Mankcam

I had an idea for Super Heroes once. Firstly I replaced Power Points with EGO Points. EGO equaled (POW + defining Stat)/2. Defining stat was a characteristic of choice, such as DEX or STR. Powers then used EGO Points instead of PP. Also any damage taken less than current EGO was considered to be stun damage. A character recover a number of Stuns at the rate of 1/4 CON a round. If taken down to 0 the character could be uncon but nothing lethal. Any damage greater than EGO took off Hit Points as usual. As you depleted EGO Points then it became more dangerous if you got damaged. Some damage from specific powers or effects could bypass the stun mechanics. This, with the use of Mook rules for 'normals', would go a long way to bridge the gap between street level heroes and 4 colour heroes, although it still may not work at Cosmic level. I never got to actually play test my idea, so I can't vouch for it other than just throwing it out there. Perhaps just narratively hand waving it would work just as well.

That's a pretty cool list. I like how they use Power Points. Not sure if that is consistent with how LEGEND does Heroic Abilities though However, if you add this list to the Stunts that are in Blood Tide, then you're home and hosed on a pretty fleshed out 'Feat' system for pulpy settings using BGB rules rather than LEGEND rules... All in all, a great list for BRP

Not sure if you have seen the Blood Tide thread, but we were speaking about Blood Tide's use of Stunts, which is a good Feat system if you want to play a cinematic BRP setting. I't kind relevant to this thread, so I just thought I'd cross post to make sure it wasn't overlooked:

Depends on how loose you want to run this. I could use most of the BGB professions and just give them near- future flavour. The big issue would be cybernetics obviously. One way is to pick one of the current Powers and use that of course, and just have cybernetics as the trappings. Using either Mutations or Super Powers would be the best fit. Otherwise porting another system's cybernetics should be relatively easy. Another really,really loose way to do it is with the Fate point options, or even use Stunts (from Blood Tide), and just tie that to specific implants. A few ways to go with this.

This is one of the best supplements I have ever seen for ancient era play. I was watching HBO Rome at the same time I picked up this book, and it was so relevant. It is indeed worthy of a reprint for BRP, and also possibly a RQ6 version as well.

I agree that the main thing is to keep the PP cost low for Stunts, and have the effect occurring in the same instance or round. Otherwise it will start to cross over too much with magic. I have not had the time to have a more in-depth look at Blood Tide's Voodou magic yet, but I will check that out today if no distractions occur.

Yes they are similar in the fact that it is a Feat system, the first I have seen for BRP BGB rules ( although LEGEND and Renaissance has these). They work simply by expending a set number of PP, typically 1-3 (although the more powerful ones go up to 5PP), which represents Conviction rather than expending magical Essence. The Stunt then changes a perimeter to a skill or the difficulty rating for a specific skill roll for that immediate round. Very simple concept, yet quite functional. No skill requirements necessary, although these could be added if desired I suppose. Having said that, Stunts as described here, are not so much demonstrating technical skill mastery (which is represented in BRP with the Arete / Mastery rules as shown in the Advanced Sorcery book for MagicWorld). It's more just that your character has enough 'swagger' to pull off a trademark stunt, regardless of ability. Very pulpy. I quite like it as I have been running Astounding Adventures using an additional homebrew Feat system that I cooked up, which is very similar to the system for Stunts presented in Blood Tide. I like the fact that the Stunts use PP, it gives a use for PP for non-magic users in a mundane setting. Not sure how it would port over to a fantasy setting like RQ where magic is readily available, I suspect a setting like Glorantha would complicate it due to the proliferation of Common/Folk Magic. Also in terms of game mechanics it would be null void in such a setting, as low magnitude spell casting fills that gap. (As an aside, in my Gloranthan setting I still use the Heroic Abilities from LEGEND, although I only grant them as part of the rewards for Hero Questing, and the ability gained is in keeping with the nature of the quest experienced. This may be in addition to any other magic or knowledge gained from the quest, and indicates that the character is naturally becoming more like the deity whose role they portrayed within the quest). However a low magic setting like Hyboria would be okay using these Stunts from Blood Tide for non-magic users, as long as the magic users had magic similar to Call of Cthulhu so it isn't doubling up. In such a setting, sorcerous magic takes preparation, costs a lot of PP, has long duration or powerful effects, and could possibly take its toll on a character's Sanity; whereas Stunts don't use much PP but only last for the round that the Stunt is being performed in, enhancing the skill that is used at that time. You could also easily add these Stunts to the BRP Western setting monograph of Aces High as well. I wouldn't see them as too much overlap with Extraordinary Abilities, as Extraordinary Abilities are more like personality traits that are built into your character to provide additional skill points for specific skills during the character generation process. Stunts, on the other hand, are a way of providing a circumstantial modifier which is a trademark characteristic of the character. These modifiers only occur if the character invests conviction into what they are doing (hence the PP cost). Some of the Stunts in Blood Tide are so similar to what I have been using it is uncanny. I highly recommend getting Blood Tide if you want to have a definitive Stunt system to play BRP with a cinematic flavour, regardless of setting. In addition to this, the setting of Blood Tide itself is great for playing a Pirates Of The Caribbean style game, complete with Voodou spells as well. Not to mention era specific weapons lists and substantial ship rules. All in all, this is a useful supplement for BRP, and looks like its alot of fun

Great stuff! I am so waiting on RQ6 MB and also RQ6 AiG; you guys have my money already. Yep I'll certainly spread the word where I can

That's pretty close to how I do it. Basically it needs a penalty to Strike Rank and to Agility , Manipulation, and Physical skills..

