Mankcam

I totally agree. The BRP system needs at least one other line other than Cthuhlu. I love Cthuhlu, but my players don't want characters who end up in insane all the time. Not all the time, at least. Chaosium is on a winner with Cthuhlu, but the BRP system would certainly benefit from either a well supported Sci-Fi line, Heroic Pulp line, or a Fantasy/Sword 'n'Sorcery line, like when it published RuneQuest or Elric/Stormbringer. I think "Chronicles of Future Earth' could be the white hope in regards to having a Sword n Sorcery setting. I would love to see it with a large core book and get the kind of support that Chaosium has continued to throw at Cthulhu, that would be really great.

I think the MRQ2 rule book has a few more things in it than Legend, off the top of my head, Spirit Magic was one of them (although you can now pick this up as a free pdf for Legend from the Mongoose site). MRQ2 comes in a nice hard cover as well, so it's probably down to want you like. Legend certainly is handy at a gaming table, given it's nifty little digest-size. The internal lay-out in Legend is better IMO, but the content is pretty much the same as it is a re-edited version of MRQ2 and acknowledges the original authors. Legend feels simpler to me, but this is an illusion as it has nothing to do with game mechanics, it is to do with the internal lay-out and the small size of the rulebook. Personally I'ld go with Legend as it is backward compatible with all the previous MRQ2 products anyway. Then I would check out RQ6 when it is published later this year, as it has the same authors as MRQ2 and will likely have some amended rules etc.

Yes, you got that right... I should be sending this from an iPhone whilst I'm sipping my coffee at a seaside cafe in Italy, Greece, France or somewhere exotic like that. Need to speak to the missus about moving again...!

Well that pretty much sums it up, you don't always get such a detailed response from one of the game's authors. BRP works great for sword n sorcery, check out the Settings chapter in the BRP rulebook for genre builds. It has the suggested options for particular setting types, and Sword n Sorcery genre would sit somewhere between the suggested optional rules for the Ancient Setting and Dark Ages settings I think, very similar to how AH RQ3 used to be played. This 'tactile' flavour to the combat was continued when Mongoose took over the franchise, and is portrayed very well by their editions as well, perhaps even more so, as MRQ2 really captures that 'sword and sandal' feel to melee combat, much more than any other game I have played. Highly recommended. The D100 system has always been considered a great fit for a Hyborian game, and if you pick up MRQ2's 'Lhankmar' book there is alot of setting ideas that can be used almost 'as is' with Hyborian trappings, that magic in particular is very sword n sorcery and fits Hyborian magic down to a tee. I have played Hyboria briefly using RQ3/MRQ2 with the MRQ2 Lhankmar book, and also bought the Mongoose CONAN 'Road of Kings' which is 90% narrative description on the lands and cultures of Hyboria, as well as Mongoose CONAN "Faith and Fervour' for info on the cults. The cult write-ups are mainly narrative, and the game stats are very easily adapted to RQ style cults with a minimal of ease, they are written up very similarly to how you see Cults in RQ. The game went well, and I felt that it really captured the essence of Hyboria. It was gritty and all of the NPC companions died, with the PCs barely escaping. Very much in the flavour of Conan's early career as a Thief/Rogue/Sellsword. If I had more time I may return to GM the Hyboria setting, but my current campaign is Third Age Glorantha and that's working well for the current troupe. As far as playing a more heroic and pulpy character like Conan himself, MRQ2 has some good 'Mooks' rules which you can use to get this pulp flavour. I prefer to play the game gritty, but it can do pulp quite good as well. If you want mileage on a generic system I would go with core BRP with the suggested setting options, but if you're primarily after sword n sorcery itself I'ld strongly recommend either MRQ2 or Mongoose 'Legend'. It's specialised for this genre, so the combat runs well, and its less prep work required for a GM in some ways. Remember that RQ6 is likely to come out later this year as well. A great time ahead for sword'n'sorcery role players!

Well I'ld certainly have this player 'on notice' in my game. I'ld be very uncomfortable running a game with him if he's going to have a tantrum every time something doesn't go his way. I think he is overvalueing the whole thing really. Besides, it takes alot of prep to be a GM, abd if it's not appreciated then I would down tools for a while, as it probably won't be all that enjoyable gaming whilst a player is so demanding. I hope this fellow is only a high schooler, as I'ld have major concerns if an adult was behaving this way...

