Baron

I miss my LARPing days. Never had such a cool spot for it though.

I'd be happy to do it, if you like.

Hmm. Could you just say that chaotic monsters are subject to detect chaos so storm bulls can quite rightly go kill them. But regular human carpenters who happen to worship chaos are not "tainted?" Not even chaos cult leaders? Humans just aren't made of chaos like monsters are. That's how I'd do it.

I think I'll have to do that now. 😛

"I HATE the Romans! A LOT!"

I am probably not typical of the majority of RQ gamers today. If I buy a published setting, it becomes mine. I may use most of the setting, but the "future" is what happens at my table. Lunars occupy Pavis. No matter what various NPCs want, that may not change for a hundred years, or three hundred years. My players will have adventures in the setting as it exists. I doubt any of them will become demigods who remake the world.

I will use your books as I use Pavis. I hope your adventures will be exciting and fun without requiring adherence to someone's particular imaginary timeline -- because that's MY job.

Thanks for sharing your work. I only saw a fraction of it back in the day.

I've been on role-playing sabbatical for a while, but have started to get back into it. So I'm looking for a RQ2 game. In-person would be great (Westside Los Angeles), but online will do. Ideally, Roll20, voice and video. Thanks, hope to hear from someone.

I hear a Sergio Leone soundtrack, is there something wrong with me?

I like and play BRP, although I won't look at the new edition. I'm quite happy with what I have.

I participated in the discussions during M-Space's development. I don't play Mythras, it's not to my taste. So I was disappointed when it went in that direction.

If M-Space were to become available for BRP I'd be happy to give it a spin at my table.

But I really don't understand or appreciate comments like BRP has done nothing new in the 7 years since, or ...not abandon a decade or more of innovation and revert to the almost half-century-old hodge-podge of BRP.

A) Why denigrate something other people like? And

B) Why is there a problem with a game that's loved by many because it hasn't been changed? That's a major plus in my book. Change isn't always to everyone's taste, and certainly doesn't guarantee anything positive. It's simply a matter of taste.

I enjoy discussions that don't "cast shade" on things that people like.

56 minutes ago, svensson said:

In later editions, the bard is not the badass Fighter + Thief + Magic guy in 1st edition. And at no point are they as good at their spells as the wizards or clerics they're supposed replace.

And a even multiclass Fighter Thief is a better combatant and thief than a single classed bard of twice the level.

There's an easy answer to all that. Play first edition. 😀

On 4/2/2023 at 8:22 AM, svensson said:

The problem with bards [besides the player that likes playing bards] is that the only thing their good at is talking.

See also: Monks.

I finally saw the movie myself. According to the numbers I've seen, which I'll share here, it might not have done well enough to merit a sequel. Although they could push ahead anyway on a second try. There's also a TV show in the works, that might make another movie palatable.

The numbers (I'm just copy-pasting someone else):

April 17th:

Domestic Box Office $74,248,871

International Box Office $82,933,261

Worldwide Box Office $157,182,132

Source: https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Dungeons-and-Dragons-Honor-Among-Thieves-(2023)#tab=summary

Budget: $151 million

Standard to break even 2.5X the budget: $378 million

Currently losing: 378-157 = $221 million

https://screenrant.com/how-much-ant-man-wasp-quantumania-cost-to-make/

So, the film has grossed ~97 million (assuming that Hasbro got the normal 60% of the ticket sales... but it could be less if Hasbro didn't have as good as contract as the other big players) on a budget of $150 million to make (and a reasonable estimate of an additional $100 million to promote).

It tanked.

April 27:

Well, at this point I think it's safe to say it did tank:

Grosses:

Domestic (46.5%) $83,262,439

International (53.5%) $95,800,000

Worldwide $179,062,439

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl1879410177/

May 14:

Budget: $151 million

Standard to break even 2.5X the budget: $378 million

Worldwide Box office: $203 million

Currently losing: 378-203 = $175 million

Those numbers are to date AND very generous BTW the multiplier is 2.5 to 3 X it's budget to break even.

I do have to speak up for the bard (and monk) though. Of course, I'm speaking from the POV of 1st ed AD&D, which is my D&D. I can't speak to other editions. The bard is supposed to be based on the Celtic figure, who studied under druid tutelage. He studied law and acted as an arbiter. He was the society's historian. He acted as herald. He also held the role our modern press is supposed to fill, that is, a check on unsuitable rulers. He supposedly has powers one might attribute to magic. Now, that's the history. In 1st ed he has to be a powerful fighter, then possess the skills of a powerful thief. That latter probably for the stealth skills as opposed to stealing. Finally he gets druid spells and other magical powers. Again, I can't speak for other D&D editions, but in 1st ed he's a power to be reckoned with, which is why he appears in an appendix instead of the rules proper, as an option some DMs might not employ.

