Mankcam

In reference to the original thread title about Skill Categores: In my campaign I allow a player to make skill checks as usual. Every additional time that a player character succeeds with a particular skill allows them to have a +1% to their Skill Check, with a culminative maximum bonus not exceeding their Skill Category Modifier. Seems to keep the Skill Categories relevant, and works okay in practice. More of a streamlining of an option from RQ3, rather than a brand new use of the Skill Categories. I am also interested in Ringworld's way of handling Skill Categories as well, as it is not the first time this has been raised

You could keep tinkering with BRP BGB, or, like RosenMcStern says, just try RQ6. The combat system is a great variant of the BRP combat system, with plenty of combat options and special weapon effects. In a combat orientated game, RQ6 is a work of art. It may save you alot of prep time if you cross over to it; it could be what you are after if you want dynamic combat. Unsure if it sorts out your concerns regarding low damage vs high armour though.

I agree. BRP is a great game to tinker with, but experience has taught me to leave the core combat system alone. I envison that the authors have playtested the combat mechanics more than any other rules, and I trust their judgement. Not to say that the combat system cannot be used creatively (such as a re-trapping it for portraying 'social combat', for instance). However I feel that there are just too many variables that imported combat rules could disrupt in regards to physical combat. Tweaking is fine, but I am reluctant these days to make major combat rules changes. 'Proceed With Caution' is the best advice I can give...

Makes sense. A standard knife attack would be a slash, but an attack that scores a Special Success would probably indicate a deep stabbing action, so perhaps using the Impale rules as an option sounds logical Thats a reasonable way to run the rules if you want to go down this path; you would be using a pre-existing rule creatively, rather than making up a brand new mechanic or importing a rule from another system. I would be interested in seeing how this goes in play

I second the vote for Cowboy Bebop characters

Arrgh! Please make him stop! heh heh No, those are good interpretations of the old goofy Batman villains

I agree that due to the small HP range in BRP then these Pathfinder rules may not port over cleanly, it will may lead to too much auto-kill and take the random aspect out of combat. Modelling the level cap from the Stormbringer magic is probably a sensible way to go. Perhaps another option is to allow for an attack roll to be made as a Difficult roll (halve skill roll), and grant some options - obviously one option is Aimed Blow, but another perhaps could be a Damage Bonus ( maybe increase current damage bonus by one dice level perhaps?) Actually I'm not sure if these options are already available...well, the Aimed Blow is, but I'm unsure about the Damage Bonus... I have read it somewhere....RQ6 perhaps?... (I need to check my RQ6 and BGB Spot Rules tonight!)

All great ideas listed above. The idea from Pathfinder is not bad, but the way the James Bond game handled was were very cool. However if you were wanting to create a mechanic that is in keeping with the current BRP rules then perhaps looking at the Arete options are the way to go. That's the only mechanic I can find (beyond the success levels) that rewards exceptional ability in a skill. New mechanics are certainly fine, but the home rules I tend to import to my games these days are ones that are extensions of pre-existing published rules. Otherwise I run the risk of new mechanics unwittingly tripping over other mechanics, sometimes with quite unforseen results. That said, I'll be watching this thread with keen interest.

Ever since I saw the film 'Excalibur' as a child I have always wanted a gritty Arthurian period. This setting is not a dead ringer for the setting portrayed in the Excalibur film, but its closer than any other I've seen. I just love how 'pagan' the world of Mythic Britain feels. Blood, mud, and dark rites abound. No room for chivalry here, its all about strong iron and auspicious omens. Great stuff. This simply is a great sourcebook, I'm stoked with my pdf, and can't wat to hold a print edition in my hands. Well done again Design Mechanism

D&D also holds a strange fascination with rpg gamers, even if you never play it. I guess its still the biggest bad boy on the block. But from a rules mechanics point of view, BRP and RQ are still so much better from how I see it. Playing class/level based rpgs are akin to playing an online MMO except with dice. I tend to find that you often play a class instead of a character. The rise in more narrative-focused tabletop rpg games from the mid 90s onwards has been great in shifting the hobby back to ROLE playing ( as in a Character role), although sometimes at the cost of poor game mechanics. Hence why I love the BRP family of games. They have great simulationist mechanics which typically blend into the background, and allow for storytelling to take centre stage. Despite such, there are still times when you just want to be that Level 6 Fighter who loots every nonsensical dungeon he finds. This is why MMOs work well, and they really are the true inheritors of D&D and other class/level based rpgs

If it has a 'roll D100+Skill and beat target number' core skill mechanic, then it probably plays much closer to an ICE game (Rolemaster, Spacemaster, HARP etc) rather than to a BRP game. It does look really cool, but its not all that relevant to BRP. Eclipse Phase would be a much closer rpg due to its similarity with core percentile mechanics, as is Barebones Fantasy or even Warhammer. This game is probably only hackable in setting content, rather than system compatibility. Not to say that it shouldn't be hacked however

I like how p_clapman has statted The Doctor. He probably needs some kind of luck mechanic or knack as well. Very pulpy!

