMed three games with MRQ1 with some elements of BRP thrown in. A friend encouraged me to create my own setting and I. Attempted to do so, switching to MRQ2 when it came out. I kept messing with the rules, a behaviour I got from BRP and wasted a lot of time in doing so. MRQ2 rules were great and I didn't need to fiddle with them. I intend to recreate my setting when I get back from army basic and MOS training next year.

This fall I ditched my messy setting and we just play MRQ2 RAW. Some adjustments are made for my players as they are familiar with d&d. They love both BRP and MRQ2 because its easier to understand and do stuff they want.

Right now I have 3 PCs, two are playing half demons from nomadic cultures. One is a bounty hunter the other is a sorcerer. My third PC is an elf who is a skilled thief and diplomat. We just started our campaign with the PCs tracking down a party of orcs. They climbed some trees and took them by surprise with their bows, and chased them to some stone ruins. Our next session will start with the PCs descending into the ruins to follow the orcs and try to rescue the captured townsfolk they have.

Eventually I'm going to see if my pcs will try a BRP scifi or post apocalpse setting after we finish this one.

"I don't always drink beer, but when I do, I prefer Dos Equis."

Lol love those commercials. And its a pretty decent beer in my opinion.

Yes! Thank you all. That's the kinda stuff I couldn't think up on the spot.

About four months ago I stopped using figs and now I can't imagine going back to them. The players grumble a little that they like figs but none have pushed to use them.

My players are somewhat receptive to the idea, but want to know specifically what the advantages are of pencil and paper over minis, and frankly, besides saying that we wouldn't need a battlemat and minis, and that it encourages imagination, I couldn't think of anything else. They beat down my discussion with that one.

The combat maneouvers in MRQ2 might be what your looking for. Depending upon the level of success, compared to your opponent when attacking or defending you get a certain number of combat manuevers to use.

For example: Red warrior is fighting blue warrior. Red goes first, he spends a combat action to attack blue warrior with his longsword. Red rolls 32% which is a success, blue parries with his sword and gets a 04% a critical success which is one level higher than a regular success, so that gives blue warrior one CM, combat manuever. He can choose a whole bunch of things, like disarm, riposte, pin weapon, armolr piercing attack, choose strike location, and so on.

there are other options and variables like weapon choices affect how it turns out. That's a simple example how that system works.

I would suggest trying to give them an emotional attatchment or relationship of some kind. An npc brother, sister, family member or wife or husband. I had an player who always wanted to steal, drink, and go wenching whenever he got to town, and he was a paladin type character. So I had one of those wenches become his wife, which worked out great. Taking care of her caused the PC to shape up his act, as well as everyone else in the party.

They can also be used for motivation. When the PCs wife got captured by an enemy, the PC role played more about his duty to get her back and get justice.

You could also do something dramatic in lines of consequences for unwantonly violent behavior. One group I had killed peasants indiscriminately in the wilderness during their travels. They went to a village, were proven to be the killers, and they got attacked by mobs of pitchfork wielding peasants. They ran into a house, which the peasants set on fire and burned the PCs alive.

The PCs learned a lesson from that one.