Questbird

I enjoyed the 1980s Maelstrom immensely (and I still have it!), especially its magic system. I've just downloaded Maelstrom Domesday pdf and I'm looking forward to reading it.

Thanks for pointing that out. Elric! uses the 99 or 00 fumble rule like Legend, but the BGB allows for much more fumbling. I came up with a dice rolling system which takes care of the maths for specials and fumbles Given the lethality of combat I prefer the 99/00 rule but that's a personal preference.

In fact the optional critical failure system described is exactly how BRP fumbles are supposed to work (BGB p. 173): 5% of the chance to fail. I didn't realise because my base system is Elric! which uses the 99 or 00 fumble rule.

I'd love a Linux version if you could do one.

Sorry you don't like visual dice methods Nakana, but this has got me thinking. Here's a visual dice method which produces statistically and conceptually similar results to straight BRP. Roll d100 1 or 2 on the units die is a special. If the result is equal to or under your skill, special success; over and it's a special failure (optional) If you roll an odd 'tens' result, eg 10, 30, 50 etc. which is equal to or under your skill, it's a critical success* In other words, a 0, 1 or 2 on the units die indicates a more powerful result. Roll low still applies! This system still allows for normal fumbles (99 and 00 are not specials), and rewards very low rolls (01 and 02 are specials unless you have no skill). In Soltakss' example above: Two opponents, A and B, with skills of 60% and 65%, the first rolls 10, the second 70, what would be the result under your table? This system: A has a critical success, B rolls a failure* Vanilla BRP: A has a special success, B rolls a failure *OPTIONALLY, if you roll an odd 'tens' result over your skill it's a critical failure (though there aren't rules for this in BRP). If you use this rule you shouldn't use the normal fumble rules. Note that such critical failures are more likely than fumbles.

Like Mjollnir said, there are visual heuristics you can use which ignore the maths altogether. Eg. for 20% you can say any 0 or 5 on the units die which is less than your skill is a special success (or you can pick any 2 other numbers if it is more meaningful to you). One advantage of this system is that it allows for special failure, a concept not normally used in BRP because the on-the-fly maths is too tricky. You just apply the same system for numbers greater than your skill. One disadvantage is that if you are used to the calculation method, the visual dice method is confusing. Not quite sure of an easy way to get 05% with this method though.

I'm not sure if it's the only one, but there certainly is OpenQuest discussion here, including from Newt Newport the writer of OQ.

I love the Maelstrom magick system; search these forums for many threads where I've gone on about it. Not only is it perfect for low magic settings (was it magic, or just a fluke?) but it also encourages creative roleplaying and problem solving by player spellcasters. eg, if such-and-such effect would be Highly Unlikely under certain circumstances, a player is forced to think how he might either achieve a similar effect in a more likely way or increase the likelihood of his first idea by some other action; either way the line between true magic and chicanery is delightfully blurred.

Thanks Puck. I liked what I saw so I went and purchased the pdf of The Green from Chaosium (downloading as I write this). I think a lot of the authors of the monographs have found Chaosium's lack of follow-up frustrating. Publishing errata, second editions or supplementary material has been fraught for a number of monographs I've acquired. Various people seem to have found different solutions, sometimes finding another publisher (eg. Classic Fantasy), or giving stuff away (eg. you, or Swords of Cydoria), or just giving up. I don't have any answers to this recurring problem though.

And I don't expect you to. It's just unfortunate that the program works differently across platforms.The simpler ones do work, but yours is more elaborate (and I was excited about that). Thanks for putting the work in anyhow.

Hmm. I tried it but it still doesn't work for me (missing)... on Android. But I've been looking through the manual and I should be able to derive something simpler using some of your data.

You have most of the sources I know of for BRP. I know you listed some of the Harn books already but really those are a pretty good repository of mostly RPG-focused medieval research. Even though Harn/Lythia is not medieval Europe, its creators have pretty much researched that period to a large extent as inspiration. I would also give a cheer to Cthulhu Dark Ages and Crusaders of the Amber Coast for historical BRP. A good non-gaming resource is the Dictionary of Chivalry by Grant Uden (though I'm not sure if it's still in print).

Thanks, I downloaded it, but it doesn't work well on my Android Tablet. It says: (missing) (missing) (missing) ... 10 times, or however many you select. I looked at the code but couldn't really work it out (I have some Javascript programming experience too so I was hoping to give you a useful bug report) I looked up the instructions for Inspiration Pad for Android and found this (not sure if relevant): So I'm disappointed. No doubt it's a compatibility issue rather than your code. Unless there's some dependency I'm missing, I don't think I can use it.

