sdavies2720

This is the first time I've started to see how I might use Traits in my game. Taking what everyone has suggested and cranking it through my skewed worldview, I'm thinking about something like this: Players start with APPx5% to apply to traits -- they can use any or all of it With GM approval, players can use 1/10th of a Trait to add to their chance on an applicable skill check If they apply their trait as a bonus to a skill check, they cannot do it again until the trait has been 'stressed' or increased When the GM feels a player is not acting in accordance with his trait, he can call for a trait check. The player has two choices: Either roll against the trait (and here success means the GM is right and the player needs to change action) or refuse to take the skill check, in which case the GM awards points to the counter trait Traits and Counter traits cannot total more than 100%. If a GM awards points to a countertrait that would take the sum over 100%, the corresponding trait decreases (and probably loses the advancement check) A Trait is 'stressed' whenever the player rolls against it, or the player & gm agree that it was stressed (i.e. the player is playing in accordance with the trait in a stressful situation) Stressed traits are eligible for advancement

Yes, I'm suggesting a pool of points that do what Hero Points do (buy heroic abilities), improvement rolls, and some meta-gaming stuff. For advancement, we still use the checkmark on successful use, then roll over the skill (with modifier for INT) to get an advancement of either 1d6 or 3 points. Players can spend one Game Point to get an advancement roll (which is not assured advancement) and 1d6% or 3% increase. Since that gets harder as character skill increase, over time players use game points less for that and more for heroic abilities and meta-game stuff. So, the players that are going to advance the fastest are those that are most active (getting more skill checks) and rollplay the best (getting more game points). But over time, everything 'bunches' a bit as it takes more and more tries to advance the skill. Steve

Thanks! Wild Cards - Product Format: Plain (unprotected) file

This is pretty much how I decided to moderate the interaction between roleplaying and skills: The characters get to roleplay, with the effectiveness of their roleplaying providing a bonus to the ultimate skill role. I decided to NEVER penalize my players for roleplaying -- If they try to roleplay and say something stupid, the worst that can happen is they get no benefit for their skill role. I made this decision because my players need ongoing encouragement to roleplay. I did implement a point system though -- which is a base 1-2 points per session for showing up, and up to 3 more points for fun & roleplaying. Players can use these for experience rolls, absorbing damage during combat (usually to avoid death), or heroic abilities (from MRQII) -- so they are a catch-all for several bonus systems, and give me a way to reward player actions that drive the story and characters forward. Steve

I think that Mongoose is finding something similar. In their "Signs and Portents" they always put in a pie chart of where the bulk of their time is going. In S&P84 (Sep 2010) it was: a little over half on Wraith Recon (new setting for MRQII) about 30% on RuneQuest II about 20% on Elric (MRQII) If your math is as good as mine, that means RuneQuest is taking up more than all their time. Now, much of this is driven by release schedules, but it sounds like MRQ is working for them. [Edit: I'm not trying to say MRQII is the same as RQ2, just that there does seem to be a real demand out there for BRP-based games, especially if they can be well packaged and executed, as RQ2 was] Steve

For me: no more space to store RPG books, so PDFs are preferred for all materials I don't use at the gaming table. And with a PDF I can (usually) copy what I need and paste it into house rules or other documents.

Perhaps clearer than is comfortable for many of us. I hope you also asked your question over at Mongoose's forum. I think you'll get a different (but not wholly opposite) perspective. Steve

I like the picture -- we had a similar situation the one (and only) time that the heroes went on a heroquest to rescue one of their own from the land of the dead, and incidentally to stop a priest of the dead from coming back...Didn't have the mongo-big skeleton, but did have a 50' tall, multiarmed demon with the same headdress to confront -- they ultimately ran between its legs into the land of the dead to escape.

If we're still talking about the Mongoose Vikings supplement: Moongoose does not have a good reputation with respect to maps. They are often criticised for their paucity and low production quality. Maybe they'll set a new standard with this one, but I wouldn't bank on it before seeing it. Steve

That's how it works. You can't find the witches. The witches find you.

