Zit

Which brings me to my idea about adding another bonus for those with very high skill levels. Add 10% of skill level above 50% to the Damage Bonus chart. For example, a Spartan with STR 14 and SIZ 11 does 1D10 with his spear (instead of just 1D8) with his one level bonus, but if he had an 80% skill rating he would do 1D12 (or 2D6 if you want). That 80% would be 30 over the 50% skill level, so 3 points added his STR/SIZ for a +2 level damage bonus.

This rule increases the chances to make a higher amount of damage with a better skill. Isn't it actually what special and criticals more or less already do?

It is all an interpretation of what the die roll simulates.

I haven’t read the RQ6 rules, but I guess they are much like the combat maneuvres in RQII. If this is the case, it seems to me that choosing a special effect before or after rolling the dice is not an important matter: it is likely that the player anyway knows before rolling any die how he wants to defeat his opponent and which special effect he would need for that if he had the chance to (and which ones are available for his fighting style). Ex: “I have to try to disarm my opponent, I want him alive!”or “He’s at the edge of a cliff. It would be great if I managed to push him down!” –roll the dice and hope getting a better level of success than the opponent.

The skill roll is in this case can be seen as creating conditions favorable to the desired special effect, not simply as an attempt to place a hit: you create the opportunity, which is what fighting is much about. If you didn’t succeed enough, well, you could only place a normal hit. Rolling the dice with penalties or requiring a better level of success are just mechanics, but at the end, both reduce the chances of placing the special effect.

The RQ systems still allow placing a normal hit when the special effect is impossible, or changing one’s mind and choosing another effect : a GM finding this to easy may impose an INT roll for any effect not stated before the die roll.

RQ is flexible and gives many opportunities to the player. It seems more realistic as well, corresponding the fluidity and unpredictability of a fight.

Fumble: -50% Penalty or -2 Wealth Level loss

Failure: -25% Penalty or -1 Wealth Level loss

Success: No Penalty/Normal Price

Special: +25% Bonus or +1 Wealth Level profit

Critical: +50% Bonus or +2 Wealth Level profit

Well, selling is actualy a true job, the first difficulty being to find somebody to purchase your item, moreover when it is not new. Normaly, nobody can sell an item at its original value. So unless the PC is a merchant, I would suggets something like:

- first make a Chance roll to find a buyer (difficult if you are in a remote village)

- then use the above chart but shift its results: success=> -1 wealth level ; failure => -2 wealth level ; fumble => for any reason, the buyer did not pay, or with false money or whatever, the item is lost and there is no profit. Alternately, leave the chart as it is but make the roll difficult (x1/2)

- alternately, or when teh chance roll is a failure, contact a merchant: the sell is insured (easy -or no- chance roll) but at fixed -2 wealth level to make it simple -you may allow a status roll to modify it according to the chart (ex: special => selling wealth level = -2+1=-1 original wealth level), player's decison.

Though it might trigger the "Let us cast Bladesharp, just in case" syndrome.

I agree with this. The scene shall be carefully defined and limited to avoid this. In the exemple above, if the scene is the exploration of the canyon, the "just in case" syndrom will certainly be triggered. We all know our players. For the bladesharp, the GM could state instead that the scene is the actual fight, which the bladesharp is actually usefull for, not the full exploration. The "context" of bladesharp is the fight. If the the spell is cast long before and is not in use, it shall dispel after a while.

I still like the "scene duration" principle, which makes things faster, easier and more logical. Is this extended to other magics ? After all, if a spirit or a god agrees in helping somebody, it shall help for the scene (ex: the merchant god for a full bargain session), not for a fixed amount of MR.

I'll probably come for a few hours to say hello: my birthday is on 27th and I'll stay with my family this week-end !

Sorry if this question has already been answered, but I haven't found any thread about this: the BGB says p. 191 : "If your character is armed with a weapon or shield that could parry an attack, he or she may roll against the relevant weapon skill to parry the blow." And p. 69 about the "melee weapon skill" : "Your character can use his or her weapon skill to parry attacks, making a skill roll to block an incoming attack." And there is the "shield" skill as well.

So what is the purpose of the "parry" skill ??? Is it made for those who want to separate the attack skill from the parry skill ? In this case, does this mean that during the character creation, skill points have to be spent for both, or only once for "melee weapon" and count for both attack and parry?

Thanks guys. I know now that it has nothing to do with accessories for cats I'm getting cleverer everyday

I know I may look stupid, but what do you all mean with "sandbox" ?

I guess a dagger is a very good at perforing because of its long thin sharp size, better than a short sword: it is easier to inflict damage, even if the broader shortsword can potentialy make more damage. Therefore a better minimum damage for the dagger (3 vs. 2), but a smaller maximum damage than the short sword (6 vs.7).

Just a guess.

Anyway a dagger seems more efficient than a raw knife to me. Making one requires a more advanced metallurgy.

And also "Land of the Samurai", for Runequest, BRP-compatible, the pdf for 1$ on drivethru RPG (I haven't check if this special offer is still going on). With TCE + LotS, you shall get most of the weapons for far East.

And for the weapons of steppe warriors (I dont know what you mean with "Orient"), just wait a bit, my setting about steppe nomads is still only a draft, although very well advanced -just taking this occasion to do some teasing

The Celestial Empire, Alephtar Games, pages 104-107. Basic Roleplaying Central - THE CELESTIAL EMPIRE - Roleplaying in Imperial China

Just an idea: since the refugees have to build a new country where old traditions and inerties may be losen, some of them may want to change the social order as well. If they have to fight and risk their life for the defense of the island, non-nobles, who are probably the majority, may want to have their share of the power and the decisions. And the trade with Corflu may create a class of rich non nobles wanting as well their share of the power. See what hapened in Rome or in Athen, or with some extend in China. It will change from the traditional western aristocratic social order and may give a long-term motivation for players. How will deal Lord Kerum with these new changes ? What will be the reactions of nobles wanting to keep their privileges ? Will the poorest ally with the rich against the nobles ? Or the rich with the nobles against the poors ?

