badcat

It has become a mindless habit, and it is mediocre. That is my opinion, and I back off not one...tiny...iota. It is also a fact that it is mindless and mediocre.

I tried to buy it as a pdf today but although paypal took the money, I didn't get a link for the pdf itself. Did I do something wrong or is just off business hours or something?

Sounds good. I have thought about it before, but always back off because the setting is so BIG. There is a lot of material. My thoughts have been that SB1-3 would work best for Tal. For instance, it would be easy to differentiate Mandaquan and Kandequan (spelling) with a separate Attack and Parry skill. Other stuff matches up good too. Besides, that particular BRP game is as unbalanced as Tal itself. Would we work on it using the wiki or just start a thread or series of threads like this? Or e-mail, or what? I have never participated in something like a game collaboration on the internet.

Good luck. Your honor and sacrifice are appreciated and respected, as all those before you.

To get my mind off the other, how so? I am now thinking of doing that when I get BRP myself, or maybe Atlantis which is about the same thing with Morrigans version. Just for something to do. How are you going to proceed, I have been considering a BRP like system with the same stats and using the archetype scores as straight modifiers. I don't remember what was said before though I dimly recall something along those lines (converting Tal, I mean).

Yes. It just would have been a touch easier to get someone to try before, and a good game already underway might have been an easier sell. This is WOTC/D&D country, believe me. Three meetups for rpgs, D&D with 600+ members, one with a couple of hundred, and a 'rpg' one that mostly involves D&D in spite of the name (and 88 members). And Seattle is home to a number of indies, including Pax Draconis, Sorcerer, HEX, and more. Aside from that you see some WoD, Earthdawn, Exalted. Ones you don't see much of are rules light and logical, like Savage Worlds, Talislanta and unfortunately BRP. Put notices up in stores and meetups for anything other than D&D, WoD or Exalted and its 'bzzzzzz', nobody home, pretty much. Hence my blue funk for BRPs' chances around here. Still not giving up, though.

I'm gonna keep trying, but I do have my work cut out around here... I truly hope you optimistic types are right.

Hey, Aycorn. Can't find anyone around here interested, been trying for a while. The advent of this new edition will make it harder, I am afraid, and produce expectations I am not willing to emulate. I think it is just a matter of me marching to a different drummer than anyone else around me...and I happen to live in WOTC central headquarters, so the influence seems to be stronger in the eye of the storm...

Yeah, but it would have helped a little if it had appeared a few months ago, anyway. Depressing trip to the game store.

So, I was in the gamestore this morning. There were a bunch of...fans...of D&D extolling the 'virtues' of 4e, as if it were the only game out there (yes, I still refuse to call it a role playing game, but that is another story). I have to admit that I am wondering if BRP is going to be dead on arrival, now that it has been delayed until after the shiny, arty new 4e books come out. I am frankly wondering right now if trying to stay the course and start a group with BRP is pointless, if my involvement with the hobby is just dead if I don't join in the mindless habit that is D&D. Has Chaosium waited too long to launch BRP? Are we doomed to WOTC mediocrity for the forseeable future?;-(

Blackmane equs, from Talislanta.

Yes, I find it safer to lurk, usually, myself. You know, I was thinking (just a suggestion) that since this is going to be a homage, why not dedicate the title to more than one of the original fantasy rpgs? One other rpg that preceded RQ, I think, was 'In the Labyrinth' at least as the Microgames 'Melee' and 'Wizard' (precursors of GURPS, no less). And it doesn't have to be 'something & something', does it? A combo title like 'Chaos in the Labyrinth'? Or 'Chaos & Labyrinths' if you want the '&'. A combination of two or more titles of fantasy rpgs of yore. Heh, 'Quest in the Labyrinth'. Well at any rate, this has me going as much as the BRP book itself. It sounds right now like the mythical perfect game I have always wanted, but never found. The closest I have come was a mix of Magic World, the Arcanum, and Stormbringer 1. You are stirring the gaming spirit in an old gamers heart...

NOW I am excited about an upcoming game. Congratulations! You don't lack self esteem, do you?

I am curious about how you are going to handle the options. The BRP book being more or less a collection of rules options, are you going to compile a list of suggested options for Chaos & Catacombs from the main BRP book or what?

Probably local. My local gamestore sells a pretty eclectic bunch of rpgs. Some more than others, but he manages to keep a pretty good selection. And he has cleared about six feet of shelf space for 4e.