In my group, a common pool would lead to player squabbles. After all, if they worked together reliably, you wouldn't need a mechanic! Maybe a variant of the Allegiance rules, where they start with allegiance to group. As long as that is above 75%, they get a bonus (one extra advancement roll when they check for advancement, extra fate points if you use those, one mulligan per session, etc). If allegiance drops, they lose the benefit.

This is great. Thanks to Charles Green and you for making this available once again. Now I just need a little time to work through it! Steve

Hurray. FY, the link problem is the link has a double-space between "Young" and "Kingdom" but the document title does not. Edit the link in your address bar and you're fine. Binder, how many pages long should the document be? I have 96 pages... Steve

We run it the same: Roll advancement against unmodified skill. But I have one exception: On HeroQuests, character skills are typically a fraction of normal (1/2, 1/3, 1/4, etc depending on the strength of the quest). Those skill checks get special marks, and the advancement is rolled against the modified percentage. It's an incentive for higher-skill characters to take on bigger challenges, and a way for me to keep the combats in a reasonable skill range. Steve

I 'm sure we'd sprout a whole new generation of missionaries to convert the heathens.

That sounds like Ivanova all right. Loved that series. I watched part of it recently, and was struck by the mediocrity of the acting and how quickly the overall plot arc moved forward in each episode. Neither of those were as obvious when watching for the first time. Many episodes had side stories that were religion- and philosophy-based.

Darn it, now I want to get that. And, I'm finding I'm incorporating more and more of Dragon Lines, so I might have to get a print copy of that...darn you. Steve

That is a really good idea, one that I will probably implement immediately. Right now I give extra Hero Points at the end of sessions, based on roleplaying. But your idea is even more immediate. I can still use the hero points for overall good roleplaying, but for over-the-top roleplaying, I could give an immediate 1D3 that they could choose to add to hit points, magic points, or to fatigue right then. That would get my players to sit up and beg! Steve

When you get to things like healing spells & potions, you're going to have a fundamental choice whether there is a heal per type of wound (e.g. "Light Heal" cures one "Light Wound", "Medium Heal" cures one "Medium Wound" or one "Light Wound") or some conversion between wounds (e.g. "Medium Heal" cures on "Medium Wound" or two "Light Wounds"). If you go the latter route, you've just renamed hit points... It looks like a workable system, and interesting. I'm happy your group wants to go that route. My gaming group is just too comfortable with the old 3D6 characteristic and hit point approach, even though the characteristics (for one) cause periodic problems. Steve

Bad luck! This was sounding like a great game -- too bad the colony died. What are you going to do for your next campaign?

I would think in this situation, the Grand Master might need a little more legitimacy. So, he might declare himself Bishop. That way, all is right and proper, no one has reason to challenge his rule -- it's the way it's always done. Until folks arrive from the church and dispute it. Nice subtheme or roleplaying opportunity there. Steve

So, other than the Persian king, it's just a historical retelling.

Oh yes, the stars will be aligned perfectly then. Next time will be different. Oh yes.

If you're staying historically accurate and have to give most of the women the profession "housewife",then I'd look for subprofessions. I would think it unlikely that everyone has the same skills at everything -- so there is an advantage to trade. So Sally is Housewife(Baker) because everyone knows her bread is the best and if you have something to barter or have to entertain, you get her to make bread for you. Similarly, there will be midwives, gardeners, seamstresses, weavers, embroiderers, etc. I would think there would be a number of women who are basically running the family business even though their husbands are the 'grocer' or 'butcher'. So I would go through and assign every woman a business, social, or government function. Even though the husband is officially Mayor, everyone may know that his wfe makes the decisions, or she's the one to talk to about farming rghts because she's the one who cares and can influence the mayor. It's a common belief, which I think is supported by research in aggregate, that women are more social than men, that they spend more time and energy keeping the social fabric of society together. So there should be a wide range of (sub-)professions that deal with social things (everything from envoys to keeper of records to welcoming committees to grief support functions to matchmaking to trading gossip or judging social missteps). Hopefully that helps somewhat. Steve

I'd love something like Lensmen meets Bladerunner. I think BRP is a little gritty to do justice to the Lensmen series, but the technological advancement, long-running battle between nerds and goo, er, I mean Arisia and Eddore, would all be good. And Bladerunner is probably a better fit in terms of tone. I'm not sure how the GURPS lensman supplement did. Steve