You're probably right about that, or at least let the NPC opponents inflict some mighty Major Wounds... That's okay. This is a role playing forum, after all, not just a rule-playing forum. I think this is a great place for GMs to ask other GMs and/or game designers their ideas on how to run a game better. Evilschemer did the right thing by posting his dilemma; I know I've done the same over the past few months. Actually Evilschemer I think Redcrow's example above is a good way to go, if you can run it. Let the game world react by sending bigger and nastier goons after the characters if they continue to behave irresponsibly. You'll need to read up on tactics etc, but a mixture of hired professional killers using ambush tactics can do a lot to knock down player-characters with tall-poppy syndrome or sociopathic tendencies.

(screaming!) "...Nobody expects The Atroxic Inquisition !!!" (Someone had to say it heh heh )

Well Evilschemer, I think your player has taken a bit of an overvalued stance. After all, you were all playing a game, and it almost looks a little personal how his text reads. If he tends to get that heated up over something that happens in-game then perhaps it really isn't the hobby for him. A little like all these fellas who do online MMOs and have 'gaming rage' all the time, it kinda defeats the purpose of doing a hobby for fun. Maybe he's not that emotive, but it certainly looks like it in your post. I'ld be a bit taken back from it, actually. I suppose it depends on how the rpg session is viewed - the old 'Players vs The GM World' way of thinking has the players competing with the GM over everything, and I tried to leave that behind sometime during my university gaming days in the early '90s. I still have a mate of mine whom I regularly game with and he is pretty much in this mind-set, sometimes not consciously so. It tends to be disruptive to the session at times, despite him being a great gamer in many other ways. A better way of gaming in my opinion is a "Group Storytelling' session which is a combined effort between the GM and the players. It seems to be less conflicting on a personal level, although the players have to know that if the story line is to advance that their characters won't be directly led to an untimely demise, only to a complication that will give them an excuse for action and heroics. This way a certain situation can occur as it is part of the story, rather than being viewed as 'railroading'. It is the same thing, of course, but it has a very different emphasis is regards to group dynamics. There often must be a balance between following the path you design for the scenario, and allowing the characters to free-form. Usually too much of either isn't a good thing for an rpg session in my opinion. The other way to look at it is when do you need the 'railroading' to occur to advance the plot line? If it is to occur mid-session then you'll probably always have problems with players who are in the 'Players vs GM' mindset. Perhaps it can occur as a narrative before gameplay actually starts. This is very much in the flavour of pulp storytelling, and usually means the first scene is packed with action. An example could be opening the story with something like this: " While on the hunt for the black stallion herd, the characters stumbled across ruffians at the old mine. A brief fight ensured, but out-manned and out-gunned, the heroes were forced to surrender and be captured. The story opens with the captured heroes realising they are being taken to the homestead of Red Dog McCowl, the notorious villain of the county..." So perhaps the only way to get things where you want the action to take place is to do it 'off-screen'. Every new session doesn't need to begin with what weapons the characters have bought or what skills they have advanced with, I'ld start things off very pulpy. That's probably the only compromise, as you have the characters where you want them and it will be a good way to start the session. Most options after that you'll have to leave to the characters, although if you throw in your desired option amongst some likely undesirable ones then you may have a chance of having the characters behave along the lines of how you envisioned. Just try not to stick too rigidly to your plot, just to a few milestones in it, and leave the player-characters a wide scope of actions in between. It's a difficult thing to do, really. Good luck

Yes, that's probably more BRPish and systematic. I find the Luck roll underused, however, and look for excuses when to use it, and as I made the ruling 'on the fly' it seemed appropriate to use a Luck roll. You're correct in the fact that a mechanic tied to the caster's concentration or initial spell casting roll is probably the way to go for a more consistent ruling.

This is a law of nature. Integrity and content keep one's interest, but to grab it in the first place, a nice little mini-skirt always wins out! That aside, in regards to 'Traveller' and it's simplistic black covers, I think it's very nostalgic of the covers they produced in the late 70s/early 80s, and given the history of the game that's probably the strength it sells on. I'm not so sure if it was released under another name if those little black books would sell as well. New systems need to catch one's eye - now BRP is certainly not a new system, but BRP Sci-Fi would be regarded as new and I think it would need to make a grand entrance for it to compete and profit on today's market. Having said that, however, 'Legend' is selling well in a 'little black book' format similar to Traveller, although I think interest was primarily raised on Drivethru RPG with the pdf selling price of $1 USD. I'm not sure if dead-tree sales have sold as well, but there is bound to be a flow-on effect. Actually the physical size of the rulebook may have something to do with things as well. Legend is pretty much the same content as MRQ2 core rules, yet somehow feels more 'rules-lite' when reading through the printed book. Obviously it is no more rules-lite that MRQ2 was, but for some reason it feels simpler.This is primarily due to the artwork, internal text, and the size of the book itself. These rules may now appeal to GMS who runs rules-lite games like Storyteller or Savage Worlds, rather than those who have rule sets from perceived old-school tomes. So artwork isn't the only component involved in aesthetics. Anyway, just food for thought.

