Nikoli

Hi, I’m curious whether anyone has used MW or BRP generally to run a game set in FF’s Titan setting? The setting would suit many of the MW monsters, the Conan-like magic, and also the unusual magic additions (e.g., mask magic) in Advanced Sorcery. In terms of detail, there’s a small paperback for describing the world of Titan, as well as the revised FF rpg system which has the same information. (I bought much of those materials, but I couldn’t get the game system to operate. I tried it once and it quickly, for me and my players, came undone. But the world was appealing.) Here’s the paperback, which is handy - I got mine cheap on Amazon: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titan_(Fighting_Fantasy_book) In case you don’t know, there’s also now an exhaustive Atlas of Titan drawing on all sorts of maps and information compiled from the many game books. You can find the attached file here: https://fightingfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/The_Atlas_of_Titan What I think MW can do is provide an elegant system that won’t have the issues I encountered with the FF rpg system. If you want that old-school fantasy feel, and a different setting, it may be worth a look. (You could also use BRP Classic Fantasy in that setting, too.) N

Basically, I couldn’t get my magical needs satisfied with MW or Adv Sor, but with some thinking and previous suggestions by Questbird, I was able to get the magic I wanted. I love MW as a system - I just needed more ‘magic’ for my ‘world’. 🙂

I think Advanced Sorcery is largely undercooked. With the additional rules posted by Chaot, the Deep Magic seems useable now. For me, although I loved the rest of it, on the whole MW was not especially magical, though it would suit a Conan feel. I wanted to recreate WFRP and also divine magic, which wasn’t possible as is. The BRP Magic Book was also too limiting and crunchy in parts (I had previously bought the deluxe Runequest 3rd edition and the magic system there gave me a headache - The Magic Book was, for me, still less than elegant and pretty much an identical headache), though the divine spheres (war, nature, etc) was nice and should have been in MW or Advanced Sorcery in some way in order to round out a key feature of fantasy gaming in a generic system. Magic World needed to be more magical, imo. Personally, I’d just use Spell Law with spell lists as skills and new spells tied to advancement in those lists, similar to levels. Attack spells of certain levels do damage as per the demon power table in Advanced Sorcery. I feel a spell list approach is ideal for a percentile system generally. For me, the useful stuff in Adv Sor was the extra demon stuff and magic items. Deep Magic needs the extra rules posted by Chaot, imo. But they could be very cool with those additions.

I agree. I’m rarely convinced that there are any limits to a percentile system, even with superheroes (a debated weakness). I think it just comes down to the creative design of other mechanics. With Flash Gordon or Star Wars, WEG used a single dodge roll against all attacks, which lasts the round, so that is one option. It reflects how the heroes tend to avoid attack. If you roll a success only a special or critical can now get through. (Perhaps luck points can temporarily raise the success level for defensive purposes.) I think it always comes down to the additional mechanics to evoke the setting; I find the percentile system (100% plus) and BRP characteristics perfect.

Hi All, Since there is a new edition in the works, I was wondering if anyone is willing to part with their 6th edition Malleus Monstrorum? If so, I’m buying. (I doubt I’ll be moving on to the 7th edition.) PM if you want to sell. 🙂 Thanks, N.

In other exciting news, I managed to get myself a copy of Worlds Beyond. I’ve been very lucky lately - got both Cthulhu Rising and Worlds Beyond. 🙂 Now I just need patience.

One final suggestion, though it’s really not needed and is just icing on the cake, is to perhaps have a ‘setting’ label or space on the sheet. This could be beside the M-Space logo to the right, or beneath culture. (One might imagine the M as standing for Multi or Many-Space now!) E.g., Setting: *Star Trek Universe*. (Naturally, the GM would just input the setting.) But it’s really not needed and is easily added anyways. But it might be a nice touch.

Yeah. The derivation from characteristics wasn’t needed unless that method was being used by the GM, and the styles likewise. It made sense to go all the way and make it totally blank. I’m trying to decide on an approach to combat styles that players might agree with and which is fair, so I was thinking that if the profession or culture is academic, there would either be no style available or one. If roguish, like a smuggler, then 2 weapons included in the style, and if war-related or trained, 3. (It’s so I have a consistent approach to it, as the styles are new to me and I’d rather avoid players debating it.) I’m really looking forward to the Companion, too. 🙂

That’s perfect, Clarence! You even removed the combat gunnery and unarmed, which I was considering mentioning. It’s ideal now as it’s easy to include whatever the game setting requires. And if we get a form fillable version, it will be easy to do. I never quite understood why there wasn’t such a sheet for BRP generally, such as in the BGB, since it was intentional multi-genre. All it takes is a misplaced skill to detract from immersion in the setting. So well done for doing one! 🙂

Thanks for the thought! Yes, that was shared with me via PM. The resources are great!

