GerallKahla

Howdy, TomBedlam!

I've seen that name over on Yog-Sothoth.com; I look forward to hearing your perspectives over here as well.

Anything fun or interesting happening lately? Regards --

My excitement is both a) boundless, and creme-filled!

My courier-mono copy of Gods of Chaos taunts me from my shelf... "Na-na! You don't have my companion books!"

Not for long. . .

Thanks so much for putting in this effort, Marcus! Your Stormbringer site is also quite slick. Congrats, my man.

-pax-

This is handy - Nicely laid out too.

Thanks, Dirk!

I'm looking really hard at Superworld & Companion. . . And that Dreamlands PDF does sing a siren song!

I forgot to include my Nephilim collection, but kind of on purpose...

I hadn't intended to start a "BRP things I own thread", but - eh!

Literally, having a single book to pass around the gaming table (instead of my antique books) is astonishingly cool.

Besides, the PDF is not DRMd and has selectable layers. Meaning, you can cut-n-paste from it into your own documents. Lay it out a bit differently, print it off and have just what you need for your specific game.

I can't emphasize how much utility this provides!

On the other hand a strongly presented, coherent BRP SF setting, that resonates well with currently popular written SF ideas even if it's an original creation and not a licensed property? That I think would sell very well. That to me seems the best route forward in the currrent climate, with perhaps a "BRP Space" as a monograph.

Now there's an idea; monographs to provide the "core rules" for a given setting, and a full book devoted to a specific setting (which, incidentally, provides the content of the monograph).

Very intriguing method of organizing systems / settings.

For the record, I'll agree with Nick - one of the strengths of BRP has been there has (up until the BRP core book) always been a setting to fall back on with the purchase of a given game.

However, I'm curious about how something like a "BRP Space" monograph and "BRP <insert Setting Name here>" book would fare?

Anyone interested in building such a setting together? I've got some rules to contribute to the BRP Space portion of the work, and I'm sure we could develop a specific setting if we focus on it... Feel free to contact me about it!

I own:

RuneQuest 2 boxed sets

Call of Cthulhu (several editions)

Worlds of Wonder

Stormbringer (several editions)

Hawkmoon (Chaosium's boxed set)

Ringworld (Chaosium's boxed set)

Arguably, I own about 80% of what's under the covers of the BRP core book. The main advantage I find in owning the new book is just that: it's all in a single book.

Some of these games are not in pristine condition. Years of wear and tear have rendered my Worlds of Wonder quite fragile. In using the core book, not only do I forgo further harm to my collection, but I don't have to consult something like 5 books for my dimension-hopping Fantasy/Post-Apocalyptic game anymore...

There are advantages to having the single weighty tome vs. shuffling older books into service.

The PDF of the BRP core book is invaluable for creating short "players' guides" for specific settings.

Beyond physical utility, the core book also consolidates several disparate rules from across all these older games. Reconciling things like SIZ (which got tweaked for each specific previous game) is a real boon.

From my perspective, it's a *very* good book to own. I do not regret spending the money on it at all.

Anyway, I hope I can contribute a bit to the conversation here.

I'm sure you'll fit right in - cool handle, BTW!

Welcome!

Getting gnawed on by the Mythos? Excellent start! BRP is a flexible enough toolkit to run all kinds of games.

Don't be bashful -

QuestingVince and mcrow; welcome!

What do you find yourself playing mostly these days? What settings and / or systems?

Looking forward to reading your thoughts on the subject...

-pax-

Interesting dilemma - and a good question!

Best of luck with that Nightgaunt, mate - Them things're nasty!

Many of the elements Shaira was describing fit into Iain M. Banks' Culture novels...

Drones are sentient, and full citizens. Ships are tremendously intelligent and participate in their own sub-culture as well as interacting with people who merely walk about. Teleportation is so commonplace that, while the Mind who is about to fling you through a wormhole is explaining carefully about the 1 in 1200000 chance you won't emerge on the other side, you lightheartedly click the "I Agree" box on the EULA and permit Microsoft Vista to ruin the computer...

Wait - that's not right.

Regardless, I agree that the interesting bits of science fiction gaming are deep under the chrome and rayguns. Hell, the "chrome and rayguns" paradigm is, what?, 50 years old now?

Let's see what happens when evolution starts taking root in technology and some bored researcher turns it up to 11.

Which 3 aspects of human existance do we want to radically change for the setting?

Intelligence / Cognition?

