Coffee Zombie

Well, there's the Comparative Weights table on page 224 of Mythras, but SIZ on creatures gets a little odd. It's not as easy as just grabbing a chart and saying "SIZ 1 = mouse", or something like that, as SIZ interacts differently with the overall frame and build of the creature. For example, if we look at humans, an infant might start at SIZ 2, a toddler SIZ 3, and children moving slowly up in SIZ until they hit adult SIZ in their late teens. A Basalisk is described at the size of a "large rooster", and has an average SIZ of 5. I would say look for creatures with a frame and build close to an existing creature, and benchmark from there.

I messaged Loz about it, it's only the thumbnails that are showing as that. The original cover blurb will apparently be present upon purchase. Regardless, I'm posting it here for posterity/interest. Trapped in a mountain vale as the winter snows bite deep, Intuosa the Elven scholar talks of Guenever, her bloodline, and how he intends to trace her lineage through the village of Rovsgood. And he whispers the name Darksong, a wizard in search of immortality who became a tyrant and paid a dreadful price. Will the adventurers aid Intuosa? What of the legends of the Mad Wizard? The bitter snows are, perhaps, the least of their worries.

I have a serious love for tragedy in fantasy, so I'm certain an awful lot of that shone through in the backstory elements.

I would not stand behind my formula as perfectly representative at all, but I think it would do in a pinch to judge the strength of two groups "on paper". It doesn't work as well at simulating creature strengths as well, though. My thoughts on how to best capture the scores above 100 is to not use this formula long before you enter that part of play.

Looking at your original post, one thing I encourage is to analyze the output of your group of player characters. Mythras (and most BRP game imho) do not follow the "balanced encounter" trend that D&D 3 and onwards attempted to utilize. This isn't a criticism of D&D's method, as there are uses for having some methodology to how to balance encounters. Off the top of my head, something like this: [ (primary attack skill % /10) + ( median damage result) + (average armour value) ] x Action Points = Score Sum the score of all player-characters, sum the score of all opponents, and you have a very unscientific look at who has a distinct advantage over the other. Take the average Score of the player characters and use that as an idea of how many extra "PCs" of worth the opponents have over / under the group. Just keep in mind that dice can roll poorly in batches for either side, and mixed between the two sides, and the only thing PCs have to offset a run of bad luck is Luck Points. You'll maybe need to do this once or twice before you discover eyeballing is faster and easier than crunching those numbers. If your group does not have magical healing, assume that every fight could have serious consequences that could slow down the group for rest and healing. Combat in BRP games can be significantly more meaningful not only because victory is not a sure thing, but also because the "resources lost" have more impact on the group than in many other RPGs.