I think that’s perfect! (One more for the non-simplified hitpoint locations and they’ll be ideal for any setting.) Seriously, this is great. I have LONG thought that the flexibility of BRP and related D100 games has been hindered by the lack of a flexible character sheet. This kind of sheet truly supports a setting-free, generic sci-fi ruleset. Well done!

I’d buy it, that’s for sure. The setting idea is genius. All it lacks is starship combat, but with M-Space and its starship rules the M can now stand for Mythos. 😉 I’m a big fan of the CR character sheet, too. A good sheet does a lot to evoke a game. I feel CR has the right level of granularity in terms of skills etc. I’m genuinely excited to receive it in the post. I’ve also ordered the softbacks of Jovian Nightmares, End Times, and Empire of Tsan Chan from drivethrurpg to complete the futuristic weirdness. (Once Men is not available, unfortunately, in softback.)

Hi All, I got very lucky and managed to find a copy for 48 dollars. I snapped it up. Now I just have to wait. 🙂 I hope it arrives safely. (I had almost given up, and had searched many times over the past few days, but decided to search one more time.) Nikoli

When the stars are right... 🙂 I had better start the blasphemous ritual, so.

Hi Scotty, Once Men is also a pdf and so is Empire of Tsan Chan. They don’t seem available in softback. Actually, reading your comment again, I think you might mean that the OTHER pdfs will be available eventually, but never Cthulhu Rising and Jovian Nightmares. Is that the case? If so, that’s a pity.

Hi. Do you mean those pdfs will be available in softcover? If so, any idea as to when? I’d buy them asap if I could.

It’s not available on Noble Knight anyways, but I’ll keep an eye out for it on ebay. I have the pdf, but I’d like the softcopy. I suppose I could get a printer to print and bind...but I’d rather the book. It’s a pity we don’t have a print on demand with Chaosium, as that book is great. 🙂

Thanks Clarence, I’m not familiar with the Mythras Companion (I don’t really like the look of Mythras so far), but I’ll check it out. I mainly wanted a sci-fi system. I liked that M-Space avoided some of the action points, as I prefer a more narrative approach. I haven’t fully digested the combat yet, which is quite different from what I’m used to (Magic World, CoC, etc). Yes, I would LOVE a blank skill-free character sheet! I could write my own skills in and photocopy for players. I noticed the Standard Skills seem to vary around 6 to 9. I guess up to 8 would be reasonable for profession design, and then so long as one has at least 3 for professional skills, that might work. N.

Hi Everyone, I’m not sure if this is the right place for this, but hopefully so. I’m looking for a softback copy of Cthulhu Rising and was wondering if anyone is willing to sell me one? The current prices on Amazon etc are a bit silly (in the hundreds) but I’m willing to pay a good amount for a hard-to-get copy. If you’re willing to sell and have an amount in mind, please PM me. I’m into BRP scifi so the game will be loved! 🙂 Thanks, Nikoli

Actually, if Clarence sees this, might I suggest a skill open sheet (just blank aside from characteristics) for the M-Space Companion, complete with guidelines to create one’s own professions? That way, the GM can use M-Space to completely evoke any and all settings by adding their own skills and designing their own professions (including adjusting previous ones). Combat styles, too. If we really want to use the family of BRP games we need an open sheet. Nikoli

Hi, I’ve been looking for and struggling with BRP sci-fi for a while. I’ve looked at all the options in the downloads. I have M-Space, which is a breath of fresh air, but I’m finding the character sheet and skill list to be rather limiting and not very sci-fi. The skill descriptions don’t really evoke a sci-fi feel for me personally. (As compared to Cthulhu Rising, for example, but it’s frustrating to rely on different game pieces. Incidentally, one of my pet peeves is the lack of a completely blank BRP character sheet - except for Str, Con, etc - so that I can input my own skills. If we had a completely genre open sheet, it’d be awesome.) Anyways, can anyone suggest how to adjust the M-Space skill lists and professions so that the characters might fit more on to Traveller, Star Trek, or Star Wars? I just don’t get a sci-fi feel from the M-Space character generation and sheet. Looking at the professions, there’s no science officer or even scientist. (The scholar only has knowledge skills, not science skills.) It’s hard for me to see a lot of sci-fi tropes in M-Space at present based on the current sheet and skills/professions. The current list of professions also have a variable amount of standard and professional skills, so guidelines on creating new professions would be useful to address the above issues. I guess 5 to 7 skills each from standard and professional skills? (I’m not too fond of the Mythras division into standard and professional skills; I much prefer the old CoC 8 skills approach. I guess I’m stuck in my ways!) I presently feel the sci-fi tone is underplayed in M-Space and yet we still have skills like seamanship on the sheet. (That could have been a subcategory of piloting, for example.) Any tips from any who have played M-Space in Traveller, etc., would be welcome. Maybe you didn’t make any changes to skills and professions at all? Nikoli

