sdavies2720

RE: D12 & D6 for Handedness I bet it's older than that. I remember picking it up from one of the early Alarums & Excursions, which I started reading about #10. I'd have to go on an archeology expedition into the attic to find which one...

It takes up a lot of space, and I can do the 50%+DiffInSkills*5% calculation faster than I can look it up. Way faster. So for me it's wasted space (I'd tape something else over it, like an adventure map or something). Steve

I'm doing this without my book to-hand, based on my bes trecollection: DEFINITELY YES • Skill List by Category (p. 48) • Alphabetical Skill List (p. 51) • Magic Spell Summary (p. 95) • Skill Results Table (p. 172) • Movement Rates (p. 181) • Order of Actions (p. 187) • Combat Actions (p. 190) • Melee Hit Location Table (optional) (p. 190) • Attack and Defense Matrix (p. 193) • Melee Weapon Attack Fumble Table (p. 194) • Melee Weapon Parry Fumble Table (p. 194) • Missile Weapon Attack Fumble Table (p. 194) • Natural Weapon Attack and Parry Fumble Table (p. 195) IF THERE's EXTRA ROOM • Power Point Recovery Rate (p. 28) • Damage Bonus (p. 29) • Significant Time Intervals (p. 178) • Conditions of Medical Care (p. 208) • Combat Summary (p.192) NO • Character SIZ Chart (p. 26) • Language Fluency Chart (p. 67) • The Resistance Table (p. 171) • Wealth Levels (p. 238) • Skills & Appropriate Equipment (p. 242) DON"T USE • Mutation Summary (p. 105) • Psychic Ability Summary (p. 113) • Power Modifier Benefits (p. 143) • Super Power Summary (p. 147) • Major Wound Table (p. 207) • Vehicle Range Track (p. 216) • Vehicle Skill Roll Modifiers (p. 217) DON'T KNOW (CAN'T REMEMBER THE TABLE) • Sorcery Spell Summary (p. 129) • Benefits From Character Failings (p. 142) • Chase Trouble Table (p.217)

I plan to get the PDF. Do you have a preference where I buy it (DriveThru to get a better ranking, somewhere else to give you more $)? Steve

Yes, if that last sentence had instead read, "It's the best way to ensure BRP releases are popular enough for us to print," I think a lot of the concern would go away. PDFs in my version sound more like a market barometer (Chaosium is using them to listen to us) than a gouge-the-customer tactic. But I'm equally sure that to Chaosium, "Popular" and "Profit" basically mean the same thing--popular books are profitable. But they certainly have different emotional charges to us customers. Steve

Unless someone else has statted up the 300+, then all you need to do is eyeball your own invention... Which is why you deserve a huge thank-you from all of us.

Pays to keep that AAA membership active.

I've always used the rule, "roll 3D6 X times, discard the whole thing if the total is less than 10.5X, and assign the rolls where you want." It's translated into most characters having a few low stats, but being above average overall. We've gotten some nice roleplaying out of it. Doubly-nice that stats in BRP aren't all-powerful. Steve

From Dictionary.com: ur- Look up ur- at Dictionary.com prefix meaning "original, earliest, primitive," from Ger. "original, primitive;" at first only in words borrowed from Ger. (cf. ursprache "hypothetical primitive language," attested in Eng. from 1908), now a living prefix in Eng. Cf. also Urschleim under protoplasm and Urquell under Pilsner No negative connotations implied. I learned of it from mythology (an Ur-Cow I think figures in creation stories) and use it as shorthand for basic/core/prototypic rules and concepts.