Mad Max Indiana Jones Magnum PI All of the regenerations of Dr Who (also some villains ie The Master, Daleks, Cybermen, Sontarens, Weeping Angels, etc) Conan the Barbarian (different stages of his life) Raylan Givens and Boyd Crowder (from Justified) James Bond Arrow Corto Maltese Avatar The Last Airbender characters 100 Bullets graphic novel characters Fables graphic novel characters (ie Bigby Wolf, Boy Blue, etc) Middle Earth characters

,

13th Age is indeed very much D20 OGL, and its authors previously worked for WotC on D&D 3.5E and D&D 4E. The interesting thing is that 13th Age feels like it captures the spirit of the earlier D&D editions (pre D&D 3E), as well as having some interesting tweaks that would be more commonly seen with new rpgs like FATE or other 'indie scene' rpgs. The game mechanics are simplistic in a gamist sense, yet the system is novel enough to have some richness from a narrative sense. Its not really following Pathfinder style complexity; rather its more like a very well produced D&D retroclone, with some new indie tweaks to the rules. It does not feel bloated at all, and its all contained under one hardcover. It manages to feel fresh, yet retains the charm of old school D&D, as if played by the FATE kids IMO much better than D&D 5E It has its own setting, but could easily work with Forgotten Realms, or indeed, most fantasy settings (hence the 13th Age Glorantha kickstarter) I prefer BRP/RQ, but 13th Age is the closest I will get to GMing D&D

Current BRP campaigns I manage to run: * Pulp Cthulhu (Call of Cthulhu meets Amazing Adventures) * RuneQuest Glorantha Currently playing: * White Wolf Storyteller, World of Darkness settings (DA Fae at present) Settings I would love to play BRP/RQ in, if I had the time to develop the settings: * Middle Earth * Hyborian Age * Elder Scrolls * Forgotten Realms * Mad Max or Terminator BRP/RQ Settings I would love to play one day: * Mythic Iceland * Merrie England * Mythic Britain * ROME * Celestial Kingdom * River of Heaven Other rpgs I would love to play or GM: * FATE - Spirit Of The Century; Age of Ragnarok * Ubiquity - All For One; Hollow Earth Expeditions; League Of Adventurers * Eclipse Phase * Traveller * Cipher - Numenera and/or The Strange * D20 - 13th Age, Conan, Star Wars So many games, so little time...

13th Age is a pretty cool D20 game, and feels very D&D to me. I picked it up in case the only players I had available insisted on doing D&D, as it feels like a good stand in with some modern concepts. Its all self contained in one hardcover book, slightly slimmer than the BGB, so no buying the old trifeta of Players, Dungeon Masters, and Monsters handbooks in order to be able to play the core rules. I have the free pdf of the rules for D&D 5E, which is a great set of free rules you'll ever find, regarding value of content. However I thought it felt quite bland in comparison to 13th Age, and I doubt I'll ever GM it, as it just doesn't appeal that much to me. But then again, I discovered BRP/RQ in the 80s before I even played in a D&D game, and I've always felt D&D was not a great system compared to many other rpgs. Even other level/class based games such as Rolemaster seemed to do gamist rpg playing much better.The new rules haven't shifted my thoughts all that much I'm afraid Although as far as 'generic fantasy' goes, the Forgotten Realms setting is one of the best, and I'm glad that D&D has shifted its focus back to that instead of that god-awful Ebberon (a WoW clone, IMO). I also enjoyed Kyrnn (the world of the Dragonlance series) back in the day, I'm not sure why WotC didnt grab it off TSR when they produced D&D 3E. I'ld consider picking up an updated Krynn or Forgetten Worlds gazetter if it captures the flavour of the 80s/90s D&D setting

I have this pdf and the setting looks great. Well worth the wait. Unfortunately I use pdfs as reference, and need the hardcopy to really ingest it, so I'm looking forward to the physical book release. However, I'm really happy with this one has been released; its a good addition to the RQ6 library

I think RQ6 is the future of RQ, but good luck with this project in any case!

I have been calculating Power Points as (POW+CHA)/2 for the last few years, as in my settings they not only reflect magical essence, but they also reflect something of the character's conviction and charisma, as I use them to also cost for Stunts/Feats. I think I will just use PP to also reflect Resolve as in the social combat rules proposed by Montjoy's, for the sake of not starting an extra set out points. I'ld probably recharge them at 1d3 per round afterwards, or if there is no combat then they would just reset between narrative scenes. I think Montjoy's concept of simply replicating the current physical combat mechanics works great and is consistent with the rules. I will be looking at trying this out for complex bargaining and persuasion/negotiation situations, I think its perfect!

Montjoy's rules look perfect, I'm making that canon for me!

Yes, I think defending someone would just count as a combat action as usual. So if the defending character has not already defended that round then it would be their usual Parry roll. If they have already done so, then any further Parry attempts within that melee round would incur the accumulative -30% modifier as usual, regardless of whether they were being attacked or if they were defending another person. If there are multiple people defending, then usually the character with the highest Parry chance will make the roll, with the other defenders providing a complimentary bonus to the roll, equal to the accumulation of their chances of a Special Success with their own Parry rolls. I think those rules pretty much cover everything you're after here. Well that's how I see this playing out

These are both pretty cool supplements; highly recommended