Edit: Just noticed that someone beat me to it above! 🙂 Hi Guys, For music, I’d recommend Graham Plowman. He’s a composer who specialises in Lovecraft and has an extensive catalogue of orchestral pieces. He has also scored independent films and even ebooks (via booktracks). Here’s a link, though you can find him if you Google:

I prefer MW. The system is more dynamic in terms of success levels, which allows for more scope, and the category modifiers make sense to players and give the character design a more holistic feel, as opposed to characteristics being locked out of skills. (As an additional element, I think having skill maximums at the governing characteristic x10 might be an interesting option, too.) Like with CoC and other BRP games, I personally think a danger relative to other systems is the character design can sometimes feel two dimensional and lacking in dynamics. So the category modifiers go some way towards addressing that. (I personally would also add some talent options or similar.) Anything that makes the character design integrative across the page (category modifiers) is good imo, and then hopefully you can find ways to develop the characters in terms of depth. Having characteristics locked outside of skills makes little sense in terms of world or character design, and I think players will eventually notice it. So, for me, MW succeeds. (But I get it’s a matter of taste.)

I’m pretty sure another difference is experience. If memory serves, in MW your occupational skills increase by D8, and non-occupational skills by D6. You also get an automatic increase of an occupational skill when advancing, without needing to roll over. I like the difference between occupations and non-occupations, though I’m hesitant of the automatic increase. In Elric! it’s just a D10 regardless of whether it’s occupational or not. MW is better, IMO. MW also has a different grade/degree of success. Elric! has critical (1/5th), success, failure, and fumble. (Some weapons can impale.) However, MW has critical (1/20th), special (1/5th), success, failure, and fumble, for all rolls. So there’s more of an interesting skill-based contest in MW. A special will make a critical into a normal success, for example, with contested rolls pulling opposed rolls down. I don’t recall if Elric! has that system. MW seems more dynamic generally. MW has 20 or 25% in Brawl, whereas Elric! has 50%. I prefer the Elric! value here. I think the MW system for differential advancement is to be preferred, as is the contested mechanic and degrees of success. You could easily use this approach in Elric!

I’d definitely be interested. I recently purchased HeroQuest 2, to play a Superhero game, though I find the lack of scaling difficult to grasp. I want a little more bite from the world itself. A little more simulation. It seems too vague for now. But considering the mechanic, of 1 to 20 repeating, it seems that BRP and HeroQuest could be combined. The BRP could be used for the ordinary daily identity (photography; journalism; law; etc.) whereas the HeroQuest mechanic could be used for extraordinary powers. So some skills would be percentile, and if a power (like super speed 15) was relevant to an ordinary skill, by multiplying the number times 5 we could get a percentile augment. Then use the Magic World success, special, critical outcome with skills over 100%. In essence, being 1 to 20 suggests an easy addition to percentiles (when relevant) while allowing powers to oppose powers with a D20 just as is normal in HeroQuest. Super Tough 7W1 could add 27 to HPs, too, and maybe 2points of armour per mastery. Extraordinary powers could also add, when relevant, directly to stats, so 20 super strength would add to 15 STR, making it 35, if some test was needed for lifting etc., or to add to the damage bonus. This would mean that a 10W4 in Str (someone suggested this for the Hulk) would equate to a basic STR of 100 plus (if Banner had 10 or more in his human form). The 100 is a useful number because it fits a lot of CoC baddies. Nyarlathotep has 100 POW, so similarly a cosmic superhero with great magic would approach that. (The weight for 100 Siz likely won’t work for how much the Hulk can truly lift, but the narrative elements of HeroQuest seem useful here too. The system could be scaled so that 100 or more is the effective maximum, so a huge monster is, no matter how big for cinematic reasons, effectively 100 if Superman or someone was to try and lift it. Credibility tests would apply here, as 5 Strength 20 heroes would not be able to budge it. The order of magnitude is not merely additive, but depends on the amount of super strength.) It would need tweaking, but I don’t see why both methods couldn’t be combined. One for a simulationist daily persona, the other for narrative powers that, when relevant, can also add to the simulationist skills due to a simple x5 mechanic and allowance for skills over 100%. In any case, I’d love to see a new Superworld whatever the system. 🙂