By teh way, among the Kerus, is the nobility hereditary or based on merit or on any other criterium ?

If you can read French, you may like to have a look at this amateur RPG "Légendes Tahitiennes" there : Légendes Tahitiennes - Légendes

It's free, rules (a kind of d100 but with d20) and setting can be downloaded as pdf. I haven't read it, but it may be a source of inspiration for your setting.

And who said otherwise?

Apparently not you

I used the wrong wording: it was just a remark concerning the status as a measure of wealth, of good reputation or the necessity to create specialized status, all things which have been mentionned here and there. As Simon said, it is a matter of how complex you want to make it, but I'm more for the simple version: I think it could then even be used for The Celestial Empire.

Unless I want a very diplomacy oriented campaign, I would use no more than a couple of status in a setting (even only one of possible), but instead limit what you can expect from a status roll with a foreigner (blind obedience from your followers or polite refusal from a froreigner looking at your folk with disdain). This however cannot be simulated with a skill.

My understanding of status is not exactly the same: I don't see it as a measure of the reputation, but as a rank in the society, or as the importance you have in this society, shall it be mundane or symbolic. You can be a very hated king, you're still a king : the fucntion makes the status.

If you see things like this, you can simplify things a lot. A bishop, whatever his order, is still a bishop for every one: I don't see the point making a difference between the orders. And a Gael king will be certainly considered differently by the normands than a gael farmer, just because he's a king. Status can be seen as a measure of the importance of a character, which may have some negative effects: an ennemy wanting to make an exemple or to break the resistance of a tribe will preferably try to kill its king: higher status is bad is this case ! But in the other hands, killng a king or a knight or a religious leader will certainly put you in big trouble, while killng a begglar won't, wahtever their tribe/nation/order. And when negociating, you'll want to negociate with somebody having the same status in his group.

for thsi reason, I think that status can be, when not universal, at least transversal and doesn't require a too big granularity. Stay simple.

I just noticed an error in the encounter table: in I22, replace "=I21+H22*100/$D$24" with "=I21+H22*100/$H$24"

Rules cannot do everything and entirely cover the reality: improvisation with good sense helps also a lot.

I guess you better begin to improve your Dodge skill ...

do you know somebody who could sell me an invisibility spell potion, or befuddle, or speed...

There is no truth is this matter. It is just a question of how everyone perceives things. It is easier for Darkholme to visualize difficulties with bonus/penalties to a basic 100, and easier for Frogspanner with multipliers. I guess it is a matter of taste (a little) and of previous experience (a lot).

Now how can we help Darkhome using the BRP ? The question is "is it easier for him to adapt the d100 to his perception or is it easier for him to change his perception to use the d100 ?". I think both are as easy, it is up to him to chose which one he prefers according to his sensibility:

- adapt d100 by inverting the special success and fumble tables as I wrote earlier and play the "roll over 100" mechanics while keeping the same skill rating, or

- adapt his perception by intuitively integrating that roll over 100 is statistically exactly the same than roll under skill, and play the d100 system. Ex: skill 60%, difficulty 20: roll over 100+20=120 with 1d100 + 60, or roll under 60-20=40 with 1d100, both 40% chances of success.

"BRP Wonder Tables" -as Excel 97 for the Open Office users- + "BRP Wonder Tables Instructions" -as pdf-.

Sorry for the files' names, I had no better idea...

Done. Under Generic -> GM ressources.

they are very basic (ahah) and for the BGB standard rules. Can be easily adapted.

When wanting to test settings, I noticed how it is headache to create test-characters or encounter tables. I then wrote pdf files to compute everything within seconds: skill points allocation (included skill categorie bonus), character training (how much time do I need to increase of a given amount of %, or how much do I improve a skill within a given amount of time training) and encounter table (find the right d100 rolls for each encounter within a minute and dare make your encounter tables).

If you think these magical tables can be useful, I'll upload them in the download section. Otherwise I'll keep them for me and create millions of characters and encounter tables just for myself

I dont mind having a table of modifiers sitting in front of me stuck to my GM Screen.

Then it should not be such a big deal: if you absolutely want to use the roll over procedure, since high rolls are good and low rolls are bad, in the contrary to the BRP, make a new critical, special and fumble table simply by subtracting the BRP required roll to 101:

Ex: with a 80% skill, critical 01-04, fumble 99-00, special 05-16 becomes critical [101-(01-04) = 97-00], fumble [101-(99-00)=01-02] and special [101-(16) = 85-96].

The question is: what if I have a difficulty of 120? Then take the amount above 100 (here 20) and read on your table the fumble and critical values for [skill rating] minus [amount above 100 (in our example 80-20=60), and you get it.

Ooooh, I'm so disapointed. It would have been such a nice story.

Well, at least the chart itself, whatever its age, is not a fiction.

but those ties can be resolved in various ways if desired

Do you know this : http://www.basicrps.com/atrilia/fr/util/charte-angoumoise.html ? It is unfortunately in French. It explains how in the 16th century, the Duke of Angoulême, who after an accident was unable to hunt anymore, invented a hunting game with his fellows, played from his bed and based on oral exchange: it is a kind of rpg or story-telling. He invented he chart to estimate the chances of success and the results of an action on a 1-20 scale and evaluated the hunting skill of the courtisans on the same scale. Anybody can use it. It had been actualized by a french rpg in the 80's.

The d20 is actually 5 centuries old.