I don't know terms like 'gamist' so I usually don't understand what someone who uses such terms is trying to say, I fear. This ain't the Forge or rpg.net and I sincerely hope it does not get that way. I wouldn't say 4e is moving in the 'wrong direction' for rpgs because I don't consider it to be a rpg, especially after watching (suffering through) the gamestore session...and I definitely see no way it can be of use to a classic rpg gamer. Too restrictive, too dependent on too many devices. Bad design, unless you are Hasbro and WOTC and are looking to make lots of money re-selling a game to customers who will go for it (again), of whom there are many out there, it seems. Not this customer, though. Ever. Better no game than Dungeons and Dragonballz.

Suggestion for permanent name? Swords and Sorcerers.

Now this sounds good. It also sounds like something I might be able to lure someone into trying (getting them away from 4e). If the Bigby spell is representative of the game as a whole consider copies sold, to me.:thumb: Will the BRP book be necessary or will it be self-contained? Won't using the name 'Bigby', and others from D&D cause legal problems? BRP D&D, coming up.:happy:

I agree with Enpeze. Weekend before last I watched a game at the local store...and it did not feel like a roleplaying game to me at all. What it felt like was an attempt to play a computer game without the computer. I did not get the feeling it would help me in any way. There was mostly talk about how someone could not do something because it was not their 'role' and how to use various 'powers'.:confused: Someone at another forum (Troll Lords, I think) christened it 'Dungeons and Dragonballz'.

I had not intended to post again, but if I can be of service...yes, in Stormbringer 1, barbarian ponies. As regular horse, subtract 6 from STR and SIZ ratings.

Last Conformist, if you can't see the difference you have a problem. Actually, I am tired of debating about this with anyone who likes to talk down, debate, and sit back and point out the obvious in a snarky superior way...this site is becoming very annoying. The system is going places I don't like. Most of the posters here, as at any other internet site I have found, don't seem to be able to try to understand what is actually being said. So I will move to something that is still simple and fun, and has little room for debaters and rules lawyers. Not only will I not be buying this book, I will not be using BRP any more. I'm finished. So long.

I don't mind players having some control over making a character they want to play, my problem is the WOTC philosophy of taking control of how they run the game from the GM and 'empower the players', making the game more rules driven altogether (and my resistance to anything that may take BRP in that direction). Also, the games of 3.5 that I have sat in on have been about more about 'my PC is a better build than yours' than embarking on an adventure the GM is running. Lots of things like that, not just the way the pcs are generated per se. Myself, I prefer a mix of choice and randomness and usually do it about like soltakss, sure. If you could see some of the RPGA 'games' I have recently you would understand, I believe. So like I said in another recent post, mostly I am expressing frustration. Not that I like the most recent versions of D&D when its done according to the rules, either. But WOTC stated that Eberron was designed to use all the published rules for 3.5, and it is a pain even at the RPGA thingies. Back to our regularly scheduled BRP talk...:focus:

Control the character, and what the character can do, control the game. As for the rest, I am speaking from a standpoint of frustration. Thus my nervousness about allowing some mechanics that look unnecessary to me, and I don't enjoy the games I have tried recently. Could be I just haven't met much in the way of compatible gamers lately. I do know I would just rather not game with the groups I have encountered. Heh, I don't even think the local RPGA group is playing the game correctly...mostly just a lot of handwaving....after the fun part is done (making the characters with all the kewl powerz). All I can do is shake my head. And bow out gracefully. And try not to throw up. Could be I am just burned out on rpgs, I suppose. Right now I am thinking about running Talislanta 4 (assuming the existance of people around here who want to play it). It has a stat + skill dynamic that looks workable, no levels, and the rules don't include a lot of hard to deal with options that are difficult to separate from a good game. The stat IS the stat bonus. That's nice. Only thing is, it uses that damn D20.

Tywyll, there is a culture in 3.5 that says the players should control the game more than the GM. Yes, really. So most everyone around here plays and has learned to play in that sort of culture, where the 'build' is more important than playing. So a lot of these new generation gamers expect to be able to use every trick and option in the rulebook. And D&D 3.5 is so inter related it is difficult to separate out parts of the rules...and that is how they expect any game to work. Ergo, a simple base game with house rules is an easier sell, if you want to try to introduce an older style of game, whether it be D&D or BRP. Or at least, that has been my experience lately. And 3.5 is not the only currently popular game with an emphasis on 'stuff' and 'kewl powerz' over actually playing a game. Look at Exalted. OK, Jason, that makes sense. Now I just have to decide if it is $40 worth of useful to me. Thanks for the effort, though. I believe it will be far, far superior to the upcoming 4e no matter what.

Gaming the rules is pretty much necessary in any rpg with a tactical element, it's just over-done in some. That is probably my main concern about using opposed rolls in BRP, esp. if using a combat matrix a la MRQ.