Vile you must of posted the same time as me, your reply wasn't there a second ago, I wouldn't have replied otherwise...

Answer to Q1: Well you can order the rulebook from most shops you can get other rpgs, such as Comic & Hobby shops. If you like to buy online you can grab it from Amazon or directly from Chaosium.com. Answer to Q2: As long as you have setting material you could wing it. Some other supplements with the Call of Cthuhlu setting may have a wider range of era specific weapons and equipment. It really depends what era and location you are playing a gang-based campaign. The sterotypical game would be set 1920s -1950s ala Mafia in the USA. Heaps of other gang stuff you could be after though, such as 1980s to current, such as the rise of Gangsta-rappa types in LA or Florida, Russian post cold-war agents turned Crime Syndicate, or Latino Cartels from Central & South America. There is also the UK Underworld, and even the Australian Underbelly, so I guess it depends on what you want to portray. Most people are inspired by movies like The Godfather, Scarface, Goodfellas, and Casino. If this is what you're after then its Italian-Americano Mobsters 1920s - 1960s, you'll have to grab setting material. No offical BRP Mobster stuff currently produced to my knowledge, although some out-of-print Call of Cthuhlu resources may have setting material, but I am unsure about this. Answer to Q3: I would give BRP a rating of 3-4 if it is played in its pure form, even less. The skill system is based on a percentile, so you can't get any better than that in trying to illustrate the chances of an action occurring. Various genre types will bolt on optional rules, but if played in it's 'core form' it is reasonably simple in execution, yet allows a great degree of specification. I like the later, as a lot of rules-lite games out there cannot be specked too much (ie: I hate it when games cover all combat skills with just something like 'Fighting' and 'Shooting" or along those lines). Answer to Q4: No char gen programs that I am aware of. However I find char gen to be pretty simple anyway. Depending on your age, however, I may be inexperienced or an old gronard. I think you can still get the BRP Quickstart rules as a free pdf from Chaosium.com or Drivethru.rpg (if not, it is likely to be very cheap). I'ld start there if I were you mate Someone else may have a few more tips for you

The BGB has ideas on how to cover these in its appendix, but I'ld like to see more focus here. Probably not so much for myself or experienced GMs, but for new GMs who are a little daunted by having to tinker with things. The Gen Y crowd tend to like immediate gratification, so pre-made setting builds may appeal to the less experienced of this crowd (No insult intended to the under 25s reading this post) It sure would be. I'ld eagerly grab it, but for it to reach a wider audience it would have to have lots of great artwork, some of it full-colour, and something to give it an edge over games like Eclipse Phase, Shadowrun, and even Traveller. I guess it boils down to money in the end

*

My bad - I couldn't get directly through to the forum link you sent because I forgot my RPG.net password, and didn't bother to address that. I simply assumed it would be using Fantasy Grounds as most forum games do that these days. PBM? I haven't seen those since the '80s! I may actually check this out, thanks for the update.

I'ld certainly go for a Sci-Fi 'toolkit' but I think a Sci-Fi setting would sell better, look at Eclipse Phase, very much a setting specific transhuman sci-fi. Having said that, I'ld like the see supplements that provide various setting 'builds', such as Fantasy (High, Low, Gritty, Sword n Sorcery, Mythic, Historical), Adventure (Vicoriana, Pulp 1920s thru to the 1950s. Perhaps including Steampunk, Weird Science, Atomic Age Pulp Science, etc), Espionage (Realistic, Pulp/Action), Horror (Thriller, Psychological, Mystery), and Sci-Fi (Pulp, Plausible, Cyber-Transhuman, etc). I'ld love these on my wish list, but won't hold my breath! Well whether box sets are the thing or not, the way forward is with a more catchy name for the system (another plug for the title 'Worlds of Wonder') and with more evocative and aesthetically pleasing products. The system needs to stand ground with the heavy weights such as Pathfinder, D&D, WW Storyteller, Warhammer, Savage Worlds, The One Ring, Eclipse Phase, Shadowrun, etc all of whom have excellent production standards. Members of this forum are more than likely to be agreeable for less as we love the BRP system, and probably are looking more for content. Considering some of us have been gaming since the days of boxes and flimsy paper covers, most things in a book make us happy, especially if it has a hard cover. New fans to the hobby will likely look at the shelves to see the above listed systems with great artwork and production, and that's where their copper coins will end up. So, if it ain't a pdf, it's got to have very good aesthetics to compete in the market these days. An unfortunate reality.