If you're interested in more, I recommend Keith Taylor's Bard series.

The monk also appears at the end of the chargen section as optional in 1st ed. With his high movement rate, ability to deflect missile weapons, stunning strike (or even "quivering palm," which is a one-shot death blow), special abilities like speaking with plants and animals, and multiple attacks, he has lots of potential. If you say he's not as effective as a warrior with great equipment, well I guess that depends on what you want to accomplish. The game isn't all about combat. But as an unarmored and unarmed combatant, he can be a lot of fun to play. You don't choose a monk if you just want to hit things with your sword.

So yeah, I didn't think the movie was all that, but it made me laugh. And its bard didn't stack up to the other "player characters." A missed opportunity in my book.

19 hours ago, g33k said:

I'd bump all your descriptions up a notch, adding a higher level for "Hero."  With a tad of luck & some intentional direction during char-gen, starting PC's can hit that 100% skill, and the 85%-90% range is relatively easy.

Wow, really? I only play RQ2, but in our games a 100% skill was a master. I guess there's been skill inflation over the years. Not my style, I expect players to go the zero to hero route. No impact on Ian's work though, I'll be tinkering all over the numbers.

Sweet, thanks. I always enjoy your stuff.

Hi Colin!

Couldn't you just put them here in the Downloads section, like always?

Well, I've actually decided to do it, use Ghastly Affair to run Harkers through an investigative Stokerish Ravenloft (1&2). A few of my gaming friends are excited. Sure, there'll be a lot of writing involved, but I think it will pay off.

I would look at it sideways, if you will. Picture a gothic horror story as in Bram Stoker. Put your CoC hat on. Open your Strahd material. Then re-write the key to suit. You're making something new, because as-written Ravenloft is about killing monsters. You can certainly do it. But rather than CoC or Pulp or Dark Ages, you might want to consider using something like Ghastly Affair, which I think is really designed for that sort of thing. And you know what, I just might do that!

1 hour ago, oldschooltommy said:

Will you please share with the rest of us

Sure, here you go:

first zip file

second zip file

Oh, well. Just in case anyone's reading, no one contacted me. I guess I'll have to make do.

Hey Jackleg, are you asking what the CoC 6th ed rules looked like under Achtung Cthulhu? If you are and I get a few minutes, I'll pull the book down and give you some feedback. It's been a good while since I've looked it over. I never got around to running it, but I hope to run or play it someday using the 6th edition rules.

Forgive the necromancy. I'm working on a campaign setting and I finally bought a copy of Dragon Lines. Over the course of this thread there was mention of some free downloads: a clean PDF character sheet, a map of the country and a map of the Forbidden City. At this late date I haven't been able to locate any of those three files online. If any kind soul could help me out I'd be grateful. Thanks very much.

It's old school. Why shouldn't an old school cover sell old school material, to both actual old-schoolers and newer fans of old school? Although I didn't think the point of this was sales. And maybe, just maybe, an old school cover will stand out to the as-yet-unexposed newer gamers, and they'll download this specifically because they've never seen anything like it before.

You are not wrong to be concerned. I would simply ask them not to read anything about Cthulhu or Lovecraft. Tell them that you want to surprise them within the game, and they would spoil what you could be inspired to present to them. Tell them that if they read everything, they will force you to make up original creations and situations. That would mean more work for you, and less real, authentic Lovecraft in the game.

I would say the same thing for any game setting I run. You can either read the source material, or be players in a game. You can't do both.

I'm always pleased to see products for the older editions.

3 hours ago, Conrad said:

Kris clarified his map scale, so here it is for anyone who wants it. This applies to the hex maps. 1 small hex = 1 mile. 1 medium hex = 3 miles. 1 large hex is approximately 12 miles. So if you have those maps you could use those scales. 😁 

Thanks Conrad. My map PDFs don't have hexes though, just the scale in leagues. Did Kris happen to mention which of the two league measurements that Nick mentioned he had in mind?

I've never understood why some folks get bent if you post on an old thread. Seeing continued interest seems great to me! Anyway, that map is just a section of a larger map of "The North Kingdom." I can't recall if it was part of a purchase or not, but I have it on my hd. Anyway, the large map has a scale listed in leagues. Eyeballing it, I'd say it's five or six leagues between Brond Mindas and Highbank. Hope that helps.