I'm just getting thru my PDF copy of Blood Tide while I'm waiting for the hard copy to arrive. Quite impressive I must say. One thing that strikes me is that the Stunts could easily be ported almost directly into Astounding Adventures, and that would make AA a more complete Pulp game to my thinking. A few name changes here and there, but overall these Stunts would work well in any pulp adventure setting, regardless of whether it's a Swashbuckling Pirates setting, or a Roaring 20s & Thrilling 30s adventure genre. I am really enjoying this book from what I've read so far, it looks like a great addition to the Chaosium library

The RQ3 Vikings Book, as suggested by Soltakss, has alcohol rules that work fine and probably should have been listed as Spot Rules in the BRP BGB. The Vikings Book had a Beverage Table, and considering that it is long out of print, I can tell you that Beer/Ale ranges from POT 1 to POT 3 or 4, and wines/spirits range from POT 3 to POT 9. This is from memory (which is a bit rusty): Basically the drinker receives an ongoing negative modifier to all skills, equal to accumulated POT ingested. Once you drink your CON woirth of POT, then you make a Con x5% roll. Failure indicates something negative. A mild failure might indicate that you double the POT% modifier, whereas a more severe one would perhaps triple it. Fumbling would indicate passing out or something like that. I've used these rules for years, it always seems to come in handy somewhere

You are Lhankor Mhy Incarnate! Well, maybe just an Ascended Master perhaps...in any case this PDF will come in extremely handy at my gaming table - greatly appreciated !

Heh heh, Again with the Melbourne thing ...! Yes it might as well be Melnibone :-) I've got a troupe over here, but I hate to view my fate in a few years...oh well!

RIP Robin Williams (Nothing to do with RPGs... But just saying') The world will mourn the loss of this fellow

Even more of a problem in Australia than it would be in the USA, UK, or Western Europe !!! Usually when I post this I am told that Melbourne has a reasonable BRP presence, like it's just around the corner heh heh if you are in Brisbane then it's more like telling someone in Dallas to go find the BRP troupe in Boston! It forced me out of BRP into other systems, which was not a bad thing. But the logics of BRP always bring it back to me as a home system, and sometimes I steal modern approaches from other systems and apply them to BRP. But I think I am getting old now I tend to just want to run a version of BRP or RQ these days, I can pretty much cover most genres with these. It's a pity that it does not have the same presence as D20, Storyteller, Savage Worlds, or even GURPS. I would be happy if it was as well known as FATE ( which is one of the few other systems I would consider running) Anyway I try to promote BRP and RQ where possible...

I ran the RQ3 SR system for years. Loved the way that quicker and less encumbered characters had an advantage in regards to combat order over heavily armoured tanks. But ultimately the core BRP/Stormbringer Initiative System won out, as it was quick, DEX +D10. My players also tend to like the fact that they roll for Initiative, they got bored with having a set score for every combat scene. I really like how RQ6 meshed the ideas together, as it has the logical points of the RQ3 SR system, with the ease and speed of the core BRP Initiative system. These days I run a hybrid rules system which is kinda BRP with lots of RQ3 options, coupled with some ideas from RQ6. And our initiative system reflects that. So our players create a Strike Rank Score in character generation which is calculated as follows: SR = (DEX-SIZ)+INT. If we are playing a modern setting, like Call of Cthulhu or a Pulp Adventure setting, then initiative is a roll of SR+D10. If we are playing a fantasy setting where melee combat is a focus, the initiative scores are a roll of (SR - ENC)+D10. In game play it is just as simple as DEX+D10, yet it feels like it has the logics of the RQ3 SR system in the fact that less encumbered characters tend to act first.

If you have LEGEND then you don't need RQ6; but I would certainly advise getting RQ6 because it plays just a bit better than LEGEND. Its also a great book to have in your collection, and its designed not to be superceded anytime soon. I have over 25yrs involved in the rpg hobby, and RQ6 is one of the best all-in-one rulebooks on the market today. If you want to play historical, fictional, or mythical ancient or medieval settings then these are the rules for it.

I allow skill checks for successful skill use and each additional successful use adds a +1 to the skill check, up to a maximum equal to their Skill Category Modifier. I don't use the INT mod as this replaces it. Has worked well for many years. Also, in reference to earlier posts, I support Rosen's concept of making social skills like Status and Relationships very important, it really encourages good role playing in my opinion

Yeah SDLeary thats a great way to do it, simple yet brilliant

As an aside, I would love to see a PDF release of ElfQuest. I think FATE would be perfect for a modern interpretation, but I would also like to see what Chaosium did with it. I loved the ElfQuest comics in the 1980s and wonder if the BRP system was able to capture their magic. One would think BRP would be too gritty, but a BRP-Lite rule set could have been apt. Oh well, that ship has sailed now... Yes I know, I derailed off-topic...

No, using English is just fine heh heh

I tend to ask for Wealth rolls using Status %, so as long as something is listed in those terms I'm fine, but it does make me long for the days of dungeon crawling and item shopping again...

If I was designing a new BRP system from the ground up then I'ld definitely go with how they do Skills in OQ/LEGEND/ RQ6. Its simple and it makes the character's core characteristics more meaningful. However I still like the Resistance Table, so I would ditch skills like Persistence, Resilience, etc and use the Resistance Table to deal with 'saving throws', so to speak.

Yes, these certainly are excellent references. Thanks for posting them mate, they will definitely come in handy over the years Greatly appreciated!

Sorry, I never bought Hawkmoon, so I'll let someone else step in here