Great, thanks for making this. I have an Android tablet so I should be able to use it. But the link you posted above says 'Invalid Link' BTW there are some online generators which have been posted from from the Inspiration Pad at http://www.rpginspiration.com/index.htm but I'm not sure if Magic World derived content is legal there. Anyway, thanks for putting in the work.

I'm happy to share my notes. I'll follow up with a private message to you after I've run it with my players.

My probability of running a Swords of Cydoria campaign has gone up from 'Quite likely' to 'Definitely, and soon!' I had a hankering to run a science-fantasy campaign. I considered Chronicles of Future Earth, Empire of the Petal Throne and Jack Vance's Planet of Adventure (a GURPS supplement), and Swords of Cydoria. CoFE - too much fantasy in the science fantasy. There are gods? Why? Empire of the Petal Throne - Cool setting but I don't think enough of my players would dig it. Once again, more fantasy than science fantasy. There are gods, but at least there's some explanation for them. On a practical level, the Tekumel materials are hard to come by and expensive, though I have accumulated enough to run a campaign. Planet of Adventure - loved the book, supplement not so much. Plus it's GURPS so there are conversion issues. I might steal some ideas for my Cydoria campaign though. What sold me on Swords of Cydoria was that it scratches most of my science-fantasy itches, it's well-written, it's BRP, it is accessible to new players without any knowledge of the setting (and to new GMs too!). I especially like the player race illustrations and descriptions -- with enough adventure hooks to inspire players; and the NPC and creature stats (like my beloved Elric!'s Young Kingdoms Digest) for quick play. To tempt people to play I just say "SerenityJohnCarterofMarsWesternsNinjasJedi" very quickly, that usually works. UPDATE: My Swords of Cydoria campaign Rebels of Cydoria is up and running at: https://rebels-of-cydoria.obsidianportal.com/ I've run two adventures so far: The Mountain of Power and halfway through the introductory adventure City in the Mirage My players are running techno-heretics, a Demetrian resistance fighter and a Cyberdroid assassin.

Thanks Evischemer, I'm about to start running a Swords of Cydoria campaign so this will definitely help. I've got another adventure I've made up and there's the one in the book too. I've also made a donation on your blog. I'll send you some feedback when we play this.

I also prefer my games as one book. However if both RQ6 and Classic Fantasy are slimmish volumes it would be fine. My main problem with the BGB is its SIZ. I've got the Classic Fantasy monograph and I'm a player in a campaign with it right now (a sort of mashup with Dragon Warriors). I'm excited about its new incarnation in RQ6.

Maybe it is too fast, but since my group only plays monthly it works out just right for us. You can always use the more conservative 1d6 skill increase from the Big Gold Book...

I agree it is the best. I think it is because it is a slim volume with everything you need, in a pleasing layout (as Chaot mentioned earlier). I don't even use it in the Young Kingdoms (Nehwon for me) but it is just great. Even Magic World is too thick for my taste. Don't get me started on the Big Gold Book.

Thanks for praising my old old site Chaot :-P. No, Obsidian Portal is a different one and no you don't get complete control over the aesthetics on it unless you pay, which is a bit of a shame. However what you do get is the ability for your players to also edit or contribute to your wiki, comment on adventure logs or at least manage their own characters. It's the collaborative thing which is appealing.

My group uses a rule that if you roll a fumble you immediately get 1 point added to the skill. Works quite well for us. Otherwise I use normal skill rolls, except that I use Elric! so skill gain is 1D10 if successful, which can advance skills quite fast.

One of the gaming hosting sites like Obsidian Portal might be a good place to start for those who are interested in the wiki approach. I use that one for my Nehwon campaign. I find more and more of my players have the ability to use electronic resources at the gaming table (not in a disruptive way). So, an accessible wiki can work better than printed out PDF notes. It's also changeable if you work out that your cool house rules really just ain't that good.

The Dragon Warriors land of Legend (not to be confused with Mongoose's Legend game) is like a Mythic Earth concept. It is findable online and is pretty good. I suppose the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay World is somewhat similar -- an ancient Earth-like world with fantastic elements. I picked Runequest + other as well as Magic World (since I play Elric!) so I may have tainted your poll if it was supposed to be a joke. I have stolen bits of Prax for my game world but overall Glorantha never particularly appealed to me.

Ray Turney's excellent Fire and Sword, available here at BRP central also has generic wealth rules so that you don't need to count every penny. It's not a completely new idea -- very little in rpgs is :-)