If it wasn't for the time continuum distortions between the US and the real world (Down Under pun) I'ld consider some involvement actually. Absolutely itching to try out one of these games, they're both excellent supplements, BRP fans should definitely purchase these books for their libraries. Have fun with it guys

I always played it that the spellcaster had to concentrate whilst casting as usual. The target then can perform non-combat actions whilst invisible for usual spell duration. The spell can 'break' if combat is attempted, although the target receives an Easy initial attack before the spell is broken, so that is similar to how it is done in 'Classic Fantasy'. I made the character make a Luck roll to see if the spell breaks during combat, but perhaps there could be a mechanic linking it to the caster's spell casting roll instead. If the Invisibility spell is performed with a 'Special Success' I rule that it is not broken during combat, and being a generous GM I decided that a 'Critical Success' mirrored this, and additionally allows the target to choose to be invisible at will (freely switching between 'on and off' states) for a period of d20 game hours ( I kinda like magic criticals to be quite 'magical', but that may be a bit too potent for some settings). Not sure what is canon, considering it does contradict itself in the BGB...

Yep I'm inclined to agree here, see my original post, but I was just throwing a bone out there to feed Loki's enthusiasm. Personally I wouldn't be spending money on a boxed rpg set these days. And yes, Basic Roleplaying is a lackluster title compared to names like 'Dungeons & Dragons' or 'Warhammer'. I liked their first attempt at a generic ruleset using three different settings, 'Worlds of Wonder', that title is much more evocative as well as remaining generic, I don't know why the BGB wasn't released as that actually. I seriously doubt kids would buy a boxed set titled 'Basic Roleplaying Lite', but they may go for 'Worlds of Wonder' - heck more adults would probably pick the BGB up as well if the name had more of a ring to it. Still, it pays to have enthusiasm Loki, 'cause after all that's what rpgs need!

This is an excellent deal - I have about 80% of these titles in dead-tree format, but always wanted to grab a few of them on pdf. I have spent about $15 US and have pretty much the lot now. Thank you for this generous offer, to say that the DM have done a good thing here is an understatement Much appreciated!

Wow !!!! Great news !!!!

...although depending upon the setting, armour may or may not protect as well against energy weapons. I can't see a modern Flak Vest holding up well against a Star Wars-like blaster fire, I'ld probably rule that all AP is halved against energy weapons, hence the need for the development of 'energy shields' to counteract this.

Yes I have 'Dragon Lines' and I really like the Martial Arts packages, I think it was this product that got me thinking initially actually. It certainly gives alot of flavour to Martial Arts. However translating that into a generic rule is a bit time-consuming, which was why I opted for something more simple that I could throw into any genre with a minimal of fuss. But, yes, I do like the way Martial Arts is presented in Dragon Lines, it does portray alot of additional effects which is along the lines of what I was after.

Well D&D was the first biggie in the rpg industry, if not the first rpg full-stop. I guess it has had so much marketing force behind it that often the entire rpg hobby is referred to as 'D&D' by many of the public. There has been a proliferation of other games and genres since the late 70s, but nothing really came close to D&D in production standard or sheer marketing power until the emergence of White Wolf's World of Darkness line in the mid 90s. So maybe D&D or one of its D20 OGL products will always grab the public eye first, due to sheer weight of marketing history as well as great production standards. I cannot remember it being any different in my lifetime. I guess a BRP primer box set aimed at a more juvenile or casual market would be the way to go, if at all. That way the product could possibly sit on the shelf of a general Toy & Hobby shop, rather than the less common and the more secular Comic & RPG stores. It would have to be very 'flashy' to say the least, to compare with the artwork on D&D and Pathfinder. The game itself would have to have a quicker advancement system following archtypes, as that's what the kiddies want, and its more in line with MMOs as well, which many of them will be playing. I have heard good things about Rod's 'Classic Fantasy' monograph, so something like his work in a quality box with great artwork may be the thing. I wouldn't want it to define the BRP system however, as the mature edge of BRP (as seen in the Glorantha, Stormbringer, CoC etc) makes it very immersive from an adult perspective. But perhaps Classes & Pretzels is what sells, and maybe that's all it is to it - there is a some charm in that when it is all said and done...

I loved the boxed sets as a kid. I love hard cover books and pdfs as an adult. Any of those nifty player aids that turned up in the boxes can be easily replicated by printing them off pdfs, and pdfs themselves are a great thing to have. For me nothing beats having a weighty hard cover tome to read for my core roleplaying rules, I feel it lends a bit of prestige to my rpg book collection, and they look great in the bookcase. I for one, would not want to be going back to cardboard boxes with paper booklets. Also it would be quite difficult to present the hobby as a mature past-time if all the supplements turned up in game boxes. No, please lets NOT see the return of the box sets !!!