Ok, bowing out. Somehow, given this part of the original post, I didn't pick up that you were looking for a way to emulate the ur-skills. Steve

I guess I still don't understand. Are you saying there's an unstated set of ur-skills, something like "Martial," "Priest," "Shaman," and "Sorcerer" that are prerequisites for other (explicit) skills? And you can only have one (or a few) of the ur-skills? I totally don't play it that way. Everyone can take the martial skills. Anyone who binds a fetch can become a shaman. Anyone who rises high enough in a cult can learn divine spells. I even let characters learn sorcery during the course of play. That flexibility is one of the things I like about BRP over class-based systems. But it sounds like you do it differently. Steve

That's why I originally put it in my houserules. But then I realized that I didn't have a problem. What I've found: > When all the characters are green, everyone is bad at everything, so everyone tries everything in an effort to just 'get it done' > In the middle stages, everyone attains a passing competence with all of the basic skills, and characters begin to develop areas of focus based on their interests, abilities, and alliances. > In the latter stages of the campaign (where we are now), the downsides of screwing up are so huge that the most competent-in-that-area characters take on each challenge, with others helping and supporting as they can or as they get forced to. Because skill advancement is so slow, characters are realling focusing on their strengths. I don't think a skill deterioration rule would have changed any of the stages very much. Steve

Unfortunately, I'm not much of an expert. I tend to pick something I like, then do a quick internet search on it. Thus, I liked the Papyrus font, but saw comments that it's everywhere, which it is. So I realized that it's just not as special a choice as I thought. There are some rules of thumb about picking serif vs sans serif that are probably worth looking at for reading ease. Steve

I had one of those in an early version of my house rules (probably cribbed from someone else). I finally decided it was too much accounting and not much fun, so I removed it. But I don't have a problem with players mini-maxing their characters to be good at everything Steve

If one of the source- or campaign- books coming out looks interesting to you, you might go that route instead. My sense is most of the writers are specifying which options should be used for the campaign. Of, if they're not, maybe this is a wake-up call that they SHOULD! That would give you a set of rules from the toolkit that will work for that campaign. Steve

Please don't use that icky one they used for headings. It's a cross between Art Nouveau and ancient runes--a Chaos abomination. Steve

I like having the campaign world put constraints on what is possible. In part, because I hate the D&D book-based approach to what each character can do. I don't have a problem with key skills, or limited hours in the day. Those both work for me -- they are constraints and not absolutes. So you can say, "To learn this crazy feat, you need to have Arcane Knowledge at 100% and the only cult that you know who teaches it is the Magic cult" without having to say, "The only way to learn this feat is to belong to the Magic cult." Ah. Rereading what I wrote and what you wrote, I'm guessing we're coming from the same place. I just like having the unusual skills only available from campaign-world organizations. I find it ties characters into the society and makes things more 'real.' FWIW, the hours in a day limit only matter when there is a deadline. Otherwise, characters just take the time they need to learn the skills, whether it's 2 weeks or 4. In my worlds, the constraints are usually money and finding a teacher. Steve

Thanks. I've been coveting Corum, and waiting for Rome...but this was too good to miss.

One other way to skin this: Don't have the bonus affect the chance of increasing the skill. So if the character has a 28% skill, and has a 20% edge, their chance of success is 48% but they only have to roll above the 28% skill. It keeps the bonus static, but that extra 20% at 100% represents a lot more adventuring time than it did at 28%.

Thanks for the info! I saw that there were conversion programs available, and assumed that they did a decent job. Maybe I need to wait for the next version, or the competitors that are in the wings. </Thread Hijack>

I've been thinking about doing this (as in, I'm starting to make a case to get a Kindle, and viewing RPG PDFs is one of the things that would justify getting a Kindle). What were the issues with viewing the Dark Sun PDF?

So the most effective tactic is for the bad guys to have their own buffs up, and the whole arms race resets again with combat being deadly for both sides...not necessarily a bad spot.

Any word on the status of this? Even with the re-issue of RQ3 Magic as BRP Magic, I'm still interested in this monograph.

I'd forgotten about Sandy Peterson's book. I have it somewhere, but hadn't looked at it. Double thanks for reminding me of it. I hadn't done the google thing yet, because I'd rather something that you all recommend. But I'll crank up the Google-fu and go for it.

I found a couple of copies, I think both 2nd and 3rd. I'd have to brave the basement and find them to give you a definitive answer.