SDLeary

Probably more due to the fact that Samurai culture thought the use of a shield cowardly, similar to the early European Knightly class view on the Bow. With regards to Kenjutsu, only apparently once iron, metallurgy, or warrior culture, or a combination of the three caused it to change. Prior to that, they did use shields, and were still practicing Kenjutsu (Method/Art of the Sword). With regards to drawing, you seem to be talking about Iaido specifically. SDLeary

Shields appear to have been dropped in Japan near the end of the 7th C., a couple of centuries before what we consider the traditional Samurai. This could be for many reasons, but probably has to do with advancement in availability of iron, advancement of metallurgy, and advancement of warrior culture that revered the Sword. I do agree thought that the proposed house rules seem to be a bit harsh on 2-h weapons. SDLeary

SWEET! Thanks Pete and Loz! I am assuming that the example 10 mm Pistol is supposed to be a 10 mm Auto rather than a .40 S&W, as it does more damage than a .45. SDLeary

Only one supported but like any other version of BRP, more playable. I have played differing genres with RQ3, and it arguably works better than some other iterations of BRP. This all pre BGB though. Firearms info pulled in from Delta Green frex allows a good gritty modern/modern horror/zombies/post-apoc game. SDLeary

For example. FLGS here are trying to actively stoke the fire that keeps the hobby/industry going. They not only support regional conventions, as they have for ages, but run their own mini-cons, tourneys, etc. This brings large numbers of people into the stores, which in turn gets attention from passers by as to why there are so many people in there. They come in and take a look. Often, they come in with their kids and take a look. They start at the front of the store, which has children's games and board games, but generally end up looking all the way around the store, including mini's and RPGs. Granted, not many new players are generated this way, but it is exposure that would not be there if books were not on the shelves. This also helps with existing game players who might pick up a book for some reason and thumb thru it, or sit in one of the chairs and read the a chapter or two. Samples online are generally not that extensive, and thus its not as easy to get a sense of a system that might be new to you. SDLeary

This does seem to be going away. We have lost one large chain (Borders) and only have one left (Barnes & Noble), and its section has shrunk dramatically, only a copy of Pathfinder and some D&D stuff at the local shop. Amazon has a lot of impact... good for availability, but only if you know what your looking for. Luckily, around here we have several top FLGS, lead by Endgame in Oakland. SDLeary

FEH! You yunguns and your fancy d10s! I remember when we had to use a pair of d20s! And roll them up hill, in both directions! SDLeary

Yeah... Trif announced this last yesterday. Its an effort to reduce the SPAM which has cropped up lately, and to close a possible weak spot in the site. SDLeary

Not to threadjack here, but I'm curious what you didn't like about the layout? The only thing I though was that the Body Copy slightly too large. PM if you don't want to clutter the forum. Now... I'm not far into it, but Pedro has done a FANTASTIC job! SDLeary

Head on over to the Design Mechanism's forums. Has been answered, along with speculation on a mysterious licensed product. Personally, I think its going to be a supplement by the title of Groo-some! SDLeary

I would say the PC (whether caster or defender). If they are defending and make a successful defense roll, you may award them a POW check; same if they are the caster and overcome. This can get POW levels up somewhat high though. Personally, I would only award on a special or critical. If they are both players, the successful player is the one I would choose. SDLeary

If you take the survey, you will also note that they are seeing what sort of general interest there is in more BRP/Cthuhu support. They ask questions about Dark Ages, Invictus, the Alephtar BRP supplements, etc. A slim chance that this could turn into a real boon. Though commercial, I would love something along the lines of PCGen for BRP. SDLeary

Honestly. If they get a grant like this, they should bank it against a rainy day, after paying off all their outstanding bills. Then they could return to pumping out great product, knowing that if something doesn't do well that they have a cushion. SDLeary

Voted... Now at 81 SDLeary

According to Acrobat, the Body is Goudy Old Style. Subheads and drop caps all appear to be Chaosium standard Hobo (its imbedded in the PDF Properties), along with a smattering of Palatino, Stone Sans, Legacy Sans, Impact, along with Wingdings and Symbol. Now, what it doesn't tell me is sizes or leading. Chaosium has used 9/11 in the past for Body, but the BGB appears to be a bit larger, perhaps 10/11 or even 10/12. Update: "Copy with formatting" into TextEdit says that its 10 pt, single space, which would normally be 10/12. SDLeary

Yup, its in there. Dresden is essentially FATE 3.x. SDLeary

House rules for the Unknown East system? I dont think I've seen those! Hey LOZ! Care to elaborate?! SDLeary

I'm not sure about any of the enhancements you are asking about, but there is some difference to ArsMagica. The Spheres and Rune system, as listed, is essentially a modified version of Loz' magic system that appeared in Unknown East. Something like what your after may have been added, but based on Zomben's post above, it doesn't look like it. As far as other settings such as Modern Fantasy, sounds like John Snead's Enlightened Magic might be the ticket. But, hell. This is BRP. Mixing and matched and general bodging should not be that difficult. SDLeary

Bwa Ha Ha Ha Ha! SDLeary

The core for Number of Attacks based on DEX already exists in BRP, though it has traditionally been restricted by "Weapon Speed". Simply eliminate weapons speed save for mechanical weapons and ridiculous melee weapons like Pikes, and you are done. The main issue here, as pointed out above, is that combat becomes tons more cumbersome (takes longer to play out), though I would also adjust the DEX rank penalty to something higher than 5 (like the 10 I suggested above). SDLeary

DEX, and then DEX -10 for timing. Each attack is Difficult because attention is being split between the two targets. SDLeary

I emailed Dustin about this last week, and at that point he didn't know. Since then, a notice on the Chaosium site states that Mythic Iceland has headed off to the printers. SDLeary

Updated! Also, there is an announcement that Mythic Iceland is off to the printer! SDLeary

Thanks much Triff! SDLeary

Browser warning certainly didn't trip this time. SDLeary