frogspawner

Thanks for posting your document, Mechashef. The 4 issues from there are: 1) SIZ only represents mass, and doesn't distinguish tall/thin creatures from short/fat ones. 2) The (RQ3) SIZ table doesn't extend far enough. 3) The (RQ3) weight ranges for each size point aren't logical. 4) Dice rolled to generate the SIZ of creatures don't give reasonable values. My take on these is: 1) That's ok - height (and hence build) can be worked-out separately. 2 & 3) The BRP p296 table is better. But we should have a definitive formula. 4) People around here seem to have thought about this, so hopefully the proposed "3(-ish)d6+X" idea should be the solution. So what's the formula behind the BRP p296 table? In the normal human range it seems to be roughly "1 SIZ = 1 Stone", which I like. After that, it goes non-linear - which is reasonable, given that perhaps the most significant use of SIZ is to calculate Hit Points. PS: Anyone got any more issues?

What issues do you have with SIZ then, gents ?

Carthage, then! (I can risk a few body parts in a good cause...)

Good decision. More room for the meat!

Assuming vagabond is right, it doesn't "circumvent" the law - it's legal, and that's that. The Big Difference really is the speed of publication. Chaosium appear to be up to their capacity (or beyond it). But someone who has a 'monograph' ready for submission could (after stripping out BRP page numbers and direct quotes, and slapping on 'Compatible with BRP') whack it up onto Lulu by tomorrow afternoon - and we could have our copies (and they could have some money for it) by next week... And BRP would have supporting material out there that much quicker. So it's not against Chaosium, it helps them...

<"It lives!"> I have a utility that prints the special/critical/fumble chances on the PC's character sheets (and I don't use +/- modifiers, just x2 or x1/2 multipliers). So it's a non-issue - even for my poor, hard-of-thinking players (bless 'em).

It's a worthwhile goal to give these spells a bit more character. Good Luck! (Me, I use the DnD spells - but have had to introduce all sorts of other rule-changes in the hope of otherwise reducing their lethality. They still do d6/pp, and I'm still not entirely sure it works...)

The BRP versions, at least, already say Fire/Frost can be dodged and that armour does protect against them. To me, giving Lightning an "instant death" effect seems a bit too nasty.

1) Attacks that ignore armour (critical hits) ignore any magical protections as well. (But now I come to look for it, the BRP rulebook doesn't make this clear. A close reading to the example on p.192 reveals "ignores any armor the target may be wearing, whether natural or powered" - which is pretty flimsy evidence. That was the rule in old-time RQ, though.) Hence, although the magic crown would probably protect the whole body normally, the armour-bypassing attack would still do damage. Fire damage is prevented by armour on the first round only (as per the Spot Rule, p.223). 2) The wording of Sorceror's Armour means it affects a person, not an object, so longjohns/robes stacking shouldn't normally be possible. If something like that did arise, though, I'd say the only better magical protection would apply - still no stacking. (And if some powergamer did make their longjohns/robes sentient in an attempt to make the bonuses stack, I'd be tempted to say their mutual jealousy made them attack and annihilate each other - which would probably be quite uncomfortable for anyone wearing them. )

Unrelated events? Or cause-and-effect?

Having had a proper look at the Magic World rules, yes, they are very good and simple (I like the damage bonuses, for instance), and the magic itself is very similar to new BRP magic. I'd love to see the "Vault of Sarkath Han", but where could I get hold of it?

To me, it seems a bit too harsh to give fumbles on Parry/Dodge. Something bad is about to happen anyway (i.e. getting hit).

But if it was intended to be "no result" it would have been at 01-03 instead. Surely that means it's an error.

"A Cast of Thousands", perhaps? That'd be very nasty...

Thanks. Yes, that seems about the best way to meet one (or as just a shell). As for RW-equivalences, as well as the "Character SIZ Chart" on p26, there's the "Object SIZ Examples" on p277 (which goes up to Airliner SIZ 110), and the "Comparative Sizes" on p296 (which goes up to SIZ 350 = 3500 tons, with a formula for higher). Are they not good enough, somehow? PS: yes, I saw Bony Jaws. Didn't like him so much, though. (BTW, av. Dex should be 19, I think).

Well I do. He's great - thanks! Got me itching to expand my campaign area down to tropical climes so I can use 'em (or at least legends). (But now I'm worrying about SIZ factors. Is 135 - about 200+ tons - enough? How far across are they?)

Hmm, that's set in the middle of the 3rd Age. The normal adventuring period is the 'Hero Wars' of late 3rd Age, c.1620+, when the Lunars have invaded and occupy Sartar. (Mongoose stuff is for the historical 2nd Age, which is completely different - and not proper RQ either). There's plenty of information out there on events in those periods (this, for example), but I don't know of actual adventure modules set there (aside from the 2 I mentioned above). The King of Dragon Pass game is probably the best reference for everyday life there, pre-Lunar invasion. Stuff Greg Stafford/Issaries is putting out these days seems a bit wacky (too much so for me, anyway) and is for his HeroQuest system (which some people round here like, but I don't and it's definitely not RQ/BRP!). I don't know it, but this looks like it might be useful background info: Dragon Pass (aka Kerofinela) book, and then there's the oddly-written histories ofKing of Sartar In a way, there's too much information. Some people might be scared of doing things that don't 'fit'. But don't be. Choose a time, a place, make up your own stuff and dive in!

Apple Lane, the introductory adventures which came with RQ2. Or maybe Snakepipe Hollow, if you can get it. Pavis, Sun County and Griffin Mountain are great too, of course - it's just that they aren't in Dragon Pass, technically. Have fun!

Ah, I'm with it now. I'd assumed the numbers were PP cost to use, not realizing they were "character points" to gain the ability. So, some Super Powers don't cost PP to use, eh? Even more interesting... ta!

Please don't feel excluded. Your translation of Feat-type abilities into BRP Super Power equivalents is interesting and useful (even though, for reasons stated, I'd prefer abilities which don't use PP). At very least, the POW rating gives a good check they are not too imbalanced.

Glad you think so. And you're right - this use of Martial Arts differentiates the 'serious competence' of the true Warrior from mere 'talented amateurs' like Shamans/Priests, no matter what weapon skill they reach (I hadn't thought of that). An arbitrary class-like limitation removed - hurrah! Yes! I'm in the clear! Pardon me if I stick to versions that aren't called "Powers", or use POW, though - for political reasons.

My reasons are campaign origin and player preference. As an ex-DnD campaign (though that was a long time ago now), mine has professions rather like classes - and the players prefer it that way (some being quite down on the old RQ jack-of-all-trades approach, where everyone can do anything, including magic). So I give specialist Fighter-types Martial Arts, and gain chosen Feats at certain %s of that - for abilities which are special and fun but non-magical. I think I translated that one to "+1 damage". Phew!

Absolutely. I'd like to see your BRP-ized DnD Feats, particularly. I use 'em, but I'm not completely happy with my conversions.

After a comment like that, vagabond, I'd say you're honour-bound to provide one of your own characters to find out...

Solinthor's download already has these two, at least. What, no conversion for AD&D? Shame... But Titan-birds - great! I'll just pop out to work for a bit while I'm waiting...