Reproduction / Longevity?

The Human sensorium?

Human's place in the cosmos?

We'd also have to define Humans' place in the culture found in the new environment.

What specific things do we want to tinker with? How do these changes interact with each other?

Too many things, and you run the risk of a setting that's too alien for most gamers to invest in. Too few things (or not developing them deep enough), and you are in danger of seeming cliche.

This thread's very interesting...

I can think of absolutely nothing appropriate to post in reply to this comment.

Believe me; I tried as well!

It makes sense to do a REH supplement. Especially now with the video game being a big hit and a new series of Conan films in the works. However, after seeing Hellboy 2, it's only a mattter of time before an Elric film is announced.

Dude! My lovely wife and I got to see this film last weekend, and I kept thinking, "Where's Moonglum?"

Plus, he made the spear an elegant weapon again. Beautiful martial arts choreography!

Hellboy game?

It reintroduced Virtues, but they had a Unknown Armies Avatar vibe. You summon saints to gain special powers. There were three circles of initiation and with each circle, the power would be stronger. It introduced rules for the Barrier of Law. It introduced Mook rules. It fleshed out the history to the Church of Law. It also made the cult of Goldar kind of cool.

Wow. I am fundamentally sorry I missed this book!

If I had to choose two books to run an EC game it would be Elric! and Gods of Law. If I could add another, it would be Gods of Chaos. If I had a four, I'd add Bronze Grimoire.

That's high praise - those are terrific books. Mr. Green, thanks for sharing!

-pax-

I'll wager that Almuric will not be a part of that, but if it's any consolation, Almuric is a primary source for Interplanetary.

Consider me consoled!

Looking forward more and more to your non-core-book for BRP, Jason.

As for the Savage Worlds of Solomon Kane - it's a tremendously pretty book. And the background is quite . . . evocative. Very good book, if you can find it.

-pax-

You can always create a billet of characters to be filled for the table.

If you know the biological-characters are more powerful, you can stat them up at Epic, and then say the remainder will be other types topping out at a total of 1000 points or something. 3 Heroics are left to build - who wants them?

There are different ways of looking at it. In the end, to create challenging encounters, you'll need to add up the opposition to the point-total of the party, maybe plus 5 or 10 percent. To ensure each character (regardless of point-value) is useful and contributes, make sure to include challenges for the party which include their skills and powers. (Basic GM'ing advice, but it bears repeating.)

That's the rough side of point-buy systems - you feel compelled to balance things. Some of my most memorable games have been where the PCs were completely out-classed, out-gunned, and out-run.

And, to be fair, in the original versions of many BRP games there was no real balancing mechanism. If you chose to play a Kzinti, you got to mop up when close combat came callin'. It was just that simple. "I'm a Dark Troll and I'm twice as strong as you." *SPLAT*

Regardless, what are your table of players like? Are they concerned about each having as many shiny points and powers as the others, or could they be called upon to create a group whose focus was less synchronized?

Gianni's an NPC in my regular BRP steampunk game. His character sheet is elusive, but the PCs know he can translate many, many languages back and forth into their English...

Thanks for the resource, Gianni!

I've bought a copy of Worlds Beyond, and had to make a roll on the Resistance table for it's dated art.

Fortunately, I made it!

However, the *content* of the book is really cool. Maybe someone could commission some new art?

Very interested in hearing about contact with the authors!

Time to start accumulating interesting BRP bits...

"Bulldozer: A sleepy Storm bull initiate."

-- the Dictionary of Eye-watering Words

I'm still laughing, and I have to go into work now...

Priceless! Thanks for this, Sven!

I got mine in the mail on the 1st.

I'm sooo enjoying this book!

Regards --

d100 glorantha discussion group?

Got a link? I'll Google it, but leaving a link might attract further attention...

I really like Stupor Mundi - historical gaming is something I've recently discovered could be enjoyable, and it was mostly due to this title.

-pax-

Gundamentalist - I love The Black Seal!

Welcome . . .

Now that's mean, Rust!

I love the idea!

These monsters (from a "OMG! look at that fossil" perspective) are amazing. Great stat block! Thanks again --

ORtrail - My submission is coming along nicely.

I have the PDF, and it will be useful for further writing. Having a hard copy in my hands will make me feel like I'm ready for the tabletop, but the scenario is pretty much written and stat'ed out using the PDF.

For those without the PDF, I can imagine this is a real issue.

Anyone else writing without the PDF?