Looking for GMing advice can give you plenty of extremely contradictory examples. Youtube it up and you'll find examples, but many of them are D&D-centric games, or employ techniques that you don't need at the tabletop at all. If we assume you're going to be running at a tabletop, here's a few recommendations from my own experience (GMing for 25+ years, and still learning). A lot of good GMing advice is similar to good leadership advice, when you get down to it. Be Prepared: This one is important. Very important. In your free time, prepare material. Have the setting fleshed out, create lists of NPCs names, design maps, and fiddle with your scenarios. Preparation makes it easier to improvise when you need to, and gives your players the sense that you are ready for them when they arrive. It will make you more confident when you run a game. I'm personally decent at running games on the fly, but not everyone is, and preparation always makes it easier. Improvise: When things begin to turn sideways in a planned scenario, don't balk at it. Stall for time if you need to think, or suggest a coffee break. Then think of how to adapt the players newest strategy to your own scenario, or to bend your scenario to be entertaining despite their clever plans. Improvisation is easy - you likely did it as a kid with your action figures and/or dolls, just go back to those techniques. Rotate Focus: Move the lens between characters. Don't let one player dominate play. Have NPCs become interested in a character who speaks less. Design plot elements for characters you feel are not contributing as much to the game. I had a rule (one the players never saw) that if I hadn't heard anything out of a player in 15 minutes, it was time to see if I could have the game world "nudge" them into action. Sometimes they were just along for the ride, and that's okay, but other times you are trying to encourage players to get involved in a game that can be daunting. Coach Players: Just as you want to become a better GM over time, also keep in mind you want to encourage good player habits. Part of being a GM is also being a referee, so if you see great player actions and ideas, reward them. If you see bad stuff at the table, call it out politely, and remind people this is also a game, and people need to try and play fair and respectfully to each other. Just like at work, focus on the positives, and coach the negatives into positive directions. Be Open & Inclusive: Be willing to bend genre conventions at times where they don't really matter, and keep in mind what players may want to accomplish at the table with character choices. This seems like a no-brainer, but be very wary about being "overly authentic" about issues like racism, rape, slavery, bigotry without knowing your group well. Do not be afraid, on the other hand, to forbid characters don't fit the setting at all, or set a player up for a rotten experience (players insisting on playing non-humans in a human supremacist nation or something to that effect). Voice Work: Practice speaking on your own. Driving to work is a good time (if you're in the car alone). Learn to resonate your voice, to project. A strong, resonant voice can help focus listening ears. Once again, you're the referee - you want to be heard and understood. Also practice voices - get a few good books on tape / CD (Audible is a good source), and listen to the readers and how they change voice and accent to distinguish characters. It makes a huge difference. Be Self Critical: Journal your sessions after the fact, and look for areas to improve in. Look for repeated patterns, or areas you got stumped in. These are places for you to grow and develop. Make notes, and don't worry if you didn't do well last session. It's an art to run and play in games, and we get better with experience and time. Think Books and Stories, not Movies and Television: Movies and television have less time to tell a story, and tend to heighten drama and conflict in a plot well beyond need to hook viewers. Think books. Take time to tell a story, build characters and setting, and don't be afraid to tell smaller stories. You don't have to save the world from the Dark Lord. You don't need good vs. evil if you're not telling a moral story. RQ/Mythras is not bound to the "good/evil" or "law/chaos" dichotomies, and that frees up a lot of narrative freedom. Think critically about the media you consume, and learn to craft your own stories and scenarios that fit the game, rather than just emulating the fiction you watch on the flat screen. Be the Example: Arrive to game showered, hair combed, clothes neat. If you're having guests over, clean before they come. Be a good host, or be a good guest. Always have your game kit packed and ready when game day approaches, and check to make sure you have all you need in it before you leave the house. Practice what you preach in terms of manners and expectations. Don't be afraid to admit when you're wrong, and even acknowledge when you argued a point falsely or out of anger. Be a good human. Being a GM means players will, often enough, look to you for guidance on what's acceptable. If You're Going to Steal, Do it Shamelessly: Our individual game sessions are not syndicated programs where we have IP lawyers looking for infractions. Borrow what you like. Use names as you please. Be conscious that you can signal silliness you don't intend if you do this clumsily (calling your holy man "Brian" in Pavis might derail your game). But if you want to grab a plot you've read or seen, just do it. Write out the plot structure, change a few names, and "poof", you have your plot. You will find, in play, that even though you made a civil war with a princess secretly working for the rebels and a terrifying dark knight with impressive battle magic enforcing Lunar law, the "New Hope" plot elements you ripped off will take on a life of their own rapidly and evolve away from the source "germ". It is a commercial conceit that you can own ideas. You aren't in this for commerce* Never Loose Sight: You are playing a game. You want to entertain the table, and have some fun doing it yourself. Similarly, keep this in mind with adjudication. Sometimes you need to punish the group when they act like buffoons, but sometimes they can get lucky and get away with something. Now, don't confuse "it's just a game" with a maxim that the sessions should be comedic frolic at all points. A lot of good drama, action and story can evolve from an RP scenario. But when in doubt, do what is more interesting and consistent for plot, and keep in mind that great persons often had a share of very strange luck to get them there. If you want an example, just think of how you got to where you are now, and what would have happened if you'd chosen that other job, said that thing you thought about to that guy/girl, got caught doing that nasty deed, turned left on that one day... Hope this helps! * Obviously if you ever do decide to publish, be very wary about where you got your ideas from.

The group did not contain any significant science focused characters, mostly because myself and my friend are not very scientifically inclined. All told though, I've put the idea on hold to get LA and do some reading. The ideas presented here have been a big help though!

Aside from seeing the book in the banner, I've never heard of LA. This prompted me to take a peak at what the game was about, and it sounds like it might address the character generation question overall.

My friend and I wrapped up our last solo campaign, and while brainstorming for the new one I knew the idea would work in Mythras. I've just hit one snag. The concept is a group of high school students, typical but full of personality, end up going through a portal into an iron age fantasy world. The idea is to have them start in the wilderness and survive on their own for a while, and much of the drama will be based on that survival. Eventually they will find nearby civilization and have a chance to upgrade gear, find new teachers, etc. My question is this. Trying to model modern age humans using the Mythras rules is tricky. Modern adolescence appears prolonged, and our educational priorities for our young are vastly different than pre-modern civilizations. I know there are some skills which will become useless and can functionally be left off the sheet (one of the characters is into auto repairs, for example). But is there a good piece of material to model what Professional Skills I should award to the characters? Even the Civilized culture really isn't a good fit for post-industrial human adolescents.

I was going to refer you to a few Toronto stores, or directly to Lion Rampant to see if you could either order from them or if they could point you at a local store. You may still want to email them and look into it.

Where in Canada are you NotRussellCrowe?