icebrand

Never used them, but i like them!

As far as i read, ball and chains are more novelty-type weapons than real war stuffs. Still, the character with 200% sword should be able to perform better with that that someone that does not know how to fight at all.

So you are basically saying that a character with 200% sword is as good as i am with a mace? Seems pretty weak!

And that is wrong. A master swordsman can "WTFPWN" someone who never meleed with preety much any weapon(s). The "technique" part of melee is not the most important; timing, reflexes, conditioning, how to move, etc are *way* more decisive, and all those are shared between every combat style on earth!

Problem is characters with a certain skill will never ever use another weapon... I think D20 does it better.

Meh, after years of playing i figured it doesn't really matter. Just tell them they have "x" chance to resist, where x is the number you want, and screw it.

Its completely irrelevant. Just let the PC's roll so they feel good about it.

Most definitely.

Both sorcery and magic are viable. I would give increased skill points (the int multiplier) with chars without sorcery (INCLUDING characters with magic)

I like Elric! Skills for fantasy. Again, i like an Elric!-like tradeoff. Give spells to caster, and increased skill points to non casters. On our RetroQuest campaign, characters have average CON+SIZ, with a (POW-10) bonus to rune-level characters (chamans have extra hit points depending on their spirit selection, and sorcerers divert some damage to MP). I would start with total HP if i were you; it's easier to say "ok guys, this isnt working, lets halve the HP" than to say "ok guys, this isnt working, the party didn't die so revive your chars and add some HP" Just run it using the basic rules, spot rules are not needed at all, you can add them little by little once you feel comfortable with the system. Also, start with low-skilled opposition and increase the difficulty by steps; characters SHOULD "own" their first encounters; it's better to use a low-skilled opponent at its best than throw a high skilled creature and downplay it.

Grappling DOES supplant everything else in environment where single combat is common. Just check the european fighting style manuals, they are full of grappling techniques. 1-on1 duels with plate armors are won by grappling! In classic times grappling was a vital part of training, and those were people trained to fight in formations, where grappling is useless. In my experience, someone who knows how to grapple will beat another martial artist that does striking pretty much all the time. I've seen bjj blue belts mop the floor with people that been doing karate or kickboxing for 10+ years. Thing with weapons is reach, and get to your opponent. If you are unarmed and your opponent has a weapon, you are SOL 99/100 times; if both have weapons, grappling is VERY viable (just watch some dog brothers fights on youtube, they almost always end up grappling!)

And why would it be actually hard to start a grapple?

IMHO Elric! is the best BRP incarnation EVER for fantasy rp.

Also check chaosium's worlds of wonders. IMHO in many aspects they are even superior than the BRP rules!

OpenQuest or GORE work fine. You may want to check RetroQuest that owns very hard (though it does not have character generation rules... yet)

I think hes fine, he posted about it on google +

Just uploaded a D20 spin (fire and sword-ish), with a few more attention to detail and a lot less crap (12 page of rules only!) http://basicroleplaying.com/downloads.php?do=file&id=419

No clue! Any ideas? It's probably an STR vs STR roll though

These are the grappling rules from the new and improved RetroQuest. "Opposed skill tests" use their special success chance on the resistance table (yes, i know it's clunky but for RetroQuest works just fine since it uses a D20 instead of D100). Replace "unarmed" for "wrestle" or whatever you call your skill. Grappling & Wrestling • Wrestle attacks may not be parried once a successful wrestle has been established • Wrestling combatants suffer a -30% penalty to any tests outside the wrestle • Grappling (ground fighting) combatants suffer a -60% penalty to any tests outside the grapple Getting a Grip Once a wrestle is established, the character may attempt any of the wrestling maneuvers; a grabbed opponent must roll unarmed combat to either break free or initiate a wrestle himself. Each of these maneuvers counts as an attack action, and the character can split his skill (as per multiple attacks) to attempt several maneuvers at once. Wrestling Maneuvers After a successful throw, the attacker may choose to end the grapple or continue fighting from the ground. A target may use the “defend” action to use either his STRx5 or DEXx5 instead of the unarmed skill. Last, but not least, a successful DEXx5 test negates damage from throws, and reduces special and critical damage by one step. • Disarm – Make an opposed unarmed vs. melee test. If successful the target is disarmed • Sacrifice Throw – Make an opposed unarmed test to throw your opponent for normal damage • Throw – Make a normal unarmed attack (subject to a parry) to throw your opponent for normal damage Grappling Maneuvers These maneuvers may only be used when both combatants are on the ground (usually the result of a successful throw). • Break Free – Make a normal unarmed attack (subject to a parry) to escape an immobilization, or a failed finishing maneuver (choke hold, ground & pound, joint lock) • Immobilize – Make an opposed unarmed test to immobilize a target. If you fail, the target can attempt to break free; if you succeed you can attempt a finishing maneuver (choke, joint lock or ground & pound), or maintain the hold for as long as you want Finishing Maneuvers • Choke Hold – Make an opposed unarmed test to choke an immobilized target. If successful, roll STR vs CON. Success in this second test means the target is unconscious • Ground & Pound – Make an opposed unarmed attack. If successful, roll damage as normal • Joint Lock – Make an unarmed attack (subject to a parry). If successful, roll STR vs STR. Each success does normal damage until you cause a major wound on a limb. This continues until the target successfully breaks free (though it can only attempt it if you fail the STR test) or you break the limb.  

By the way, i just came back from my training (bad day) I was about to go home and a karate retard poked at me, i snapped and ended up in a real fight. By the time i actually came to my senses it already ended :S

At least in judo if you think you pretty much lose your chance. I guess any sport with timing is the same!

Actually i cant see anyone doing anything but falling down and dying if they have a gladius in their ribcage

I did. Its called "getting rid of that stupid characteristic" =) Really, siz serves no function at all; a size category like... every other game out there works better

Strike rank 1 Cast divine spell (thunderbolt, lightning, sever spirit, whatever) Allied spirit casts divine spell Attack as normal (with two weapons you get your full % chance at... lets say SR 2 for siz, 1 for dex, 2 for a sword) = 5 and 8. Option 2: Cast divine spell cast spirit spells x2 Edit: Also i find really, REALLY stupid that andre the giant with a greatsword can *hit more times* than jet li with a dagger.

Hahahaa, no, that was me on google +! Already had it for a long time!